sunnylands. >> president obama is a california tonight to meet with the chinese president@glance. tonight on c-span we will show you the affordable care today in san jose followed by the interment ceremony for center lautenburg. , heesentative john dingell talks about his 57 year career. >> president obama talks about implemented the affordable care act in california and encouraging young americans. he took questions from reporters and addressed concerns about reports of surveillance programs. this is about 25 minutes.

>> good morning, everybody. it is great to see all of you. i want to thank you everybody who is here. there is only one problem -- my remarks are not sitting here. [laughter] on a friday afternoon, things get a little challenged. i am going to have -- i am going to answer a question at the end of the remarks. i want to make sure we get the remarks out. people, -- openness. -- oh goodness. [laughter] folks are sweating back there. [laughter] good morning, everybody. this afternoon i will be in southern california to meet with

the chinese president. before i leave california, i want to take a minute to address something that is happening with affordable care act in this state. grouped to meet with a of people are doing important work on behalf of of the california middle-class families. these leaders from california's government, the toll-free endowment, and major spanish outlets have joined together to implement the affordable care act here in california and to educate folks about how to sign up and shop for quality, affordable plans. their efforts have shown some excellent result in the biggest insurance market in the country. there are two main causes that americans need to know when it comes to the affordable care act and what it means for you. 85%ou are one of the nearly of americans who already have insurance, or medicare or medicaid or your employer, you

do not have to do a thing. you just have a wide array of new benefits, and protection on and better cost control. that's what over time improve the quality of insurance you have got. benefits like free preventive care, checkups, flu shots, country section. contraception. you are going to bed to get things that were not provided. people up to the age of 26 to be able to stay on their parent hot insurance -- parents 'insurance. like requiring insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money you pay in premiums in your actual health care costs instead of administrative costs or ceo pay. not overhead, but that money has

to be spent on you. if they do not meet that target, they will have to reimburse you. in california, we are getting reports that insurers are getting rebates to the tune of $45 million this year. already, we are seeing millions of dollars of rebate sent back to consumers by insurance companies a consequence of this law. all of that is happening because of the affordable care act. all of this is in place right now for 85% of americans who have health insurance. by the way, all of this is what the republican party has voted 37 times to repeal at least in the house of representatives. my suggestion to them has been let's stop fighting and start work with people to make this law works the way it is supposed to. we are focused on moving

forward and making sure that this law works for middle-class families. that brings me to the second xhosa people need to know, -- thing people need to know, if you are one of tens of millions of americans who do not currently have insurance, you will be able to buy polity, -- quality, affordable care like everybody else. states like california are setting up new online market laces we are beginning on october 1 of this year you can comparison shop an array of private health insurance plans side-by-side just like you were going online to compare cars or airline tickets. that means insurance companies will actually have to compete with each other for your business. that means new choices. right now, most states do not have a lot competition.

nearly every state, sommers are covered by -- consumers are covered by only two insurance. or is no incentive to provide you with a lot of choices. the affordable care act changes all of that. once theseext year, marketplaces are open, most states offer more choices they do not exist today. a stone early reports, -- a based on early, nine in 10 americans are expected to enroll where they can choose between different insurance. here in california, 33 insurers applied to join the market lace. based ona selected 13 affordability. 4 of which are brand-new. what is happening is through the affordable care act, we are creating these marketplaces with more competition, more choice.

what happens to cost? a lot of the opponents of the thesay the sky is falling, law will fill but we would also see the sky -- the cost will skyrocket. we are seeing in the states that have committed themselves to implementing this law correctly, we are seeing the good news. competition and choice are pushing down the cost in the individual market just like the law was designed to do. the 13 insurance companies that were chosen by california have unveiled premiums that were lower than anybody expected. those who cannot afford to buy private insurance will get help reducing their out of coast from him even further -- out of pocket premium even further. ,.6 million californians nearly half who are latinos,

will qualify for tax credits that will lower their premiums a significant amount. this is the way the law was designed to work. since everybody has been saying how it is not going to happen, it is important for us to recognize and acknowledge that this is working the way it is supposed to. we have seen similar good news not just just here in california, but in oregon and washington and states that are working hard to implement this law properly. we are seeing it work for people, middle-class families. that is not to say everything is going to go perfectly right away. not when you are implementing a program this large, or will be glitches. no matter what, every single consumer will be covered by the new benefits and protections under this law. , you canm line is listen to a bunch of political

talk out there, negative ads geared toward the next election or you can look at what is happening in states like california right now. the fact of the matter is, not only are the 85% of people who have health insurance getting better protection and getting rebates in keeping their kids on to their the 26, if you do not have had insurance and you are trying to get it through the individual market and is too expensive and too restricted, you have these marketplaces where they will offer you a better deal. and if those lower rates better insurance that you are getting through the marketplaces of you still cannot afford it, you will be getting tax cuts and credits through the affordable care act it will help you afford it. that is how we are going to make sure that millions of

people who are getting a bad deal are finally going to get it. but, here is my final point. to take advantage of these marketplaces, folks are going to need to sign up. you can find out how to sign up at healthcare.gov or here in california, you can sign up at cacover.com. quality care is not something that should be a privilege, it should be a right. in the greatest country on earth, we have to make sure every single person that needs healthcare can get it. we have to make sure that we do it in the most efficient way possible. there are a lot of people who currently get health insurance through their employers, the 85% of people who are out there today may be saying, if this law

is so great thomas hawk, -- so great, how come mike. still went up? part of what is going up, some employers may be shifting or higher costs or higher deductibles or higher co- who areere may be folks filling increase costs but because those calls are being -- costs are being passed down to workers. this does not solve the whole problem. it moves us in the right direction. it is the reason we have to keep implementing changes in how our health care system works to continually drive better efficiency, higher quality, lower costs. we are starting to see that. inflation has gone down to the lower rate in three years that

we have seen in many years. we are making progress in reducing overall healthcare costs while increasing quality. we have to continue to push on that front area that is part of what we are doing. the main message i want for californians, starting on october 1, you can get a better deal. if you are a small business that is providing health insurance, you can get a better deal through these exchanges. you have to sign up. all right. thank you. i will take one question. then remember, people will have a chance to ask questions when i am with the chinese president. i do not want the whole day to be a press conference. i will take jackie holmes question. >> can you react to secret

surveillance on phone and internet? can you ensure americans that your government does not have a database of personal information? ,> when i came into this office i made to commitments that are more important. number one, to keep the american people safe. number two, to uphold the constitution. that includes what i consider to be a constitutional right to privacy. in observance of civil liberties. the programs that have been discussed over the last couple of days in the press are secret and the since they are classified. but they are not secret in the sense that when it comes to telephone calls, every member of congress has been briefed on this program. we are expecting all of these , intelligence

committee is fully briefed. they have been authorized by bipartisan majorities repeatedly since 2006. i think at the outset it is important to understand that your duly elected representatives have been come -- have been consistently informed on what we are and doing. let me take the two issues separately. when it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening to your telephone calls. that is not what is program is about. intelligence-- community is doing is looking at phone numbers and directions

of calls. they are not looking at people's names and content. the so-ng through called data, they may identify potential leads with respect to folks who might engage in terrorism. , if the community wants to listen to a phone call thomas they have to go back to a federal judge just like in a criminal investigation. i want to be very clear. some of the hype we have been hearing over the last day or so, nobody is listening to the content of people's phone calls. this program by the way is fully overseen not just by congress but by the court. a court specially put together to

evaluate classified programs to make sure that the executive branch is not abusing them and it isn't being carried out consistent with -- and it is being carried out consistent with the constitution and rule of law. not only does that court authorize the initial gathering of data, i want to repeat it anybody in government wanted to go further than just the top line data the wanted to listen to jackie's phone call, they would have to go to a federal judge. in fact theywhy were doing further probes. with respect to the internet and e-mails, this does not apply to u.s. citizens and people living in the united states.

, not only is congress fully aware of this, that what is also true is the court has to authorize it. in summary what you have got is two programs that were originally authorized by congress, have been repeatedly authorized by congress, bipartisan majorities have approved on them. congress is continually briefed on how these are conducted. there they whole range of safeguards involved. federal judges are overseeing the entire program throughout. we are also setting up an audit process when i came into office to make sure that we are making absolutely certain although safeguards are being observed.

now, having said all of that come a you will remember when i made that speech a couple of weeks ago about the need for us mindift out of a perpetual war set -- warped mindset. we will have to debate how are we striking this balance between the need to keep the american people safe and our concerns about privacy. because there are some trade- offs involved. i welcome this debate. think it is healthy for our democracy. probably five or six years ago, we might not have in having this debate. it is interesting that there are some folks on the left and on -- right who are now worried who were not very worried when

there was a republican president. i think it is good that we are having this discussion. it is important for everybody to understand that there are some trade-offs involved. i came in with a healthy skepticism about these programs. my team evaluated them. we have expended some of the oversights, increased some of the safeguards. and my team'sent assessment was that they help us prevent terrorist attacks. and the modest encroachments on privacy that are involved in getting phone numbers or

duration without a name attached was worth at content us doing. some other folks may have a different assessment of that. it is important to recognize that you cannot have 100% security and also then have 100% privacy and a zero inconvenience. are going to have to make some choices as a society. what i can say is while evaluating these programs, they make a difference in our capacity to anticipate and prevent possible terrorist activity. the fact that they are under very strict supervision i alternately branches of government and they do not

involve -- by all free branches of government and they do not involve listening to people's phone calls and do not involve reading the e-mails of u.s. that is or residents entirely consistent with what we would do in a criminal i think onon, alance we have established proper procedure that the american people should feel comfortable about. again, these programs are subject to congressional oversight and congressional reauthorization and debate. if there are members of congress who think differently, it should speak up. we are happy to have that debate. we will have a chance to talk

further during the course of the next couple of days. thank you. thank you. >> i do not welcome leaks. there's a reason why these programs are classified. there is a suggestion that somehow any classified "rogram is a "secret program which means it is suspicious. there's aern history, whole range of programs that have been classified when it comes to fighting terror our goal is to stop folks from doing us harm and every step we are taking to prevent a terrorist act is on the front page of the

newspaper or on television and the people who are trying to do us harm are going to be able to get around our preventive measures. that is why these things are classified. that is why we have set up congressional oversight. these are the folks you all vote for as your representatives in congress and they are being fully briefed on these programs. fact, there were abuses taking place, the members could raise the issues aggressively. they are in a position to do so. we also have federal judges. we put in place who are not subject to political pressure. they have lifetime tenure and they are empowered to look over

our shoulders at the executive branch to make sure these programs are not being abused. a system in which some information is classified. we have a system of checks and balances to make sure it is not abused. this information in of being dumped out without regard risk to the program, the people involved, in some cases on other loop -- on other risks dangerous situations, it is very hard for us to be as effective in protecting the american people. that is not to suggest that you

just say "trust me, we are doing the right thing." the reason that is not how it works is because we have oversight. if people cannot trust not only the effective rich and do not trust congress -- the executive branch but do not trust congress and federal judges that we are biding by the constitution, we are going to have some problems here. my observation is the people who are involved in america's national security take this work very seriously. they cherish our constitution. the last thing a would be doing is taking programs like this and listening to somebody's phone calls. by the way with respect to my concerns about privacy issues, i will leave this office in the

next 3.5 years and after that i will be a private citizen. -- on a list of people who might be targeted so that people might be up to read their e-mails are listen to their phone calls, i would probably be high on that list. it is not as if i do not have a personal interest in making sure my privacy is protected. i know that the people who are involved in these programs operate like professionals. these things are very narrowly circumscribed area -- circumscribed. you can complain about big brother and how this is a , program -- you know run amok. when you look at the details and

we have struck the right balance. all right. thank you very much. >> interment ceremony for frank lautenberg followed by representative john dingell. he talks about his 57 year career in the house of representatives. the american bankers association looks at the future of the u.s. >> late new jersey senator frank lautenberg was interred at arlington national cemetery. he passed away early monday morning. he was the last remaining world war ii veteran serving in the u.s. senate.

>> forward. [indiscernible]

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[airplanes overhead] >> senator lautenburg passed away early on monday. he served in the senate until 2001. he was reelected in 2003 and served until his death. the 89 year old democrat was was new jersey senator -- the first new jersey senator to be elected five times. >> i filed an application with

the irs to receive 501 status. as of today, i've been waiting for 29 months without status. >> many of the agents and agencies do not understand that they are servants of the people. they think they are our masters and they are mistaken. i am not interested in foreign political points. i want to protect and preserve the america i grew up in. the america that people cross oceans and risk their lives to become a part of. i am terrified it is slipping away. thank you. [applause] (c)(3) is toe of a promote political good. it is the responsibility of the irs to determine which are

getting the right exempt status. >> house ways and means here from tea party members on irs targeting of their groups. saturday 10 a.m. eastern. on c-span two, live coverage of the printers row lit best. of american history tv, the life and legacy of maker at first. -- medger evers. .> representative john dingell he talks about his career in public service. follow by the forecast for the u.s. economy by the bankers association. the discussion of the syrian civil war. >> michigan congressman john dingell became the longest

serving member serving 29,000 days in casting more than 25,000 votes. he became -- he began in the house in 19 friday five to replace his late father. with an editor at large in washington. this is just under an hour.

>> good morning. >> good morning. [laughter] we are about to have one of the most extraordinary moments. that anyone could possibly have listening to john dingell. everybody in this room knows about him. i will not give you a long introduction. i will say a couple of words. for anybody who loves and is passionate about politics, loves the game of politics and making policy on you cannot help but admire, respect, and indeed even love, not all the time i am sure.

he has been center stage since 1955. his father was here starting in 1932. the word dingell is synonymous with getting things done in washington. it was a time when we got things done in washington. there's hardly a piece of legislation in the area of health or energy or environment or security or telecommunications and others that john dingell did not have his fingerprints on. a has been center stage for long time. just to give a quick perspective, he's the only member here in the 1950's. is that right? he is one of two members that was in the house in the 1960's. he was born before president obama was in the house. [applause] before president obama was born.

we have some perspective here. what we are going today is steve, the editor of "the atlantic," is going to have a conversation with john. and give awelcome tribute to debbie dingell. [applause] me quote from john and i will turn it over to steve. "having a very tough race in 2004, one of the few tough races john ever had said i had the curious view that i have to be judged on what i stand for, what i have done, my ability and

effectiveness -- excuse me for being in your way. "my record and my personal integrity." " i keep on going ." john, thank you very much. [applause] i wanted to say a special hello to those watching live on c-span. we have live coverage. i love the c-span guys. there are many established people in this room. a special shout out to john. i am happy to say hello to all of you. i want to highlight elizabeth

who is president of atlantic life. -- live. i do not see her. she is working hard. it is such a pleasure to have you here. when i talk to your staff and your wife, we talk about various states. maybe not to doing this on friday when it is scheduled to rain. i said, no. june 7 is the day, 57 years ago surpasses the late robert word -- byrd record. if he was here, i wonder what he was say about you surpassing him. my first question, are you ready to put another 10 years on this? [applause] >> i am going to stay as long as i can do a good job. i do not want to stay here when

people are sorry for me and what i cannot do the job or when somebody else i think can do a job.r job area -- we talked about this earlier in january. we had a discussion. >> give our audience a quick snapshot of the legislation you have drafted and authored to remind people of what the world looked like when congress did things. john dingell wrote the endangered species act, clean air act, affordable care act, children's insurance program, food safety modernization act, it goes on and on. it is unbelievable record would you look at legislation attached to somebody's name. i worked in the senate and knew quite a number of senators in

that chamber. would you look across history, -- would you look across whenry, this is like -- you look across history, this is like ted kennedy. do you think it is possible in today's political climate to have the kind of successful passage of legislation? are we deluding ourselves? >> no. each congress is unique. it depends on the challenges and the concerns of the people are. has a leadership responsibility. the most -- it is a privilege to serve even in this congress. having said these inks --

things, we have had difficulty coming to an agreement on budget. [laughter] there is a real fault here are the -- here. it is in good part that congress thought. they tolerate this. they sent us down here to fight. it is divided. you see the result in washington. you see it on the hill. you see a tremendous amount of ill will that should not be here. good will and respect and integrity should be the hallmark of the congress. we should be proud that we can

and do work together. proud that we are a few of the people that have had the privilege of serving in congress. we are the highest elected officials of people. [indiscernible] we have a unique responsibility. i have to tell people. -- as we the words work together. we are the most fortunate of human beings. we hit the jackpot. this is a wonderful place. .t is the happiest, richest not just in terms of

opportunity. we are the oldest rocker see. -- democracy. s that our government works. we are diminishing our ability to survive the challenges. >> when you were elected in 1955, sam rayburn was speaker of the house. lyndon johnson was the majority leader in the senate. "the washing post" reminded us that rosa parks had just not given up her seat. over that period of time, what would you say legislatively your proudest moment was? two or moment or top three that mattered for you and the country and that period? and my wife, the

single most important vote i the civil rights act of 1964. for the first time we addressed the problem that each american should have full citizenship. i was focused on this because i almost lost my job over this. [indiscernible] there were riots in trouble. -- and trouble. the african american were patient and nonviolent. that reallyote

solve a tremendous problem. . have had others wasaffordable care act something that my dad started out with roosevelt in 1935. but of course there was a lot of -- aonmental legislation lot of other conservation. i am really a lucky guy to be blessed with a superb staff. i've had the good fortune to have members of the house in my times to mentor me.

people like rayburn. people like my dear friend am a john. -- dear friend, john. i have had great people teach me the trade. -- wherehere times there are times when you were disappointed in the house? what would be the memory that you found that congress did not live up to? what was the backside but mark -- backside? >> there were good and a bad and sometimes at the same time. i was always very frustrated about when people would not do things.

or when the president -- i do not mean this president, he is doing a good job. --as troubled about the act fact [indiscernible] it is an important responsibility. who taught john dingell to send a dingell letter? members feared getting a dingell letter. draft thene help you first one or develop it into an art? >> i have had great friends. john moss was my greatest friend. he was great on this. i had a wonderful staff.

promised not only but things that were not right. writing letters -- [laughter] that three and for worse asked questions -- those three and four words that asked questions, who, what, when, why. you can get a lot more when you ask questions rather than starting a nasty argument.

some were citizens. they would receive these things and say this is something i need to take a look at. we could get more done by asking questions than trying to hit someone over the head. that was our chosen tool. we got the information that we wanted. when i became chairman of the committee, i was scared because i thought this was a big job and i thought dingell you better do it right. i said how am i going to do this job? he said, john, two things. first, you got to be fair. second, you have to appear fair.

so we always used our powers with restraint. that does not mean we were weak we just know how to get these things done. i have a picture of joe mccarthy on the wall. i look at that and the reason he was there, i thought he was one of the biggest scoundrels in society and he was the prime example of whatnot to do. -- what not to do. we were fair in the things we did. the staff knew and understood this. they were superb investigators. they had this wonderful sense of social outrage and a chance to correct something that is bad or make something better we were very successful and we never had a failure in investigating. >> as a representive you've been dealing with presidents since

eisenhower and nixon was his vice president. you knew all these guys back and given the fact that your father held the seat, for what 23 years or sore before you, you had encounters with them. can you tell us the presidents that you appreciated and had good relationships with and the presidents that you felt did not cut it. >> i had good relationships with every president. presidency is something very important. it is an office that we have to view as people love before me and wiser used to say it is an office that should be treated with great reverence. it is a huge responsibility. i got to say each president, whether i liked them or not or the same party, did some great things. nixon was the guy that tested it

because of the nasty things he used to do. but if you you look at nixon's a sidency he was said he was great, bad man. it is a very interesting way to define it. 'm not winston churchill but eisenhower was a got president before him. kennedy, just an exciting administration. they didn't stay around long enough to really be appreciated it a to reach the greatness i thought he could have gotten. -- the same ving awful, crazy guy from vietnam. he should be recognized as a great president. he went out to create the new

deal. or to complete the new deal but he did something else. is the guy that began the leadership and brings to the end of the terrible civil rights we had. nixon did some wonderful things and he did some bad. jimmy carter was one of the finest people but regrettably he did not have the successes that we would have liked to see him have because he was so concentrated on detail he did not have time to concentrate on the bigger questions. he is probably the most underrated presidents. ion. at a point of distinct we are elligible]

equally important and this is very important. clinton was a great guy who cared about people, he worked hard and he was smart as all get out. empathy. folks liked to be around him, even phones who said nasty things about him because he had this warmth and he cared. he two bushes were quite fine. he's a great guy, never forgot his service in the house. i liked the first w. very much. t is just terrible mistakes.

of course, our current president be good to him. have not done enough of what i would like to see him do. i've had the privilege of serving with some great presidents. jimmy carter was probably the most underrated president we had. [unintelligible] that was regrettably not to be and humphrey had the same problem. they sent out to destroy him and they succeeded. >> i am pleased to report those watching on c-span can follow

congress and john dingell on twitter. the longest serving congressman in history is at twitter. if you went to look at the twitter account, which i did this morning. you saw the vice president biden stopped by yesterday and he gave you a gift. yet, you did not say in your tweet what he gave you and i've been wondering ever since. >> he gave me a wonderful wall clock. something that i will cherish. m a great admirer of joe biden. he has something of that my good friend has -- [unintelligible] >> let me go to charlie cook. am i handing out the microphones or is someone running mics around? o, i guess i am. > in honoring chairman

dingell's longevity because that is easier to measure. but he's had a greater impact on war legislation than any member in congress in history. the story that may kids love hearing and more people can relate to, tell us about december 1941. your role. >> i had a little bit to do with the history. remember on the 7, the japanese bombed pearl harbor and sank every battleship we had or damaged every battleship we had. we thought the united states could lose that war. i was a senior so i was given the responsibility of taking

the media and he was a conservative newscaster. he was up in the gallery with an old-fashioned magnetic recorders. he was supposed to record. i was told see to it that he does not record more than the. president's speech. i thought, you know, there's enough history that is important. so i let him go on into the discussion. the country was badly divided. it was badly divided over different matters but the interesting thing was when roosevelt finished his speech, which by the way, was a fabulous speech he left the podium.

the house -- the senate left and the house proceeded to deal with his call for the declaration of war. the country being divided at all the america firsters and there were a lot of fellow travelers, and quite frankly, the germans. you had huge rallies in new york. everybody was trying to get on .he right side of history there was one woman who voted against world war i and world war two. she was from montana. she served one term twice. her votes on this cost her job, as you might major. they would not let her speak and it was interesting period that went on at this time about she would be heard. they finely let her speak on

wednesday. war was not declared on the united states until that day. it was an interesting time. you can still hear some of that debate and you will hear this hiss that goes with the steel wiring recordings. an unpoint thing but i was sitting up there and looking down. roosevelt was interesting. he didn't want to know that he was crippled by polio. so he actually walked -- he had the floor to himself and he was supported by -- we had 10 pounds of iron. he would come on the arm of one of his sons, franklin or jimmy or a couple of secret service

guys. he would actually walk in the podium e by where the is and in front of the reading clerk and stand in front of the vice president and give his speech. it was a terrible, terrible stress to him. the people who walked in with him always said he had the most powerful grip they have ever seen. there's a lot of interesting stories we can tell about how he responded to this and how he did is job and how he -- [unintelligible] everyone knew how he was crippled by polio but they didn't know it because he didn't report it. he always let everyone knew he was in charge. > interesting.

>> i'm jeff trammell and mr. chairman, i have the privilege of working with two close friends of yours. >> i lev them both. >> as i was sitting here thinking about your many great contributions to congress. i thought about the epic fight over the clean air act in the 1970's and the film that was made about that. hr 261 act of congress. for those who haven't seen it i recommend it. but it explains the art of governance and i thought you might take a moment to help us understand -- think of today when we're not governing very well. the process, as you touched on, a compromise and how legislation should come together despite

competing interest in the house. >> very wise observation and question. ongress is a human body. here was an observation like -- ge or government [unintelligible] when we finished the clean air they handled it and we passed the bill in 13 hours on the floor. they said mr. dingell what a wonderful thing you did, you did it in 13 hours. it passed 420-10 or close to that. that was a rough number. they said you did it in 13 hours. i said yeah, it only took me 13 years to do it. [laughter] what was interesting was you saw

the their rifts of government -- theirists of government and the who understand fundamentals of government but they don't understand that the events of human activities that ake laws come to be. a y tell us 6161 is actually and relevanthology thinking and attitudes and the way people interact with friends . le it shows actually how outside forces come into play.

it is interesting. it shows government working as it should. it shows that the process of government can be and is an honorable thing. the compromise is an honorable and con sill dation and consideration, yet, they are honorable activities that should be cherished and not criticized. when we send someone down to washington, people don't seem to understand this, we talk a how they are going down there to work together to solve the great national problems that we confront. if the message or lesson that you take from that voting, i urge you to think about how it is that compromise and working

together is important. lyndon johnson understood this. they were able to work together and accomplish the public needs. >> how much interest do you find in your colleagues in the house today in trying to reachieve that common spirit even your political foes? i've been reading about how you have remained close friends with some of the people you were fighting battles with. do you find those members coming in seeking out to learn about that time? > every force in our society fights the way congress should work. somewhere around 3:00, 4:00 in

the afternoon on monday or tuesday, the first act is to tell the staff of what is the first plane i can get out of here on thursday or friday? so we give the folks a three-day work week. they say we don't see you at home but i'm supposed to be working down there on the nation's business. one of for important things is we ought to be friends. we don't have the time to achieve that friendship. we don't have the time to begin to work together. short terms, of course, work against that. the fact that we're always expecting to be home, not down here working on the nation's business. this plus the media, which encourages the forecastest kind -- nastest behavior.

that is destructive as hell. it really is counter protective. 're just -- the guys who hit this town and before they know where the restrooms are they are meeting to get some kind of big thing where they denounce the president or raise hell about this or the other thing. the result is this is most counter productive in having this system work. i think i talk too much about the wrong questions but i feel matters. bout these

>> yesterday, senator mccain gave a speech and he kept saying the president this and the president that. he said that he had small disdain about the chief of staff -- the joint chiefs of staff. what i said back to him was from the people i know and the people in the diplomatic around me, they look and say you guys have a great country but you can't work together. how are you going to get anything done if sequester doesn't get over? >> you're asking about the sequester. ok great. >> we put the sequester in because we thought it was so difficult and the result would be that we wouldn't let it happen. some guy figured out right or wrongly this was going to cut

he budget. we wouldn't know what the consequences were. the thing about sequester is we need to stop a problem that we created for us because it slows us down from getting home by getting the air traffic controllers not being able to move aircrafts action quickly. this is an example of failure. e can't put together a budget. i've got something to say, everyone is going to say this is partisan, it may be or may not be. i have enormous respect for speaker boehner but potentially he is a good speaker, he can't get his republicans to follow him. the problem in the house is

there is a huge battle between e republicans and they don't have time to fight against the democrats. so they come back and tell them what he has done and his freshman and sore mores smack him on the side of the head and say no way. then it goes out the window then we have to have some process where the senate minority leader works to solve the budget problem last year. that is not the way we should have done it. so the intention, the mechanics, the wisdom of the founding fathers, those are gone. we're not using them. when i was a chairman, i got in trouble by my own party. i became a good friend of the senior republican with whom i work with, if i was doing investigations or handling legislation. neither he nor she or i would

ever reveal this because if we did we would be whacked on the side of the head. but it worked. of ntelligible] i was proud it and so was he. . was questioning him he was a great friend of mine. i was sit in the meetings and i said make this motion and he said why should i do that i said don't be a smart ass just do it. we would wind up with the legislation completed and we were able to work together to see to it that we started in the middle and we worked out. the end result was good

legislation, clean air, clean water. en he got to be the senior republican on an environmental ub committee, i said this is awful. he said no, this is not awful it is good. if i can sell him on this and he was a fair and deseptember guy, guy, you er -- decent remember. it turned out that way. so, by the way, there is a funny story about him. he had the heart of an irish man

. i have the highest regard for all the members and he popped up and he said does that include the gentleman from iowa and he said of course. i have the highest regard for all members and the gentleman of iowa i have the -- it should be e] you. it should have a kindness to it. that is there because the people tolerate it and unfortunately, we're a divided nation right now and unfortunately, that division goes and drives the ill will, which we find so corrosive.

>> can you talk about the inside republican caucus. can you give us a quick snapshot how the democratic caucus. i remember the blue dogs and the rival with nancy pelosi, you had waxman.tle with henry the s the camaraderie in democratic caucus? >> it's there. in the uniting force democratic party is now caucus is through the republican caucus. opposing what they are doing and trying to have a meaningful impact on things and to protect the great

fundamental legislation means so much to us. social security, medicare, means so much. the affordable care act, the environmental law acts, the clean water act and other things and to make progress on things like global warming and the other concerns we have. that is holding us together. after the election we have about a half dozen left and that is a great shame. are my colleagues, they the majority makers of this party but you cherish them and rotect them. if you're going to run this place and you want to have a

democratic speaker on the first day of congress, you protect him. without him, you're not going to do it. i keep telling my colleagues that and some of them follow it, some of them don't. one of the big problems in this society is we're too much focused on the events of today or tomorrow. we aren't looking at a year, two years or six months ahead. that is the real concern of the future. that is one of the reason why the asian nations are cleaning our clock. they are thinking in terms of scores or hundreds of years out. >> first of all,

congratulations, mr. chairman. secondly, very glad you mentioned superfund it is a legacy of yours. superfund is an incredible legacy of yours and i had the privilege to work with francis of that. >> francis is a wonderful guy. > the fact that you took a consensus approach made it possible for you to get so much done, more than any other single individual. >> you didn't work for him, right? >> no. >> i wish i hired you. [laughter] >> the other part, how to investigate administrations, even our own administration, as a democrat.

so your legacy is just incredible. so i wanted to ask you about the current time. you've given us some great insights. tell us about the grassroots pressures on the republicans, the tea party pressures, how do you see that? how do you see that abating hopefully? and the role that that group is playing in this country as opposed to other movements if you will, nativist movements in our history? >> i don't have the mic here. i appreciate bill's question. but because i'm always fairminded, i always presume that we've got a good number of tea party patriots watching this show right now. and i want to make sure that we like them watching. and participating in these discussions. but john, how -- can you talk a bit about the time and about the grassroots currents in the g.o.p. and i assume those grassroots currents.vuft alive

in michigan 12 as anywhere else. and i would just -- to piggyback on bill's question about the tea party, the occupy wall street movement and others that beginned up a lot of concerns on the left were born out after lot of economic anxiety and your thoughts on these current political streams. >> frustration, fear, are terrible, terrible motivators. but powerful. and they often lead to some sewerius and unfortunate results. i don't want to say anything against the tea partiers. i strongly disagree with them. and quite frankly they have no use for me. this is an ancient fight that goes on inside the republican party and been going on since at least the time of goldwater. and that election in 1964, they ave us by the way a democratic

landslide. but it was -- it was over control of the party. and they wanted to control the party. and they have a very adroit plan for perpetuating republican control of the country and the congress. and by golly, they're as smart as all get out. it's working. but having said this, they are -- they're afraid. they're concerned. there's a lot of honest concern. the problem that you have there is the -- really don't understand how the system can and should work. this nation was founded by some of the smartest, best educated thoughts of d read the great philosophers at the

time. these folks have not learned those lessons and the result is that they will -- they will rush forward to re-create the over es that we've made centuries. there's not much new going on in politics. dumb ass mistakes are made today and dumb ass mistakes were made in an earlier time. having said -- having said to things, they tend believe that the end jutches the means. -- justifies the means. and they also have the belief hat we have to move strongly and not to pay attention to the great system of which we're a part. we have the best system of government in the world. the problem is we're not making it work. and we're not permitting it to

work. and we're not encouraging the people who are in government to make it work. and this is terrible. the institution of our government, the institution of our congress, are really more important than any single person or any single issue. and we don't appreciate the precious character of this government. which is designed to protect our liberties, our freedoms, and also to see to it that each and every one of us is heard and has an opportunity to participate in our country. and this is -- this is a terrible thing. and i don't know whether i've answered the question. >> done a great job. former senator regal. >> if i may, i just want to make a personal observation about john. >> did he ever run against you in a primary? >> are you kidding? >> think about it? >> no one in their right mind would run against john.

>> i supported jim o'hair a against don. -- o'hara against don. and it was one of the biggest mistakes i made. because he cleaned our clock. a great politician. a great senator and a great friend. and i learned my lesson. and i haven't made that mistake since. >> john was a great mentor to many people. and i include myself on that list. very gratefully. but i spent my first cibc -- six years in the house as a republican and as a republican you sit on one side of the house chamber and as a democrat the other side. from the republican side you look over and see the democrats, and the democrats look over and see the republicans. i decided to change parties. and it's an awkward thing to do. and it was an awkward thing for me to do. so one day after i had done that, i crossed the center aisle. and i started to sit after six years on the other side of the aisle. and i felt very strange. and i didn't feel particularly

welcome. there were a lot of democrats at that time. had a big majority and didn't need another renegade republican necessarily coming over. but the first person to reach out to me was john dingell. and of course there wasn't anybody that was more respected at the time than john. or today. and one day he just motioned me to come over and sit beside him in the chair next to him on the house side. and i think he put his arm around me. i felt like he did. because that was the gesture he was making. and it was a wonderfully kind thing. it was a leadership thing. and a mentoring step. and john spoke about mentors who were important to him. like john moss and others. and john mccormick. but he's been a mentor to an enormous number of people. i have to be one of the lucky ones who went on to be a chairman and used a lot of his methods. but i see it now even in some of the republican chairmen in the house.

i think the two republican chairmen from michigan that we have in the house today follow certain number of john's practices because his leadership has been bipartisan. it's been bigger than party differences. and that's a wonderful gift to the country. and he's given it to a lot of people. and made a big difference. i think it adds up to as much in the end as his legislative accomplishments and that's saying a lot. >> we're coming right to the close. but would you like to share any thoughts on don riegel's congressional bromance? [laughter] >> don riegel was a great member of the house. a very smart politician. was very concerned about the public interest. he was a great friend of mine. he was a great senator. he served our people well. and reaching out to him was not a problem. it was his presence in the congress that helped us all and

the country. and i was very glad to have him join the democrats. because -- and when he was with the republicans, i always used to observe if the republicans were as bad as i thought they were, they needed a guy like riegel. [laughter] >> congressman, after -- this is an historic day that the ticker makes you the longest serving member of congress in either chamber to serve this government. and it's such an honor that you joined us here at the atlantic, our whole family of publications, national journal, the atlantic, the courts, wanted to have you here today to have a real conversation. we very much appreciate all of you being here. and the viewers of c-span for joining us. but i want to just give you a round of applause. >> can i say one thing? >> absolutely. >> can i say one thing before you do? i'm a lucky guy.

i had great mentors. wonderful father. got a wife, a treasure. and my dad who is one of my mentors, principal mentors and teachers, said son, it's a pretty long time. you hey said -- he'd say know, son, it ain't how long. it is how well. and there are people who have served relatively briefly who have served with great distinction. and so the amount of time i've put in just means i've collected a check from government. but the question is, what have i done with that time? and how well have i served the people? that's the important thing. >> well, we think we've covered that quite adequately today and i would like to commend you on the things you've actually done to serve your country so well. so thank you very much, sir.

[applause] [inaudible conversation]

>> president obama released a statement today commemorating congressman dingell as the longest serving member of congress. he said john has always worked tirelessly for people of his beloved michigan and working families across america and helped pass the most important laws of the last half century. house speaker john boehner also released a statement saying his devotion to his constituents and his country, the many battles he's fought and won on behalf of the american people and the sheer joy he takes in his work have made him synonymous with this institution. >> in poor health first lady ida mckinley suffered from epilepsy and because of that her husband, president william mckinley, would sit next to her at state dinners. so if she had a seizure, he would shield her face from guests. with a large hanker chiff until the episode -- handkerchief until the episode passed. she traveled as first lady,

even attending the 1901 pan american exposition where her husband was assassinated. we'll look at the life of ida mckinley as we conclude the series on first ladies love monday night at 9:00 eastern on c-span and c-span 3 and also on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> next a look at the future of the u.s. economy. and housing market. with scott andersen. economic advisory chair with the american bankers association. from washington, d.c., this is 0 minutes. >> all right. hello, everybody. welcome. i would like to -- i'm jeff singman, public relations for aba. aba is an economic advisory committee that meets twice a year to provide its consensus forecast. and meet with washington officials including the federal reserve board. the members of the e.a.c. in

attendance today are scott brown, raymond james and associates, peter hooper, deutsche bank, ethan harris, bank of america, merrill lynch, christopher lowe, f.t.n. bbva ial, nathenial carp, compass, gregory miller, suntrust bank, george mokshon, huntington bank, richard moody, regionalents bank. karl tannenbaum, northern trust. and scott andersen, e.a.c. chair and chief economist for bank of the west. also in attendance is bob davis, a.b.a.'s executive vice president of mortgage market policy, and once a bank economist himself at harris bank. after our chairman delivers today's forecast, there will be a question and answer session. if you ask a question, we ask that you please state your name, the name of your publication. so without further ado i'll hand it over to scott andersen to get things started. >> thank you. good morning, everybody. thank you all for coming this

morning. well, after meeting yesterday and today, to discuss the u.s. economic outlook, it's the view of our committee that after slower growth in the second and third quarter of this year, u.s. economic growth will accelerate to 2.8% growth in the first half of 2014. the combination of a recovering housing market, resilient consumer spending, less fiscal drag, and a pickup in the global economy will be the catalysts for a faster u.s. economic growth rate. the housing market will be important part of the story. the e.a.c. committee believes the housing market has entered a sustainable recovery with strong gains forecast for home construction, current forecast is 15% growth in residential construction this year and next year. and new home sales, we're expecting about 25% growth in

new home sales in 2013. and in home prices. different home price metrics but our fhfa home price measure that we use, we're expecting it to grow at least 5% or 6% over the next year or two each year. so the housing market we believe has finally caught up with the broader economic recovery. and the wealth effect created from rising home values will be a much more important boost to consumer confidence and spending going forward. turning to the consumer, the consumer will also be in a more important position to support the economic recovery. we do think it will be a better support than it has been over the last couple of years. and will be a stronger support over the next two years. indeed, we think real consumer spending growth which fourth quarter in 2012 was up only 1.8%, we think will rise to about a 2.5% growth rate in 2013 and 2014.

this is a combination of several factors, why we see a stronger consumer. high stock prices are certainly helping. rising home values another piece of the wealth story. we're also seeing declining gas and energy prices which is helping out lower income households also boost the real incomes. so this is certainly helping t disposable income and is always -- also allowing consumers to kind of shrug off to some extent the rising taxes and the reduced federal spending. looking at the sequester effects, the committee does believe that the fiscal drag from spending cuts and tax hikes is peaking in this quarter and will be a bigger factor in the third quarter of this year. but then we think that drag will diminish over time. there's some debate about what the multiplier effects of the sequester, a drag is. but i can talk a little bit

more about this tha in the q&a. but we do think the drag from fiscal tightening will diminish over time. we're not expecting any new tightening measures over the forecast horizon. at the same time, the committee sees progress in reducing the country's budget deficit. the federal deficit is expected to fall to $600 billion. in fiscal year 2013. or $650 billion, excuse me, in 2013, falling to $600 billion in fiscal year 2014. that's down from a $1.1 trillion federal deficit in 2012. turning to the jobs, and the job market, the committee does expect a pickup in job growth. especially in the fourth quarter of 2013 and into the 2014. the committee's consensus view of that job growth will accelerate into the 200,000 a month range next year. i think the rebound we saw in the may payroll jobs this morning, 157,000 jobs created,

is an encourage -- 175,000 jobs created, is an encouraging sign in our labor market, particularly in restaurant, sales and retail, suggest that the consumer and consumer spending is hanging in there despite the spending cuts and tax hikes. that's an encouraging sign. the impact on the unemployment rate which of course is tied to fed policy, we do see continued gradual improvement in the unemployment rate even though the unemployment rate ticked up a little bit -- actually rose up to 7.6%. we do see that unemployment rate dropping to 7.2% by the fourth quarter of this year. moreover, when you look at the unemployment rate longer term, we do expect the fed's threshold of 6.5% unemployment to be reached a little bit sooner than what we thought in previous meetings at about the first quarter of 2015. turning to fed policy, i know there's a lot of interest in

what this all means, the improving economy, the 'em proving labor market for the fed and their actions. we do believe that the stronger economy and job creation by the end of the year will allow the federal reserve to reduce the pace of its asset purchases before the end of the year. i know the markets are focused on september time frame, the fomc meetings, there were some -- a few committee members that thought of dialing down or taper of the asset purchases could happen before or at the september meeting. but the majority thought it would be before the end of the year. and there are a few committee members that also thought it wouldn't be taper or any dialing down of asset purchases until early 2014. so given that forecast for the fed, we certainly don't see any rise in fed funds rate over the forecast horizon. so the committee does forecast only a slight rise in long-term

interest rates as the economy improves. as the fed begins to scale back on its asset purchases, we do see the 10-year treasury yield moving up to 2.2% by the end of the year and moving to 2.5% by mid 2014. if you look at mortgage rates, we've already moved up botch 4% on the fixed rate mortgage and think that will end the year around 4.3% on the 30-year. and we think that could be up to 4.6% by the middle of 2014. the other concern, people have had is on the inflation area environment whether we're going to see inflation or deflation or disinflation. inflation concerns we think will remain on the back burner for the federal reserve. we do see lower inflation this year than last year. we are going to trend down on c.p.i., inflation, to 1.4% this year from 1.9% last year. even on the core rate, we're going to be well in the mid

range of the fed's target zone at 1.5% on core p.c.e. so this will be a factor holding and constraining the increases we're going to see in long-term rates. as the economy improves the real rates will start to rise. but inflation declining will help keep a lid on those increases despite fed taper or dialing down. on the bank credit side, we also have more good news to report. consumer credit growth we think will accelerate this year to around 6.5% pace. business lend will go remain strong. we're expecting 9% growth this year. and we've continued to see improvement in credit quality. both for consumers and businesses. delinquency rates on both business loans and consumer loans continue to decline and as the economy improves. and we think that improvement will continue this year. i don't want to paint in all rosy. obviously there's risks that remain to the forecast. we do think those risks have

diminished from where they were in january. we got over the fiscal cliff issues, for example. so what are we focused on for downside risk to the forecast? we still believe that we -- a weak global economy is a threat. continued recession in europe, not completely out of the woods on europe yet and disappointing economic data coming out of the emerging market economies including china and brazil. that's -- and also another concern. and it will certainly impact our production side of our economy. we saw that this morning. going to b numbers, impact our exports and our production. and the other thing we're worried about a little bit is there could be a bigger multiplier effect from the fiscal drag than what we've seen so far. there was some debate among the committee about when -- whether the sequester was really having an impact or not. and we all believe it's going to have a significant impact on growth. we think that impact has been delayed a little bit because -- partly because of employers

moved to income growth in the fourth quarter expecting tax increases. and that helps smooth out consumer spending in the first quarter. but we do think those impacts are going to hit more broadly in the second and third quarters of this year. and the multiplier effects might be a little bit steeper than what we have in our baseline. the other, third real concern we had as we debated the risks of upside and downside was a premature exit from monetary accommodation from the federal reserve. now, when we say exit, we're not really talking about a scaling back of -- or tapering or dialing down of asset purchases. we think that's likely to happen. and is not really a downside risk to the forecast. but more aggressive approach perhaps when the fed starts to raise rates, that's something that we think is still not in the cards in the forecast and shouldn't be undertaken because there is so many risks still out there. in the forecast.

we think it could hurt the housing market. and consumer spending. so in short, this is -- i think one of the more positive economic forecasts that our group has come out with since the economic expansion started in 2009. we do see real improvement in the private sector economy. certainly clearly visible in the economic data. and i think this will lead to a more stable and sustainable expansion path for the u.s. economy by 2014. so thank you for coming. and thank you for your attention and i'll open it up for any questions that might be -- >> take that mic away from your face -- >> this one? >> yeah. thank you. question. yeah. >> what do you make of the recent rise we've seen in mortgage rates? do you think it's just tied to the taper affairs or more a reflection of what -- how the

market's doing? and do you think the fed will have to respond and do more to push it back down to where it was or let the market ride it out on its own? >> i think the market rising mortgage rates are reflecting the market response to the new taper discussion and the dialing down of asset purchases. we've seen -- it's really following the trend and the treasury market as we saw, 10-year treasury yields rising. i think there's also some concern of where the fed dials down on their asset purchases. right now, the fed is buying mortgage-backed securities and treasuries as part of their asset purchases. and there are some discussion in the last fed minutes that some members at least of the fomc thought they should focus on scaling back agency debt purchases rather than treasury debt purchases. they don't feel comfortable with the interventions in the housing market. that's gotten some mortgage-backed securities investors a little nervous about that and we've seen some

spreads widening out a little bit in the mortgage space. but for the most part it's a response to the change in fed tone and the expectation that we're getting closer to the date of a fed exit. >> you said that -- the expectation is they will dial down purchases before the end of the year. was there any talk or any expectation of how much they would dial down and take away, i guess? >> there were differing views on the committee. but everyone thought they would take a scaled approach. maybe $20 billion or $25 billion decline on a monthly purchase from where they are right now. as much as a quarter lower than what -- what they're doing now is a possibility. but there's a range of views. i think that will be -- a lot of that will be dreven by the data and how the data evolves over time. yeah. >> greg robb from market watch. i want to follow up and you said it will be driven by the data. so there's -- a little bit of

chatter this morning that 200,000 jobs per month is not a magic number. do you have a sense of what we have to see in the next couple of months? >> yeah. i think our committee's view is that there is no real magic number on jobs. i've heard a lot of the debate about maybe 200,000 jobs a month. i think there's differing views on that. so the fed will probably look at a broad range of labor market indicators and not just the monthly payroll numbers as i think the 175,000 jobs we got this morning i think you can read into it what you want. i don't think it really changes my view at all. i think from my point of view, i think we need stronger growth. i would like to see the taper pushed back. because i think there's enough uncertainties globally, fiscally, that we don't need to pile on tighter financial conditions.

yeah. >> just to come back to this issue of housing and the mortgage rates. do you have any concerns that the run-up in rates could undermine the housing recovery? >> would you repeat the question? >> the question is on the housing recovery and whether the rise in mornl rates could undermine the housing recovery. no. i think the committee's view was that the housing recovery would be sustainable. despite a slight rise or modest rise in mortgage rates. with that said, we have seen some reaction recently in some of the mortgage purchase application data from rising -- the rising rates we saw in may. mornl rates jumped to about 70 basis points over the last month. and that has led to about a 6% decline month over month in purchase applications for mortgages. so there has been some need of impact, that the spike remains to be seen whether that's going

to be sustainable. i think it could slow things down a little bit. certainly the home appreciation we've seen some of these bubblish markets, as really been running ahead of income growth. and i think as rates rise, of housing affordability, will be more of an issue in some of those markets. >> is there any sort of fallout from the very sharp pullback in the refinancing? mortgage refinancing? activity? has it been helping people improve balance sheets and free up cash flow? >> that's where the real impact is going to be from rising rates and we've already seen refi applications are down like 40% from a month ago already. the pace of them. so you are seeing impacts going to affect the banking industry obviously. on the mortgage side. there is going to be some income effects. because i think there has been some -- but probably less than what we've seen. i don't think people are refinancing really to take out income on their homes. i think they've been refinancing to make their housing a little more affordable. that's freeing up a little bit

of income in other areas. but i don't necessarily think it's going to have as big of an impact as we saw in the bubble years. >> why do you feel the need to include the warning about the premature efforts? what motivated that? >> well, i think -- we've seen the reaction to the taper news in some of the stock and bond market reactions to it. there's a chance that it becomes more severe, especially if the fed takes aggressive action. while we're seeing positive signs in the consumer, private sector, given the risks on a risk-management basis you don't terms of d to that in

tighten financial situation at this point. we think the fed should remain fairly cautious here as they continue to improve the numbers. you come off a strong quarter in the first quarter and we've had summer slowdowns before and e're predicting one this time. there's certainly mixed signals out there in the market and that's enough, i think to keep the fed down in a cautious stance. >> two questions. you said that the sequester impact will be noted primarily in the second and third quarter that it is a little bit delayed. why do you think it has been delayed? the follow-up question, the recovery taking hold in 2014, i guess that is primarily because of the sequester, fiscal related

issues in 2013? >> so, yeah, i do think -- there's a couple of things going on with the delay and the impact. on the sequester, i think, it changed the budget authority but not the spending of the federal government and there's been a lot of action taken in the agencies to limit the impacts in the front end, certainly in terms of layoffs and furloughs, which would have had a bigger impact on the economy. we also think -- a big piece of the fiscal drag, we don't like to talk about the sequester alone because the drag of that is ont about 6% of the g.d.p. there's a bigger drag from the tax hikes at the beginning of the year, at least from a percentage point. the reason that is not more notable in consumer spending because the way employers pushed income forward in the fourth

quarter. we had a big spike in income growth, bonuses were paid ahead of time and that helps to sustain consumer spending in the first half of the year. we're not going to have that in the second and third quarters and that will have more of an impact on the consumer. >> how does that tie into the recovery in 2014? >> we do think the total drag from what has happened in terms of tax hikes and the sequester, at least 1.6% points of g.d.p. we think the big impacts, the timing of the impacts will be in the first anding second quarter and that will be about 1% drag in 2014. so there will be a little bit more growth in the economy, at g.d.p. .5% of the >> was there conversation about the debt ceiling and there seems

to be no progress on that? the last time around the markets seized up the closer we got. >> the question is on the debt ceiling. yes, there was some discussion on that, obviously, the deadline for hitting the debt ceiling has been pushed back. what we've heard from meetings in washington, it might be october or november that we might hit the debt ceiling thresholds. there wasn't a lot of concern, people thought it was more likely to be some action but we don't think that will happen before the dead line. until we change that date i don't think we'll have a better read on what that is headed. we've been through that a few times so it might not have as big of a market shock as it has in the past because people get comfortable with these discussions going on here in

washington. >> any more questions? we'll conclude today's event. we thank you for coming and we hope you will stay around to meet the economists. > thank you. >> president obama and chies president xi jinping is in california tonight. they held a bilateral meeting to talk about u.s./china relations. this is about 15 minutes. >> it gives me great pleasure to welcome president x i-back to the united states. we met in 2009 and i had the chance to welcome him into the oval office last year when he as the vice president.

ic some of you may know that the president is no stranger to the united states. he is remembered fondly in iowa where he visited and stayed with a local family. on his trip last year he had his chance to go california, which i understand going to a lakers game, which i was very jealous f. we jest met in march and him taking off so early recognizes the importance of our

relationship. it is important for the security of our two countries but it is also important for the region and for the world. and the importance of this relationship in some ways is reflected with the somewhat unusual setting that we are hosting the president in. our thought was that we would have the opportunity for more extended and more informal conversation, in which we were able to share both our visions for our respected countries and ow we can forge a new model of cooperation between countries sed on muchal interest and

muchal -- mutual interest and utual respect. think both of us agree that continuous and candid and constructive conversation and communication is critically important to shaping our years to come. for my part, this will give me an opportunity to reiterate how the united states welcomes the

continuing peaceful rise of china as a world power and that, in fact, it is in the united states interest that china continues on the path of success because we believe a peaceful and stable and prosperous china is not only good for chinese but also good for the world and the united states. of course, two of the largest economies in the world, we're going to have a health economic competition but we have a range of challenges that we have to

cooperate from a nuclear north to per riff ea allegation to issues like limate change. -- proliferation to issues like climate change. the united states seeks economic order where everyone is playing by the same rules and trade is free and fair and china works together in things like cyber security and to protect intellectual securities. -- property.

in addition to the strategic concerns that we share and the economic challenges that each of our countries face, i will continue to emphasize the importance of human rights. the president has spoken to the nation and the people who are committed to self-improvement and progress. history shows that upholding human rights is a key to success and prosperity and justice for all nations.

so i want want to welcome the president to the united states. we're very glad he's here. inevitably there are areas of tension between our two countries but what i've learned over the last four years is both the chinese people and the american people want a strong cooperative relationship and i think there's a strong recognition on both president xi and myself that it is very much in our interest to work together to meet the global challenges that we face. i'm very much looking forward to this being a strong foundation for the kind of new model of coorpgs that we can -- cooperation that we can establish for years to come. hank you for being here.

speaking foreign language] language] oreign

>> honorable president obama, it is a pleasure to meet you. we are meeting earlier than most people expected. here we are. and it thank you for is a great pleasure to meet you ere. this is a wonderful place, a place of sunshine. it is very close to the pacific ocean and on the other side of he ocean is china.

when i visited the united states last year, i stated that the vast pacific ocean has enough space for the two large countries of china and the united states. still believe that. we're meeting here today to chart the future of china -- u.s. relations and continue to cooperation across the pacific ocean.

[speaking chinese] [this reminds us over what happened over 40 years ago with the leaders of china and the united states they realized that a handshake across the pacific ocean and re-opened the doors of exchanges between china and the united states. more than 14 years since then the relationship has gone through winds and rain and our two people and people elsewhere in the world has reached huge

enefits from this. [speaking chinese] our present, the china -- u.s. relationship has reached a new starting point. our two countries have shared interests from promoting our respected economic growth at home to ensuring the stability of the global economy from

addressing international hot spot issues to dealing with all kinds of global challenges on all these issues, we have increased exchanges and cooperation. [speaking chinese] >> under the new environment we need to take a close look at our bilateral relationship. what kind of china -- u.s. relationship do we want? what kind of cooperation can your two nations carry out for a mutual benefit and how can we join together to promote peace and development in the world? not just the people in our two

countries are watching closely but the whole world is also atching closely. chinese] both sides should proceed for the fundamental interests of our people and human development and programs. we need to think creatively and act objectively so working together we can build a new odel of a country to country elationship.

president obama, i look forward to having indepth communication to you on these issues and push forward cooperation. i'm confident that our meeting will achieve positive outcome and inject fresh momentum into the china -- u.s. relationship. >> thank you very much, everybody. >> in order to raise money, i filed an application with the i.r.s. in january of 2011 seeking to obtain 051 c 3 status. as of today i've been waiting for 29 months without status. >> many of the agencies of the federal government don't understand they are servants of the people. they think they are our masters. they are mistaken. i'm not interested in scoring

political points. i want to protect and preserve the america that i grew up in. the america that people cross oceans and risk their lives to become apart of. i'm terrified it is slipping away. thank you. >> thank you very much. c-4 purpose of a c-3 or tax exempt to ensure easier pro mission of public good, not political work. it is the responsible of the i.r.s. to determine which groups are choosing the correct status and which are trying to manipulate the system to avoid taxes and hide political campaigns in donors. >> the house way and means hear from tea partying members of the targeting of their groups. also this weekend on c-span2's book tv, live cover of the lit

fest starting at 11:00. on american history tv on c-span3, the life and legacy of a civil rights leader, sunday at 5:00. >> next a discussion on syria's civil war with former state and defense officials and military policy experts. more than 80,000 people have died in syria since the protest of a sad's government two years ago. this is about an hour and a half. [applause] >> thank you for that kind troinducks. good morning. for t to thank the council sponsoring this very important event. what i would like to do because i think it is more important, i want to keep my remark brief. i'm sure there will be many

questions and comments but to talk a where we are now on syria and to focus on the regional spillover, which is becoming more prominent. i offer a couple of remark how we've got to where we are and then conclude with thoughts on u.s. policy in terms of where we are today in syria, the uprising, the conflict now is into its third year. it is the most brutal of the arab uprising. death tos run between 80-120,000 people killed thus far. mostly civilians. the situation on the ground is nothing short of a human tear -- humanitarian catastrophe and sharon is going to thards so i will leave that with her. what i want to focus on is the regional spillover.

i think the conflict has morphed rom a civil war to a broader regional conflict. i think the events over the past couple of weeks mark a real inflexion point on where we are -- inflection point on where we are. let's start with lebanon. lebanon in some ways is the most volatile and fragile of syria's neighbors and the events over the past couple of weeks are extraordinaryly significant in terms of the degree of spillover. lebanon ease fighters in battle for a town in syria. we have reprisals taken against hezbollah inside lebanon by syria rebels in syria and more concerning in some ways, from

those within lebanon. with soar seeing a melding or a melting, if you will, of the borders. the arena nah for conflict is broadening and that has serious and significant implications for lebanon's stability. in addition, if we look to syria's other border with iraq, other country with a fragile secretaryian makeup. we see that may was the most violent month in years. in part as a result of dynamics within iraq but no doubt fed by the conflict in syria. n particular, by the rise of

. nni, jihad feeding into iraq so in some ways if we put all of that together, we see the potential makings of a very broad swath of instability that stretches from the mediciner the -- to baghdad and had inedy terrainian -- we spillover in israel and we ised the potential for a broader confrontation between israel and syria. there were battles that went on, clashes that went on in the only border crossing between syria and israel. the rebels have that crossing in their control. this is obviously concerning

from an israeli security perspective. he austrians are withdrawing their forces from monitoring their that border. once was the quietest border is now becoming perhaps its most dangerous. in addition, they are deepening concerns about the potential for this transfer of strategic weapons from the assad regime to the syrianle militant in lebanon. this is a concern to israel and we've seen three missile strikes this year from israel targeting such transfers. israel haze laid out a clear line that they will not abide by the transfer of these weapons to hezbollah.

in addition, we have, of course, continuing tension with turkey. there there was double car bombing last month. again, underscores the ways in which the syrian conflict is spilling over across the border to its neighbors. that bombing provoked a lot of upset, anger from the turkish s inlation at syrian refugee turkey. there has been shells that has gone across the border, basically, in all of the countries bordering syria. we also have finally, last but not least, jordan. jordan is bearing a significant strain with respect to refugees. an infrastructure that already is stretched to the limit.

its resources are already stretched quite thin. there's growing concern that the burden of syrian refugees on jordan's system is becoming unmansionable and it could be the source for instability. i think we can see, essentially around the region, a picture that is quite disturbing about how serious conflict is no longer contained within its borders. we can talk if people are interested in the question and answer about what some of the measures might be to mitigate some of that. i think we always need to be braced for conflict that is going to be endearing and will andinue to have -- enduring will continue to have consequences. let me take a step back and talk a how did we get there?

how did syria go from one of the any arab uprising that started with peaceful protests then to an uprising then a civil war and conbordering on a broader flict. the pace and the velocity of events is unmatched, certainly by anything i've seen. throughout all of this, there has been three constants that i would argue are responsible for how syria got to where they are today. the first, from the beginning the syrian regime has viewed protests, although peaceful as a threat. as a result, they respond to those