folks out into neighborhoods that are an hour and half away and have them go out for a week to ring access to patients. we have to get creative about this. host: dr. atul grover is the chief public policy officer at the aamc. >> that will do it for washington journal. we take you now live to the floor of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., january 14, 2014. i hereby appoint the honorable chris stewart to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives.

pursuant to the order of the house of january 3, 2013, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. 2014, the chair now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip , but in o five minutes no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. thank you, mr. speaker. no sooner had the united states recognized the failure of alcohol prohibition by repealing the 18th amendment than the united states embarked upon another failed experiment in prohibition, marijuana.

for three quarters of a century, the united states has waged a futile attempt to prohibit marijuana based upon emotion and flawed science. since 1971, the federal government has classified marijuana as a schedule 1 prohibited substance, like heroin. more dangerous, according to the law, than cocaine or meth. it declared in statute contrary to proven research that marijuana has no therapeutic value. every day a million authorized users of medical marijuana reject that notion by using it by doctor's prescription to relieve symptoms like intense nausea due to chemotherapy, from chronic back pain and neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis. new york has joined states, including the district of columbia, to authorize medical marijuana. colorado is now allowing adult use and washington is soon to

follow after strong approval by both states' voters. the revolution in medical marijuana policy has been led at the state level, usually as a result of popular vote. the facts are that marijuana does have therapeutic use. it is less destructive to human health than alcohol or tobacco. not one death has ever been proven from marijuana overdose. yet, it continues to disrupt the lives of more than 2/3 of a million people arrested each year. we send billions of dollars into the hands of the underworld and drug cartels. many people know that it's easier for a 13-year-old girl to buy a joint than a six pack of beer. no marijuana seller, except in colorado, checks i.d. or has a license to lose. even though white kids use marijuana more than teenagers of color, african-americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested and jailed.

our federal laws are full -- are frozen in time, but the american public has moved on. majorities now say it should be legal and even more say that the federal government should not interfere with whatever state laws are in place. it will be a while before congress summons the courage to end the hypocrisy and irration nationality of the futile federal prohibition, but it should stop making things worse. for instance, it's insane to force hundreds of legal marijuana businesses to be all cash. we should end the grotesque punitive public taxation for these legal small businesses. it should explicitly allow state approved medical marijuana, and while we're at it, we should allow the cultivation of industrial hemp, which a dozen states have already approved. hemp products are perfectly legal in the united states. why shouldn't our farmers be

able to grow the raw material, like they used to? several dozen members have co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to help bring us out of these dark ages. these should be approved without delay. sometime this decade we'll tax and regulate marijuana. until we end the discriminatory and costly prohibition, we should at least end the most foolish and counterproductive policies. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, for five minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the memory frances sergeant, a courageous woman who selflessly defended our country during world war ii. in wasp, frances pushed beyond the boundaries that limited opportunities of women during

that time. the women air force pilots were the first to fly military aircraft, fly noncombat operations between the years 1942 and 1944. these pioneers paved the way for women pilots to fly nearly every type of military aircraft, from he f-18 to the space shuttle today. my daughter-in-law lindsey flew combat missions over iraq and afghanistan with the marines but she would not be able to do so without the women of wasp. frances had a full life. she began flying at the age of 22 in atlanta and became to be only 1,704 women who were accepted to the prestigious women air force service pilots, wasp, out of the more than 25,000 women who had applied for the program. frances and other female pilots from our south florida community, including helen snap,

bea, flew more than 62,000 miles between 1942 and 1944. as author of the legislation to awarding wasp the congressional gold medal in 2009, i had the privilege to present the medal to frances sergeant for her patriotic service. the congressional gold medal, as we know, is the highest civilian award in the united states, and it was presented to these women who were the first female to ever fly military aircraft. their missions were mainly composed of safeguarding the u.s. coastal line so that the male pilots could take on combat roles abroad. quite often, frances' life and that of her colleagues were on the line with constant attacks from enemy forces. the service of the wasp to the u.s. military greatly crypted to the triumph and success of the u.s. -- contributed to the triumph and success of the u.s. defeating the axis powers during

world war ii. her passion of flying is what led her to pursue flight and became part of the prestigious wasp. she never sought to break the barriers for women but through her service she demonstrated her excellent skills that made her as well qualified a pilot as any of the male pilots in the military. without her success and that of her many other female pilots, more opportunities then became available for women in all fields. after her retirement from wasp, frances continued her love of flying by passing on her skills that she had gained. she became a professor at my alma mater, miami-dade college, where she took charge of developing the aviation program. south florida has been blessed to have true heroisms like frances sergeant and we honor her and her fellow south florida wasp pilots. aim high. fly, fight and win. thank you, mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, seven months ago the senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, and for seven months we have waited. we have taken over 600 votes in the house of representatives this congress. finding the time to vote 46 times to overturn obamacare, finding the time to pass nine bills that harm our environment, finding the time to twice pass bills that weaken our education system, finding the time to rename 40 post offices, but we haven't taken one vote, not a single vote to advance immigration reform. we simply haven't found the time. this despite the support of overwhelming majority of americans. this despite the support of

interests as varied as labor unions and the chamber of commerce, law enforcement and civil liberty groups, high-tech companies and leaders. this despite the c.b.o. reporting that immigration reform will provide a much-needed jolt to the american 'em economy. with -- economy. with the 113th congress behind us, we've ignored the signature issues that the american people sent us to resolve. sure, we've talked about immigration reform. we've had a gang of eight. as the old saying goes, talk is cheap. but months of discussion from this congress on the most important discussions, have yielded one point and one point only. if we take on this issue, if we pass immigration reform we will do it piece by piece. that's it. that's the only progress this body has made on this critical issue. we've made no substantive decisions about the fate of over

11 million people currently living their lives in legal limbo in this country. no substantive decision about whether their children, many of whom know no other country than this, will be sent millions of miles away from country, or whether lgbt families will be torn apart. the only progress we can point to at this time is instead of one large bill we've decided on several small bills. if that's not definitive of a do-nothing congress, i don't know what is. but, ok, mr. speaker, you've convinced the president. if piecemeal is the only way we can pass immigration reform then piecemeal it is. but here's the most important point. where are the pieces? see, here's the thing. even if you're going to do something on a piecemeal basis, you still got to do the first piece. and the second problem with the piecemeal approach is you run

the risk of cherry-picking, picking through issues like increased security, visas, while ignoring harder decisions like providing a path to citizenship for the millions living in the shadows. my friends on the other side of the aisle have introduced several immigration bills this congress with a few of them even passing out of committee. but not one bill has offered that comes close to offering a pathway to citizenship. while we may accept a piecemeal approach for the sake of getting something done, what we can't accept will not accept is a pathway to citizenship on the sidelines, because the pathway to citizenship remains the cornerstone, cornerstone of any serious immigration reform plan. the rest of the immigration reform structure is built around that piece. with that immigration reform will not stand. without it our system will remain broken. the american people have called on us to fix our broken immigration system. at the very least we owe it to

them to give it a try. the window is still open, the opportunity is still there. we simply need to find the courage to complete the task. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the obama administration's repeatedly asserted their regulations on coal fired power plants will not be a death blow to the industry. unfortunately, the environmental protection agency's most recently published role for new coal-fired power plants tells us this claim could not be further from the truth. the administration asserts this regulation on new coal-fired plants will make use of -- and i quote -- adequately demonstrated, end quotes, technologies. well, according to the washington examiner's editorial board, and i quote, federal law

has long barred the e.p.a. from mandating industry use of technology that has not been adequately demonstrated as ready for commercial use. it is simply ludicrous for the e.p.a. to claim in the proposed new role that c.c.s. technology has reached a new point, end of quote. mr. speaker, this administration is dead set on eliminating coal from our fuel mix without a plan to make up for the energy that it provides or the jobs that it supports. it's an anti-energy agenda that's costing jobs, harming economic growth and placing a greater burden on family budgets. the american people deserve better. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, for five minutes. ms. kaptur: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and to include

extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kaptur: thank you. mr. speaker, i'm privileged to rise to honor a man who made a difference. i wish to pay tribute to the extraordinarily generous life of american patriot eddie boggs, an exceptional educator and music man from sylvainia, ohio, and toledo. eddie was a man held in particular affection by the thousands of people whose lives he touched so positively. some said his being embodied the midwestern spirit we wish we could emanate those whose paths we cross. he was born in soldier, kentucky, and came north to attend the university of toledo where he received his master's degree and devoted his life to his family. he was a musician and a compow

certificate d.d. could he certificate, a great -- composer, great humanitarian, and recognized as educator of the year in 2005. the toledo blade says of his life, his smile, his sparkling blue eyes, his servants' heart, and infectious love of life is the eddie that we remember. he was an educator on so many levels. for nearly four decades, inspiring and caring about thousands and thousands of his students and fellow citizens. even after retiring from teaching, he did not really stop working. eddie became a licensed tour guide. and engaged citizen, he made the effort year after year when he was a teacher and afterwards to bring hundreds and hundreds of students from timberstone injury high for example to visit the capital.

s it was always a grand and unforgettable occasion. eddie would stand outside the east front here with his guitar, winding his way among hundreds and hundreds of students and begin singing as his resonant and clear voice would filter across the capital lawn. it always seemed the sun was shining as the students gathered under the observing trees and the lyndon trees. ese were unforgettable moments. in eddie's so-called retirement, he also first degree murder his love of music by performing nationally with the new kristi minstrels. he composed songs of his own, played over 1,000 songs. the music never stopped. he was one of the best known entertainers in northwest ohio and southeast michigan. eddie's wife, chris, stated, eddie got 26 hours out of a 24-hour day. way ready was.

a positive man. in addition to teaching and performing, eddie contributed mightily to the community through fundraising, and during the christmas season would organize a christmas variety show that would raise more than $20,000 for area charity. this man was a real citizen. r. speaker,

yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. flores, for five minutes. mr. flores: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. flores: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize adam. sergeant investigator with the burleson sheriff's office. the sergeant was killed in the line of duty. sergeant investigator yoder assed away due to wounds after submitting a search warrant. graduating from sommerville high school in 2001, and like his father and brothers, he became a firefighter and became patrol deputy in 2006 after serving as an officer with the sommerville police department. sergeant investigator soder was

loved and respected by his community and his friends and family and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and with his friends. today we honor and remember adam for putting himself in arm's way for the good of his neighbors, his neighbors, his community. we thank him for his service and his sacrifice for public safety. he devoted his life to public safety and to being a first responder and he'll be forever remembered as an outstanding individual who lived his selflessly and served his community. . however he was a servant leader who modeled the words of jesus in john 15:13, which state greater love hath no better this than he who lay down his life for his friends. 17th first ks the

responder lost in the line of duty in the 17th congressional district of texas since the time i was sworn in in january of 2011. mr. speaker, i would like to close by reminding all americans to continue praying for our country and for our american men and women who serve in 17th fir responder lost in the line of duty in the our for our first responders. their self-less service protects our lives, freedoms, and liberties, from both internal and external dangers. god bless our first responders and our troops and god bless america. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, for ive minutes. mr. at that cana: mr. speaker, i rise today to show sport for fo reinstatement of emergency unemployment insurance for thousands of residents in the state and millions across the nation. these americans rely on these benefits so they can put food on their table. so they can pay for heat. and so they can continue their search for work. now my friend on the other side of the aisle will have you believe that these millions of

americans are just too lazy to find work and that they are only interested in handouts. my republican colleagues believe in making the long-term unemployed more desperate and that this desperation will be the necessary motivation for them to find work. when has an unpaid gas bill ever created a job. when is forcing someone to go to sleep hungry ever created a job. let me remind my colleagues that the great recession was the worst economic downturn since the great depression and that there are still three people competing for every job opening. while our recovery is gaining momentum, it has been the wealthiest that has benefited the most, leaving far too many americans behind. let's extend these emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed. let's create jobs not desperation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house the house returns at noon eastern to begin legislative work on bills with the focus being on short term federal spending measures the reload both the house and the senate to complete work on a longer spending bill to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal year 2014. funding would run out wednesday, we expect a vote route 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. the house is also expected to go to recess later this afternoon. we will have live coverage when the return at noon, here on c- span. while the republicans and democrat's up and democrat seven meeting the sporty, republican leaders just spoke with reporters.

>> good morning everyone, thank you for coming. i had a facebook message just the other day romney woman whose husband had lost his job, and therefore they lost their current insurance. she is diabetic, she is trying to figure out how to get her medications. luckily, she lives in a small community, so she has the ability to go to a doctor who will give her samples for some time. the long-term fixes not going to be handouts from and the long- term fixes not going to be a government program other than just hitting her family back on their feet. that is why the numbers we have seen in december were so disappointing. 74,000 jobs added. it is the worst we have seen in three years. million that have been unemployed for over six months. i would like all of you to take

a few minutes today and big about how you would deal with losing your job for six months. how would you pay your bills, feed your family, and pay your insurance? these are facts, and is extremely difficult for them to see a way forward. we can talk about her bills go we talk about our legislative ideas, but you do not have to look any further than republican governors that have taken these ideas and implemented them. what the ideas and see happens when they are put into law. south dakota has an unemployment rate of 3.7%. we are one of the fastest- growing states in the country. we have a republican governor, so does michigan, so does ohio. what you want to truly give our young folks a shot at the forican dream again, a well -- welfare program will be a

job. that is why you will see the republican conference was on the bills and the ideas we have brought forward. on friday we were reminded once again why the american people continue to ask the question, where are the jobs? president hase taken his eye off the ball, taken the issue of jobs. toublicans want nothing more give y'all a chance of a good job. they've been focused on policies that would create jobs estrogen art economy -- and strengthen our economy. all they have to do is to cut the phone and called -- pick up senatene and call the democrat leaders and asked them to move on this bill. >> good morning. we in the house are very

concerned that obama care is not living up to its promises. we've said all along that we believe that the structure and the design of the program is flawed, cannot be fixed. reports indicated this morning that the sign-ups on healthcare.gov indicate that the demographics and the actual earl dutch -- and the actuarial statistics are being brought into question. we do not know who's signing up, and participating exchanges. the ministrations has to come forward with this kind of information. we are going to be bringing a bill upon the four -- floor that demands transparency. the demands of the administration come forward with true, full, and accurate information about who is participating, whose signing up on obamacare. if the numbers are as bad as they seem with the lack of information, just imagine, perhaps, how bad it really is.

we need to get to the bottom of this. people pot health care is at stake, people's pocketbooks are at stake. we need to keep moving on the transparency demands that has been in this house the last several months. the senate continues to stall in its efforts to try and rescue this economy and rescue the folks across america who are still looking for work. theave hills sitting in senate now go and i hope that the senate could bring these bills up, and finally we can begin to find common ground when it comes to what my colleagues here have been talking about -- putting america back to work. >> good morning. last friday, nobody was happy with the jobs report. no matter what side of the houston on. the one thing you see is that there are policies that cause equities to policies in washington.

there are consequences to policies in washington. we are at the lowest participation since 1978. more people got out of the while -- workforce and actually found a job. now is the time for the president to change course. now is the time to have the real debate and actually open up to new ideas. what is wrong with giving the a bill that has passed the house and has a job creation plan up in the senate? i think this obama economy has lasted long enough, it is time for the mac is to look for a new policy, to look for job creation, and grow american a different way. -- america in a different way. jobs report was

disappointing on a number of fronts, and a reinforced in my of focusingortance on policies that will put people back to work. we have our jobs cannot pressure, and we can do better. we can do better than 350,000 people leaving the job market. we can do better than continuing to see college students or high school students, those graduating from technical schools, unable to find jobs. hard-working moms and dads across the country that are trying to abide -- tried for their families and improve their lives. and one thing that stuck out to me was that for the first time in over a decade, the health care sect were lost jobs -- sect toward lost jobs -- sector lost jobs. weathered as hospitals, clinics -- whether it is hospitals, clinics, and it is another impact of the president's health

care law on health care in this country. committed toig -- working across the aisle to get jobs done for the record people -- the american people. would you draw the line -- [indiscernible] >> no decision has been made on how we are going to proceed, but we are going to proceed. no one wants to default on our debt. >> a lot of house republicans thatrs were saying congress voted on bills they did not have time to digest.

i will you have time to vote on a bill the size of a phone book next week? >> the bill was posted last night. it was sent via e-mail to all of the numbers greater the highlights went out to the member's offices last night. frankly, if we had time, i would allow, i would like to have more time. we're in a situation where the government is going to run out of money, we're going to move a short-term cr. we are going to have to get this funding in place as soon as possible. under the circumstances, what we are doing is appropriate. when you see the elections coming ahead -- >> it is about two issues, the issue of jobs. when you look at it, the american people have a right to continue to ask the question, where are the jobs? the president has been office --

in office for over five years. it is time for the president to admit his policies are not working. in addition to that, and also part of that, this issue of obamacare. obamacare is part of the new jobs problem. why, because we're making it more expensive for employers to add new employees. there is this uncertainty about how obamacare is going to affect them. ue of if have the iss you like the dr. you have, you can keep it. , if you like of your health care plan, you can keep it. these statements by the president turned out to not be true, and why would anything -- they went think that his monetary policies will work out? >> west virginia not able to have claim letter for about five days -- able to have the water

for five days. this is part of the trade-off for less regulation? >> we have enough regulations on the books. what the administration ought to be doing is doing their jobs. why was this plan not expected since 1991 -- plant not inspected since 1991? i am confident that there are regulations in place to protect the record people. someone ought to be held accountable. we need to look at those regulations that are cumbersome, over-the-top, and costing the economy jobs. that is where our focus is, and should continue. lots of comments about jobs and a reminder of the senate with a procedural vote this afternoon. as on c-span2.

we hope to be able to bring you some other comments before the house returns at noon eastern. they will be back to work on a short-term spending letter to allow the house and senate finished their work on that long-term spending bill for the rest of fiscal year 2014. also, coming up at 11:00 eastern but we will take you live to the heritage foundation here in washington to hear from rand paul. senate back in for a full week of work. the supreme court returning for the first week of work in 2014. yesterday hearing a case about the senate possibility to make recess appointments -- senate's appointto make recess ments. story isthor of that

joining us now. >> good morning. >> take us through this event that happened yesterday at the supreme court. remind us what this topic was about, and what happened to the court yesterday. >> this case is a challenge to the appointments that president national laborhe relations board. the question is if you has the power to make these appointment, because unlike normal appointments these were not confirmed by the senate. theargument is over whether president could use his power under the recess appointment constitutional right. this administration is facing an

uphill battle if they are going to win this case. both sides of the ideological divide seemed pretty skeptical of the administration's arguments. people about thinking that the question was really how the court was going to rule, and how broadly it would go, not whether the administration would win or not. ofwe got to the question whether it was the supreme court's position to get involved in these decisions, correct? -- is the sense among a few of the justices that this is not the sort of case that they would like. they like to stay out of the disputes between the other branches of government. in this case, they did not have much choice. they are kind of stuck with it. >> >> some other news coming out

of the supreme court yesterday. there officials trying to revive a state law that a band most abortions after 20 weeks. >> this was significant in that the court decided not to do this case. that means that an appeals court ruling that struck the law down remains intact. .> not the only case coming up it prevents protesters from

encroaching too close to the front door of the facility. this is being challenged by the protesters who say that it infringes their free speech rights. the new york times wrote about this before they struck it down. if you want to read more of that editorial, that is in the new york times today. >any other pieces that you will be watching? >> this time of year, we are not going to -- we're going to be where the courts are issuing decisions as well. we need to be looking at some decisions on some of the cases that were argued in october and november. lawrence hurley is a supreme

court correspondent. we appreciate you joining us this morning to give us an update in the supreme court this week. note, we programming covered a conversation between nbc's estes correspondent pete williams, and justice stephen breyer. we will show that in the coming days. look for programming inspiration at c-span.org -- information at c-span.org. at noon. will be back p.m., rand paul over at the heritage foundation. we'll take you there live. until then, part of the conversation in this morning's washington journal. host: e-house -- a member of the house armed services committee. midnight onof money

wednesday. talks over how to allocate that money has been shrouded in do you expect this spending plan is going to run into any trouble this wiki? >> good morning, thank you for having me back. i think it is going to pass, and it should pass. imperfect as it is it is really unfortunate that the definition of success is now really so low. is important, and the fact that we cannot work through it.

that is not good -- good but the the alternative is worse. >> do you think we're going for another shutdown? guest: the government going through another very harmful precipice and puff -- perhaps going over, that is not good for our economy. regular order, putting our country first, and passing our preparations build an house, whether they take, but the senate or not. it i'm going to continue. this is what we really must do for our country. spending.defense according to the washington

times, the defense spending takes the just hit -- the biggest hit. research and development -- research and development, procurement, operations, and maintenance were cut most. guest: i served a congressional district with the highest concentration of men and women in uniform, virginia's second congressional district. i am with these patriots often. we truly are asking them to do more with less. i am disappointed, beginning with our commander and chief and all who follow. we have disrupted the acquisition chain.

not only through the total level of funding that you just mentioned, but also through the series of continuing resolutions that we were under. for perhaps listeners who may not be familiar with what that is, it is the continuing of the same level of funding for every line item from one year to the next. things that should be funded are not things that should be stopped continue to be funded. that is one of the benefits of this appropriations bill coming from. it gets us away from that. our senior military officials, both uniform and civilian, are able to properly allocate the funding.

this is a positive thing, moving us away from cr's. sequestration plus continuing resolution, this was a toxic mix to our military. both on the acquisition side for equipment, redness -- readiness was harmed. it harmed morale. host: if you want to talk to scott ritual of virginia, our phone lines are open. democrats, (202) 585-3880. republicans, (202) 585-3881. independents, (202) 585-3882. if you are outside the u.s., (202) 585-5883. congressman, you bring up the troops. talk about the impact on military retirees, folks looking at reductions in pension benefits under that budget deal. what happened to that in this omnibus bill unveiled last night? guest: the ryan-mary agreement, i supported that. -- the ryan- murray agreement, i supported that. it has many attributes i liked. moving us off of continuing resolutions and other things. it included a serious reduction

in the cost of living increase to our military retirees, a 1% reduction for those who are retired. it was caught up when they reached the age of 62. i am open to the idea of looking at military compensation for those coming in to the military. for those who served on a promise, a commitment from the american people that their benefits would be there, it did not seem right. the good part of this bill that will pass, i believe, today, on the house floor. tomorrow, rather. it restores that 1% for those

who are medically retired and for those survivors, that has been restored. for the remainder, just a regular retiree, that veteran will experience that reduction. unless and until congress takes action. that is a key priority of not only me but other members of congress. many who do not serve on armed, to get that restored as well. it really does not take effect until december 31 of 2015, essentially january 1, 2016. i am on a mission, democrats and republicans, to find an alternative reduction to offset that and restore that. host: talking to congressman scott rigell of virginia in the

norfolk area. guest: virginia beach. host: a member of the budget committee and the armed services committee. here to take your calls, several folks wanting to talk to you. john in delaware, ohio on our line for democrats. you are on with congressman rigell. caller: please, bring our troops home from afghanistan and stop spending money on those ungrateful afghans. spend the money here at home on americans who need it, like our veterans, like our unemployed. please. thank you. guest: thank you for calling in. you called on a democratic line, i want you to know the issue you brought before us is not a partisan issue. i essentially agree with you. in fact, i offered an amendment to the national defense authorization act that would

defund completely infrastructure spending in afghanistan. let that soak in. it passed with bipartisan support, it did not seem right to make that massive investment of over $1 billion there. i am not an isolationist. considering the totality of all the investment in that country and where it was headed, it is an ancient society, the tribal loyalties run so deep there. it didn't make sense to make that investment. we have made an extraordinary sacrifice of our american treasure, young people have given their life. over 2000 americans have given their life in afghanistan, many have been wounded.

their sacrifice is not in vain, but i believe we have to extricate ourselves from afghanistan. host: is that completely, at the end of 2014, what do you think should happen with negotiations regarding whether there be any forces in afghanistan at the end of this year? guest: it is a very difficult problem. for the president on down, we are faced with tough choices there. i do believe that the troops, the combat troops will be taken out. i am still an advocate for a full withdrawal. that we really do move in that direction of having all u.s. personnel out. some who love america just as much as me do not share that. that is all right. we have got to work through that. i want the president to stick to the agreement if not accelerate

it. host: are there lessons to be learned from what is happening right now in iraq with u.s. troops out of iraq, and the gains al qaeda has made? are there any lessons to be applied to afghanistan after u.s. troops leave? guest: 9/11 changed so much for our country. our response was required. what we did, particularly with afghanistan, when that group of terrorists attacked us and then we ended up taking over an entire country, i know this is dangerous ground i am on. this whole discussion of the wisdom of having gone into afghanistan. this discussion needs to take place. i think the motivation was good for those who advocated that.

the idea that if we are attacked from terrorist that we go in and take over an entire country -- for example, if we were attacked by yemen, does it then follow that we invade that country? footo control every linear within its borders, and then rebuild, or build for the first time, roads, bridge was -- bridges, and schools? that is how you bankrupt a -- alic is we really republic. we need to be really careful about it. i am not an isolationist. we need to be careful in our use of force. as you look through the millennia, these countries have gotten very deep trucks roll, cultural forces that are coming together.

tensions receded our invasion of that country, and they will be there, and are certainly there now. on with the, you're congressman. caller: they are three things that i would to say to you as a republican, and i'm going to -- i want you to hear them loud and clear. you have trillions of dollars in taxes that you republicans need to bring back. secondly, you're so blinded by the fact that walmart and every other fast food company is not paying for their employees the benefits that they need. for.e taxpayers are paying you need to give us a living

wage. ,t is not hurting business because costco is making a profit, and they pay their able more than $11 an hour. in this trickle-down economics that you guys play is over, because the tax cuts do not work, the corporations do not hire people. i guarantee you, you are not going to get back in the senate until you get back to beijing republicans can -- beijing republicans -- mainstream republicans, and get them to work. guest: i appreciate the passion i hear your voice. acrosssimilar passion the advocacy in progress, and i

think it is good. the $2 trillion that is overseas, i think we ought to bring that back. there's legislation out there there are creative ways to get the money to receive the late in the american economy. benefits, -- i'm not exactly sure what you meant by the benefits. i could not hear properly. the minimum wage, it was last adjusted 2007, so i'm looking at that as a minimum did think there could be some common ground there. i am an entrepreneur. if we take your logic, let me

respond as an entrepreneur. if we take $12, why don't we make it $20, or $25, for example? you cannot simply increased standard of living just by mandating it. the way to raise the standard of living, which is a shared goal for you, me, and all americans, is to unleash the amazing productivity of the potential american entrepreneur. my region has 25,000 great- paying jobs that pay well over $7.25, well over $12. let us harvest the resources off

of the coast of virginia. the governor wanted. the only thing holding us back is the obama administration. that is a fact. i am with you on the quality of life and the living wage, but it has to be done through productivity. host: congressman, you are on the armed services committee. sea of tranquility is asking why can't we do a full audit of the department of defense -- isn't that a important step for future allocations and getting spending under control? guest: i was tasked to serve on, essentially, a task force chaired by buck mckeon, and we looked at that issue. there is a serious effort underway at the department of defense. we have had multiple hearings to get them to where they can produce an audit.

they have multiple accounting systems that do not talk with one another. progress is being made, but it is just a massive effort. it has gotten better. it has gotten much better. one of the things that i can do and that i am doing serving on armed services is continuing to hold senior defense officials accountable for this and moving us in that direction. it is a good question. host: a question on ongoing negotiations with iran over the nuclear program, and some members of congress pushing for additional sanctions, we played jay carney responding to a question. here is president obama in his own words over the weekend talking about sanctions -- he said --

your thoughts on the back and forth between the white house and the senate on sanctions? guest: it is a serious issue, and let's start with my core belief and conviction that it is truly and absolutely unacceptable for iran to have military-grade uranium and other materials needed to produce a nuclear weapon. this is a categorical imperative there. to your point, i support efforts being taken in the senate, and by the way, very much a bipartisan effort. it is my understanding they have 59 cosponsors now. as we know, there are only 60 required for passage, and i

believe they will have the amount needed to override a veto. so, i understand where the administration is going with this, but i think the more -- the stricter interpretation, the essentially tougher path, john, is in order to put pressure on the regime. i think that is the only thing ultimately that they will respond to, and i hope it passes. host: senator mark kirk, a republican from illinois co-authored legislation with senator menendez of new jersey and he said on the twitter -- his twitter page i urge the white house to publicly release the text of the implementation agreement with iran for all to review. that was on his twitter page. it is a subject we will stay on top of here on "washington journal."

marie is waiting in minnesota on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. there is something i would like to really address. that is we have 5000 warheads in the united states -- nuclear warheads, and we are going after iran and all of these other countries that you do not want to have any type of nuclear ambitions, and what i would like to know is how are we going to have a fair balance here? how is the united states going to be running around all of these countries and saying we do not want any type of nuclear in their countries, yet we have them in our country? my dad was in the air force, and this was back in the 1960's, the

b-52s and everything else, and now i think the balance of power is a little unfair and we should deal with that. i am very concerned about our stance in the united states. it seems like we are a little bit power-happy. i would really like our politicians to address this to where it seems like we could understand it a little more fairly. i really believe it is unfair. guest: thank you so much, marie. caller: thank you. guest: i am a businessman in public service, and i deal with reality. that is very important. the fact is, nuclear weapons are here. of course, you mentioned our capability and the arsenal that we have. here is why i object so strongly to allowing iran from having a

nuclear weapon. it derives from their stated view of leaders that have influenced that country for many, many decades, and it is their outright, overt statements often directed at our friend and ally israel, calling for the destruction of israel, and this is something that you never hear from the leadership of israel. the bias that they have in the leadership in iran, to talk like that -- and, look, going to the heart of the matter, it is some of the zealots and the extremists -- the islamic extremists -- i mean, at their very core, in the extreme view, not all muslims, of course, but

in their extreme view their highest value is seen in a sacrificial suicide mission, giving their life for allah. if you elevate death, it gives me concern. it is in america's national security interest, our security interest, not just israel's, that we stand firm with israel and other allies from around the world in unison and full agreement that we must not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon. i just respectfully disagree with you on that one and i appreciate your call. host: i want to show a member of congress who is supportive of the white house and this ongoing

-- silence any cell phone as a courtesy to our panelists and those recording today's events. for those of you watching online, you are welcome to ask any questions by emailing speaker@heritage.org. in welcoming the heritage foundation president, the honorable jim demint. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. it is my great pleasure to welcome you here to the official release of the 2014 index of economic freedom. i want to recognize our friends on embassy row representing nations from around the globe, those from capitol hill and the washington policy and research community, and let me recognize the press corps. we certainly appreciate all of you being here.

thank you to our friends at "the wall street journal" for their involvement, including economist and editorial board member steve moore, who is with us today leading the fight for economic freedom in this country and around the world. also want to recognize the many scholars here at the heritage foundation who have worked so hard on this index this year and many years before. that includes the founding editor of the index of economic , and also, he is the nguished fellow with the foundation. thank you for your vision and leadership. thank you to the vice president of foreign and defense policies u.s. teamed with kim and been essential to the success of this index. also want to thank ambassador terry miller, senior policy analyst, and so many others who have worked on this project. while it is the first such index

that i have had the honor to introduce, we mark today a very special occasion. this is the 20th anniversary of the index. back in the 1980's, nobel laureate milton friedman first suggested to me for an international metric of economic liberty, a measuring stick for future prosperity across the globe. as i look at this index and read through it, and i encourage you to look at the whole thing, it has a great look on economics, but i can't help but see the parallels between this index and economic freedom in general and some of the work i did in my previous life on quality management and quality training. some of you may not know, but in america years ago, edward deming went to japan back in the 1960's and it actually was a key part of an economic revolution in making japan one of the power

economic countries in the world. he did that through this concept of total quality management. it is not something that is talked about a lot in washington , for various reasons. but one of the things we used to say when we train companies to deal with quality is you can't improve what you don't measure. it is a key part of this next, it is a key part of creating quality at the company level. deming health to change the focus of companies and the note country of japan by measuring inputs but measuring outputs, to look at the whole process of production in understanding all of the factors that create quality, but also at the same time he found that as you seek to improve quality, you lower price, you create efficiency, and actually improve morale. the secret of quality production is pushing decision-making down

to the people who are doing the production. the parallel between countries producing quality and countries is very obvious -- companies producing quality and countries is very obvious, and it is freedom itself that creates economic growth throughout the world. that is the whole point of economic freedom. it's not just economic freedom in itself, but what it does to improve the quality of life of people come in to raise up economies all over the world. we have seen that since this index was being produced. in 1995, the heritage foundation published the first index, and it has remained the most influential -- one of the most influential things reproduce or anything produced all around the world. it is interesting to see companies and countries come here to the heritage foundation to advocate for things they are doing to move them up the , becauseindex letter

it is so important to their economic development and attracting businesses to locate. i want to thank "the wall street journal" for its partnership and the brilliant scholars here at heritage. it is our most important annual study. our enthusiasm for this landmark release is tempered with sobering applications that this index reveals -- sobering indexations that this reveals to the past few years, increased immigration in the financial and health-care sectors, the degradation of property rights, and massive growth in the size and scope of government have graduated to the unfortunate or foreseeable slide in the freedom rating. of the 178 economies graded by the index, ours is the only one to belated -- to be rated less and less free for the past 7 consecutive years. it should stun everyone.

the first time the u.s. has fallen outside of the top 10. we come in right behind estonia. we continue to be rated mostly free but we are not in the free category anymore. can you imagine if our secretary of defense announced that we were mostly strong or kind of strong as a nation? i don't think we would sit still for that as a nation and hopefully we won't in this economic freedom index. fortunately, despair will never be part of what we do here at the heritage foundation. we are continuing to work on that factors, those inputs change the total output of economic growth. but we cannot help but notice the correlation between our economic freedom and the lack of economic opportunity, the growth of unemployment, the lack of participation in the workforce.

this makes a really -- a very real difference, and we see that all over the world. but it is interesting to see those on capitol hill and in the white house talking about income inequality and unemployment and the need to create more opportunity while not recognizing the factors that make that happen. that is what we are here for. i have the great pleasure to i thinke one of the greatest advocates for freedom in our country today. i endorsed him in the senate that was somewhat controversial a few years ago, but i have to say it was one of the best decisions i've ever ane, because rand paul is advocate for those principles of freedom that are so important to improve the quality of life of people here and around the world, and it is my great pleasure to introduce senator rand paul to you today. [applause]

>> thank you. i wish we were here under better circumstances. you know, if you like your freedom, you can keep it or it [laughter] ] or maybe not. this year the united states slip since ranking for economic freedom. why? freedom is inversely proportional to the size of your government and government continues to grow at an alarming pace. why is economic freedom important? is just an abstraction we want to debate in philosophical societies? no, it is important because 11 million people are out of work in our country. we have the highest corporate income tax in the world. we just raise the personal income tax. we checked our entire economy nearly three joined up -- we tax our entire economy three joined dollars. regular toric tosses $2 trillion. -- regulatory costs is $2 trillion and we have added to

it. we have regulations every year that cost the economy over $100 million each. to make matters worse, these costations -- one can over $100 million -- we passed these regulations not by congress, not by a vote in the senate, not by a vote in the house, but these are largely written by unelected bureaucrats . the government takeover of health care is a significant lost your freedom. i would argue that obamacare involves the largest loss of freedom of choice in 50 years. not only are you prevented from keeping your doctor if you like , you are also prevented from choosing your insurance plan. it may well be the biggest lie of the century that if you like your doctor, you can keep him or her. this has never been just about an efficient distribution, or what is the most efficient distribution. it is about freedom of choice. you have given up your freedom,

you have given up your freedom to choose your insurance company, your freedom choose your doctor. all you have to do is get on the obamacare website and realized that poor choices now. it is not just about health care. it is light bulbs, it is toilets, it is you name it. your freedom of choice is gone. for a party that says they are the pro-choice party, this is the most anti-choice administration we have seen in a lifetime. in fact, with obamacare, i would say that government now is limiting your choices, your a sixth ofd about the economy. limiting freedom also limits your prosperity. adultser percentage of now works that have ever before been in our economy. want america to prosper again, we must consider why we continue to follow on the economic -- continue to fall on

the economic freedom and expert until we understand freedom and prosperity go hand-in-hand, our future remains cloudy. we don'twill worry if continue to be the land of the free and the economic engine of the world. i hope to come back next year under better circumstances, when we are going up on the freedom index and not down. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. toike to take the time invite our panelists to come on stage. hosting the panel as the distinguished fellow at the institute of international studies here at the heritage foundation. he previously served as the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies and director of the davis institute for international studies.

the founding editor of the index of economic freedom from 2002 2005 serving in the george w. bush administration, as these to secretary of state or fish for international and organizational affairs, widely recognized as america's leading conservative voices international security policy. he is also the author of "rebound." thank you. good morning, everybody. welcome to the heritage foundation. i would like to thank the senators demint and paul for getting this off to a good start. very glad that they could be. this is a special day for me. here 25 years was ago when we first started the index, and looking at all the , 1995 is in the top left corner. technology and design has improved over the past few years but certainly the content has become more sophisticated and

better in the years past. essay, by the way -- i think it is here on the front here -- nsi i have written about the 20 years history of the index that goes into why we found it it 20 years ago. there are a lot of people involved talking about creating an index. why we did it, what we were trying to achieve, how it has changed over the years. you might find it interesting if you take a look at that. my job here is essentially to say a few words about what is in the index but also to introduce our distinguished analysts and get the discussion going and hopefully we will have -- we will have time for you to ask questions. i would like to thank the coeditors of the index, who did most of the work, for a job well done. they sweat the details and do

everything in a power to make sure they got the details right, and i greatly appreciate that, as i know my colleagues at heritage do. we thank the editing, production, and marketing staffs of heritage. they do an outstanding job not only producing the index but making sure that folks like you see it and get to know about it so that it is not lost in the back room somewhere. finally, i would like to thank, as senator demint did, thank "the wall street journal." they have been our partner for most of our years, i think 18 years total. we're certainly glad to have steve moore with us today. let me hit on some highlights. the most important finding of the index has already been alluded to, and that is the united states has dropped out of freest economies in the world. it is now 12th freest economy in the world, in the second-tier category, mostly free.

it is not among the top 10 freest economies anymore. the reasons were mentioned both by senator demint and senator paul. i think the most disturbing thing about this year's score is that it is the seventh straight year in a row, and that means we .re into a trend this matters for couple of reasons. the most obvious one is that the things that we aren't -- that were making america a great nation over the many decades -- asfact, many centuries -- the best engine of economic growth, but also, frankly, the best way to ensure that all americans, whether they were rich or poor, get a higher standard of living -- that formula, that means is eroding. it is well-established and a trend. score alsoeclining is an indicator of something else.

that is that all over the world, people around the world have gotten used to america as being a leader in economic freedom. the 1990's, for those who follow foreign aid and other issues, there was something called the washington consensus, and this is when president clinton was resident. the washington consensus meant a dedication to free markets all over the world and a model for everyone else could they don't call it the washington consensus anymore, for very good reasons. the fact that -- this is particularly disturbing, because score is going down, global economic freedom is going up. the global average score in 2014 is the highest average in the .0-year history of the index this essentially showing that we are no longer the model, but others are the model for what makes countries, economies, prosperous. we are, if you look at the index

in detail, in the category of declining countries that includes greece, italy, spain, and others, and countries that are going up our countries like sweden, australia, singapore, germany. this is not a good trend to be in. this is not the best place for us to be. in terms of the overall findings, the world is doing that are in some areas and worse in others -- the world is doing better in some areas and worse in others. the world is doing best in investment freedom, which means measures of banking regulations and the ease and agreed to which private investment both internally is made as well as across borders. worldwide, it is doing just a little worse and protecting property rights, and generally the problem of the rule of law. this is a perennial problem, whether you are developing or a non-developing country, and that is the outcome of corruption and

the rule of law is something that is still a problem across the globe. frankly, as you see the declining scores in the united states, it is a problem that is returning here, as we find that there are efforts by this administration to bend the rules enforce more regulations on the economy and this creates more opportunities for these rules to be bent and for the free market to be infringed upon . interestingly, asia and sub-saharan africa are doing well in economic freedom. is ont, economic freedom the rise all over the world except for 2 places, and that is 2 regions, that is a man tha -- and one2 regions is north america, because the u.s. score is declining, but it is also in the middle east and north africa as well. hong kong remains number one. it is the 20th year in a row.

freest economy in the world, really a remarkable achievement, given all that is happened in hong kong over the years. the freest economies are singapore, australia, switzerland, new zealand, and canada. the highest-ranking so-called developing economies on the index are chile, which is number .even, and the top 10 hopefully, by not being part of the so-called west, they can be a model for others to show that the formula of economic freedom knows noboundaries, particular civilization or culture, knows no race. it is an idea that occurs when human beings are in charge of their economy, a universal principle that applies across the world. another medical -- another realm of action is in europe. there is a realignment in europe

and people who follow the european economies know it very well but it is not widely known. economic freedom is advancing in 18 countries in europe during i won't mention all of them, it is a long number, but it includes germany, austria, the czech republic, and norway, just to mention a few. sadly, economic freedom is declining in europe as well. most particularly, it is declining in france and the united kingdom, which is particularly disturbing given the fact that there is supposed to be free market government in charge in the united kingdom. icnally, the so-called br nations, including brazil, are moving backwards. brazil plunged 14 places to 114 and is now judged as being among the mostly unfree countries on the index. those are the main findings. i wanted to hit the top ones. there was a lot in there.

now i want to sort of moved to the discussion and get the reactions of our panelists. i am just going to introduce all three of them and get it over with and you will come one after the other. the first speaker will be der for morgan, vice president domestic and economic policy here at heritage. he was promoted to this post in 2012 after 2 years as chief of staff for the president of heritage. he was a policy expert on the republican policy committee in the u.s. senate and before that he worked for 4 years as a staff secretary to vice president richard b cheney. ore, editorialn mo board number and senior economics writer for "the wall street journal." he was the founder and former president of the club for growth

. over the years he has served as a senior economist on the rational joint economic committee but also many years ago he was a budget expert here at heritage and also at cato. glad to have you here, steve. riley is a senior research expert here at heritage working on trade issues. well, i knowy -- he is very well-versed in all of the details. we will get into the specific countries course and i'm sure he will be happy to answer questions. without further ado, i will ask derrick to come on up and we will get going. thank you very much. [applause] kim, for that introduction. i want you all to imagine, if you go back in time to 1995. it was a heady time for economic

freedom. the evil empire had just collapsed. some oftically free, these formerly communist countries were eager for free economy as well. would you believe that just about 20 years later, estonia would rank ahead of the united states in economic freedom? estonianot a knock on at all. indeed, they are to be congratulated. unfortunately, estonia has surpassed the united states not only because they improve but because we have faltered. the index of economic freedom has for 20 years been a manual check of of sorts for the united states and the more than 175 countries around the world. we get to compare ourselves to allies, competitors, and adversaries alike. we get to see their progress and hours in the march for freedom. the 2014 index rankings should serve as a wake-up call to u.s. policymakers and to citizens alike. we all owe a debt of gratitude to "the wall street journal" and

the primary authors at heritage. in fact, i think our president would be wise to review these findings prior to his state of the union address later this month. the report from this year's index is sobering indeed. the score, asd you heard, seven years in a row, the only country to do so. we are now out of the top 10. our fiscal freedom -- that is, how tax rates, tax competitiveness -- we are now ranked 154th in the world. our government spending is an abysmal 137th in the world. factors are really our achilles' heel. in the past year we have seen tax increases from the obamacare legislation and an expiration of some of the bush tax cuts as part of the so-called fiscal cliff deal. these tax increases on torything from payrolls

debt, investment and marginal tax rates, make us less competitive internationally. it seems that some are not contented with these tax increases and are arguing for even more. we have also seen a failure in spending restraint. the so-called sequester was not a perfect policy by any means, but it was a way to force congress to restrain spending. with the recent budget agreement, it looks like congress is back to its old game of increasing spending in the short term with promises of cuts later on that never seemed to materialize. needless to say, this is not the regulatory state is also in full swing. nearly $70have seen billion in increased regulatory burdens. remember, it is not just the direct costs of regulation that we need to watch out for. the higher costs and excessive

regulation is a way to shield competition which reduces prosperity. you should look to a heritage report later this spring. with this latest report, the index of economic freedom report, we have a pretty clear diagnosis. what is that cure? we're used to thinking of us as exceptional and not in a way think is exceptional. we think we are exceptional for worldwide economic freedom. it is not that we are the most powerful nation, highest gdp, most powerful army. the 7-up and true for all of our history. our history itself is what makes us exceptional. we were conceived in liberty. our declaration of independence makes clear our rights comes from a creator and it is the job of government to secure those rights. if rights come from government, they can be taken by government.

keying,ept of law is originated in the enlightenment, but it is especially taking hold here in the united states. our constitution is the supreme law of the land. today officials in all three branches of government and every state government official must by oath or affirmation support the constitution, and so must our most recent americans, those who are naturalized. it is our constitution that binds our nation together. it is not special that we have a constitution. many nations around the globe have one. what is special is that we have historically had a respect for the rule of law. as result a sense of trust about among the people that government is fair and impartial. we seem to be losing that. we have gone from 72% trust in government or in the eisenhower era to just 19% today. putting aside for a minute your view of the underlying policies,

think about what government is up to lately. the president's administration rewrote the affordable care act on an ongoing basis. is eroded the trust in the rule of law. trust also weakened when he decided not to enforce migration law with respect to hundreds of thousands of people. recently the president decided he would not enforce federal drug laws in states that legalize them. when congress refused to pass cap and trade legislation under a democratic control, that president threads use executive power to do. this administration is threatening states to impose cap and trade on his terms or see his epa impose it on his terms. ordinarily, these measures would take an act of congress, but presidential overreach is not enhance the rule of law or fairness. instead, to restore trust in government we need to end

special bailouts and special treatment, like union exceptions from obamacare. congress should and forever the -- end forever earmarks. have at least the appearance of cronyism favor favoritism. a another layering simple of special interest politics is the farm bill. we have made progress, cracking the unholy alliance between big- city democrats who want food stamps and rural republicans who want farm subsidies. passing these ills separately must lead to real reform like work requirements and real savings for taxpayers. real economies do not subsidize industries, even farming. our domestic agenda highlights the need for the elimination of fannie mae and freddie mac. a free country should not have a term with implicit masking of government. when government grants that managed one firm, that firm

lobbies government to keep its privileged status, shutting out healthy competition. even worse, the firm could make a poor decision to cost taxpayers aliens of dollars. in the area of regulatory efficiency, heritage would start with repeal of obamacare and unwanted parts of dodd-frank. too sounds to radical -- radical? we could pass something like the reins act to make sure that officials in congress have to approve regulators instead bureaucrats. right to work from coast to coast would be a step forward for labor friedman -- freedom, another example in the index of economic freedom. michigan has done so. another reform called a raise act would allow unionized employees to give bonuses based on performance. without interference from union bosses. ideas like this need to be

considered. finally, no reform agenda would be complete without discussing taxes and spending. a flat tax and a balanced budget would supercharge america's score on the index. no doubt of that. performs such as making entitlement spending, on to the budget makes a lot of sense. right now it is on autopilot to unsustainable future. by the time i four-year-old graduates i school, just three programs, medicare, medicaid, and social security, and interest on our debt will take 100% of projected government revenue. ande measures make sense heritage will continue to advocate for them. we will battle the threat of regulating and taxing the internet, one of the freest areas in the world today. all the while we will keep an eye on the federal reserve. defense freedom because freedom leads to prosperity. it is not like we love these ideas like art.

although it is not wrong to appreciate what the founders, was in philadelphia. we love these ideas because they lead to a better life for more americans. we love these principles because the free enterprise system has done far more good for more people than any government program. the data on index over the years has shown this to be true. with economic freedom in severe decline, it is our responsibility to secure liberty for future generations. we must insist on the role of law, not acquiesce to rule by exception. we will encourage competition, not become complacent with cronyism, and we will fight for government that lives within its means and does not spend the next generation's inheritance. following these commonsense prescriptions, we can reverse our recent decline in freedom and restore america to its rightful place. thank you very much. [applause] >> good morning.

it is a privilege to be here. kim, congratulations on 20 years. it was good to know that we are ranking still ahead of -- that is very good news. [applause] this is quite a sobering report. it sees that we have dropped out of the top 10 of economic freedom. the wall street journal," partner of this report, the thing of the journal for the last 75 years as been free minds, markets, and people. this report fits so well with that slogan of "the wall street journal." i wanted to connect the dots, what is going on today with some of the sobering results of this report, and let me start by talking about what is going on right now with the u.s. economy. you all know that this is a -- this is asked early -- this is actually the fifth year of the economic recovery. it officially began in june

2009. this is 4 1/2 years into her work covering. this is but a recovery that for aliens americans -- millions of americans, this has been no recovery at all. it has been at half pace. we have created half the number of jobs we normally get during the recovery time. the growth rate has been less than half of the normal pace. we saw the numbers coming out friday about the lousy job numbers. they were reinforcing this. also incomes have stagnated, which is unusual. we are in the fifth year of recovery, and the average middle-class family in america today has $2000 less purchasing power than they did when the recovery began. i am not talking about the incomes that people lost a recession. i'm saying people have lost hasme even as the recovery transpired. that is really terrible news.

i call this a half-sized recovery, because that is essentially the pace of the recovery. the question is why, are we not seeing anything in this recovery like we would normally expect and what the american people are demanding, and i would make the case that the incident -- answer is contained in the index, that if you look at what is happened in the last six or seven years the busharden under administration and has accelerated under the obama administration, so i don't think any of us are making a partisan point here -- the partisan -- the policies have been universally in the wrong direction since the recession began. you can start with the bailouts that derrick talked about, the giant text increases, the messes debt.ses of spending in ideas have consequences, and those ideas, those wrongheaded ideas that move in the wrong direction have made america poor. i would simply make the case to you all that if you were -- as every american is wondering why

is this american economy supercharged white it should be -- like it should be remiss recover, this report underscores why we're not performing like we should. looking at the job numbers that it came out on friday, there range,,000 jobs, 70,000 in the reagan recovery we had months where the u.s. economy created one million jobs in one month. we're so far behind our potential where we should be. that is point number one. everything we have done in the last six years has been in the wrong direction. my colleague was asked about a year ago exactly when president obama was giving his state of the union for the start of the second term, what advice would you give obama? he put it so well. he said, what i would advise obama to do is look at everything you did on the economy in the first term and do just exactly the opposite in the second term. there is a lot of truth to that.

second point, i wanted to make respect to the current -- out this -- how this report dovetails into the big going on now about inequality, poverty, and what we can do to move the 50 million americans that are poor today out of poverty, and we have seen horrendous increases in party. it is one of the great challenges we have as a nation now is how do we let the people at the very bottom up. we have a president and many in congress who are promoting many policies that i would argue -- and i think my panelists here would agree -- these actually would move us in the opposite direction of economic freedom. let me go through some of these. we are having a debate now about extending uninsurance -- unemployment insurance. we should be asking the question, policymakers should be asked the question, will it make america more free or less free?

unemployment insurance, that is moving again from it for you want to think about, minimum wage. everyone in this room and everyone on this panel am a we want american workers to have the highest wages possible, no question about it. this is the route to a vibrant middle class, to have rising wages in this country. we want rising wages. raising the minimum wage the stores jobs. the evidence is clear about this. kim, i would make the case that this moves against economic freedom and makes america poor. expanding food stamps, another example, increasing welfare in a way that will not increase economic freedom, and the last one i will mention is the one rrick,ou mentioned, de at the start of this year we raise tax rates across the board, and we raised tax rate on capital, on labor, the capital gains tax, the dividend tax, the

small business tax them and for the folks on the other side of the street here on capitol hill, i would ask them, how are you going to get more jobs if you tax the people that create the jobs? it does not make a lot of sense. they are exactly right. one of the reasons we have not had that growth this year that we would expect is because of those in wooded tax increases. the point i'm trying to make so is this -- about the inequality issue one of the things i find in reading the report is if you look at poverty, the people at the very bottom, poverty is most severe in countries that do not have economic freedom. i would make the case that actually if we adopt all of these policies that are being debated right now, minimum wage, unemployment insurance, tax increases, it will make the poor worse off. popular rates are substantially higher as countries become less

free. we're going to make our poor worse off by moving against economic freedom. i would also make the case that any quality -- inequality in this country will rise if we move away from economic freedom. i'm a believer in economic freedom being the great equalizer. it provides everyone with an economic opportunity. that is what we are tragically moving away from. it is not a coincidence in my opinion that if you look at the last dirty years or so, it is wrong -- the last 30 years or so, it is wrong that the middle class has been on the treadmill. 1990's,, thethe big story was that we had upward at comic mobility in this country. people moved out of the lower class into the middle class. not everybody did, but the elevator was moving up for the majority of people. that has stalled out in the last

four years. we have not seen a mobility rising, and inequality has risen in the last four years. i would make the case that that is because the have moved away from the comic freedom, we have dropped down the scale, and we oer. the poor po rce this to reainfo poitn. -- point. i give lectures across the country, ivy league schools, even the junior colleges. i love to talk to kids, and i always present them with this question about the economy, and it is something that puzzled them. they do not have a good answer, and we do not have a good answer, the question is this -- why is america the richest country in the world? what made america the most prosperous place in the history of the planet? i'm struck by the answers i get. we have all these natural resources, we took country from other countries, we have better

weather. it is interesting that so few of them can come up with an answer. natural resources is not the reason america became rich. the richest, the most free country in the world in this index and one of the richest countries in the world is hong kong. in hong kong they have no natural resources. it is the last place you would expect to be rich and free, and yet it is. and you look at russia and china, russia and china are resource rich, and they are still well behind where we are. it is not natural resources, although we are greatly and down greatly and out -- endowed as a nation with natural resources. the way i like to put it, economic freedom is the goose that lays the golden eggs. this is the enduring lesson of the last thousand years. we are risking that with moving

in the wrong direction, but i want to add on a positive note. i am at optimist, always an optimist, and i believe this is the furthest we have fallen, and i believe as you do, this report in years to come, i think the united states will get into the top 10 for couple reasons. i believe freedom and liberty are kind of in our dna as a nation. i really do. i do not think the american people will continue to tolerate the united states moving away from this. this is why you're seeing a rebellion against obamacare, because americans realize that there is a fundamental freedom that they are giving up with obamacare. i'm optimistic about the country. i think funny 14, we will have a good year. i think the economy will expand because a lot of these dumb ideas are going to be held back, and i think we will start moving in the right direction. the really most optimistic thing is the kinds of -- everything you said is so right about the formula for getting back on the right track, and it is so obvious.

it is not like we have to think, what we do? we know what we have to do. we have to repeal obamacare. we have to get rid of these ridiculous financial regulations that are strangling the banking system. we have to fix the litigation system and all of these things. americado that, the will move in the top 10, if not in the top five, and you will still the -- and you will see the biggest boom you have ever seen. thank you. >> i was asked to talk a little bit about economic freedom in particular -- and particularly trade freedom and the importance of free trade. before i do that come i want to make sure you all know that you can go to our website. you can look up specifics with respect to countries you may be interested in. you can download a that for each

of our 10 different factors that were measured. you can compare then, and i can say that for your benefit, and kim, you mine, because, k word me with a question, and i do not have all 186 countries memorize, but that data is therefore everybody to access in a transparent manner and see how we come up with the scores we used to grade berries countries. with respect to trade freedom, it occurs that this is the 20th anniversary not just of the index of economic freedom at the heritage foundation, but it is the 20th anniversary of something called the north american free trade agreement. nafta. i do not know what you think of when you think of nafta. i think of ross perot and the giant sucking sound. [laughter] ienever i read about nafta, think about all the jobs we lost

because of free trade. i went on the internet and i looked at how many jobs we had in united states 20 years ago and afterwards. we had about 97 million jobs in the private sector. i looked up how many jobs we have now. we have about 115 million jobs. i think to argue that we have lost jobs, your math skills have got to be highly suspicious, even by washington, d.c., standards. we have lost some jobs whenever we trade with other countries just as when we introduce new technologies, but the overall trend has been to have more jobs and better jobs. it is not just in the united states. when we look at countries around the world, countries with the best trade freedom score some tariff barriers, and just as a definition, a tariff is a tax on imports. the countries that remove those

taxes to give freedom to trade, they have lower poverty rates. they have cleaner environments, all the things we hope to have in the united states. when nafta was being debated, james glassman at the time wrote it should be called the north american free-trade and cancer reduction agreement. i looked at that over the weekend and try to recall what he was talking about. and it was a big photograph of all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we have access to in the united states, whether ombia orico or col other countries. when you go to the grocery star in january, though berries were not produced in the united states. one importer said we should be teaching our children that you can enjoy strawberries even though you are in the dead of

winter because of nafta. those are the benefits we take for granted. toabout a month, it is going be valentine's day. most flowers in the united ombia. him from col as result of direct investment, free trade with colombia, go online or call 1-800-flowers, and within two days you can have fresh flowers delivered from the country of columbia. by jobsypically created in the united states. that benefit americans because we have fresh, long-lasting and low-priced flowers, but let's look at people in colombia. flower producers are females. most of them are single heads of households. most of them we know, because we have asked them, used to be made

them live on subsistence farms hoping to have enough food to get from one month to the next. they have a quality of life and of international trade much better than they otherwise would have. the last story i wanted to tell relates to a woman named jasmine from bangladesh, which has really ramped up its reduction of textiles. jasmine would have been about 4 years old when we started producing the index of economic freedom. her older sister, to get married, her family paid a dowry to another man to get him to marry the older sister. the family went into debt. every month some of the would come around asking for money to collect the debt, and the younger system of jasmine eventually got frustrated and went to the city and got a job, that or something for

her family, paid off the debt, has a lifestyle that i would not trade places with her, but it is much better than she had in the past. somebody like jasmine, multiply ar times a billion people, billion people are how many people have been lifted out of poverty over the last 20 years according to recent reports from "the economist," based on world a data. they're looking at the lowest poverty. a billion people have been lifted out of party largely due to more international trade, war globalization, and more economic freedom. we have globally the highest levels of economic freedom in history. a long way to go, but we need to make progress. world trade barriers have fallen by half, and trade volume has

doubled. those are the kinds of things we need to adopt in united states to lift another billion people out of poverty over the next 20 years. forave plenty of time questions. i will leave it to you. [applause] bryan? >> i believe we have people with microphones on both sides -- yeah, we do. over here and over here. if you have a question or a comment, just raise your hand. if you could identify yourself, that would be very helpful. who wants to go first? >> thank you. in the beginning when senator andnt and set -- demint senator rand paul talked about rule of law issues and critic

capitalism and the breakdown of the rule of law in our country, coming from apparently not just the administration, but elsewhere, this seems to be a cancer on our system. situatione economic to really improve in our country, it seems to me that rule of law needs to be enhanced and are constantly being eroded by incessant executive orders and regulations coming from the bureaucrats you address that, please? us off onstart that. it is an incredibly important issue. in economy, we need to have confidence that we are part of a system that is fair and impartial. i think that is reflected in the index. rule ofgot a score for law right in here. one of most important is private property rights, things that do not exist in places like north korea. we have seen that even in the communist world, when china did monetization -- modern

ization there, it enhanced their freedom as well. in the united states we are not in danger of the mass confiscation of property, but every little but of our rule of law that has eroded is an incredible threat him and you see it in things like bailouts. even just the perception, when you have companies that are well connected that get treated with a he allowed, for example. when you think of the automakers and so forth. someone here at heritage writing about the bailout of the auto companies and the workers in michigan that were left out. why? there is not a good or impartial reason for that. they did not have the political strength. jockey foru have to political strength in order to protect your business or to grow your business, look at lobbying in the nation's capital. a huge growth industry.

there is a reason why seven of the richest counties in the country are in the washington, d.c., area. everything is blooming, and that is something that long-term is not going to be healthy for our country. aboutmally when we talk what is happening with the role of law and the executive orders and some of the breaking of the rules and precedents that we saw, like in the senate, the recess appointments controversy that will go to the supreme court, when we talk about the role of law, i think we rightly do talk about the law and we rightly talk about the constitution, because that is where we should talk about. >> the house is coming in momentarily. he will be able to see this event in our video library at www.c-span.org, and the house will be taking up a short-term continuing resolution a spending

measure keeping the government funded for three days past the january 15 deadline, averting another government shutdown as they continue to work on a long- term spending bill, the omnibus or fiscal year 2014. several rounds of votes expected. live coverage on c-span.