we saw it on the healthcare ruling and boston marathon bombing. and i think now we're at a time people are reconsidering how important it is to get your facts right. more with politico reporter sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's q&a. >> vice president biden joined house and senate leaders thursday to honor michigan congressman john dingell. he's the longest serving member in the united states congress. he's been in congress for over 57 years and served as chairman of the energy and commerce committee. his is about 45 minutes.

>> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. thank you for joining us today. it gives me great pride to welcome you to the hall of the house on this momentous occasion. with the help and guidance of one mrs. dingell, we have a wonderful program for all of you. permit me to say a few words about the man of the hour, omeone i consider a good friend. john dingell has served this ouse, the people's house, with

honor and sincerity. his milestone comes with all inds of markers, 20 5000 votes, 21,000 days, 30 elections, 11 presidents. but you cannot put a number on what that means. with the respect and admiration of your peers, it is more than anything why we are here today for john. despite any political differences we may have, in the end, it is how we treat each other and what we leave behind. if john has taught us anything, it is that a legacy is not something that you can conjure up or acquire. a legacy is something that you make. john dingell using only the tools that god and his country had provided him, purpose, and

diction, has been a master craftsman at work, carving his legacy of leadership, perserverence, and working your but off. -- butt off. "he was always looking years ahead and was a leader charting a course for a better life for his fellow man." that was the speaker before me talking about john dingell senior. today i feel no shame in borrowing those same words and applying them to john dingell. remember now, john is still at work. he is still at it here in the house. as we pause today to salute him and say congratulations and thank you, let's keep in mind there's still plenty left to do. with that in mind, it is my

pleasure to introduce to you a longtime friend of this body and many of you in this room today, the archbishop of washington, d.c. the cardinal to get a blessing. remain standing for the national anthem. >> if you feel like sitting down during the blessing, you can. it will not be that long, but i do not want you to get tired. almighty god, thank you for john dingell. thank you for all of the gifts ou have given. first, patriotism. a man who loves his country and that 18 prove that by volunteering for service and

fighting and being in a time of great danger for the love of his country. that love is also a love of istrict. wonderful district in michigan. a microcosm of america that so many people coming from all ver the world. hopefully that is why this house is considering immigration legislation.

we hope that the same kind of strength and devotion to the stranger will be in his heart and the hearts of those who share his responsibility. we pray in thanks for love of nature and creation. the energy and future and the things you need so badly. treat them with respect. that is a gift you have given him as well. finally, thank you for his gift of making friends. you do not bless him with so many days in the house without making good friends on both sides of the aisle that he can work with for the good of the country. thank you for having blessed john. we ask you to keep blessing him and our country. hrough his work and the work of the horse -- those were dedicated, maybe we will have a day when we truly can say the united states of america and decent great -- and these great men and women in congress, friends, coworkers, believe in the great things of which we have set. lessed john and his family and

his people and the people of the united states of america from he loves so much. men. star spangled banner"]

>> taking stock of john's career, votes passed, it is a task that can take hours and aybe days.

it is a good thing we have got he vice president with us. joe, you know, you only tease the ones you love. ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states, joe biden. >> thank you very much. ou all should sit. you should keep him in your prayers. he needs them badly. got to meet the family in the oval a little while ago.

john, i came for the same reason i surprised you in your office and did not tell you i was coming. to say thank you, to say thank you. thank you for what is only a pause in your career, as the peaker said. this record that john has set is going to mean that he will be mentioned and studied and referred to by congressmen and congresswomen for the remaining f the century. not likely to be broken. the thing that gives me such great pride, i was talking to my granddaughter, sophomore in college. i was talking with my son about you and my granddaughter look at me and said, pop, why do you ike him so much?

there is a lot that everyone here could and does not about you and tell about you -- and does talk about you and tell about you. here are so many things. the thing that pleases me, the product of congress, this recognition we receive today will continue to receive is going to a man whose character and he is -- the way he carries himself is consistent with being remembered for generations. he thing i told my granddaughter about you is that i admire your sense of dignity.

ot just in the way you carry yourself, but the way you walk and talk and treat people, but that fact that i do not know ou as well as others, it seems to me that the core of everything you have done is bout, believing in every man and woman deserves to be treated with dignity. everyone talks about what a gentleman you are. t is about demonstrating

respect for people. you not only fought for your constituencies, so many people have fought hard for their constituencies, but you thought hey deserved jobs that would be connected with living a life of dignity. eing able to own a home. eing able to do more than just it by. i have watched over the years and how you fought for those folks who define themselves by heir word and their job. most people do not get

that. my dad used to have an expression after he lost a job and had to move. ll of the kids heard him say ore than once when someone loses a job, a job is a lot ore than a paycheck. t is about your dignity. it is about your sense of self. it is about your sense of self respect. it is about your place in the community. a lot of people work hard for their constituents. but you work and have worked and fought for them to be able to live a decent, middle class life. that is something to aspire to. it is always about possibilities. thank you. i came to see thank you. i look forward to working with you. i think that is the reason why folks have sent you back 30 times. they know you respect them.

hat is what it is all about as far as i'm concerned. love you. thank you. >> before we hear from the guest of honor, we have a special presentation to make. a bit of a surprise. john has always been known as mr. chairman. in the finest tradition of the house, his portrait hangs in the committee room in the rayburn building. we thought we would create a pecial replica for john as a gift from the whole house.

he can take his portrait home and hang it where ever debbie tells him he can. i would like to ask nancy pelosi and leader reid and debbie to come up here and unveil the portrait with him. ready? all right. john, we have got one more

surprise for you. we were preparing for this tribute. our chairman of the energy and commerce committee and former chairman of the committee came

to me with a great idea of how we could properly honor your service. it gives me great pleasure to announce the energy and commerce committee room in the rayburn building will be known s the john dingell room. >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you to you all my dear

friends. it is a beautiful picture. t means a lot to me. it will mean a lot to me always because of you and your generosity and friendship and your kindness and love that we share. thank you. mr. speaker, i know how hard you and your staff have worked on this event. please except my deepest -- accept my deepest and most heartfelt thanks that you would do this. i am proud to call you my friend. all of you who have showed me such a wonderful welcome, thank you. i'm very proud of your friendship and your goodness and kindness. thank you, mr. speaker, and also mr. reid and mr. mcconnell. you have honored me greatly. ou have brought goodness and

kindness into my life. hank you for that. i'm a very special friend, mr. hoyer. nd mr. cantor, thank you for your kindness. and to the esteemed members of the president's cabinet, i'm delighted to be with you, particularly madam secretary. we have worked together on so many things. i want to say i am probably the luckiest man. i am proud mostly of the friends that i have made. that has been the most important thing in my life. i have a wonderful wife. i want to tell her how much i love her today and how much she means to me and why.

i was looking at some books and i found in the proverbs in the bible a set of verses, 31:10. if you will take a look at that, you will see why debra is so important and dear to me. i will endear her more to you. i have been blessed with a wonderful family. a father who was an inspiration to me and a mother whose goodness was cherished by all who knew her. i'm proud that my daughter is with me today. my son christopher and his wife cindy, thank you for being here. and my brother, jim, thanks. and his wonderful wife, gigi, who is at home struggling with

a terrible curse. and a baby sister, joy, and her friend, bob. my sister who has rescued jim and i so many times when we were in trouble. and my granddaughter who is growing in beauty, wisdom, and goodness. and my nephew and his mother. and all my other friends who are here today. as i had indicated, i am the ost fortunate man. i was given the greatest of all honors. i have been honored to call this country home for 86 years. some 57 years ago, my fellow

citizens elected me to serve in the congress of the united states. it is the highest elected office in the constitution. i have been lucky to receive that trust 29 more times. as i mentioned, i have been privileged to serve with the ost virtuous and wise, loyal and kind wife who gave me happiness than i could have reamed of. my dad gave me a running start at this political business, which is the greatest world. it was a poor polish meat salesman who was given months

to live in 1914. he had to battle a curse of tuberculosis. it was a death sentence. the doctor told him he had six months to live. he said, doc -- i cannot repeat hat he said. he said that he would survive, which he did for over 20 years. dad was one of the philosophers of the new deal who helped write and craft much of the legislation to rebuild our nation. he thought for something -- social justice. a cause in which he believed. to care for our people at a time when they needed it the most. he worked to restore our economy. he worked for conservation and care of our land and water. he left me an example and he

was a great teacher. he learned how important healthcare was to the people. these things i learned from him and the other great mentors. i would like to have done the things that i have done without the benefit and wisdom of greater man than i'm, but he was one and also an irish poet who is also speaker of the house. they were the people amongst others who helped me form my thinking, learning, and understanding. i'm proud we have been able to accomplish these things we have ogether. like all of you, we find trouble in the times we find urselves in.

too much bitterness. too much anger. it is unfortunate. i think our speaker would love to see that we are able to move away from these things. his kindness and his decency shows he has those abilities today. i find myself very much troubled about the fact that we in the congress do not seem to learn one of the important lessons, and that is the meaning of the body of which we are a part of. congress needs a coming together where people come together to work for a great cause in which they have an important interest in and share. we have forgotten this. i am hopeful is move forward it

will come to our mind again. how important it is that we pull together, to work for the common good, and that we come to something my dad used to each me. son, i can't look at one of my neighbors and say pardon me, but you are -- you're end of the boat is sinking. we are all in this thing together. it is important that we keep those things in mind. that we understand how important it is that this nation is a treasure beyond any the other -- any other group of uman beings have held. it is the first time and nation has survived as a democratic body for access of -- excess of 200 years. we are the oldest democracy. preserving this is difficult.

when benjamin franklin came out to the constitutional convention one day, a woman said, what have you given us? a democracy, or a kingdom? he looked at the woman and he said, "we have given you a republic, if you can keep it." trouble -- our struggle is to keep this republic. deep in mind what the word republic means. is two things. the thing of the public. it is our treasure. it is our sword, our shield,

our protection. it is something which we have to cherish. it is very fragile. extremely so. ess so when we are all together. there are limits on the fights that we should make. the limit should be mutual respect, love of the country, understanding of duties, both of members of congress and public servants, does we are not the masters of this nation. we are public servants. that is the highest calling of all. i am proud that i have been a public servant, almost all my life. in the army, in the park service, and in the congress. i have been able, working together with others, to make this nation little better. it is that which is really important for all of us. we can do something. to make this country better and stronger, so it will last for a long time. it will benefit our kids and their kids, and their great grandkids. i want to say one word about thank you for being with

us. you bring to mind the great teachings of the church. about goodness and love, and how we should work together. that is a very important gift you have given us. so, i am proud that i've had the privilege of serving the people of southeast michigan. what interesting jokes i being able to tell is that legislature has moved me around so many times that they can't find a place that i haven't been before. they have great difficulty getting me into a spot where i can't survive an election. this did not happen by accident. it happened recently. it is a wonderful thing, because, i see wonderful people who have the same dreams that all of us here have. they share the hopes that are so important to us.

as we go about our business, i think i speak the thoughts of everyone in this room, and all my colleagues. without fearing concern, without doubts, we ought to remember we are the congress read -- congress. t is our duty to work together with them, and for them, to see to it that we keep this, the greatest nation come and the freest and most wonderful nation in the world. we have guidebooks. the constitution. those are treasures. they are powerful beyond belief and very weak and tender. in guarding them, we must keep in mind that it is our duty to do it together. having said these things, i talked longer than i

wanted. don't know whether you be pleased to know, but several times she has sent me the ignal. having said these things, i want to say god bless you all, god bless us all, and god bless the united states of america. we have tremendous treasure here. let's guard and pray that it is successful for many centuries. a bless you all. >> here is a we are going to

do. we are going to hand out glasses for a toast. first we are honored to have with us a very special guest, a founding member of the world's most famous female trio, the supremes. eight is a gentleman, ms. mary ilson. love don't come easy it's a game of give and take you just have to wait love don't come easy it's a game of give and take oh what can i say it's a game of give and take love don't come easy it's a game of give and take

♪ ♪

[applause] > thank you.

inaudible] i am 59 years old. we both have a history here. it is great to have a legacy as great as yours. i want to dedicate this song to you.

inaudible] ♪ ♪ thank you so very much sir. so, here's to life. and every joy it brings so here's to life here's to life, here's to love here's to you ♪ ♪

[applause] ♪ ♪

[applause] >> do you want to come up and sing? you do not have to do nything. selfs. your pretty

♪ ♪ stop in the name of love before you break my heart stop in the name of love before you break my heart think it over think it over but is her sweet expression worth more than my love and affection think it over hink it over stop in the name of love before you break my heart stop in the name of love before you break my heart think it over think it over i've tried so hard hard to be patient but each time you are

together i'm so afraid of losing you forever stop in the name of love before you break my heart think it over stop in the name of love ♪ ♪

♪ stock in the name of love -- stop in the name of love. before you break my heart ♪ ♪ stop [cheers and applause] >> thank you.

>> very good job. .> i cannot hear you >> i will turn the microphone on. >> thank you. >> thank you for a very good job. ladies and gentlemen, raise your glass to a true man of the house, john dingell. here here. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our official program.

stick around and enjoy yourself. thank you for being here. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> this week, president obama weekly address is on the significance of father's day. the republican response is from representative lamar alexander. he talks about student loan interest rates. they are set to increase on july 1. >> hi, everybody. this sunday is father's day. i want to take a moment to talk about the most important job some of us will have, that is being a dad. we are blessed to live in a world where technology allows us to connect with almost anybody on the planet. no matter how advanced we get, there would never be a substitute for the love and support and most importantly, the presence of a parent in a child's life. in many ways, this uniquely true for fathers.

i never really knew my own father. i was raised by a single mom and two wonderful grandparents who made incredible sacrifices for me. there are single parents like my mom all across the country who do a royal job raising terrific kids. i still wish i had a dad who was not only around, but involved. another role model to teach me what my mom did her best to is instill. to give a child a foundation to envision a brighter world. i try to be what my father was not for my mother and me. i've met plenty of other people, dads and uncles, who are trying to give kids a strong male role model. it requires your attention and sacrifices and a healthy dose of patience.

nobody is perfect. to this day, i am trying to figure out how to be a better husband and a better father. i want to be up to do what i can to encourage strong marriages and strong families. we should reform our child- support laws to get more fathers engaged with their children. on a campaign to encourage strong parenting and fatherhood. because if there's one thing i have learned, all of our sacrifices shine less brightly if we do it without family. that is what matters the most. when i look back on my life, i will not be looking at legislation or policy ipass, i -- i have passed,

i will be think about bush -- i passed, i will be thinking about michelle and sasha and malia. if you could do our best to be a source of comfort and encouragement to our kids, if you show them unconditional love and help them grow into the people they were meant to be, we will have succeeded. happy father's day to all of the dads out there and have a great weekend. >> i am lamar alexander. this is season for high school graduation. more than 2 million of those graduating are going to college. both republicans and democrats agree that college is the surest ticket to a middle class. we want to make it simpler and smarter to get a student loan. that is why the republican house of representatives has passed and president obama agree on the same idea. a permanent solution to all student loan interest rates

before some automatically rise on july 1. the idea is to allow the market to set interest rates. it is fair to the students and to taxpayers. some democrats want a short-term fix that only benefits 40% of new student loans. they stand alone. between now and the end of the month, senate republicans will work hard with the president and the house to produce an agreement that ensures all student borrowers benefit from the low interest rate. that would mean that 100% of all new student loans made in year would have a rated below 5%. we may be an agreement on student loans, we have a major disagreement about who should be in charge of our public schools that educate and 50 million children.

to put it simply, democrats want a national school board. republicans favorite local control. it is actually become in effect a national school board. if you remember the childhood game mother may i, you have a good sense of how the process works. states must come to washington for approval to educate their students. this congestion of mandates is caused by three things, no child left behind, the race to the top. and the administration's use of waivers. they have imposed standards for what children must know in reading and math. some states adopted standard courses. and definitions of how schools should be rated. senate democrats submitted a plan that would not only freeze these mandates into place but

double down creating more than 25 new programs as well as 150 reporting requirements. republicans and voted to move a different direction. we offered a 220 page plan to help children in public schools learn what they need to know and be able to do by restoring responsibility to states and communities and giving teachers and parents freedom, flexibility, and choice. we call it every child ready for college or career. our plan emphasizes state and local decision-making. it puts washington out of the business of deciding whether low schools are succeeding or failing.

it rejects federal mandates the great a national school board and prohibits standards or accountability standards for states. it continues the requirement that states have high standards and quality tests. it does not prescribe those fixes. our proposal make it easier for states to offer lower income parents more choice in finding the right public school for their child. it gives teachers and principals more freedom by encouraging the expansion and replication of successful charter schools. it encourages states to great evaluation programs free of federal mandates. it offers flexibility in spending federal education dollars while cutting waste. this is not a proposal just for republicans. we believe this proposal for present the views and will attract the support of governors leading the charge for educational reform. teachers who value the freedom

to teach. parents who want more choices for their children. and state legislators who are working for better schools. the democratic proposal establishes a national school board. with such a proposal really says is they do not trust parents and they do not trust classroom teachers and they do not trust states to care about and help educate their children. they want someone in washington to do it for them. we completely reject that. our proposal places responsibility on helping our children learn squarely where it should be -- on states and communities. it does that by giving teachers and parents were freedom, more flexibility, and more choice. next families from newtown, connecticut.

followed by remarks and tributes from congress. ceo of at&t on mobile technology and government information gathering. friday marked the six-month anniversary of the sandy hook elementary school shooting in newtown, connecticut. lawmakers and families from newtown gathered on capitol hill commonsense gun legislation and universal background checks. this is about 40 minutes. >> the following people were killed on december 14 due to gun violence. charlotte, age 6, olivia, age 6, anna, age 6, dillon, age 6. matalin, age 6, kathryn hubbard,

age 6, jesse louis, also age 6. james, age 6, emily parker, 86, jack pinto, age 6. noah, age 6. carolina, age 6. avriel, age 6.. benjamin wheeler, age 6. allison wyatt, age 6. joseph deane, age seven, case, age 7, gracie macdonell, age 7, victoria soto, age 27. rachel, age 29, loren, age 30, anne-marie murphy, age 52, mary, age 56, all killed in the sandy

hook massacre. now speaking, my sister, jillian soto. >> on friday, june 14, it will mark six months since my older sister was brutally murdered in her first grade classroom. my sister vittori went to school that day to teach her first -- victoria went to school that day to teach her first graders and was faced with the situation that she could have never imagine. a situation that most people will never have to face. around 9:35 a.m., an armed man walked into sandy hook elementary school and opened fire and kill took 26 people within the school.

20 of the people were 6 and 7- year-olds, and six educators. one of those educators was my older sister. i am here today to remind congress what happened to my family, to remind them of what keeps happening in america. 5000 more americans have died due to gun violence since december 14. and there still hasn't been any federal action to protect us from gone violence. -- gun violence. just last week, more people were murdered in santa monica because a man who had access to a gun that was meant to kill. congress cannot continue to allow guns to be in hands of these madmen. now more families are going through the pain that my family is going through. americans have not forgotten what keeps happening. i would like to thank the brave representatives to stand behind

me and who stand with the 90% of americans who support universal background checks legislation. i am here today with newtown action alliance and supporters who are in the process of delivering a letter signed by over 80 gun safety organizations across the nation representing over 10 million americans in support of universal background check legislation. i urge congress to listen to the 90% of americans who support universal background checks and take immediate action. in action is unacceptable, as is the loss of so many innocent lives. thank you everyone who came out and everyone who is listening. we will not forget what happened to us. we will continue to fight until