good? moreight, let's get applause for miracle grow and our mirrors in our cities. cities-- -- in our mayors in our cities. we will not bring up our tosca lube the mayor, who will be about preparedness in our cities. >> good morning. most days in tuscaloosa, my constituents would consider this to be a disaster.

>> on the way. he goes left. >> i heard eagles out there. [laughter] on april 27, our community experience with a real disaster is. e4 tornadoy, an tore through the heart of our city. 12% of our city was destroyed when 12.6% or housing was destroyed, thousands of people became homeless, and 7000 people became unemployed in just a matter of minutes. that same night of our local hospitals. it over 1200 injured, and we had

four schools that were totally destroyed. it is appropriate sometimes that we can make light of ourselves, but i want to show you a few images that show what a disaster really looks like. >> 10 four. there were more than we could possibly answer. it was an overwhelming feeling. the look of desperation on faces, not willing were to go that knowing where to go not knowing how to get there. >> our primary this past -- dispatch channel was knocked out. one of the main things that you really need is gone. three fatalities here, to fatalities there.

two critically injured here. need six ambulances here, need two amulets is over here -- ambulances over here. we have a gas leak over here, it was continual. >> it was a war zone. i am sure you have heard that. that is about what it was. >> when i woke up the morning of april 27, i had no idea how my life was going to change. isrly three years, my life

-- later, my life is impacted. i would share with you eight general rentals i can have you repaired for a disaster, whether nature, or caused by man. are provided -- required to provide leadership after a tragedy in our community. organization. what is your disaster management structure in your divinity? -- community? when was the last time you had a drill? two, your emergency response plan. are you ready to make those critical decisions that happened simultaneously that affect the health, safety, and welfare of your community? loseo you respond when you your fire stations, precinct, and all of those assets that you caps on during river to the response -- count on during

emergency response? are your mutual aid agreements in place? three, media and communications. mayors are the faces of disaster, and it is who the public looks to for that response, and for that convert. you will be the new story of the day. are you prepared? - who speaks,-who and when? four, where will you locate your shelters, and your aid stations? are they going to have food, water, medical aid, a little services, battery charging asians, -- stations, and wi-fi? are you going to be prepared to respond if you lose your red cross and salvation army? who is going to distribute the

supplies needed across your community? five, collaboration with state and federal governments. this is a short-term and long-term relationship. even nearly three years after the tornado, we are still working with fema for millions of dollars worth of reimbursements and millions of dollars worth of aid still flowing into our city. -- if fema going to be integrated into your command structure? re: going to be prepared to document every minute of the disaster, including money spent that hour's work -- spent and hours worked? know the timelines. seven, know that a disaster is more than just police, fire, and public works. a disaster impacts every department of your municipality. working to ensure

safe working conditions and hours worked. revenue will have to make sure that contractors have his licenses and that they are reputable. inspections is going to be bifurcated between inspecting the buildings that need to be demolished and approving new construction. finances will have to be prepared to document. since the tornado itself, the city have had to cast for -- cash flow $40 million, and that does not recover -- cover debris removal. s yoursaster impact community, you have to be thinking of rebuilding. . have to be focused on rebuilding, because that day will come. it is the mayors who innovate and bring home to the -- hope to the people they represent.

thank you for letting me share this story. [applause] >> now, i am pleased to announce the winners of our discussion drug abuse prevention recognition program sponsored by the u.s. conference of mayors and our partner lp. now in its fifth year, this program provides local support for outstanding prescription drug preventing rogue rims that work to prevent abuse and misuse of prediction -- prescription medication. thanks to the generous support of purdue pharma, we are awarding our second round of grants to another four mayors of small and large cities. let's give alan a round of applause.

[applause] how are you doing? welcome. what we're going to do is invite the two small cities up first. our second-place award winner, a great recipient of a thousand columbia mayor, kristin brown. great to see you again. [laughter] we will make sure we recognize her. ,er program is multifaceted called columbia, indiana diversification and enforcement program. ,ur first place winner receiving a grant of $10,000, goes to the city of fayetteville. is fayetteville in the house? do you want to stand up again and be fayetteville?

[laughter] innovative row gram around prescription drug use awareness, educate parents and grandparents about the dangers of prescription drug misuse. neither of those mayors are here, we are going to be giving it to the mayors who to be used wisely. all right, to our large city category, . our second-place winner for receiving a grant of found thousand dollars, the city of indianapolis, mayor ballard. [applause] celebrating families program, which aims to support families in the early stages of recovery from substance abuse. come on up, we will take a photo.

>> i don't want to steal the show, thank you so much for this rate honor -- great honor. on behalf of the city of indianapolis, and all of its rate citizen, thank you so much. i asked if he wanted to give remarks, and he said he was still feeling bad about the colts. >> that is a low blow. >> thank you. -- first place winner

[laughter] going to a program called too good for drugs program, the city of philadelphia, given up to our asked president -- past president. [applause] [laughter] [applause] thank you. good afternoon, good morning, whatever time it is. on behalf of the city of philadelphia i want to say thank you, very, very much for this recognition. to all of the mayors, many of whom i talked to on a regular

basis, this is part of the value added of being a member of the u.s. conference of mayors, and for designing, and submitting your ideas, your programs. some may win an award, or some may win money, but whatever category you are in, there is a value added to being a part of this great organization. we are all trying to do the same thing -- server citizens well, and make our cities to be the great places we want them to become and learn as much and we possibly get from each other. so we're very excited, very appreciative, thank you very much. [applause] we have two things left on our program and we will continue the rest of our day. it is my honor, i am pleased to bring up the president of the national league of cities with us this morning. the u.s. conference of mayors has been working very closely with the llc on issues related ,o cdbg the unfunded mandates one of the coolest and tallest

mayors we have. come on up. [applause] >> thank you. thank you for having me. told -- chosen basketball, but coming from minnesota, i chose hockey, and that did not work out well for me. tom cochran, thank you for inviting me to be here to give you greetings on behalf of the national league of cities. personally, i want to thank you -- come up to me and expressed concern for how cold it is back in st. paul. you hate -- it hit 28 below without windchill. better feel a little bit if i knew you were not thinking in the back of your head that we were not that there -- were nuts up there.

we are better equipped for 28 forw the legal coast is snow, so anytime you want a relief from that's no, we'll show you a mormon good time -- a warm and good time. we support tiles from the ground up, by rating building blocks for vibrant communities. there has never been a better time for the national league of cities and the u.s. conference of mayors to work together, to partner together to solve problems on the major challenges that we face in 2014. as mayors we understand that transportation infrastructure is a critical element of a strong and vibrant community, and gives all of our cities residents an opportunity to succeed, with access to jobs, education, and community centers. we cannot do it alone. the national league of cities, and u.s. conference of mayors

must work in partnership with the federal government to build new, and maintain existing advertising infrastructure projects. note gobs, revitalize downtown, better access for businesses, community spaces for all residents. st. paul will open the center corridor light rail. it is the largest research in project and the state of minnesota, but it is not just about moving people from point a to point b. this project will by -- revitalize our downtown business districts from a attract more young, talented individuals to our cities, and attract more residents that want to be a part of a vibrant and threaten community -- thriving community. it was because of our partnership with this initiation, and the transportation secretary that we are able to have that budget and forward, but do it in a way that fit our community needs. to do it in a way that the most transit dependent members of our

committee had access to communities -- transportation. i plugged the ministries and for being a part of that decision-making. recently, i testified before congress on the impact of these projects onhese local infrastructure. i urged the services committee that mayors need a federal --tner to support federal comprehensive transportation networks. in order to track a conference of workforce and remain viable. we look forward to looking -- working with you on creating a wrong local voice, and to protect local government interest in any tradition bill. one things i have been hardened by -- heartened by in the last few years is the increasing focus on education. we as mayors know that education is a critical imperative that

all of our cities face. we know that an educated training children to succeed in today's economy is another key building block for creating vibrant, and equitable communities. our two organizations must work to reform schools to help close the achievement gap. lyndon johnson declared war property, it is still evident that we need to devise new strategies to address income and educational inequalities throughout our cities. students must be supported both inside and outside of our school hours. in st. paul, we have developed the the after school program that is an innovative city program that matches kids with educational programming in the rec centers, libraries, and many community artists through neighborhood zones and other parts of the city. our voices are stronger together, and together we call on congress to complete the

long-overdue reauthorization of the elementary secondary education act. to support city school systems in partnership with the best education to the next generation of children. the national league of cities has shared goals to affect the marketplace fairness act and see it, -- become law. bond.x exempt municipal [applause] we need congress to understand this. to see that cities will be able to do less infrastructure investment, and create fewer jobs, and have more burdens on those who have to pay taxes. oureed to can -- continue leveling of the playing field between brick-and-mortar stores and online. now it's time for action on the marketplace fairness legislation. the two moste

powerful organizations representing cities across united states. we must work together, advocate together here and across the country. i look forward to a collaborative relationship between our director and your director. i look forward to the leadership of both of our organizations working together to have our voices heard and nation. well. i know i speak for all of us would we say that we are strongest when we work together. much, andnk you so let us have our voices be heard in washington. thank you very much. [applause] tom cochran, our leader, terrence anthony, come on up or a photo up -- for a photo op. you look good in your designer suit.

[laughter] alright everybody, this is our final speaker. i am so excited to say september, i was honored to lead a group of member that mayors to birmingham. empowerment week was commemorating the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th street baptist church,

were for beautiful girls look killed -- were killed. mayor riley, i very own mayor riley divided and inspirational keynote address, talking about the civil rights movement, and that his agenda is unfinished. merval --sted by mayor bill, and he is here to share a little bit. give a round of applause for my friend, mayor bell. [applause] >> thank you, mayor johnson. good afternoon. it is with great honor that i stand before you to really talk about and it just if -- an initiative that was started by this organization. it back during the commemoration of the civil rights movement in birmingham, we had members of

the yunis -- u.s. conference of mayors come together to launch the coalition against the citizen discrimination. that is part of a national effort to bring attention to unlocking the potential of all people, and removing the barriers that separate people, to allow cities to use all of the energy and the talents of all of our citizens, without there being interference from racism, discrimination or anything of that type. -- about out the because of the hard work of tom cochran. wase was a plan that initiated back in september, and 50 mayors had signed that 10 point plan, committed in their cities to irk toward implementing that plan. today we have over 113 members who have signed. at your tables, you should see a that wethe 10 points

are asking in and urging everyone to sign and sign their cities up. so that we can have vibrant cities that are welcoming to all individuals will regardless of the religion, regardless of their orientation, to come forward and be a part of the growth and dynamic of our cities. this initiative, as i said, was started by tom cochran when he met with the u.s. ambassador. the energizer bunny, when you give them something, he cannot stop until he gets it done. in recognition of the hard work that tom has done to bring about this 10 point plan, i want to present to him a proclamation. come forward at this time. on behalf of all of the hard work that you do, your support

of the commemoration of the civil rights movement in birmingham, and the initiative of the u.s. coalition against racism and discrimination but we want to present a proclamation to you on behalf of all of us, to say thank you and gobble that -- job well done. [applause] part of the delegation that came to birmingham, which also included mayor johnson, and so many others of you, was the involvement of the deputy assistant secretary of state. where are you? stand up, and least recognized her -- please recognize her. she has worked diligently to make sure that our efforts are going in the right direction. to have the international connection with other cities across the world to make sure that we end discrimination and racism wherever it is not.

efforts.you for your that copiesffee was of the brockovich and that i do haveill get -- copies of the proclamation that everyone will get. [applause] >> thank you for this recognition. -- what happened in birmingham, those of us that lived through it. we had the march, but then we had birmingham. there is no question in my mind that what happened in the 60's on that day changed the whole day -- nation. thecept this, thinking of weor of honolulu, who

recognized the death of kennedy 50 years ago. when he came to honolulu in our nl meeting in june, he introduced the five-point plan on civil rights in june of 1963. forward, this organization has stood firm on all of the issues that assesses -- it faces. he gives all of us the right to vote going to do the things we must do, to love who we want to love them and to do anything else we can in america. is veryanization strong, and i'm so honored that you have recognized the organization, and the history what the u.s. conference continues to do for those that need assistance. ladies and gentlemen, this is still going on, and let us continue the struggle. thank you very much. [applause]

right, we are wrapping up. there are three groups who want to think before we leave. we want to thank tom cochran and the u.s. conference of mayor's staff. let's give them a round of applause [applause] we want to thank the host mayor, mayor gray from d.c., and all the servers who helped as of the last three days. [applause] here, there are task force meetings, lunch will be served. we will see you in february for the leadership meetings or in june in dallas. thank you, and god bless you.

>> a reminder, if you have missed any of our coverage of the mayor's meetings be, you will find it online at c-span.org. upe live coverage coming this afternoon, from the south carolina senator tim scott. senator scott announced yesterday that next month you -- he will host an event honoring the black senators. and invite has been extended to president obama, among others. we will hear today from defense secretary chuck hagel, he will be joined by his french under part -- counterpart.

he ordered a 60 day review of the nation pot nuclear arsenal -- nation's nuclear arsenal. we expected hear more about that , coming up at 3:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. the congress wraps up their district work session, and they are back monday. a preview the capitol hill reporters -- preview next run the capital hill reporters. event is thee state of the union for president obama. what are we hearing that are the key priorities? expectation that he will continue to focus on is incoing -- and, quality -- inequality. >> we understand that

willsentative kathleen give the response. what should we know? house gopthe conference chair. i think the republicans have an interest in putting her up there as a woman. we are in that attack season when democrats are going to say things like the republicans hate the women and minorities must we are witnessing republicans but a lot of those members up in the public eye to make the case for the gop side of things. we can expect this for several more months until the elections shake out. >> it is a pretty short week with the state of the union, and the house retreat. but there is an abortion bill coming to the floor. what is that all about? >> the march for life, there will be an abortion vote next week.

it is the same one week saw in 2011, that codifies current law changes that happens every year for saying that no federal funds could be used for abortion. it has some twists though this year, some obamacare language. havecare says that if you a load of income and you qualify for a third federal subsidy to buy your health insurance plan, -- currentlyget you get those subsidies, but next week you would not. a little bit be dicey in terms of this being passed? this comesaware that as the suspension, it had passed in the last congress. it probably cannot pass as the

suspension, they would have to bring it up again. >> presumably, a longer week in the senate next week. actionte about senate seeking to delay keep resistance y- he revisions -- ke provisions. >> they are trying to rescue the bill of about $18 billion in debt that it has racked up. raise the rate on some of the flood loan areas -- prone areas. a couple of issues of, that members of both sides the of problems. house and there is a subsidy attached to your flood insurance premium, the new owner will not get that subsidy. that is a view that a lot of people have said that they cannot help -- now cannot sell their house.

they want to fix little things like that by delaying them. i can see this passing the house and senate some point this year. >> you tweeted another issue that is still out there, the military pensions. lawmakers say some in congress are crying call it -- crying crocodile tears over the military pension cuts. >> let's cut about $600 million off of federal military pensions. the, andrushed to pass the spending bill that they did. now we are saying that we need to fix this, just after you make those cuts. bill, theyhe flood say let's fix a big man than a month and a year goes by, and they want to change it. that is an issue that will be talked about at the very least. far.ing is scheduled so >> we have not talked about unemployment benefits, or other

must get dozens in congress, what will we see? >> i am not sure we will see unemployment again. they tried and failed, but they have not been able to get anywhere. it is something that obama's speech good re-energize democrats to try to get another shot at extending the benefits. is out something that there. with the retreat coming up, we may see immigration talked about a lot more. we know that the gop is working on principles for that. next week is probably a little too good, but we might see a handful of else on that this year -- of bills on that this year. >> you can read more of this on c-span.org. >> some of you have been marching for over 40 years. setbacks,njoyed many including the recent expansion

of abortion coverage in obamacare. but it is important more now than ever that we remain strong and stand together. we cannot allow the opponent of life to continue the weekend the moral fabric of our country. they need to know, and the need to understand, that we will continue to march. we will continue to educate, we will continue to advocate, and we will continue to fight for the unborn. fact that the president obama is using self-deception and the coercive power of the state to promote abortion violence, the pro-life movement is alive and well, and making say they're get -- making significant progress. >> this weekend, the march for

life rally, saturday morning at 1:00 a.m. eastern. two, book tv. fromspan3's american tv, 1964-2004, the issues and concerns in the state of the union speeches. no matter what party they belong to, i bet most americans are thinking the same thing about now. nothing will get done in washington this year. or next year. or maybe even the year after that. because washington is broken. can you blame them for feeling a little cynical? greatest blow to our lastdence, and our economy

year did not come from events beyond our control. it became a debate in washington over what the united states would pay its bills are not. who benefited from that fiasco? about the depth of trust between history of wall street, but the divide between the city and the rest of the country is at least as bad. it seems to get worse every year. obamach president delivered this year's state of the union address on tr uesday. tuesday night, live on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. the brookings institution yesterday released its foreign-policy recommendations for 2014. the teeth -- chief washington

correspondent moderates a panel of foreign experts. in the name of the god, the merciful, i'm happy to be with you today. as you know, iraqi is an important country, in the world at large. we interactnow that work through a very particular experience in the middle east. oppressive regime, and then a military our busiest -- occupation.

. there's also a roadmap that was set. to doaqis were not able --s roadmap because n itanted them to be am somewhere democracy. -- exemplary democracy. we have suffered a lot in the past, condemned to us occasions , theo executions psychological environment was very hard. arsre were mutual fe

between the iraqi components. this was the reason why the constitution has some problems. and some articles in the constitution can be interpreted in different ways. mechanism to build institutions for the implementation of the constitution. it is not as it should've been, because of the political decisions. it was not billed as it should because of the problems. for instance, the federal the brain court, which is the , ruled ondicial body the conflict, but were not able to implement it.

this two thirds of the vote in the parliament and all political parties do not agreed so far -- do not agree so far. it does not have the constitutional prerogative to be able to rule on the issue of interpreting the constitution, or deciding if the laws are cursed additional. or also ruling on differences kurdish and baghdad provinces. all of this is made political life more obligated in iraq. this fight against the building of the democratic province. are bad and the additions of the law, and selective and badtations --

implementations of the law, and implementation,imitatio s. published inpted, the official journal, and theoretically should have been able to, but were not because there are many political decisions to not implement them. the law on the provinces that gives -- to the provinces. to implement the dissenter live asian of the states -- the decentralization of the states. it will not be a limited.

-- implemented. it was about three years ago that it was paralyzed on purpose. we are facing the obstacles when it comes to the institutions in iraq. selectivity in implementing the laws, sometimes it is on some iraqi parties, and not others. also, in their participation political.l -- we are facing a terrorist t hreat. how to, we need to know -- andthese terrorism

this terrorism, at the security and ideological level. with the search of the american forces, the violence ended in the country, and we set a plan to fight al qaeda and other groups. with the support of the sunni were financed, and gave promises they would be part of the forces. they were able to security wasda and in those that represent 30% of iraq. afterward, there was no

follow-up on the promises that were given to them, and they did the promises to integrate fromorces to protect them being targeted by the terrorists. them got salaries. systematic delays, because they wanted to undermine the rule. few 2009 until t months ago, these forces were almost completely destroyed, and al qaeda came back. they were able to paralyze the

the state did not follow-up on its moral and literal promises to us. we are feeling a frustration amongst the iraqi people, and exploiting the systematic on an economic and political level. support, finances, in some provinces. iraqis were00 killed, more than 25,000 were wounded. this is the highest figure in the last 10 years. so, the political components were not able to build the system, or google that the

constituency -- implement the constituency. they were not able to implement the laws as it should be. and they did not respect all the in an equitable way in the armed forces. they do not provide the government with enough funds according to the constitution. a also did not adopt resolution on the harder carpets -- hydrocarbons which is very the provinceseen and the center for the production and exportation of oil.

the interpreted constitution based on their own perspective, this is hindering the national cohesion. and is leading to more decisions, and more people do not trust the process anymore. this is something that we have inn by the very low turnout the last general elections and the one before it. thislieve that iraq is at the key to the solution is clear, and we can find that solution. what we need is a strong determination, a political will. for everyone to agree on the constitution, and to forget about the problems of the past, to move beyond the fear. to stop punishing the iraqi

people, and move toward can preventon that director eith -- iraqi even greater problems. a law adopted against everyone who committed a crime. some of them are accused of many crimes, but they decided to go against everyone. everyone is for disbanding the political process -- participating in the political process. but in a rack -- in a rock -- in iraq, we are still arresting people, and implementing the law

accountability. we are still punishing some of the iraqi people who were not ,art of the previous decision but only for reasons that are unfair.l and processe the political in, and we have an eject seriously and quickly. act seriously and quickly. we need to put an end to the violence, and killing them and we should avoid any political measures as has happened the day before yesterday, with the decision to start campaigns

against the provinces. in othert is happening premises. qaeda, butight al not everything in move of our -- terrorist.ak is problems that made political solutions, not military regions -- need a lyrical solutions, not military arrangements. either in full move to our enhance democracy, and give an example of a democratic system, or, god for to awe will move

serious situation if the problems are not based in the right way. raq needs people to move with them. the partnership rather thaniraqis, the marginalization that we are seeing. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you very much. welcome to brookings. it is great to have you here. thank you for your remarks. particularly, i think you justified my comment meant that you're one of the most important, and most constructive iraqi politicians out there. i wanted to start my question for you on where you begin to prepare your marks -- your

remarks. you said the constitution had been rushed. we heard from a wide variety of different iraqi politicians and iraqi leaders, who have different ideas about the nature of the iraqi state and what it looks like, who have different visions of the future. i wanted to begin by asking you about your vision for the future. eloquent and passionate about the mis steps that were taken in the in the location of the constitution -- implementation of the constitution. i wanted to ask you what your iraq was, and whether you felt your vision was somehow different from your sense of the prime minister's

vision? >> well of course, i have a vision about iraq, and its democracy. it is not similar to all democracies, we are march edition of our legacy, our history, and our responsibility. many ofo also agree on the criteria on a comes to toocracy -- when it comes democracy. i believe that iraq is able to model invery important the middle east. the constitution has many flaws, but nonetheless, it guarantees liberty and freedom. it guarantees partnership and the breeding of a strong state. some articles need to

be amended, and this is that some that say at thise amended, but point the constitution can bring iraq into a better future. i do not agree with the prime minister. in the way that he manages the country, and i believe that permitting the constitution, and applying the rule of law is not in the policy of the government. it is a selective policy. sometimes the laws are in limited in certain circumstances, and in other circumstances they are not. accountasue of bility. the law says that people who in the partyvel

should not be nominated at certain high levels in the government and so on. but when we moved to what is happening on the ground, many of the military commanders are in charge of many important units and operations command have in thenking positions police or ministry of the interior, where previously -- and also at that time, were of high standing position, were simply put aside and ignored. officersnterparts, and ither provinces -- have to say it from the congressional perspective, are being ignored, are being almostlized, and are

pushed into the arms of the terrorists. there are double standards, in dealing with the citizens. this leads to a lack of response of the political process, and a lack of or sponsor -- respect for the state. this democracy is selected, it is a democracy or some -- for some. . this problem is a problem of commitment. 130ave diagnosed more than problems in the constitution -- in violations of the concentration. -- constitution. is not to prevent the

parliament from voting, and are mining the constitution and the courts. the court that was great in for the constitution, and they decided that what the government is doing is right, we are not being able to -- there are double standards. policies, we will not lead to a strong iraq. we need to have a separation of power, respect the laws, and the institution. this is taken unilaterally at the security

level and as you know, and all decisions are in the hands of the prime minister. all of the iraqis should be able to conjure be at -- in tribute in such an important decision. >> i want to ask you about a particular word that one hears in great amounts. federalism. some speak of the problems that you have raised, as being 40 beeral structure -- tw delighted to hear why not. what would you mean by reader federalism? >> it is encouraging the provinces. you do know that the system is a

federal system. now we have the problems. there is also a mechanism about creating new ones according to this. about the mechanism to create this. beginning, some of them were against this. they believe this was some sort of participant. after we went through the and weal process, started seeing the double standard in the lack of fairness, many started demanding .t

there is a majority who supported this. they determined this was a province. it would be officially submitted to the elections that would organize it. meaning 50% of those registered to vote agree, then we will have with the prerogative. the aim is not to create this.

it is more of the division. they would have the necessary management capabilities or prerogative. i do believe in federalism. i believe it is a solution to many of the problems we are facing. i dad would be in charge of the main ministries. and other issues relating to sovereignty in the provinces dust provinces would manage their own. this is completely a constitutional issue. many do believe that this could come.

more than a year ago they submitted a request. it was not followed by a referendum. it was cap here. this is a huge violation. the day before yesterday the province in the north presented a -- a request to become a problem. sent the request to baghdad. is something i encourage. i believe it will enhance the unity and will help solve the political and security problems. >> as a proud son, i would like to follow up on the last point you made. given the state of tensions, if the government does not follow regional status, what

is your sense of how the will would react? we cannot refer to this anymore and when those do not the citizens would not consider that they are committed to the laws anymore. they are not committed. they will have other alternatives. we are warning against those. that is why they should be implementing it. we do not want to have negative repercussions on the constitution.

or on the elections. we do not want people to start on this. we should implement the constitution we should allow for them to be created on an mission. and so on.istians it is a very diverse province. it is a subdivision. it replies to this as well. it would take five dollars from each barrel of oil produced in the province. also when it comes to refining the oil. budget was here a few days

ago. it only gave one dollar for each the fourand kept remaining dollars when we asked why we got no legal answer. it is the will of some members if yougovernment not to do not give us our legal right, we will not stop producing oil. we will start a rebellion. the governorhat said. why do you push them? . >> this business into an important discussion. one of the great questions that americans have about what is going on in iraq today is the question of where do average

iraqis stand question how did they see their situation? sunni community -- you will pardon me for using that moniker, but i think that is a fair way to put it. i think to hear a sense from you of how do they see the situation. how do they look at the current crisis. how do they feel about the government? how are they seeing their own lives, and what would they like from it? if you can give some sense of how the people in the provinces are viewing the issues, i think that would be helpful to all of us. >> as i said, justice was not implemented as it should.

the authority of the states, the huge capability was used to implement selective systems, which is encouraging the supporters and punishing those who are opposing the government. there was a way of dealing with the citizens. this is something we have seen at all levels starting with ordinary citizens and moving to high-ranking politicians. this is a feeling of frustration and therefore, rebellion.

people believe the state is not respecting the rights of some of the provinces and therefore we should react and say we are against people and you should deal with us fairly. politicians talked about these issues within the parliament in political circles with the government and during negotiations about forming a government. also when it comes to the agreement of 2010, which led to the formation of this government. we set a roadmap for giving their rights in decision- making, but there was no follow- up. the agreement that the minister should be a sunni potentially the security for the sunnis and for the kurds, but this was not what happened. there were huge demonstrations that lasted more than a year. they look for a quality and the

leaving of innocent detainees, and they wanted the government not to use accountability to punish people of the provinces for no reason at all. two years ago thousands of young people were arrested around baghdad. when the authorities were asked, why are you arresting them, they said it was a preventive arrest.

we have doubts about some of these people being terrorists. some of them remained in detention two years after the summit was held. there was also one of the elected members who was arrested and accused of being a terrorist. he was in there for six years and was released without any charges against him. the provinces are asking for their rights. the demonstration was militarily the first. many were arrested, and the demonstrators were accused of harboring terrorists, and the problem started with disbursing demonstrations in al anbar. of course in such demonstrations

where 100,000 people are participating, probably we can find some unacceptable slogans, but these do not represent all the people. the demonstrators are not responsible for terrorist among them, but none of the people demonstrating ever attacked security forces. there were classes here and there. i don't believe these demonstrators did anything to harm central authorities, but still, they were dispersed by force. even the presence of al qaeda, they occupy parts of al anbar.

there are a few dozen to 100. people say they do not respect these demonstrations, and it is pushing people to carry weapons. people in al anbar the iraqis agree should fight al qaeda and get rid of them. they are a dangerous force, but at the same time, we should have a political process where we would listen to the demands of the people, that would give them the funds articulated by the >> we're going to hear shortly from tim scott. >> we have a spectacular guest

today for lunch. our guess bigger was sworn in as senator from south carolina about a year ago after representing the first district of the house of representatives down in south carolina. , senator tim scott story, embodies the american dream from growing up poor in a single-parent household to running a successful business to serve the in the united states senate. he credits his success to learning conservative values from his teenage mentor. that is the kind of story we need to tell all over the country as a party. it is something we heard a goat at our panel yesterday. conservative values and conservative principles will lift people up from poverty and create more opportunity for every person in this country. i'm grateful that he is here to

proud that he and ouruch a rising star of party today. everybody please welcome them the great senator from south carolina. please welcome senator tim scott. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you very much. thank you. you guys make me blush which is kind of hard to do sometimes. i was up here and i was thinking myself as melody potter was doing the prayer.

the who?no when she walked up your and started praying i wanted to preach for second up year. myoring melody in honoring mama who wanted a preacher and not a politician would probably take too long for the short lunch. i will stick with my written notes. thank you for your outpouring of affection. we live in an amazing country. roads this the nation has traveled, the progress we have made in a very short time. i will say this. has been filled with potholes. i hid them all. america, a kid born anytime can rise to any level. it is also the story of

conservatism. mentore beneficiary of a who was a chick-fil-a operator who told me early on but you can think your way out of poverty. what a remarkable thought prophecy -- process. you can think your way out of poverty. our country and government over the last six or seven years i think that is into poverty. when i arrived in congress to have years ago, we were spending -- 2.5 years ago, we were spending $3.6 trillion. does anyone think that is a lot of money beside me? let me just smile for a second. spendinghen we were the 3.6 trillion dollars, we knew without question were only bring in about $2.5 trillion. can you imagine an american family that knows that their annual income is $25,000 setting a budget at $36,000?

home.ld never do that at we should not do that as a government. big about where it went. $700 billion went to seven -- social security. 273 billion dollars would to medicaid. $400 billion went to take care of our mandatory spending. about $300 billion was for our interest payment on our debt. having ourk about us 25 annual average interest rate, our net interest payments for rents -- interest only would have risen from $300 billion to over $700 billion. or 25% of all the revenues that came into our country. in addition to those categories, ohlso spent about 666, goodness gracious, i'm glad you caught that joe. ake. alright.

nondiscretionary well $692 billion on defense discretionary. knowing we only had 2.5 trillion dollars. to make matters worse, we went one -- we went from $14.320 in until $17 trillion in debt. laster we have a tax increase of $600 billion. i'm here to give you the good news. you look a little depressed. let me tell you. .n the end we win 2014 is the year that the republican party takes that the iited states senate appeared have learned. in sales one of the things you learn sometimes you have to make them sick before you make them well. anybody feeling a little nauseous?

inc. about our long-term unfunded liabilities as a nation, a deacon couple health care and pensions, that number is over $200 trillion. sometimes the numbers truly do tell us a very important part of .he picture to complicate matters, in 2009 democrats have the white house, the senate, in the u.s. house. what was the remedy for poverty then? , thehad the whole control whole enchilada. what do they do instead? they focus on health care. we saw the creation of obamacare. without any republican support. these tell a little bit more of the story.

in 2009, the estimate for obamacare was $900 billion. two years later, the estimate rose to $1.8 trillion in two years later the estimate last $3r some said will exceed trillion. we story 15% of americans uninsured. the experts say by the year 2023 we will still have 10% uninsured. three trillion dollars who may provide more health care to 5% of the population. i am not impressed. news, of all of that good we see that the health care law is going to eliminate and we have some congressional action

of a 40 hour workweek. decimated because of the health care law. i think these are component parts too many reasons why independent voters a starting to look at our party for real solutions. they are not looking for republican solutions. for are looking conservative american solutions. i say the welcome mat is out. the doors are open. come on in. take another look at the republican party. [applause] call it the great opportunity party. the gop. osha could rap. i would do something. i have not done any better since then. a small business owner from south carolina. about two years ago was are providing more health insurance for his family.

we have two great kids, lovely wife. deductible was $415. this is a deductible. it goes to $25,000. these are higher out-of-pocket expenses and fewer doctors to choose from. i guess if you really. are you don't get to keep them. kind of sad. numbers are very important. they do not tell the whole story. if we're going to be successful in 2014, and i am absolutely confident that we are, there's something perhaps more important than the numbers. old adage is very important. people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

has anyone heard that once or twice in a lifetime? people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. i learned that lesson very early on. i was a 16 old. my brothers. command sergeant major in the army. i learned that lesson at 16. my mom and i were sharing one car. it was our first new car. owned tofined as first.

anybody remember those days? it was a brown 1982 toyota corolla hatchback. ugly brown car. goodness gracious. i to get to work one morning. i was goodbye to play football. work one her to morning. i was going to play football. i got sleepy. i rolled the windows down. please note. i rolled the windows down. then i rolled the windows up. i turned the ac on. then i turned the ac off. 1982, 100 degrees outside. i turned the heat on. then i turned the heat off. the next thing i knew, i was waking up driving about 70 miles an hour down the interstate. do every kid does at 70 miles an hour when he is waking up on my slant on the rakes, i jerked the stealing will

simultaneously. can anyone tell me what happens when you drive 70 miles an hour down the road and you are asleep any the steering will and you roll your car over? yes. very good. because i'm from south carolina, do not know directions. i was going this way. there was blood everywhere. i got out of the car. i was laying on the bottom of it, climbing up to get out. i heard this little lady running toward me. she said "i think he is dead, i

think he is dead." i am dead.ck " i am dead. i am dead." i did not do real well in high school. they laid me on the side of the highway. i love our first responders. a highway patrolman shows appeared he looks at me -- let's give them a hand. [applause] guys are the gals and the who run into danger and not away from it. he was a big, tall fellow peers yournt over and said "son, mom is going to be so happy your life." i looked up him and said "sir, you don't know my mom. she's going to kill me." met he was trying to tell was that she was not worried about the car or the loss of money.

she was worried about the life in the car. for we the republican party, were us to see our greatest success in 2014, we are going to have to embrace people in a way that they deserve to be embrace. a newembrace people in fantastic way, we will encourage them to find a potential within themselves to maximize their potential. when we went the all elections, ,- win people elections will take care of themselves. that is a fact. [applause] i think about how that happens. for the last several months i have gone on an experimental tour throughout my state. i have done it in an unusual way. i decided to start working jobs

in different places that my friends and my neighbors work. perrigofloors at a mo's plays. i even bagged groceries. that is one hard job. the eggs are messed up with steak and it is all ugly. i rode the public bus system. sit back with a big hat on my head and have a conversation with everyday americans. so me times politicians want to talk for somebody before they speak to somebody. many times politicians want to talk for somebody before they speak to somebody. talking to everyday folks like myself, coming from the neighborhood where i still live within a 10 moccasins from where i grew up, talking to these fantastic americans, love their country. committed to the cause. two things seem to be consistent

in their stories. educational opportunities vanished and the skills they have do not meet the skills of the 21st-century work or spirfo. we started creating a path forward for these young folks who needed a different direction. the first we create it was the choice act. creating hope and opportunity for individuals and communities through education. if we focus on education, we find the magic to reducing unemployment in our most challenging numbers. let us talk for a few minutes. less is go now.

that was a sign from god himself. i do not know what it is. it is incredibly important. doublences of you having digit unemployment significantly high purity if you're a college graduate or have competent skills at that level, your unemployment rate is around 4%. through the bus. as i talk to to the folks on the bus. as i went and worked and swept in different functions, i realize so many of our young folks and adults, their capstion level actually too much of their potential. we have an opportunity to raise their potential for these people want a hand up and not a handout. here is a great opportunity their education. -- people from italy is a from louisiana in the room question mark you're doing a

great job with your voucher system though the federal government wants to challenge them for some reason. i do not understand those folks. 91% of the african-american parents love this system. --h levels of incitement excitement and enthusiasm. high levels of success. 63% of african american parent say the exact same thing. kids are far more important of all the other things he can bring to my table. if you educate my kids, there's a path for. i want the first-generation my family to graduate from college. i hear that consistently. if we take this, carpe diem. her country will never be the same. our party will never be the same. it is more important for us to trade and build the best country and everything else takes care of itself. the second thing i learned talking to adult guys 50 years old moving from georgia back to south carolina.

looking for a better opportunity. he gets stuck working 30 hours a becausea restaurant they are implementing the new standards of obamacare. 25% of hisng to lose income off the back. he does not have the skills necessary to go to the next level. we introduced the skills act that is arty been passed in the house. he believed the skills at provide the necessary training for these adults who need a better opportunity. and they are willing to work for it. through our skills act ecb pieces coming together. we can create centers of excellence that are bursting with economic activity and creativity. deservesce in america a chance. if we give it to them, they will take it.

let me just inc. through my path -- let me just think through my path forward. us to take about 10 or 15 seconds to think through your path forward. many of us in this room have had the same cap here too many folks in america think the only -- path. too many folks in america think people that start out poor look like me. consistently, i hear very consistently stories who struggledy's for a very long time to get a great education and did exceptionally well in life here it i hear story after story of decimation. it seems like in america we have a tragedy. within every challenge he -- then every travesty is iumphed.-- tr

i've walked the streets of trust charleston and-- greenville. i'm if you would throw desires. he fore hungry and first someone to present an american solution. if we do that we change the course. we rewrite history for the great and patience ever assembled on earth. that name is america. god bless you. [applause]

>> thank you, senator scott. that was an uplifting speech. i feel like all i want to do is run up that door and charge through it. i hope everyone feels the same. i realize as i was sitting near that we have not had a chance to eince for the amazing job that he has done. i asked that we all stand up. this has been an extraordinary week. just a couple of quick notes. right now there is a meeting of strategic data 2:00. then we have mitch mcconnell tonight at 5:00 here in the back

of the building. there may have a wonderful evening at the museum. i will see this afternoon. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> the republican national committee open and their meeting in washington. the voted to overturn presidential selection process to minimize damage from candidate attacking each other. -- rankedthat rent reba said they would not allow republicans to slice and dice each other for six months or participate in a debate here in the ridges up dated in 27 debates for the 2012 nomination. i want to talk about our live coverage coming up in about an

hour and 20 minutes. we will take you to the pentagon to hear from chuck hagel and his french counterpart yesterday. he ordered a review of the nation's nuclear arsenal. we will hear more about that at the briefing. 11 meetings going around washington. earlier today they talked about the expansion of medicaid under the health care law. here is what he had to say. today we change the course of kentucky's history. i was not really being germanic. i was being truthful. kentucky is a state whose collective help has long been horrendous. we rank among the worst if not the worst in almost every major health category from smoking to cancer deaths, preventative

hospitalizations, premature death, cardiac heart disease, diabetes. you name the condition, we do not look very good in it. these horrible rankings and not come about last week or last year. we have rained like that ever since they started keeping rankings of these things in the united states. get me wrong. we have made progress in kentucky. those improvements are not enough. i knew that to make fundamental change in our health status, i needed a big solution. along came the affordable care act and gave that big solution to me. aca, for thef the first time in our history kentucky is making health coverage available to every single -- every single

kentuckian in the commonwealth of kentucky. is not just any old insurance. it is darn good coverage. comprehensive coverage. >>is desperately needed. part of our coverage of the usa conference in washington this week, you can see the comments span.org. c-spa the house has been out all week. more from a capital hero -- top -- -- capitol hill reporter. congress is coming back next week from their work in the marquee event. it is the state of the union. what are we hearing about the key priorities he will talk about. incomeill focus on equality. the push for 2014.

a lotect to hear about that. i do not know the stuff. i think the republicans probably have an interest of putting her up there as a woman. thingsin a season where like republicans hate women and they hate minorities. we're seeing republicans put a lot of the members up in the public eye to make the case. we can expect this for several more months until the election shake up here at >> and looks like a pretty short week the republican retreat next week. there is an abortion bill coming to the house that was mentioned by eric cantor. what is this all about? >> this is an event you watched all day. on wednesday i think he said

there will be an abortion vote next week. they have a bill that changes a lot over every year. is is no federal funds can be used for abortion. up on the spending bill for the health and human services department. it had some obamacare language. if you qualify for a certain federal subsidies to buy health insurance you will not get the subsidies. he did those under the bill. next week you will not if it became law. that is one of the ways republicans are continuing to attack obamacare. >> could this be a little bit dicey? it is coming up as a suspension bill. >> i do not think it is clear.

it had about 16 democrats that went with republicans. they probably cannot pass as a suspension. it will probably fail. it should pass easily if he becomes a normal bill and they need a simple majority. likely actionbout in the senate looking to delay key provisions of the flood insurance reform. what is going on? >> in 2012 congress passed a bill that basically try to rescue the national flood program from about $18 billion in debt. what they did was make changes two years ago to say let's raise the rates on some of these flood prone areas. if you have to buy insurance in your going to pay a little bit more to help us dig out of debt. a couple of issues have come up. was language from two years ago that says if you sell your house and there is a subsidy attached to your premium, the new owner will not get that subsidy. that is something a lot of

people have said. the new owner will know that it is to hard to sell the house. they want to fix things and that by delaying them. the could see this passing house and senate some point this year. >> you also tweeted about another issue that is still out there, the military pension. lawmakers say some are crying crocodile tears over the military pension cuts. >> this is the issue we sell since the budget. about 600t's cut million off of the veteran pensions. we still get to see a fix right now. congress rushed to pass this. everyone is saying we need to fix it. in some ways it is typical. they say let's fix something. let's to do something. then a month or year goes by and they all want to change it again. it will be talked about at the very least.

nothing is scheduled yet so far. as we wrap up him a we have not talked about unemployment. what are some of the ones we will see in the coming weeks? >> the senate tried and failed. it is unclear how it will get anywhere. is something that the obama speech could re-energize them. we may see immigration talked about a lot more. the gop is working on principles for that. see a handful of bills on that. >> you can read his reporting at thehill.com. thank you for the update. some of you have been

marching for over 40 years. endured many setbacks including the recent expansion of abortion coverage and obamacare. is important more now than ever that we remain strong and stand to have their. we cannot allow the opponents of life continually week in the moral fabric of our country. and they neednow to understand that we will continue to march. we will continue to educate. advocate.ntinue to we will continue to fight for the unborn. >> despite the fact that president obama is using stealth assessment and the coercive power of the state to promote the bush and -- promote abortion of violence, the pro-life

movement is alive and well and making serious significant. >> this weekend, the annual march for life rally from the national martin washington, d.c. what is the secret to a life of happiness? hugh hewitt on the possible answers saturday night at 8:00. from 1960 42 2004, the issues and concerns from five decades of state of the union speeches. sunday afternoon at 3:00. >> no matter what party they belong to, i bet most americans are thinking the same thing right about now. nothing will get done in washington this year. or next year. or maybe even the year after that. washington is rogan. -- is broken. can you blame them for feeling

cynical? the greatest blow to our confidence in our economy last year did not come from events beyond our control. it came from a debate in washington over whether the united states would pay its bills are not. who benefited from that fiasco? i talked tonight about the deaths of the trust between main street and wall street. the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad. it seems to get worse every year. >> watch president obama deliver this year's address. the stars live tuesday night at 8:00 eastern with the president your00 followed by reaction by phone, facebook and twitter. the seat of the union tuesday night live on c-span.

>> john kerry is in switzerland were tomorrow he will participate in the syrian negotiations and the two sides are poorly meeting for the first time on saturday. he was the king today and i'll post at the world economic forum. he talked about the political unrest in the ukraine, and about in syria. from dov vos, this is 40 minutes. davos, this is 40 minutes. >> good evening. special thing to do talk about secretary kerry. i have to say welcome back.

the first time 21 years ago. you have been part of many of our activities. a goodeally welcoming old friend. all of theay in discussions we have over the last days, it was always emphasize how important american foreign policy is. handsw it is in very good . so far we are eager to listen to you. inc. you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> thank you very much. it is an enormous pleasure for me to be back here and have this opportunity to be able to share some thoughts with all of you about american foreign policy. as i have just said, i have had

the privilege of eating here many times over the past 20 years. i always appreciate the diversity of thought and the thirst for new ideas that really characterizes this forum. it is safe to say that. those pushes the limits of thinking, tries hard to find the new thinking and that is what really makes this form so special. i congrats -- congratulate you on putting together a remarkable venue for everybody. i want to share our latest thinking with respect to the role that u.s. diplomacy can play in addressing some of the most pressing foreign policy challenges that we face in an extraordinary complex very different world from the world of the last century. claims that i by

occasionally hear that somehow america is this engaging from the world. are pullingat we back or giving up or standing down. to make it clear today that nothing could be further from the truth. this and in some case driven narrative appears to be based on the simplistic assumption that there are only tool of influence is our military. troopdo not have a huge presence somewhere or we are not brandishing an immediate threat of force we are somehow absent from the arena. i think the only person more surprised than i am by this engagement is the air force pilot who flies the secretary of state plane.

measuredement is not in frequent flyer miles. it would be pretty nice if i got a few. , and really measured serious student of foreign policy understand this, i'd be breadth of our commitment to allies in every corner of the world. it is measured by the degree of difficulty of the crises and conflict that we choose to confront. it is measured ultimately by the results that we are able to achieve. disengaging, america is proud to be more engaged than ever. i believe it is playing a critical role, perhaps as critical as ever, in the process of peace and stability.

we're working with our partners to forgo violence in the ukraine and address the concerns of people protesters to foster dialogue. i literally just received messages before walking in here about the efforts of our diplomats on the ground. we will stand with the people of the ukraine. progress toward the transatlantic partnership that would link the world's largest market, the eu, with the world sing as largest economy, the united states. we are negotiating the transpacific hardship which will encourage a race to the top, not the bottom, as that unifies 40%

of the world economy. the united states is working extremely closely with china and their allies in the region in order to adjust our careers program and on perches like disaster relief and development. as recently in the philippines. in a few weeks i will be back in asia, my fifth trip as secretary of state within a year. we are working with our partners to discourage s steps and .onflict in the south china sea this is a critical part of the president's rebalance to asia. , the home to seven of the world 10 fastest-growing economies, we are investing heavily in development, trade and in the great lakes region we just recently helped and an armed rebellion demobilizing the

armed. thanks to the engagement on the ground, we have helped to achieve a cease- fire and south sudan. i can sell you that every day during the so-called christmas rate i was on the phone to president or the prime minister of ethiopia or the president of uganda as we worked a diligently to try to move toward peace. this is preparation for our leaders who will focus on corporations and our hemisphere. the north american effort for a renewable entrepreneurship and educational exchange.

this is perhaps uniquely and unfortunately excessively defined foremost i force. we are entering an era of american diplomatic engagement that is as rods and as deep as any time in our history. such are the possibilities of a global power. this is about a supposedly retrieved by the united states from the middle east. my response is simple. you cannot find another country, not one country, that is as proactively engaged, that is partnering with so many middle eastern countries as constructively as we are in so many fronts.

we have no pretense about solving these problems alone. nor is is a as president obama made clear last fall at the united nations, the united states of america will continue to invest significant effort in the middle east. we have enduring interests in the region. friendshipsring with countries that rely on us for their security in a volatile neighborhood. we will defend our partners and our allies as necessary. we will continue to ensure the free flow of energy, dismantle networks,nes