that came out this month, "why nudge? the politics of libertarian paternalism." thank you very much. >> thank you. i enjoyed it. to give your comments, visit us. the programs are also a global as c-span podcast. >> next, nick clegg taking questions. president obama and irish prime minister talked about irish-american relations. then a discussion about the democratic party campaign against the koch brothers. alan, crisis and

compromise after 9/11, discusses allegations that the cia spied on staffers. looks at therter obama administration effort to get young adults and african-americans and hispanics to sign up for health insurance. former assistant treasury secretary talks about the five-year anniversary of the home affordable medication project. will look for your cause and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" on c-span. >> on wednesday, british deputy prime minister answered questions from parliament on

behalf of david cameron. he's on his first official visit to israel. harriet harman represented the opposition side. the deputy prime minister spoke about humanitarian efforts in syria and urged allies to continue working with eu in on the ukraine. he also answered questions on the national health service, the automobile industry, and unemployment. this is over 30 minutes. concern. he is right to raise it and we're on the case. >> order. questions to the prime minister. naomi long. >> question number one, mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, i've been ask to reply on my right honourable friend the prime minister who is visiting israel in the occupied palestinian territory. i'm sure the whole house which will to wish to join me paying tribute adam morally from 32 engineer regiments who tragically died in cam bastion in march. our deepest sympathies are with

them at this time. mr. speaker on a happier note i think the house would like to join my if the first paralympic gold medal winner and kelly gallaher and her teammate won gold and silver medals at the sochi games. i send congratulations to her and other competitors n additions to my duties i will have further such meetings later today. >> naomi long. >> thank you, mr. speaker. if i could add my sympathy as and thoughts and prayers to the family. my congratulations to kelly gallagher from northern ireland of course. one of the first -- mr. speaker, given rising racism and xenophobia in including racist attacks in my home state of south africa what more can government do to insure the public debate such as e.u. membership on immigration are more balanced and celebrate the

huge positive contribution to both the social, cultural and economic life of the u.k., particularly in the run-up to the european election? >> mr. speaker, of course i agree with her. straight away the balance explaining to the public we are running a tough but firm immigration system where it needs to be tough and firm but also hope want to come here to make a contribution and pay their taxes and contribute to our way of life. i was deeply saddened and shocked to hear about the incidents of what happened to members of the polish an chinese community in her constituency and even more so of what's happened to her colleague anna lowe who i understand is the first member of chinese descent in any legislature in europe is being subject to terrible abuse by bullies and racists. i rang her a few weeks ago to express my own support for what she is doing to stand up against that terrible treatment. >> sir alan beeks. >> mr. speaker, 700-pound tax

cut, preschool meals and pupil people yum will improve the opportunities and lives of many of my constituents even those these ideas were not entirely welcome to some among our coalition's party. will you welcome the fact that coalition government and compromises with it can deliver sound policy? >> yes. i strongly, i strongly, i strongly agree with him, especially on those policies. one of them as he will know is in the papers this morning because of the inexplicable views of unknown and highly opinionated ex-party advisor to the come serve tiff party about preschool meals. preschool meals when they are delivered for those in school in september will save families money, will improve the health of children and will improve educational outcomes. instead of denigrating that policy we should be celebrating

it. >> erica harmon. >> i would like to join the deputy prime minister to pay tribute to adam morally from 32 engineer regiments. we honor his bravery and service but above all send our deepest condolences to his families and friends who mourn him. i join the deputy prime minister too congratulating our paralympic medal winners and wish them the best of luck in the games. the deputy prime minister said local people should have more control over their health services. can he explain to the house and the public why last night he voted against that? >> actually, we voted for measures which would insure there is local consultation, that people are -- well i have to say i'm intrigued by her line of inquiry given their record in the nhs. we don't need to go any further than what is happening in wales

where they haven't met their targets since 2009. it was that party opposite when in government entered succession of sweet deals -- sweetheart deals, covert privatization of large parts of our nhs. i don't don't think after the support and revelation that is happened under labour they have much to stand on. >> even prepared to justify what he voted on last night because the truth is that the health secretary broke the law which gave local people a say and decided to change the law and the lib dems could have set in and stopped it. oh, no, here is what they did instead. first they said they were against the change. then they put down an amendment. then they sold out to the tories and the tories got their way again. is there any logic to how the lib dems vote other than

self-interests? >> mr. speaker, this from a party that spent a quarter of a billion pound, 250 million-pound, on sweetheart deals for the private sector which led to operations and procedures which didn't help a single patient. a party which now rants and rails against competition in the nhs but actually introduced it. a party which suffers from collective amnesia about the terrible suffering of the patients in other parts of the nhs. mismanaged by them. >> harriet harman. >> they are under threat and want to say people will remember what the deputy prime minister said in the house today. at their spring conference last week, lib dem ministers were falling over themselves to denounce government policies and even their own departmental colleagues. describing them variously as unfair, absurd and hated.

yet they keep supporting them. take the bedroom tax. his own party president said the bedroom tax is wrong, unnecessary and causing misery but they voted for it. now they say they want to abolish it. are they for the bedroom tax or against it? which is it? >> mr. speaker, there are 1.7 million people on the housing waiting list in the country, in our country and are 1.5 million spare bedrooms. that is a problem we inherited like so many problems from them. on this side of the house we're trying to sort out the mess that they created. if they're incapable of taking any responsibility or expressing any apology for the mess they have created, why should we take any of their questions seriously at all? >> harriet harman. >> therefore, only labour will scrap the bedroom tax.

the lib dems chief secretary to the treasurer passing the top rate of tax would be cloud cuckoo land. if the lib dems were against this tax cut, why did they vote for it? >> mr. speaker, guess what the top-rated tax was under labour? anybody? anybody? anybody? four gps for 13 years. now she is complaining five p higher. if she will honestly suggest and make consistency of virtue, how about this, mr. speaker. this week the labour party has been talking about the need to give young people jobs opportunity. last week they tabled an amendment to the deregulation bill which will tell half a million young apprentices, level two apprentices that they're no longer apprentices. worse than that they issued a report a few months ago that says hundreds of thousands of

youngsters on level two apprentices are get this, dead weight. what a kick in the teeth for the young people we should be helping on to apprenticeship. >> harriet harman. >> we'll have a bunch of bonus tax for new jobs because, because, you, youth unemployment has doubled. >> right honorable learned lady, when both principles been at dispatch box there has been far too much noise. people ought to be able to hear the questions and hear the answers. whether members respect each other they ought to respect the public. harriet harman. >> long-term youth unemployment has doubled under his government and with so many people struggling to make ends meet and many even driften to relying on food banks, it is an absolute disgrace that the lib dems voted through a tax cut for the richest. mr. speaker, on sunday the

deputy prime minister shared with us everything he loves about britain. he loves his cup of tea. he loves the shipping forecast and loves flip-flops. not so much footwear for the deputy prime minister i think but certainly a way of life. with his, with his -- [inaudible] with his, broken promises and posturing doesn't he realize that he might love britain but britain does not love him back. >> mr. speaker, the punch line was a long time in the delivery and it wasn't really worth waiting for. i know she doesn't like to get, i know she doesn't want the facts to get in the way of a preprepared joke. how about this, youth unemployment is lower now than the week we started. in her last year in office one million more people in relative

poverty than there now. half a million more children in relative poverty than there now. 150,000 more people unemployed than there are now. 125,000 people are unemployed. they're the party of four dp. and party of private sector deals for in nhs they're the party now against apprenticeship. >> harriet harman. >> mr. speaker, what showed is that he is siding with the tories and is totally out of touch. what whatever was said last weekend, no one is going to be fooled by the lib dems phony rowws with the tories when week in, week out they're justifying them and -- with the tories. they're used to talk about two parties coming together in the national interests. now there are two parties bound together by mutual terror of the electorate. >> mr. speaker, however she

wishes to characterize things, she has a record which she needs to defend. of boom and bust. of sucking up to the -- >> order, order. the deputy prime minister's response must be heard. the right honorable -- >> record of increase in relatively poverty, increased unemployment, increase in youth unemployment and bequeathing to this generation the country's worst peacetime deficit ever. is that really a record that she is proud of? as ever, we're clearing up the mess that she left behind. >> brendan george. >> mr. speaker, the government's response to the recent storm damage to help fishermen and restore the link is very much appreciated but the severe damage the vital lifeline transport link to the facility is largely gone unnoticed which is not something local authorities can entirely resolve on their own. will the deputy prime minister ensure a delegation from my

constituency can meet the appropriate ministers and officials so we can seek the support necessary in order to find a long-term resilient solution to this problem? >> mr. speaker, i visited his constituency to see for myself and hear for myself the damage done to many communities by the terrible, the terrible flood and the extreme weather in recent times and i know how long he has been campaigning on this issue. i will insure that meeting does take place with the relative minister in government. >> mr. robertson. >> mr. speaker, surely also right to extend condolences to the family and friend of bob crow and the secretary of state for defense has issued a ministerial correction where he corrects the falsehood that there was no measurable change in the radiation discharge at hms vulcan near dunry. does the deputy prime minister

agree the ministry of defense should be fully answerable to the scottish environmental protection agency. >> of course i would like to also expressing my condolences to the family and friends of bob crow. whether you agreed with him, someone with always forthright views and worked tirelessly for what he believed in and the people he represented. on the issue of dunray i think the ministry of defense thought to be open as possible. it is very important all of us work together in order to insure that the nuclear deterrent is managed and maintained safely and that is exactly what everyone is seeking to do. >> mr. speaker, we now know that the leader of the opposition is opposed to an e.u. referendum and won't deliver one. the deputy prime minister is opposed to an e.u. referendum and won't deliver one. the leader of the u.k. id party wants a e.u. referendum but

can't deliver one. the prime minister wants a eu referendum and will deliver it by 2017. would the stand-in prime minister tell the house which of the party leaders trust the british people and is a real democrat? >> as ever a pleasure i'm glad to see fans on the other side of the house now. mr. bone, since he mentioned my right honourable friend the prime minister. we voted together on this very issue and he said, i quote, my clear view it is when this parliament proposes to give up powers there should be referendum, that is guaranty we've written into law. it is important that we establish clear rules for the use of referendums in parliamentary democracy. rule one, line one, giving up powers that belong to the british people you ask them first. i entirely agree. that is the government's position then and that's what we

legislated on and that remains my view. >> mr. speaker, a recent survey recommended that 67% of hard-working people working in the private industry will not be getting a raise this year. how does that square with the fat cats in the city and bankers getting a big bonuses? >> mr. speaker, the richest in society are paying more in every year of this parliament that they did under any year under labour. it was his party that let bankers run amok. it was his party, the party of fred goodwin when on cocktail charm offensive to suck up to the bankers in the first place and they wiped out so much value of the british economy, amounts to 3,000 pounds lost to every household in the united kingdom. is that a record he is proud of? >> does the deputy prime minister accept that the measures that have been announced so far have had no

impact on president putin and russian government who are refusing to negotiate with the ukrainian government and continue to strengthen their hold on crimea. will the government now press the targeted economic sanctions against senior members of the russian government and their supporters in order to reinforce the message that the annexation of crimea is unacceptable and it is wholly in breach of international law? >> mr. speaker, i'm sure my right honourable friend speaks for most, everybody on the side of the house when he says that we should to seek to do everything both deter the russians from making the situation any worse but also deescalate. that is why it is terribly important we work together with our american allies and with countries across the european union to use the collective clout of the european union, political and economic clout to set out as we have done, a ratchet of sanctions which can be and will be deployed if deescalation does not happen, starting, i should stress this,

starting i hope very soon with russian agreements to enter into a contact group so that direct talks can start between kiev and moscow. >> mr. kevin brennan. >> thank you, mr. speaker. on his party's recent defeat by the bus pass elvis, electorate message to him paraphrase words of a song bit original elvis, you ain't nothing but a lapdog? >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, at least, at least, at least we're not the lapdog of the bankers which is what labour was in office. at least we didn't, at least we didn't crash the british economy. at least we didn't cost every household 3,000 ponds. at least we didn't preside over increase in relative poverty. at least we didn't preside over increase in youth unemployment. we are creating a stronger economy and fairer society that

his party failed to do. >> deputy prime minister will be encouraged that the economy is growing faster than expected, showing the value of this government's long-term economic plan. does he share my satisfaction that it is being achieved through a resurgence in manufacturing with companies like as automotive installations in my constituency. we're investing in a new 65,000 square foot factory in rugby. >> i strongly agree with him. by stick to the plan, despite all the overtures from the members opposite to abandon it we have provided stability and growth to the british economy that otherwise would not have taken place. in the automotive sector we've seen spectacular success. there is now a vehicle rolling off the british production line every 20 seconds. we are producing more cars than we ever have done before. of course the party opposite

presided over declining manufacturing three times as great as what happened in the 1980s. >> lillian greenwood. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my constituents elect ad new labour counsel. will the deputy prime minister think it was his party's support for the bedroom tax, trebling of tuition fees, cuts to the poorest families or bee temporarily of the nhs which led them to put him ahead of liberal democrat? >> they, putting bus pass elvis aside for a minute which, which i admit was a novel experience for us as no doubt was for the people of clifton, i just wondering, did the labour candidate admit how much they cost every household in clifton 3,000 pounds? did they admit the fact they allowed the bankers to run amok in 2008? did they admit to the fact that they were the party that crashed

the british economy? did anyone on the doorstep apologize to the people of clifton for the labour party did to this country? >> jeffrey brown. >> -- very special place because of planning yet in the last year this is threatened because of the number of applications for new houses amounting to thousands. localism seems to have gone out of the window and they are simply not being protected. what can my right honourable friend do to help resolve this. >> i know my right honourable friend feels strongly about and there are strong planning protections in place. outstanding natural beauty which is this country's most important treasures as he rightly said. it makes clear giving great weight to areas of standing natural beauty which have high levels of protection we announced last week you might be interested to know areas of

natural beauty and natural parks will be excluded new legislation allowing agricultural buildings converted to housing without the need for planning applications. >> thank you, mr. speaker. can the deputy prime minister confirm if the independent review body on house service staff pay recommends an increase, the government will accept that advice, or will they freeze the pay of some of the lowest earners in the nhs yet for another year? >> what most people want is, is, we will make, we will make the announcement shortly about our views on the pay review body recommendations. but what you want is to protect what is now the highest number of nurses employed in nhs since the nhs was founded. and we need to make sure the nhs continues tome ploy more rather than fewer critical staff employed under labour to insure patients get the best possible

treatment under nhs. >> on monday, south korean newspapers said that north korea was due to execute 33 people having contact with a christian ministry. given a quarter of a million people in north korean prison camps will the prime minister encourage the bbc world service to use existing transmitters to broadcast in more north koreans now that they have more access to radio. >> mr. speaker, he raises a very important issue and as you know, our embassy in pyongyang continues to engage critically with the north korean regime and tries to ensure there are many opportunities for dialogue as possible, including information coming into the country. the bbc world service is of course operation editorially and managerially independent. at end of last year they decided following a review they couldn't continue to offer effective and affordable korean language

service that. of course is a matter for the bbc world service itself. >> mr. speaker, victoria ligetts died after gps missed several chances to spot her cancer. but she and 20,000 other patient the there who are desperately trying to get an appointment are also victims only of the deputy prime minister's shameless, spineless capitulation to the tories on the nhs. >> mr. speaker, as i pointed out earlier, he might not know this but it was his party that wasted quarter of a billion pound of taxpayers money on sweetheart deals in the private sector to undermined the nhs on tariffs the nhs could not meet on operation that is weren't delivered. while he is asking the question, why can't he tell the house why he tabled the amendment just last week to tell 500,000, 500,000 youngsters that they can no longer be called apprentices? we stand up for fairness.

we stand up for stronger nhs he doesn't. >> mr. david -- >> mr. speaker, has the deputy prime minister read the testimony of in western mail, a victim of the lake power-run in wales? sympathy with those suffering on longer waiting lists and less access to drugs and give them the opportunity to access firefar higher services delivered by this coalition government for nhs patients in england? >> mr. speaker, i was appalled, i'm sure everybody would be a appalled the experience of the right honorable gentleman's constituents in wales. the nhs there run by labour, 33% of patients wait more than eight weeks to access diagnostic -- in england only just over 1% of patients wait longer than six weeks for the same. the comparison speaks for itself. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this week marks three years

since the bloodshed began in syria. more than 1/2 million people have fled the country and the dead can no longer even be counted. we must all bear responsibility for our shameful failure to intervene but they are, they are supposed to be the ones running the country. what renewed government will his government make to end the slaughter before all hope fails? >> mr. speaker, he knows my own views. i felt there was a case for intervention at the time when we voted in this and of course his party voted against it but if he now wants to speak with his own party leadership on that matter he is more than welcome to do so. i agree with him humanitarian catastrophe there is on unimaginable scale. we must do everything we can to help. i think i'm right our human loom there is now the largest this country has ever delivered and why also the home secretary and others in government are now administering in conjunction

with the united nations a new program where we allow the most destitute and desperate refugees some refuge in this country as well. >> greg whitaker. >> mr. speaker, during the recent floods the prime minister rightly announced grants of 5,000 pounds for those flooded to put into -- in their homes. you can imagine the disappointment then of people from the thousand homes in the valley who were flooded only 18 months prior who got no such support. will the deputy prime minister agree to look at this policy with the prime minister to see whether same grants can be made available to those that were flooded as well? >> of course i will do so and as someone who witnessed the terrible flooding in my own constituency some years ago, flooding can hit different parts of the country in different ways as we adapt to this new, very difficult reality we must make sure we build up resilience in all parts of the country and

provide assistance as fully and consistently we can across the country as well. >> mr. speaker, the honorable member for westmoreland agrees with me that the hated bedroom tax is causing misery to those affected. does the deputy prime minister agree with the president of his party or his friend the prime minister? >> mr. speaker, i think everybody thinks that we need to deal with this mismatch between large numbers people on the housing waiting list, something her party never did anything to address in 13 years and the fact that there are large numbers of spare bedrooms not being used. her government free sided over the change which we are now delivering in the social rental sector in the private rental sector. she need to explain why they want to support the change in one part of the housing system and not the other. >> the football club made history by becoming the u.k.'s largest 100% community buyout. today many clubs, much loved

clubs face uncertain future due to lack of financial transparency, opaque football authority rules, structure that promotes irresponsibility in business and if you happen to be a woman's team, doesn't promote sporting excellence. does he agree with me we need to learn the lessons from portsmouth, the select committee's reports and work this report directs and act to protect the interests of clubs, their fans and ultimately the national game? >> i certainly agree with her and football fans across the country do that this is really important issue. we can't have big money hollow out the game that everybody loves. i know this is something that the, my right honourable friend, secretary of state for culture, media and sports is looking at on an ongoing basis. i would strongly urger had to take up the issue with her. certainly something we need to keep a close eye on, so sports clubs large and small thrive in our country. >> ian lucas. >> there are reports that the department of pension is

proposing stopping paying benefits into the post-office card account. does the deputy prime minister support that policy? >> i don't think that is true and, i will certainly of course confirm it with him but that is not something that i'm aware of. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last thursday, 16-year-old man collapsed in the school pe lesson. one of the reasons he is still alive bus the excellent school already had defibrillator. they ordered two more. what steps is the right honourable friend prepared to more schools have defibrillators and will he recommend the excellent work of the foundation leading way on this issue? >> i'm sure many honorable members across the house also come across this issue in schools and sporting clubs and other recreational facilities in their own constituencies. there are great organizations, she mentioned one of them, which

are promoting the need to make these available and we should certainly work with these campaign groups to raise the profile of this important issue. >> >>-showing aing average nursery cost is higher than the average mortgage and health care costs have risen five types faster than wages since the election. given that we are expecting his long-awaited tax-free child care scheme to be announced very soon, can i ask him, what discussions he has had about relationship of this scheme with universal credit and the -- it creates and what assessment he made of this scheme and its impact on price inflation? >> mr. speaker, she raises a very important issue. as it happens child care costs are finally starting to come down in england. they continued to go up with labour in wales. we must do all we can, we must do all we can to help parents and families with these costs. that's why we're delivering 15

hours of free child care to all three and four-year-olds in the country, and preschool support and for first time ever to two-year-olds in the most deprived families. but you're right, she is right, of course we need to do more. we'll announce shortly the details of tax-free child care offer which will benefit many, many families with these very high costs across the country. >> >> you have watched prime minister's questions. davidh prime minister cameron answers questions from members of the house of commons live on wednesday morning on c-span 2 at a special time of 8:00 a.m. and again next sunday night at 9:00 p.m. specific -- pacific time. watch any time at www.c-span.org

where you can find past episodes in other british public affairs. >> next, president obama and irish prime minister talk about irish-american relations. then a discussion about the democratic party campaign against the koch brothers. and then a sent hearing on the keystone x like -- xl pipeline. >> we are trying to build onto the networks. that is our priority. sometimes there are local issues and federal rules that might affect how we deploy thanks or whether the lighting might be or historic sites. want to be sure we are sensitive to those issues. at the same time, we want to make ford. just want to move forward because our customers, the ones who used these devices depend on

having a strong connection and getting today today want when they want it and whenever they want it. it means a robust wireless network. on wireless infrastructure the communicators on c-span 2. >> ahead of st. patrick's day, president obama met with the irish prime minister. following the morning visit to the white house, the leaders were at the capitol for the friends of ireland luncheon. there were joined by vice president biden and congressional leaders. and performances. day, president obama hosted a reception for the irish prime minister. we should a capital luncheon first and then the remarks at the white house. beginning with the vice president biden.

♪ ♪ ther eyes shine like

diamond ♪ swear she's queen of the land ♪ ♪ and her hair hung over her shoulders tied with a black velvent band ♪ ♪ [applause] >> hey, everyone. welcome to the white house. happy st. patrick's day. president kennedy said "our two nations divided by distance have a -- have been reunited by

history." and that is obvious to everyone of you today. nothing exemplifies that a bond more than this building. it was designed by an irishman named james hoban. room?bans in the i live across the street from a guy named johnny hoban, a long story. it has been occupied by 19 president of irish dissent. [applause] war despond and they cannot make that claim. [laughter] it is wonderful to be here today with all of you. -- the remaining were despondent they cannot make that claim. i am reminded of an article that pat, god bless him, put on my

desk back in the early 1990's. .t was an "new yorker" article it was about sitting in a pub in new york. pat looks at mike and say don't you wish you were in dublin in a pub wishing you were in a new york? [laughter] in the irish catholic family i grew up in, that was the issue. we are nostalgic about the future. [laughter] think about that. you will know it is true. away a couplessed of years ago, catherine finnigan biden, used to say this. joey, the irish is about family. it is about faith, but most of all, courage. without current, you cannot love with abandon.

i think that is one of the defining elements, the irish of it. that builds both of our nations and continued to run through the bloodstream of all irish americans. the history of the journey of this great country in my view has always been about promised. the promise that anything is possible. it is about possibilities. and a barack and i, the president and i occasionally talk about that. we are both here in the white house coming from where we came from, the idea it would happen in any other country is unlikely. embodies theody possibility and promise of our two nations like the leaders you are about to hear from. there's an old irish expression, a good friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find an

lucky to have. ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you 4 of my good friends. i mean that seriously. the president of the united states and michelle obama and the irish prime minister. ladies and gentlemen -- [applause] >> hello, everybody. welcome to the white house. [applause] again, today is not technically st. patrick's day. once again, none of you seem bothered by that. at least you have a weekend to recover.

i want to start by welcoming his -- the prime minister and his use for not just joining today but more importantly bringing their children. -- we will not embarrass them by pointing them out but we are thrilled to have them here. i am grateful they are here at a time when the rest of ireland is focus on the rugby tournament. [applause] and in the last match of the legendary. talkw everybody wants to tonight but i want to make sure they have plenty of was to cheer on ireland tomorrow. finally, i want to extend a special welcome to anne anderson, the latest ambassador to ireland. [applause] anne is the first woman to hold this esteemed position.

[applause] that, you know, they may finally get it right. ireland's greatest poets once wrote "when i wonder over my own hills and to my own people, i look into the hearts of this life i have some and it was good. that is what st. george's do is -- st. patrick's day is all about. remember and the people. it is about recognizing, much we -- how much we owe to the irish people and lived and laughed and loved and left. it is also about appreciate how much our american character has irish roots. the the loop does when first large wave of irish set up

for the new world, a lot of them were already hungry and desperately poor and life was not always easy in america. jobs were close to irish immigrants. signs announcing no irish need apply. many of the ones who were of noble involved long and thankless tasks that made life difficult and often too short. the irish worked hard. they persevered. they supported each other in tightknit communities united by faith were doors were always open and hands were extended in hard times. theland. -- or to adapt to -- there was no one struggling family who was not carrying three on their back. they were driven by the most american of ideas that with enough effort, anybody can build a decent life for their families and live a better life for their children. eventually, that is what happened.

in massachusetts in the earlier 20th century. 2/3 of irish were part of the working class and 1/3 into the middle class. the grandchildren of irish immigrants, the numbers were reversed. the majority have broken into the middle class. the american dream has been the irish american dream and that is why so many of you have been working with us to fix our broken immigration system. under today's laws many of your grandparents and parents may not have made it here. too many men and women who want to contribute to our economy are being denied that chance. there is no reason why we cannot do for this generation of immigrants what was done for our. it's a generation to give them that chance. generation tos give them that chance. [applause]

because unlike the millions of immigrants, the sons and daughters, they have lived about the words of the great shaman who passed away last year. believed the further shore is reachable from here believing in miracles. summit lasthe g8 year, michelle and i got a chance to visit belfast and we saw the tremendous progress that has been made in northern ireland since the good friday agreement was signed 16 years although as was a long road that still lies ahead. before my speech, michelle was introduced by a 16-year-old girl named hannah nelson. [applause] she is here. there she is. hi, hannah. hannah is a member of the first generation of northern irish to grow up knowing the possibilities. [applause]

in her introduction, she said, often in northern ireland we hear about our past, but truthfully we should not let the past hold us from moving forward. we need to listen to each other and compromise. most importantly, we need to value each other. hannah and that wisdom,on reflect such i think of their elders, all of us, need to pay attention. to all of their advice. the young people like hannah give us hope for the future because of they are german midas and believe in miracles that drove their ancestors. they benefit from something that did not exist for members of the previous generation and to be hard won peace. they have an example of what is possible. to the people of ireland and

north ireland, i will paraphrase shamus again. it is one your contemporaries has helped imagine. the ireland you will and have it , it is one of your children are helping to build. one that is more just and peaceful and tolerant. and with that, i want to propose a toast and im going to -- this is the -- and i am going to -- and this the best i can do. they had to be wrong -- [laughter] may our children continue to enjoy the bonds we share tonight, family, faith, and friendship and future. and let joy be with you. is my pleasure to introduce my good friend. [applause]

>> welcome everybody to the white house. mr. president and first lady michelle and mr. beit resident -- and mr. vice president, ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to be here to celebrate st. patrick's was up to wife for your well -- st. patrick's w.ith our friends from -- st. patrick's. -- thank you for your warm hospitality. i do not think i was looking that far -- [laughter] as we make strides in our on economic recovery, it is wonderful to know our country

occupies a special place in the heart and mind of the united states of america. in june of last year, we met at the summit. warmext day, dublin, a summer well, for michelle and malia and sasha. tonight, i want to make something very clear. i have heard what i regard the insider speculation surrounding your attributed desire to keep your vice president of our off our island. [laughter] and the persuasive spirit of saint patrick, i put in a word for joe this morning. his work is invaluable. his listening ear is critical. thank you for authorizing him to travel to ireland. [applause]

we have a tough case. [applause] i look forward to welcoming him home with jill to the land of our forbearers. the land of his people and of our people together as we say in australia -- the island of our ancestors. live and 70 us million call,. and, and our sense of it is what makes us who we are as irish people. just as a forbes magazine recently declared ireland to be the best country in the world for business, out there in the atlantic east of here i'm a -- east coast, that was a declaration through the power of nature. -- remnantsuminants

oak forest, 7000 years old uncovered on our beaches. mr. president, your excavations, not just of our history, but life on our island and geology of our hearts and the signal of our tradition and capacity to survive.d adopt and know fear.-- generationsand new across the millennium. that is why today we have the most adaptable workforce in the world and the youngest workforce in the european union. that is why in no other country

emergingrld do u.s. companies have as big a presence as they have in our country. and according to the received wisdom of not be enough to do well but to do good. i am proud to say that despite our difficulties, with a most generous people in europe. need and those in every day since the united nations was founded, the irish involved in peacekeeping. we are mindful of the kindness of americans in turn. celebrate st. patrick's who himself was an immigrant, mr. president, i am heartened by your words and thank you for all

you're doing and others and in this great country. to help our men and women living care undocumented. we know america will sort this out. [applause] i am thrilled you mentioned hannah. i saw her deliver her words last year on television. and from you, mark who is in andt of me, without site the capability of walking has done extraordinary things and his vision and courage of what we can do. [laughter] so, sir, as we take our leave this evening, we do remember absent friends you remember. he who documented the join.

the farmer's son, the nonblood relative of the gods. shamus. , letnor of st. patrick's him do what he asks when he said go beyond and recollect how bold you were. with the departures you cannot go back on. lady, heesident, first has made his departure. there is no going back. our two nations, our two countries, ireland and the united states, he'd and let -- heed and live the last words of shamus he said to his wife before he left. "do not be afraid." [applause]

>> tomorrow night, book tv offers perspectives on russia. edward lucas talk about his book "the new cold war." "i10:05 p.m., the book mplosion." and did the limit of partnership. book tv tomorrow night on c-span 2. what we are focused on making sure we can eliminate barriers to getting build networks in a place. networksout of these are our priority. sometimes they are local site

issues and sometimes federal wills that might affect how we deploy things are what the lighting might be or impact on sites or environment. want to make sure we are sensitive to those issues and make sure we move forward on employment. our customers, those will use these devices every day in their lives, they depend on having a good, strong connection and getting want when they want it and what ever they want and. having a robust wireless network. >> of the wireless infrastructure on the communicators on c-span 2. >> a discussion about the democratic party's campaign brothers.e koch this is 35 minutes. host: we want to welcome dave levinthal the political writer for the center of public integrity, your work available online at public integrity.org.

i want to begin with the comments of harry reid, this has been an almost daily speech delivered on the senate floor taking aim at the koch brothers. here's senator reid last friday. >> mr. president i'm not afraid of the koch brothers. none of us should be afraid of the koch brothers. these two multibillionaires who spend billions of dollars of their money rigging the political process for their own benefit but that doesn't mean we have to lay down and take it, because we're not going to. they make us believe whoever has the most money gets the most free speech. mr. president, it's wrong, unfair and untrue. i'll do whatever it takes to expose their campaign to rig the american little system to benefit the wealthy at the expense of the middle class. host: the democratic leader last week and politico has the,

if the democrats want to make the billionaire koch brothers their 2014 version of mitt romney. they are trying to paint charles and david koch as trying to buy the election for shady special interests and big business. what's going on here? >> the koch brothers have become the boogie man for democrats beyond any shadow of a doubt, but this has been going on for several months fundraiser after fundraiser. email after email from democrats to their supporters to their potential bank rollers. it's all been about the koch brothers and their names are probably mentioned more than any republican candidate who is running in the race you would almost think the koch brothers themselves were trying to seek public office. but there's no way to get around the fact that they are one of the biggest forces in electoral politics today and certainly through the reporting that's been