>> for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this ogram, visit us at q-and-a.org. next, british prime minister david cameron takes questions from members of the house comments. then, kentucky senator rand paul speaks to students at the university at berkeley. and then another chance to see "q&a" with author ibis sánchez-serrano. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] on the next "washington journal ," linking the economic downturn with public opinion polls, showing little support for u.s. intervention in global hot

spots, like ukraine, and then looking at how states compare during the insurance crisis, and a report from the government accountability office discusses closing military bases, and as always, we will take your calls, and you can join the conversation by facebook and twitter. it is at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> we at the federal trade commission have a dual mission, which is to protect american consumers and to promote competition, and we do that in a couple of different ways, namely a civilt is that we are law enforcement agency, so we bring lawsuits against companies that engage in unfair or deceptive acts or practices or engaged in improper competition, and we also engage in policy and research work and promote best practices and also advocate for

laws that we think are needed, and to your specific question, what i can tell you is we are really interested in protecting consumers what it comes to the , and by of the system that i mean that we are interested in what app are engaging in, operating systems, mobile app manufacturers, and so we, again, make sure that american consumers are protected and that there is a competitive landscape. the federal trade commission, monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span two on "the communicators." >> on wednesday, the prime minister said the referendum in could was not legal and not be legitimized by the international community.

he warned that more sanctions would be put into place. answered minister also questions about mental health care, unemployment figures, and childcare policy. this is just over 30 minutes. >> questions to the prime minister. gillan.ryl >> thank you, mr. speaker. i am sure that the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to tony benn, who died last week. he made many memorable speeches in this house, and alongside a record of ministerial, parliamentary and public service, he was also a great writer, a great diarist and a great campaigner, no matter whether one agreed with his views or not. missed by both sides of this house and our thoughts are with the right honorable member and other members of his family at this time. i'm sure the house would also join ming tribute to the pgb

paralympic team following great success at the sochi games. kenny gallagher won our first ever gold medal at the paralympics. mr. speaker this morning i had meeting with ministers and colleagues and in addition to my duties to the house i will have such further duties today. >> mr. speaker i think the whole house want to associate themselves with the prime minister and the remarks on congratulating the paralympics team. of course the paralympicsed in buckingham. mr. speaker, today unemployment has fallen 63,000. -- this has been evident in where we have growth in the private sector continue.

does my right honourable friend agree with me that we must sustain this growth by continuing to tackle the deficit , the pork industry and continue with our long-term economic growth? >> my right honourable friend is absolutely right about buckinghamshire and came to number 10 downing street recently of she is absolutely right about these unemployment figures. they show employment going up. they show unemployment coming down. a record number of people in our work in our country and record number of women in work in our country and youth unemployment going down too. i think what is remarkable private sector employment gone up by 118,000. public sector unemployment gone down 13,000. 10 times more jobs created in the private sector. but the important thing here is

what this means for britain's families. it means for millions of people, pay packet, chance of work, chance of dignity and changes of civility and security and i hope it will be welcome across the house. [shouting] >> mr. speaker, let me begin by joining prime minister paying tribute to tony ben. he will be remembered as a champion of the powerless and great parliamentarian who defended right of back-benchers in this house against the executives whichever government they came from. he spoke his mind and he spoke up for his values and everyone knew where he stood and what he stood for. i think that is why he won respect from all members of this house. all of our condolences go to his children, steven, hillary, melissa, joshua and his wider family. in their different ways they took forward what he taught as a

father, socialist and also someone of great decency. mr. speaker, i also want to join the prime minister in paying tribute to the fantastic p&g pair are olympic team. special congratulations to kelly gallagher and jay etherington we saw a russian military intervention in ukraine. does the prime minister agree with me that the it was illegal, and in direct violation of the ukrainian constitution? does he share my deep concern that the ukrainian servicemen were shot and killed at a military base in crimea yesterday? >> well the right honorable gentleman is actually correct the referendum in the crimea was illegitimate and illegal. it was brought together in the 10 days and held at the point after russian kalashnikov. this can not be accepted or legitimatized by international community.

we have to be absolutely clear what happened here. this is the annexation effectively of one country's territory by another country. we must be clear about interests to see rules based international system where countries obey the rules. if we turn away from this crisis and don't act we will a very high price in the longer term. we should be clear that this referendum is illegitimate. we must be clear that consequences must follow and we should work with our european partners and with the united states for a strong, consistent and robust response. >> i thank the prime minister for that answer, mr. speaker. i would like to ask him about the meetings that are coming up. the white house indicated their sanctions will be expanded. i'm sure the whole house will support the idea of list of ukrainian and russian officials about asset freezes and travel bans will be extended in the e.u. council tomorrow. what are the circumstances which he will be supporting additional wider and economic trade sanctions on the russian

federation? >> as we discussed previously in the house the european union set out some very clear triggers. we said if the russians did not take part in a contact group with the ukrainian government to take forward discussions, then asset freezes travel bans should follow. those should be put in place at foreign council and i previous further action should be taken at the european council of ministers which i will take part in on thursday. i also think we should be responding to the fact of this annexation. that we said that if there was further action to destablize the ukraine and this annexation is that action, further consequences need to follow. we need to set that out, on thursday, in concert with our european partners and at the same time i think we need to put down a very clear warning that if there was further destabilization for instance, going into the eastern ukraine in any way, then we would move to a position of sorts of economic sanctions that we discussed in the house last

week. >> mr. speaker, the prime minister knows from this side of the house we'll have our support for the toughest possible diplomatic and economic measures against the russian federation given the totally illegitimate actions they have taken. i also welcome to the announcement yesterday that the g7 allies will gather next week in the hague. mr. speaker, given russia's actions it remains inconceivable that they remain in the g8. should this go further and explicitly decide to suspend russia from the group of g eight economies? >> i was one of the first people to say that it was unthinkable for the g8 to go as planned. we were one of the first countries to sus spend all preparations for the g8. i strongly support the g7 meetings of countries on monday. i think it is important we move together with our allies and partners. we should be discussing whether or not to expel russia permanently from the g8 if further steps are taken. that is the steps we should

steak on monday and i think that is the way to proceed. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. can i add words to the support given to tony benn. it was my pleasure to work with one of his sons on foreign policy, steven. mr. speaker, income tax threshold is 10,000 pounds so far left 2.7 million poorly paid people not paying any income tax make a difference to them. is the prime minister pleased he abandoned his pre-election object to this and -- this policy? >> what i think the honorable gentleman who always brings the house together in his usual way, what i'm sure we can agree on, is that it has been an excellent move by a conservative chancellor in a coalition government to make sure that the first 10,000 pounds of income you earn you don't pay tax on. that benefits people earning all the way up to 100,000 pounds that has worked so far. over 700 pounds to a typical

income taxpayer and it is highly worthwhile and i look forward to hearing what the chancellor has to say. >> is the right honorable gentleman aware that this week i have received from the palestinian friend an email which tells me the israelis have assassinate ad friend in his house and another brother of a friend has been shot dead by the army? so we have spent our time from one funeral to another. when the right honorable gentleman was in israel last week, did he raise with netanyahu this constant stream of killing of innocent palestinians by the israelis and what is he going to do about it? >> well i didn't raise that specific case which the right honorable gentleman quite rightly raises in this house today but i did raise with the israeli prime minister the importance of how the israeli, israelis behave in the west bank and elsewhere. i raised the issue of

settlements which i believe is unacceptable and need to stop. but i was also strongly supporting both israeli prime minister and the palestinian president in their efforts to find a peace. there is a prospect and an opportunity now because the americans are leading a set of talk that is could lead to a framework document being agreed and i think it is in everyone's interest to put all pressure we can on both participants to take part and get on these negotiations which would mean so much i believe to ordinary israelis, ordinary palestinians and indeed the rest of us. >> thank you, mr. speak. unemployment has fallen over past 12 months from 4.9% down to 3 boiling 8%. -- 3.8%. helped by resurgence in british manufacturing. compared to the 1.8 million manufacturing jobs lost under the previous labour government, would our prime minister agree with me that our long-term economic plan is delivering to the north of england?

>> my honourable friend makes an important point which is we want to have a balanced recovery. we want to see growth and employment right across the country and it is worth noting, since 2010, 80% of the rise in private sector employment has taken place outside london. the unemployment rate in the northwest, where my honorable member sits for a seat, the unemployment rate in the northwest is lower than it is in london. we are beginning to see a balanced recovery but we got to do everything we can, backing apprenticeships , backing industry to make sure that continues. >> thank you, mr. speaker. -- it was a drug given to women to determine pregnancy in the '60s and the '70s, the potency 18 times the morning-after pill. as a result of thousands and thousands of babies were born with deformities. there has not been public inquiry or compensation for the victims. would the prime minister meet with me and my constituent and

representative of victims association to discuss this? >> well, i'm very happy to look at the case that the honorable lady mentions. yearly this is important issue. anyone who had a disabled child knows the enormous challenge that is brings. i'm very happy to look at the case she races and get back to her about it. >> sir alan hays sell ton. >> will my right honourable friend acknowledge that the benefits of economic recovery in my constituency are somewhat tempered by uncomfortable pressures on housing development and inadequate rail infrastructure? not withstanding the need for these matters to be dealt with quickly, is it not increasingly clear there's a need to do more to stem the flow continuing flow of population to the southeast by imaginative measures will spend the benefits of recovery throughout all regions of the country. >> i think my right honourable friend makes an important point.

we want a balanced recovery, long-term economic plan working. an important part of that long-term economic plan is infrastructure investment that we're making. hs-2 is important in rebalancing between north and south. let's be clear we're spending three types more on other transport schemes in the next parliament as we are on hs-2. it includes projects like rail electrification to bristol, nottingham, liverpool and manchester. all things can make a difference and they're all part of our plan. >> ed miliband. >> mr. speaker, in recent days the country's mental health charities to warn of deep concerns about mental health services. members across the house spoke out bravely on the subject, impact on those who experience mental health problems in our families and our country. bus the prime minister agree with me that mental health should have equal health priority with physical health in our health care system? >> first let me agree with the right honorable gent man said

about the debate that took place in this house about mental health. i read the debate carefully and thought honorable members took very brave and bold steps to talk about issues and problems in their own lives. i think that was incredibly brave and right thing to do. in terms of whether mental health should have parity of esteem with other forms of health care, yes it should and we legislated to make that the case. >> let me suggest specifics that we're moving away from equal footing we won't want to be. mental health share of hms budget are falling. there are fewer mental health beds and more junk people are being treated on adult psychiatric wards. this is not just bad for individuals concerned but can be a cost for the future. does the prime minister think these things really shouldn't be happening? >> first of all taking the big picture on health spending obviously we decided to increase health spending rather than reduce head spending and health spend something up 12.7 billion

across this parliament. we legislative parity as i have said and we also put in place proper waiting times and disciplines actually for things like mental health therapies that weren't there before. of course there is still further to go. we need commissioners to really focus on the importance of mental health services but the money is there. the legal priority is there, we need the health service to respond. >> mr. speaker, the problem is the mental health budget has fallen for the first time in a decade. it isn't getting the share of health spending that it needs. i would urge him to look at the specifics i have raised. we need to insure that the consensus clearly exists in this house is reflected in the daily decisions being made up and down the country about mental health in the health service. now will the prime minister, will the prime minister agree to enshrine a quality for mental health in the nhs constitution in order to send a message to the decisionmakers about the priority that mental health deserves and ensure those affected by mental health

problems get better access to treatment and care they need? >> the right honorable gentleman raises an important point not parity for mental health in law but what we see on the ground. points i makes are these. we have put 400 million pounds in the talking therapies which think are very important in terms of mental health provision. mental health provision is referenced very clearly in the mandate given to nhs england which is absolutely the key document in terms of the health service. but he is absolutely right to say in the way the health service works there is still a culture change in favor of mental health and helping with mental health problems that needs to be changed and put in place and i think there can be all party support. >> thank you, mr. speaker. many of my small business entrepreneurs said personal incomes below the current welfare cap. with that in mind would my right honourable friend look doing more for small businesses reducing burden of regulation

and lowering tax and increasing thresholds as offering extra assistance to help them take on more apprentices? >> my right honourable friend makes an important point which is a key part of our long-term economic plan to help small businesses to take more people on. absolutely key to that is employment allowance, national insurance contributions that will come in this april which is a cut of 2,000 pounds. i think it is very important that we all encourage all small businesses to take up this money and also therefore, to take on more people. at the same time as that we also abolishing employer national insurance contributions for under 21s from april 2015 so companies including his constituency can start planning to take on more people. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last week the deputy prime minister wrongly told the house, that child care costs in england were coming down while they continue to go up in wales. the house of commons library says it's not the case.

this week the deputy prime minister is offering a pre-election bribe on child care which won't come into effect until september, till september 2015. will the, will the prime minister get a grip on this policy? help hard-working families now in this parliament with their child care costs because of cost of living crisis they're facing today? >> i'm afraid to say the honorable member is wrong on both counts. actually, we are seeing some easing in cost pressures in england on child care costs. but i'm afraid in wales they're still going up. but he might want to talk to the national assembly government about that but the point that the deputy prime minister and i were making yesterday we want to help hard-working families with their child care costs and so from 2015, for every child you have, you can save up to 2,000-pound on your child care

costs. isn't it interesting, mr. speaker, we can now heart that the labour party oppose this is move. clearly they don't welcome it. so can have a very clear choice at the election. if you vote for parties on this side of the house you get help with your child care and if you vote labour you get nothing. >> would the prime minister join with me in praising conservative council for -- fifth straight year this year? real help to hard-working people and stark contrast of the three labour parties going up this year? >> well my honourable friend is absolutely right. we should do everything we can to help hard-working people meet their budgets and meet their needs. that's why council's, freezing council tax provide a huge amount of help. the government is doing its part freezing fuel duty, raising personal allowance doing everything we can to help hard-working people get on with their lives. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

the prime minister assured the house on the 27th of november that the government has exempted disabled people who need extra bedroom from the bedroom tax. does he think it is right my constituent who has to pay the tax with disability living allowance, has to pay it because he lives in tory stratford? >> what i said to the house was absolutely correct and i'm happy to repeat that again today. but there is also obviously the discretionary housing payment that is are there, for local counsels to deal with difficult cases. i recommend he take that up with the councils. >> thank you, mr. speaker. russia is not just expanding into the crimea but also its ships, submarines and aircraft are increasingly appearing off our shores. bearing in mind that we've got great news on the economy, and bearing in mind that the defense ministry sent back an underspent last year, is it possible as suggested by the house of

commons defense committee that we should, could have a new maritime patrol aircraft before the next sdsr? >> what i would say to my honourable friend is first of all, we're only able to have these sorts of discussions and these sorts of considerations because we sorted out the defense budget, gotten rid of the enormous deficit in it and we have a successful and growing economy. in terms of maritime patrol we are currently using the awacs aircraft and the sea king merlin and lynx helicopters and royal navy his and submarines. we work in close partnership with our nato allies. i'm sure the ministry of defense will listen to the representation for the fourth coming stsr. >> -- tax rises evidence of the prime minister's cost cutting instinct? >> this is a great labour campaign. i spotted it this morning which is they have enumerate ad number

of tax increases that we had to put in place in order to deal with the deficit. just to remind people, we said it was right to deal with the deficit with 80% spending reductions and 20% tax increases. there's a problem though with this labour campaign. when the spokesman was asked, would you change any of these tax increases, the answer was no i don't know -- [shouting] i'm not the world's biggest expert in campaigns but i would say that was a bit of a turkey. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i welcome the prime minister's help for those hit by flooding but i'm told this only applies to areas affected since december. my constituency had its worst-ever flooding last september. will he visit the area and will he extend it help to homes and businesses who are still suffering? >> what i absolutely understand

the honorable gentleman's concern, the sea surge that took place at there are some. worst floods seen in the area if for a long time. what is key improve the properties from future flooding. my understanding working with partners there is 30 million-pound investment going ahead across three kilometers of coast which will protect something like a thousand homes. there may well be more we need to do and i'm very happy to discuss that with him. >> in 2010 the chancellor said budget deficit would be eliminated by 2015. what went wrong? >> what we said we'd do, we said that we'd cut the deficit and we cut the deficit. we said we would get britain back to work and we're getting britain back to work. we said everyone in private sector led recovery. we have a private sector led recovery. she asks what went wrong. i can give it to you in one

word. labour. >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, this week bmw announced they're coming and bringing with them 100 skilled new jobs. hundreds of new jobs which are already in the pipeline. when he is next in the midlands, which is the manufacturing heart of our country, will my right honourable friend drop in tamworth and help me deliver our long-term economic plan and make tamworth the place to do business. >> i'm always delighted to visit tamworth not at least to pay homage to the senate taught of robert peale. important to do that. this manufacturing revival we can really see it in the west midlands with the news from jaguar land rover and new engine plant opening up and what he says about bmw as well. what we now see, one in four

bmws with a british-made engine in it. that is great news. we want to see more jobs making things. more jobs exporting things and manufacturing revival in the u.k. >> mr. speaker, can i first speaking to myself, madam deputy speaker and people we served so well for 30 years join with the tribute to the tony benn an condolences for his family. tony benn was from a very privileged background yet he spent political life fighting for working people. with cost of living crisis, wages falling by 1600 pounds here, people queuing up food banks, so much requires the prime minister attention why he seems so obsessed with plans to bring back fox hunting by the back door -- >> >> if of all, could i join the honorable laid dry to pay tribute to 10 any b-n. n he was busy back-bencher and administer but never forgot

about constituents. he was friendly helpful word for new back benchers whatever side of the house you be on. many members like me experienced that from him him in terms of what we're doing to help the poorest. , most important thing is getting people back to work. we've seen 1.7 million new private sector jobs under this government is best way to help people sustainably out of poverty. as they come out poverty they see higher minimum wage and more ability to earn money before they pay any taxes at all. those are the government's priority, that is our long-term plan and that's what you're going to hear about. >> can i, can i join my right honourable friend in paying tribute to tony benn who ancestral is in my constituency where he was held in high regard by my constituency even though they may have not agreed with his views. is he aware however, that today's figures show unemployment in mald opt n

fallen by 27% since the last election? does he agree this is further proof that the chancellor was absolutely right to ignore his critics opposite as a stick to his guns? >> thank my honourable friend for what he said. obviously in the unemployment figures there is good news about women into work about young people into work, about falls in long-term unemployment but it is also the largest annual fall in the claimant account, number of people claiming unemployment benefits is the largest fall since february of 1998. this is really important point about getting people back to work and giving people a chance of a job with dignity and security in their lives. that is what our economic plan is all about. >> mr. speaker, at the weekend a young woman from my sit whensy, sophie jones died of cervical cancer leaving her family and friends unable to understand why she did not get the smear test she asked for. will the prime minister send his

sympathies to her friends and family and will he work with me to make sure once we understand what went wrong we have the right policies in place to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else? >> i think the honorable lady is absolutely right to mace this case. many read in the papers in the weekend. seems absolutely tragic case. we've made huge breakthroughs in this country under governments of both parties in terms of screening programs that are available and public health information is available but something seems to have gone wrong in this case. i'm happy to look into this and write to her and seek any views she has about it too. >> mr. david ward. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today's unemployment figures show a reduction in -- 14, which i concede is better than an crease of 14 but very disappointing nevertheless, and leaves us highest still in the country. i recently visited a training provider in bradford said there

were 600 apprenticeship vacancies in bradford. is the prime minister confident we're actually doing enough to insure that young people in particular are aware of apprenticeships but also prepared to take those apprenticeships on? >> i think the honorable gentleman, my honourable friend makes a very important point, pockets of quite high unemployment right next to areas that have a lot of apprenticeships or jobs available. i think there are two things we have to get right hire. one we have to make sure more of our young people are leaving school with the key qualifications including english and math are absolutely vital to take on an apprenticeship. we need to stress those subjects are vocational subjects at the heart of education. the second we need to do more to explain to young people in school what is available in terms of apprenticeships an training and that is exactly what our national career service is going to do. . .

everyone will, get at least a one percent pay rise and this is something i was , told was supported by the labour party. this is what the leader of the labour party said: "we're talking, actually about a pay increase limited to 1% -- as i say, this labour party is going to face up to those difficult choices we have to make." how long did that one last?

confronted by a trade union campaign, he demonstrates once again his complete weakness and unfitness for office. >> paul uppal. >> thank you, mr. speaker. a recent report into female foeticide suggests that the female population has been reduced in the uk by 4,500 and worldwide by 200 million. as a proud british-asian father of two daughters, may i ask my right hon. friend to call for an end to this most appalling practice? this once taboo subject clearly must end, not just in the uk, but in the world as a whole. in quite clearly not just in the uk but in the world as a whole. whole. >> my friend is right about this. it is a simply appalling practice. i think there are areas like this, like female genital mutilation, like forced marriage where we need to be clear about our values and the messages we

send and that these practices are unacceptable to the government has made clear abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal. the chief medical officer wrote to all doctors last year reminding them of their responsibility, i'm beating with the chief medical officer and i will raise this issue with her and i think it's right my friend to run "primehave been watching ," from thequestons house of commons, and you can watch anytime on c-span. or, where you can find this and other british public affairs programs. next, kentucky senator rand paul speaking at students at the university of california berkeley, and then remarks by the afl-cio president, and then

"q&a" with author ibis sánchez-serrano.

\ the communicators on c-span on c-span2. on wednesday, kentucky senator rand paul spoke at the university of berkeley about government surveillance and privacy issues. he criticized the mistake surveillance by the intelligence community and called for an to oversee committee intelligence gathering. this comes in the wake of what was said by dianne feinstein, that the cia may have searched computers. after his speech, rand paul sat including on a

possible presidential run in 2016. this is about 40 minutes.

wereenter him if we collecting records, and we said congress is getting the same treatment as everyone else. yes, yes, they are spying on congress. digest exactly what that means. if congress is spied upon without their permission, who exactly is in charge of the government? last week, we learned something new.

the middleenators in of this. we learned that the cia is uniquely searching the computers of the senate intelligence agency. those are the ones who are supposed to be overseeing the cia. i do not know about you, but that worries me. is spying on congress, who will stop them? eyes ofnto the senators, and i think i see real fear. maybe it is just my imagination, but i think i perceived fear of an intelligence community that is drunk with power, not inclined to relinquish power. i am worried about who is truly in charge. most of you have read the dystopian novels, and maybe you are like me and say, that could never happen in america, and yet, if you have a cell phone, you are under surveillance.

nsa has even been posing to issues. the government collects information from every one of your phone calls. what they are maintaining. remember the ones that snowden had? your government stores your e-mail submit can access it without a warrant. your government claims the right to look at your every purchase online. your government actually claims that none of your digital protected. listen very carefully to that. they say they will protect them, but they say none of your records are protected by the fourth amendment.

this is something we're are going to protect in court. if you own a cell phone, you are under survey lands. i believe what you do on your cell phone is none of their business. [applause] in the opening pages of " ," theheit 451 protagonists asked if there had been a time when firemen put out fires, and they laughed and say, everyone knows that firemen start fires. it had been his duty for many years to burn books. he knew it was his duty, but this time it would be different. he arrived on the scene to do thejob, and they piled books up, but she will not leave.

undeterred, they douse her books with kerosene. the woman is in dignity that she would touch -- they would touch her books. she refuses to leave. she says, play the man, master ridley. today, we will light such a candle that it will not be soon forgotten. they keep dousing her with kerosene, and she keeps saying, play the man, master ridley. we will light such a candle. in the book, the reference is lost on the firemen as they simply do their job. there is a man who literally became a human candle, burned at the stake for hair at the. his crime, he wanted to promote the idea that the bible could be translated into english. not yethe u.s., we are burning people at the stake. nor are we burning books, yet,

but your government is interested in what you are reading. you are interested in what say in your phone calls and what you write in your e-mails, and even if they say you are not interested, they say the fourth amendment does not protect any of these records. collecting the records of every american. had his leaks, i have heard this was happening. i had talked to people and seen some of the releases, and they had been collecting an unprecedented amount of records, but i was not able to reveal the number because they say it was a secret. why the number is a secret, i do not know, because there are zillions of records being collected. they cannot put me in jail for making up a number, but i wanted to emphasize by using this fictitious number. i want the american public to know that the actual number of communications being collected by the federal government was

almost beyond comprehension. a senator from oregon has been trying to shed a light on this invasion and privacy -- of privacy. this is someone from the left and someone from the right coming together for your good. he is on the intelligence committee and is privy to information that very few senators have access to. revelations,n's the senator talked about this but was constrained. finally, a few months before the snowden weeks, the senator called the office of james clyburn and said, i am going to ask you if you're collecting millions of american records despite a warrant? comes to congress and lies. that is punishable to up to five this secrethen surveillance of americans

finally became public though, no one on the intelligence was involved. a program of this magnitude could be kept secret. well, we tried. without the snowden leaks, they would still be doing whatever they please. what is your beef? what they rarely mention is they do not think any of your records have any fourth amendment protection. old businessring, records. think about the information on your visa bill. a can tell whether you drink,

whether you smoke, whether you gamble, what books you read, what magazines you read, whether you see a psychiatrist, what medications you take. twoe was a recent study by stanford graduates -- are we allowed to mention stanford graduates year? [laughter] whatwere showing exactly could be figured out from your boring, old phone records. i oppose this abuse of power with every ounce of energy i have. i believe you have a right to privacy, and it should be protected. [applause] i believe no government should ever access your records without a warrant. i believe the majority agree with me, whether republicans, democrats, and i think most people are offended by this program. snowden, the leaker of

classified information, it did break the law, but so did james clapper. i do not think there has been another criticism of clapper. he said it was ok to lie to congress and the american people in the name of security. snowden proposed it was ok to meet classified information in the name of liberty. there are laws against both of those, leaking and lying. a government official weeks to expose government malfeasance, we sometimes call it a whistleblower. secretnemy asks for information, we would expect our intelligence director to live, but no matter who is testifying in congress, lying to congress is still a crime. congress also damages credibility. when the intelligence director lies, it makes it difficult for us to believe him when he comes to say, oh, yes, we are

collecting all of your information, but we promise not to look at it. it is hard to believe them when they do not tell the truth when they testified. they also come to us and say, terrorists cannot be apprehended with the bill of rights. who knows what to believe anymore? even if no abuse of phone records has occurred so far, we to preventthe power abuse in the future. the intelligence director maintains he lied in the open hearing because it was open to the public, and the information was classified. tells us he testified in the least untruthful way. the least untruthful way. as americans, we do not deserve the least untruthful way or the people we pay for who work for us. we have a right to the truth. we deserve the truth, and we demand the truth from our officials.

[applause] the people who are not clapping, are you from the intelligence community? snowden a hero or a villain? i am sort of of mixed minds. there is no doubt that his legacy will be clouded by his perch in russia. i agree with critics that you just cannot let individuals decide when to release classified information. snowden will likely face punishment when he returns, but i do not agree with those who say he should be hanged or shot on sight. snowden's leaks should not be civil disobedience because he did not stick around

for punishment. and whether you would stick around or not. considering to be a civil disobedience, facing 33 days in disobedient, but snowden faces either death or life in prison. to commit civil disobedience that requires martyrdom. history will decide if he is a hero, who is hero and who is villain. flapper lied in the name of security, and snowden told the lied in thepper name of security. this should not make us lose track of the real issue. how does the fourth amendment apply in the digital age? to me, this is a profound constitutional question. could a single born to be applied to millions of american e-mails and records?

when you sign a privacy agreement with your internet company or your phone company, don't you retain a privacy interest in those records? the fourth amendment is very clear. warrants must be issued by a judge. to ants must be specific individual. it must have your name on it if and aant your number, single war and for millions of american records hardly seems specific. warrants are supposed to be based on evidence with probable cause. i am not against people searching you. if a judge says there is probable cause that you committed a crime. but i am for the process, the due process of law, that protects your rights. generalized warrants that do not name an individual and seek to get millions of records, it goes against the very fabric of the fourth amendment. some say the protest against general warrants was really the

spark that got things going. i find it ironic that the first african-american president has about thispunction vast exercise of raw power by .he nsa certainly, j edgar hoover's illegal spying on martin luther in the civilrs rights movement should give us all pause. hoover, whichgar is certainly true, but power must be restrained, because no one knows who will next hold that power. government were always comprised of angels, we would not need constraint, but as we know, government is often not comprised of angels. nsagovernment says the program has been approved by 15 judges. right. 15 judges, most of them ruling in secret, where no one had a

lawyer on both sides of the equation, and they get no attorney. the debate is shrouded in secrecy, and the nsa could say whatever they want, and they are not cross examined. is not a real court. we must take a stand and demand an end to secret courts. [applause] this battle for your rights must take place in the light of day. as we speak, my attorneys are battling for an open hearing in court in washington, d.c. we have a lawsuit. court canupreme legitimately decide if government can access all of your phone records with a single warrant without suspicion. everyone in this room owns a cell phone, so i am not fighting for just me or just one

political party. i would do the same whether it was a republican president or a democrat president. important issue that goes beyond party politics. youy what you read or what see in your e-mail or your text messages is none of their business. [applause] now, they say they are not listening to your phone calls. maybe they are. maybe they are not. the cia week, we found illegally searched senate computers. i and feinstein, in charge of ae committee, she gave speech, saying they are illegally taking our work product, and they are now taking stuff off of the computers that could be information to the american people. i am going to fight them on this. i complemented her.

she is from another party. i went up to her to say, great speech, everyone is talking about it, because i do not see this as a partisan issue. i hope she does not let the cia or nsa push her around. i am going to fight them on this. no one should be allowed to invade your privacy. that is why i am announcing today that when i returned to washington, i will push for a select committee, styled after the church committee that investigated in the 1970's. should be independent and wide reaching. it should have full power to investigate those who spy on us in the name of protecting us. it should watch the watchers. our liberties are slipping away from us. said -- you -- when one man said let this be a candle, he became a model.

there is a torch burning figuratively or not in the harbor. we should never let that flame of liberty go out. let ourion, we have guard down, particularly in times of war or times of fear. we have traded our heroes for exchanging freedom for a lead role in a cage, or as franklin said, traded our liberty for security. i think we have been too lacks in guarding our security. lax.o when you stroll through the who is, ask yourself winning? a harvard law school professor asked the question in a very visual way. he said the next time you go to airport security, the next time handsell you to put your , ask yourself if

this is the posture of a free ?an will we live as men and women, or will we cower and give up on our liberty? i believe your rights are in the inalienable, our and i will fight for the right of every american to be left alone. i hope you will stand with me and take a stand for liberty. thank you very much. [applause] thank you. thank you. >> thank you, senator paul, for coming.

another quick round of applause. [applause] the senator has agreed to participate in an interview with one of our members of the forum. i would like to announce matthew, who will be our moderator. thank you. [applause] you have been very vocal about your recent lawsuit against president obama and the nsa, but a conservative activist and the aclu have also filed similar lawsuits against the nsa, and those have ever read -- a negative ord in

stayed ruling. >> it is an exclusive that mine is the best, but it is slightly different. the aclu lawsuit was ruled against. the judge either threw it out or said it was constitutional. the same lawsuit is in court that mine will go to, and the judge has previously ruled is goingtitutional but suit because it is similar. our kids are slightly different. haveegal reasons, it might a chance of going to the supreme court. not so much that my case has to many people do not think it applies at all. you do not own those are records. i think they are jointly