importance of social security, and the fact that probably social security is the most successful federal program developed in modern history of this country. a couple of years ago, there was a virtually united republican party, and some democrats, and some democrats, who wanted to cut social security. and what many of us in the senate did is we reached out to senior groups come to the trade unions, to veterans organizations, the women's organizations, the disability organizations, and we've rallied millions and millions of people who made it clear to the united states congress that you are not going to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick, and the

poor. and right now -- right now we have pushed them back. the goal right now is not to cut social security or what people are appropriately talking about is how we expand social security and get the benefits out of the working people who need them. [applause] now, let me conclude my remarks by telling you what we are up against in this election right now. there has been a lot of discussion in the media about the koch brothers, and a lot of people in the conservative movement, people spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars of dollars in the campaign. we all recognize that is not what american democracy is supposed to be about. but there has been very little discussion about why are the koch brothers spending so much money.

what do they want? in 1980 david koch ran for president on the libertarian party ticket, but the libertarian party established their platform. i want to read you some of what was in that platform, because i believe they have not changed their views. it is important for you and the american people to understand what it means and why these guys are throwing money against jeanne shaheen and other decent candidates around the country. what is their vision for a new america? and let me quote word for word from their libertarian party platform in 1980. "we favor the abolition of medicare and medicaid programs. we favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually aggregate,

and increasingly oppressive social security system." they are not talking about cutting social security. they are talking about eliminating social security. "we urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws in the immediate abolition of the federal election commission." you know what that means? they are not content with citizens united and having to do independent expenditures. i want to be able to give somebody a check directly. here's $50 million. here's your script. this is what you say. and that is now, by the way, but the leadership of the republican party believes in. for all of you who work in the postal service, hear this one -- "we propose the abolition of the governmental postal service." >> boo.

>> right now, jeanne and i and members of the house are fighting to raise the minimum wage. what many have used should understand, that republicans in congress are not only opposing raising the minimum wage, they believe in abolishing the concept of the minimum wage. this is what the koch brothers said in 1980 -- "we support the repeal of all law which impedes the ability of all people to find employment, such as minimum wage laws." if you are in a high unemployment. and your employer says i will give you three bucks an hour, and you say, i have no choice, that is it, and no more job protection, no more safety relations on the workplace. needless to say, they support the abolition of the environmental protection agency, and this is the last point. listen to this one carefully.

this is their vision of a new america -- "we oppose all government welfare relief projects and aid to the poor programs. all these government programs our privacy-invading, ritualistic, and the proper source of wealth for persons is the private efforts of individuals." goodbye, head start, goodbye, unemployment compensation, goodbye, programs for federal aid to education -- all gone. their vision of america is where corporate america and the billionaires have it all. and if you are old and sick among maybe somebody will give you some charity so you can deal with your cancer, but you're not going to have medicare. and if you are poor, maybe a church or private charity will help you a little bit, but you are not going to have medicaid. as is their vision of america. now, what this campaign really is about, it is not just

fighting for protecting social security or medicare or medicaid or decent wages or federal education, that is all important, but there is a deeper meaning to what this campaign is about. and let me be very straightforward and tell you what it is. the real issue that we are debating today is whether or not we retain our democratic form of society, whether or not working people have rights and benefits, or whether we move toward an oligarchic form of society in which the economic and political life of this country is controlled by a handful of billionaires. that is what this struggle is about. and i believe from the bottom of my heart that while these guys have more money than you can dream of, while they are prepared to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat candidates who are standing for working families, i believe when we stand together we win because there are a hell

of a lot more of us than there are of them. thank you very much. [applause] >> both chambers of congress returned from their august recess. a series of confirmation votes and a vote on to take up a bill that would raise limits on campaign contributions in federal elections. with ase returns monday series of suspension bills, votes scheduled after 6:30. watch the house live.

>> c-span debate coverage continues sunday at noon eastern with kay hagan and tom tell us. by the california debate.'s campaign 2014, 100 debates for the control of congress. >> joe biden gave the weekly address in place of president obama who return from the nato summit in wales. he outlined the administration efforts in reviving the economy and raising the minimum wage. dan sullivan gave the republican response.

>> ladies and gentlemen, this is joe biden, i'm filling in for president obama, while he addresses the nato summit in wales. when the president and i took office in january of 2009, this nation was in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression. our economy had plummeted at a rate of 8% in a single quarter -- part of the fastest economic decline any time in the last half century. millions of families were falling underwater on their homes and threatened with foreclosure. the iconic american automobile industry was under siege. but yesterday's jobs report was another reminder of how far we've come. we've had 54 straight months of job creation. and that's the longest streak of uninterrupted job growth in the united states' history. we've gone from losing 9 million jobs during the financial crisis to creating 10 million jobs. we've reduced the unemployment

rate from 10% in october of 2009 to 6.1% today. and for the first time since the 1990s, american manufacturing is steadily adding jobs -- over 700,000 since 2010. and surveys of both american and foreign business leaders confirm that america once again is viewed as the best place in the world to build and invest. that's all good news. but an awful lot of middle class americans are still not feeling the effects of this recovery. since the year 2000, gross domestic product -- our gdp has risen by 25%. and productivity in america is up by 30%. but middle class wages during that same time period have gone her up by only fourteen cents. folks, it's long past time to cut the middle class back into the deal, so they can benefit

from the economic growth they helped create. folks, there used to be a bargain in this country supported by democrats and republicans, business and labor. the bargain was simple. if an employee contributed to the growth and profitability of the company, they got to share in the profits and the benefits as well. that's what built the middle class. it's time to restore the bargain, to deal the middle class back in. because, folks, when the middle class does well, everybody does well -- the wealthy get wealthier and the poor have a way up. you know, the middle class is not a number. it's a value set. it means being able to own your home-- raise your children in a safe neighborhood-- send them to a good school where if they do well they can qualify to go to college and if they get accepted you'd be able to find a way to be able to send them to college. and in the meantime, if your parents need help, being able to

take care of them, and hope to put aside enough money so that your children will not have to take care of you. that's the american dream. that's what this country was built on. and that's what we're determined to restore. in order to do that, it's time to have a fair tax structure, one that values paychecks as much as unearned income and inherited wealth, to take some of the burden off of the middle class. it's time to close tax loopholes so we can reduce the deficit, and invest in rebuilding america our bridges, our ports, our highways, rails, providing good jobs. with corporate profits at near record highs, we should encourage corporations to invest more in research and development and the salaries of their employees. it's time for us to invest in educational opportunity to guarantee that we have the most highly skilled workforce in the world, for 6 out of every 10 jobs in the near term is going to require some education beyond high school. folks, it's long past due to increase the minimum wage that will lift millions of