impact. when you get to the point of seeing the impact, it is a precipitous drop-off in readiness. we are beginning to see those elements. we get those readiness briefs. we see where things are trending. the trends are not good ones. -- it is ans made cluster dollars should not replace, the impact will be significant. cr arehe impact of the c equally going to be as troubling for the military. >> do you see any situation where the house would reverse sequester huts in the upcoming cp? -- cr? >> i do not know if it would be in the cr. how can you create that bounce to get those dollars back in?

billefense appropriations puts in much of the dollars back in. much of this in that readiness accounts. dulles had to immediately go back to those accounts. billing address it for one year. do tok what we have to put certainty in place is to say, here is our solution to the sequester for the military budget. >> you're looking for a for your solution? solution?a 4 year >> exactly. >> you can see the interview with representative rob wittman and its entirety tomorrow on "newsmakers" at 10 a.m. eastern here on c-span. former secretary of state clinton three clinton is this yours recipient of the liberty medal award. -- hillary clinton is this

year's recipient of the liberty medal award. formerpeakers include florida governor jeb bush and michael nutter. this is a little less than an hour. [applause] >> thank you. welcome and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. thank you for joining us on the spectacular occasion. the 25thot only anniversary of the liberty medal, but also the 10th anniversary of the national constitution center. i couldn't be more thrilled to lead this institution in the years ahead. the national constitution center

is the only institution in america chartered by congress to disseminate information about the united states constitution on a nonpartisan basis. we are proud that our chair is governor jeb bush. we are also proud to our past chair that has included george w. bush and bill clinton. both are past recipients of the liberty medal. the liberty medal ceremony that we celebrate tonight exemplifies that tradition. individuals from across perspectives that have furthered the constitutional values of liberty and equality around the globe. we have three goals for fulfilling our congressional mission. we are the museum, we the

people, the national headquarters for civic education. our three goals can be summarized in three words -- visit, learn, debate. as the museum of we the people, starting next year, we will instruct -- to set new gallery of freedom to display one of the 12 original copies of the bill of rights. it will be the foundation for her years of education and debate on the meaning of the bill of rights to coincide with its anniversary. as a center for civic education, we illuminate the history and contemporary meaning. we convene constitutional conversations among people of all ages. as america's town hall, we are the only institution in the world brings together all sides of the constitutional debate

that affect american lives every day. we host the town hall events here in philadelphia, on the web, on the radio, and on television. we hope that each of you will come to think of the national constitution center as a place you can come to hear all sides of any constitutional question and make up your own mind. at the national constitution center, we focus not on political debate, but constitutional debate. we are honored to present the liberty medal tonight to secretary hilary clinton. [applause] we are here to celebrate secretary clinton's lifetime of active citizenship and her exemplary commitment to furthering the constitutional ideals of liberty and equality. in particular, among her many achievements, secretary clinton

has made the rights of women and girls a global priority. she has championed freedom of speech on the internet. we are looking forward to her thoughts today on how america can't uphold those values in the future. ladies and gentlemen, i am honored to introduce to you that 2013 liberty medal recipient, former secretary of state hillary clinton. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman of the [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman of the national constitution center board of trustees, governor jeb bush. [applause] >> thank you all very much. i'm delighted to welcome you to this wonderful museum and the ceremony recognizing hillary clinton for her lifelong career in public service. we have had a bit more media for a liberty event. there is a lot happening right around the world. secretary clinton is out of office and so am i. i'm not sure what people expect will happen tonight. [laughter] we come from different political parties and disagree on a few things, though we agree on the wisdom of the american people, especially those of iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina. [laughter] in fact, secretary clinton might

be in des moines next week. do not wear the metal there, met him secretary -- madame secretary. thank you for the hard work to the museum to make this event a success and their devotion to this great institution. greetings from the entire bush family, especially my dad, who also served as chairman. he thanks you. [applause] he thanks you for the good wishes for his help and wants to let you know he has plenty of technicolor socks. do not send any more. we are drawn here today by a common purpose -- to support and respect our constitution and elevate it among a new generation of americans and to return it to the center and the core of our political life.

the reason we share this purpose is because we have seen in our own life the power and value of the constitution as our north star to guide us as a nation. no matter the issues of everyday, the challenges we face, there might be differences of opinion of what the constitution means, but there is no disagreement that the constitution has the final word. there has never been a more lasting or in during or resilient -- enduring or resilient blueprint and the constitution. it has guided us through change. america lead the world in technology in building our economy. as we endure the trauma of war and terrorism, we have seen this in our lives. we marked the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

for those who have lost loved ones that day, tomorrow will be a day of deep pain. we were all tested that day. we never lost our loyalty to the constitution, its protection and its freedoms. america has undergone many chapters, and many trials, aims the founders could not have imagined. because edition remains as relevant as ever. it rings clarity to the complexity of modern america. the constitution is one of america's great strengths. the promise is what brings so many americans to our shores. immigrants seek what the constitution promises. to be an american is not a one- way street. it demands a self-governing people. it requires all of us to understand how our system of government is supposed to work. when the nation calls upon us to

serve and defend the republic, it is this reason the constitution must be the foundation of civic education. the constitution explains how we must govern and it explains why we govern. america stands alone as the world's indispensable nation not because of our military might, though that is critical. not because of our economic power. we are indispensable because of the idea that is at the heart of our constitution. that freedom depends on the right and responsive release of individual citizens. not on the good graces of a king or even a president. freedom depends on individuals, each of us. this was a liberal idea in the 18th century. it is dangerously becoming and ignored one in the 21st.

today we celebrate that idea and recognize the efforts of our honor read to promote it. we recognize the commitment of someone who has devoted her life to outlook service. thank you to both the secretary clinton and to president clinton. thank you for your service to our country. we are united by our love of the country and public service. i believe that is the central goal of the constitution. god bless you all. thank you for coming. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome abc news anchor and correspondent, elizabeth vargas. [applause] ♪ >> good evening. it is a real pleasure and honor to be here tonight to emcee the liberty medal award. men and women strive to secure

liberty for people. given all the momentous things happening in the world even as we speak, all of that makes it an honor to be here tonight. throughout the course of this hour, we will learn much more about secretary clinton and her commitment to human rights, liberty, and equality. we are going to learn about the foundation of secretary clinton's commitment to public service and how it was built in her home town of illinois. >> you might say hillary clinton's service began at age 12. >> organizing the kids and raising nickels and dimes. >> at 13, she went to work for the richard nixon camp.

she looked for evidence of voter fraud. >> we had to go from apartment to apartment to verify that the person that was registered was living there. >> hillary was an active member of the young republicans and later a goldwater girl. >> she majored in political science and served as president of the young republicans. her views change with the tumultuous times. >> the civil rights movement, college students were questioning everything. >> she was trying, as we all were, to make sense of the world. >> hillary interned with the house republican conference in washington and attended the republican convention in miami. she also went to the democratic convention in chicago after hearing of a police crackdown on antiwar protesters.

>> the crayons -- the chaos, the mayhem. >> i think they were a watershed for both of us. >> by her junior year, she went from a goldwater girl to a rational and -- >> she went on to yale law school and she could use the law to champion change for women and girls. she took a job as a children's defense fund and child advocacy work for bono. >> the first time i heard of hillary clinton was in a list of the nations most prominent lawyers in the late 1980s. she was listed because of her work with the children's defense fund. >> at yale, she also met bill clinton and followed him to arkansas where she became the first beam a partner of a

prestigious rose law firm. she focused on childhood education and literacy. >> she was a leader from the beginning. she brought that leadership into her role as first lady of arkansas and as first lady of the united states. >> she was the first first lady lady to be elected twice to the u.s. senate. >> she was not a show horse. she was under try to understand the issues. she worked across party lines. she is interested in getting things done. [applause] >> madam secretary was just saying, look at all of that

hair. [laughter] here are a few things you should know about secretary clinton. in the late 1980s, she chaired the american bar association commission on women in the profession. she worked to rein in gender bias in the field. as first lady of arkansas, should push for statewide education reform. speaking of educational pioneers, please welcome the president of the university of pennsylvania and national constitution center trustee. [applause] >> thank you all. thank you, elizabeth. great to see all of you here tonight. as a member of the national constitution board, i have the honor of chairing the committee that selected this year's liberty belles recipient -- bell's recipient.

our constitution was signed in 1787 just across the mall from your. it took until the 19th amendment from here. it took until the 19th amendment to allow women the right to vote. let's hear it. [applause] when i was a child, it would has it would have been unthinkable to imagine a woman on a president of the university of pennsylvania, let alone secretary of state of the united states. and something many of us cannot wait to celebrate -- the first woman president of the united states. [cheers and applause]

throughout her first four decades of public service, secretary clinton has been a trailblazer, expanding opportunities for we the people. she has been a voice for all those who have been afraid or unable to speak. in standing strong for freedom, she has inspired others to lead as well, to expand their education, to cultivate their unique talents and to find their own voices. [applause] >> both emphasize that being a woman should not limit choices in life. >> i think the culture of our family, a liberal mom with a conservative dad, it contributed to thinking on both sides.

>> her upbringing -- a youth minister took hillary and her friends to hear martin luther king speak. >> reverend jones gave us the opportunity to go up and shake cans with him. it was a tremendous experience. >> when hillary went off to will essie -- wellesey college, she was interested in the students. what is possible? >> as president of student government, she worked with the administration to update campus life. >> the rules were you have to be in by midnight. if we left campus, we had to sign off where we were going with a telephone number. a young man can only be on our dormitories -- in our dormitories on sundays. >> hillary also conveys

administration to approve more people of color. >> hillary clinton was a game changer. what makes her unique is that she worked within the system. >> in 1969, hillary became the first student to deliver a commencement speech. she would follow a senator. >> the senator of massachusetts gave a pretty robust sense of then-president nixon, and that included the still ongoing war in vietnam. >> it hit the wrong cord for all of us. >> hillary departed from her prepared comments and gave an on the fly comments. >> she got a standing ovation from the class. those sitting on the stage were aghast. >> she was on the front page of life magazine. >> with one speech, she became a voice of her generation.

>> ever since then, she has not stopped. it has become a larger stage. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the mayor of the city of philadelphia, the honorable michael a. nutter. [applause] >> good evening everyone. let me acknowledge what is obvious. we are experiencing the freedom of speech. that is a good thing in the u.s. we get to have that. [applause] it is an incredible honor to be able to talk about my friend, hillary clinton.

i will maintain the appropriate protocol. it is a friendship that has developed over 20 plus years. it was in the late 1980s when i was following a little-known governor who was tearing up trouble thinking about things in a very different way. i have a great honor to work with him and work with his wife. paying attention to her career as well, great advocacy for women's rights and children's rights. i looked and i think about that in our declaration that all men are created equal. secretary clinton made a decision a long time ago to prove the point that all women are created more than equal. [applause] for every guy out there with any

significant other, you know exactly what i'm talking about. her work, her commitment, she is smart, but always wanting to listen and better understand an issue. she is a friend. she is a champion. she likes to get things done. she was the first first lady to be elected to the senate. i expect she will break another barrier in four years and she will be the first first lady to come back as president of the united states of america. [applause] i assume she will take resident clinton along with her. [laughter] we are so excited here in philadelphia.

secretary clinton, there is tremendous amount of love and support for you. we cherish this friendship. we appreciate all that you do. we expect to see great things. congratulations on winning the 2013 liberty medal right here in the place of freedom and democracy. congratulations. [applause] >> thank you, mayor. as first lady of the united states, hillary clinton spearheaded a number of initiatives to improve the lives of children across the country. for example, she established the children's health insurance program and early head start to support kids in those crucial first three years of their lives. she led bipartisan efforts to approve the adoption and foster

care systems and teen pregnancies. she has continued that approach. that is how she met our next speaker. [applause] ♪ >> as a media adviser and communications strategist, i had the honor of working with national and international leaders come including george w. bush and senator mccain. i've also spent a better part of my career fighting for education reform at various -- i connected with an organization that ensures a level playing field so today's kids can build a brighter future. ehrlich clinton expressed an

interest in what we were doing hillary clinton expressed an interest in what we were doing. too small to fail, a program that would give children the ingredients they need to develop in the first five years of life by promoting new research in brain development and early learning and early health and working with parents and communities to improve the lives of young children. i'm a proud republican and secretary clinton is a proud democrat. we are working together to improve education. this kind of productive bipartisan collaboration is a reason i helped cofound no labels. her steadfast dedication embodies this bipartisan spirit. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. as secretary of state, hillary clinton took a stand for our next speaker. a woman was working as a journalist in iran when she was arrested in 2009 and falsely accused of spying for the u.s. she was sentenced to eight years in prison. there was a global outcry and diplomatic efforts of then secretary of state hillary clinton. please welcome roxana. [applause] >> in america, it it can be easy

to take for granted the constitutional rights you enjoy every day. the freedom of religion, assembly, the right to a speedy and public trial. as a journalist, the freedom of speech and of the press. in 2009, my freedom was taken from me. i have moved to iran to work as a foreign correspondent. filing reports for npr, abc radio, bbc, and fox news. i also started writing a book about iranian society. one morning in january 2009, four intelligence agents came to my apartment and forced me from it and lock me up in solitary confinement in a tottori is risen -- in a notorious prison. weeks passed before family and friends knew where i was.

in the meantime, i was interrogated and threatened with up to 20 years in prison, even execution. i felt helpless and afraid. gradually, i found her age -- found courage. other prisoners were really pursuing their human rights. friends, strangers, and political leaders were calling for my freedom. they included secretary clinton. she spoke with passion and strength and used greater diplomacy to reach out to a country that has no diplomatic ties with the u.s. i felt humbled and empowered. i'd be less i do not have to stand up for justice by myself anymore -- i realized i did not have to stand up for justice by

myself anymore. [applause] thank you. when i return to the u.s., i had the opportunity to thank her in person for her efforts on my behalf. i remember i felt deeply touched when she told me she had felt concerned for me like any mother would. as a human rights advocate, i drew inspiration from her lifelong commitment to improve the lives of women and children around the world. as a writer and journalist, i'm inspired by her dedication and giving a voice to people who stories need to be told. she has traveled the globe. [applause]

>> she has traveled to more countries than any first lady before her. virtually everywhere she went, she shined a light on issues impacting women and children. >> she represented that u.s. at a u.n. conference in beijing. >> it is time to break the silence. >> addressing delegations for more than 180 countries, she touched off a litany -- domestic violence, rape as a tactic of war. >> she claimed that wonderful phrase human rights are women's rights. >> her words in beijing reverberated worldwide.

>> delegation after delegation rose to their feet. it was extraordinary. >> in the wake of the beijing speech, then first lady clinton established an initiative to promote the advancement of women as a u.s. foreign policy goal. >> but women on the agenda and made it a centerpiece of all that we did. >> hillary clinton continue practicing her diplomacy. the most trouble secretary in u.s. history. 112 countries. covering nearly one million miles and holding an estimated 1700 meetings with global leaders. >> she was smart, concise. >> she pushed for the creation of an ambassador for global women's issues.

>> she has also pursued having women in peace negotiations. why on earth should you only have the guys with guns negotiate the peace? >> she launched the women and public service project. >> you can see the progress we are making. >> it is an organization to boost the number of women in government positions. >> i was inspired by her. >> we are very lucky to have her as a friend who will stand by us. >> as america's top of the map, she has bush relationship building -- diplomat, she has pushed relationship building. >> saving lives in making people's lives better. [applause]

>> now it is time for the presentation of that liberty medal award. please welcome back the national constitution center president and ceo, jeffrey rosen joined by hillary rodham clinton. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the 2013 liberty medal recipient hillary rodham clinton.

[applause] >> thank you. thank you. oh. it is wonderful to be back in philadelphia. to be here at this magnificent institution, i am honored and overwhelmed by this extraordinary event. i thank all who have spoken and the kind words. thank you for this award and for being in a line of greatest awardees, nelson mandela, so many others for whom i have long admired. i want to say thank you to everyone who spoke in person or in the video.

i appreciate greatly what they have done with me and taught me in how we work together and inspiration that they had been to me. i want to say thank you to my friend, mayor nutter, for hosting us. beautiful city. i also want to acknowledge the governor and attorney general and my longtime friend who did so much as mayor and then governor to create this center right where it along. [applause] i want to say a special thank you to governor bush and to apply his commitment to the national constitution center. this is not the first time that a clinton and a bush have shared this stage. some of you a member in 2006 -- remember in 2006, my husband and jeb's father were jointly

honored for their work on behalf of tsunami victims in south east asia and residents of the gulf coast after katrina. 41 and 42 as a sometimes call each other are the classic art couple of american politics. -- odd couple of american politics. barbara sometimes refers to bill as adopted black sheep son. i know bill loves it. he has great admiration and affection for 41 and all that they have been together. today jeb and i are not just renewing an american tradition of bipartisanship, we are keeping a family tradition as well. [applause]

we also share something that is far more important than any of our political differences. we both love this country. we believe in the wisdom of our founders and the constitution. think about this -- the mission of the national constitution center is to illuminate constitutional ideals and inspire active citizenship. what a great nation and a challenge to all of us. what an opportunity to honor that patrons who met right here in philadelphia many years ago and all those men and women from later generations who worked to make that vision real.

they knew that in a democracy, citizens cannot sit on the sidelines. we have to get into the arena as tony roosevelt -- teddy roosevelt called it and participate in that debate that shapes our countries future. sometimes it can get pretty noisy. that is the american way. it is natural and right in a democracy for us to debate and for us to disagree. it is what distinguishes us from authoritarian societies where defense is forbidden. in our country today, we are once again in the middle of some big, noisy debates. what are the demands of america's global leadership in a changing world? how do we respond when international rules of the road

are violated? how do we provide all of security and liberty at home and abroad? every era faces its own questions and has to fashion its own answers. we are no different. the president will address the nation shortly about the assad regime and the human use of chemical weapons against men, women, and children. that is at the heart of our global order and demand a strong response from the international community led by the u.s. this debate is good for our democracy. as our founders knew, fervent arguments are the lifeblood of self-government. how could a republic - if opinions of the issues of the day or were too intimidated to

express them? the delegates at the cost to national convention -- at the constitutional convention did -- talked about fears of excessive executive powers. these are many of you off picking steering and were wary about national armies. he had also seen from the articles of confederation failed to provide a unified foreign policy. putting aspirations for unity and sovereignty at risk. as benjamin franklin said, we must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we will all hang separately. in the federalist papers, teams madison argued that america that united with a handful of troops or without a single soldier

exhibits a more forbidding ambition. president washington stressed the importance of national unity in his farewell address and warned us against interested groups and internal rivalries. to be sure, we have had plenty of moments of partisan combat in our past, including some that make our current squabbles sound downright delight. even had to fight a civil war to prevent the union from splitting apart. even in our darkest periods, we have been blessed with leaders who would our nation first above partisan advantage. president lincoln, every public and, takes a southern democrat

to be his running mate. he also asked his rival to be his secretary of state. imagine that. [laughter] and there is another great odd couple who i particularly admire george marshall and a republican from michigan who shared the foreign relations committee after world war ii. when the senator first heard about the treatments administration plan for rebuilding war-ravaged europe, he was deeply skeptical. why should american taxpayers who have sacrificed so much shoulder the responsibility for helping former adversaries like germany and japan? my father was looking so handsome in his uniform had returned after the navy to small. he felt exactly the same way. so did many other americans.

marshall, the war hero who served as secretary of state and secretary of defense and sat down. he listened respectfully to all of his arguments. when the general explained why america's future security and prosperity depended on having allies who would share our interest and buy our goods, and even more part only that america had a responsibility to lead the world. he appealed to his patriotism and asked for his help. this would only work if it was truly a bipartisan, national effort. he was not the most vocal, pre- became a champion of the marshall plan and deserves a share of the credit for its eventual success.

the senator and the secretary have many more to secrete and. they debated strategy and tactics for hours on end. it was always in pursuit of shared goals. as he banner berg put it -- he put it, it is indispensable to unity. the goal is to put national security ahead of partisan advantage. those are wise words for today and for every day. as secretary of state, traveling around the globe, i saw firsthand how american unity leads to strength, but discord leads to perceived weakness. the world watches carefully the decisions that we make in washington. sometimes they watch more closely than we even do in our

finest moments of any era, we achieve great things approved by a model of democracy that inspires people everywhere. when we let partisanship override citizenship, when we fail to make congress on the challenges facing our people here at home, our standing in the world suffers. two other quick points about this concept of act of citizenship. of course, i cannot celebrate good vision of our founding fathers about also saying a few words about our founding mothers. as we all know, when the cost to sharon was first adopted, i would not have qualified as a full citizen, neither would president obama for mayor nutter many -- or many other americans. there has been a struggle to

expand citizenship to more and more people. that has been a source of our dynamism and renewal for america. seven decades after that the collation of independence was signed in philadelphia, 100 citizens signed a new declaration in a place of seneca falls new york saying we hold these truths to be self evidence. there are men and women who are created equal. frederick douglas to attend and, a former slave in the great -- and great abolitionist describe the participants at seneca falls as few in number, moderate and resources, and very little known in the world. the most we had to commend wes was a firm commitment that we were in the right and a firm faith that the right must ultimately her veil. it has been 155 years in seneca

falls. we are still on our way to that more perfect union. as our nation grows more diverse and our world becomes more interconnected and interdependent, the full participation and active citizenship of all of our people is a source of such strength, as well as a moral imperative. only if we stay true to our founding hopes and values, america's democracy is not a birthright, nor is our global leadership. it must be earned and preserved by every generation. tomorrow we will pause to remember the worst attack on our country since pearl harbor. it has been a dozen years since terrorists killed thousands of innocent americans in new york,

washington, and here in pennsylvania. i will always remember walking through lower manhattan on the day after those attacks as a senator representing the people of that great state. it was like a scene out of dante's inferno. the air was acrid. the thick smoke made it hard to breathe or see. a firefighter would be covered in sit -- soot. they carried undocking spirit of a wounded nation on their tired shoulders. to keep america safe and strong in a dangerous world, we will have to rely on a foundation that has served us for more than two centuries.

the values enshrined in our founding documents. the courage and service of our citizens. let me end where i began with jeb's dad. when president george h.w. bush took the oath of office, in his inaugural address that day, president bush offered a timeless wisdom of saint augustine's. in crucial things, unity, and important things, diversity, in all things, generosity. i want to thank the national constitution center for the great honor you have given me today and for safeguarding the ideals of our founders. we remain in their debt and now in yours.

thank you all. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause] ♪ [protestors shouting in background: benghazi!]

[no audio] >> two, two. >> there we are.

thank you for joining us. we have aimee mann and ted performing their song "save me." once again, congratulations to secretary hillary clinton.♪ you look like a perfect fit

for a girl in need of a tourniquet but can you save me? come on and save me if you could save me run the ranks of the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone cause i can tell you know what it's like

a long farewell of the hunger strike but can you save me? why don't you save me if you could save me from the ranks of the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone you struck me dumb like radium like peter pan or superman

you have come to save the me why don't you save me if you could save me from the ranks of the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone but the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone but the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone [guitar riff] ♪

why don't you save me if you could save me from the ranks of the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone but the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone ♪

[applause] you. >> good night, and thank you for attending the national constitution center 2013 liberty medal ceremony. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> we look ahead to the 2016 presidential race with coverage in the indiana iowa. we will have democratic candidates, joe biden as a featured guest of -- you can see that live tomorrow here on c-span.

--the student cam video cam the student video cam >> entry should include c-span video, and are due by january 20, 2014. .isit student cam.org >> a look at the president of john f. kennedy. part of the washington journal spotlight on magazine series. this is 35 minutes. we take a look of recent magazine articles. today, we are focusing on a special commemorative issue of the atlantic.