we loved jim brady. let me amend that a little bit, we love jim and sarah brady. to me, they are jim and sarah brady. we are here to honor his legacy, but to honor sarah and the family and all they have done. they were one of the most formidable couples in town. they were also one of the most lovable couples. we are here to celebrate his life today through many of his colleagues and the operative word is celebrate. and one who stands behind white house podium knows you spend most good time answering hard and tough questions. on occasion, i got some easy ones i want to share two of them

with you today. one of them was who is your personal hero? mine was jim brady. one was a personal connection. anyone with any objective research would find that we were the last of the press secretaries who shared the hollywood good looks and fashion sense that very often you see in the movies. he is a hero not because of what happened to him. people faced tragedy in the lives. he is a hero because of what he did with it. we live in a very partisan and difficult town right now. it is hard to believe that we can find common ground on issues that aren't that hard. jim and sarah got things done. we should not forget that. what was your favorite data white house? another easy one. when we renamed the press briefing room after jim brady. it was my favorite day.

it honor jim and i think it brought great joy to jim, sarah, and the family. probably just as important for me, it honor his legacy forever. whoever the president is or the press secretary is, where ever they stand on issues, when they say something it will be recorded as being said in the james s brady white house briefing room. that is an important acknowledgment. we are going to hear from a lot of people. we will start professionally and washington with a couple of people who jim worked with in the reagan white house. sheila tate will speak next. she was nancy reagan's press secretary. she has a special message that she wants to share. mark weinberg will share some of his experiences.

sheila? >> good morning. i'm trying to figure out where to put my water without spilling it. i think like a lot of us, particularly from the reagan days, we are not as active as we used to be. neither is nancy reagan. she dearly wanted to have

something to say today. she wrote to sarah. it was a moving remembrance of all the memories she had. she shared this with sarah and then ultimately time magazine. i am honored to share this with you today. she said, ronnie and i could tell there was something special about jim brady from the moment we met him. he had a certain twinkle in his eye. he had a way of letting you know that he knew what he was doing and everything would be all right. he had a zest for life that was infectious. he love to hear and tell a good story. he laughed easily and could see the silver lining in even the darkest cloud. he made the best chili in town. when was time to be serious, jim was serious and often in a three-piece suit with a notebook or pencil is hand -- in hand.

jim was at ronnie's side. he was taking detailed notes. he could brief the press on ranspired.ad t when jim gave advice, ronnie and i listened because we knew he had the best instincts in town. it broke ronnie's heart and my heart the jim and sarah were forced to face such a diversity he was so seriously wounded during the 1981 assassination attempt. they never complained. jim was a patriot. he loved his country and was proud to serve. ronnie insisted that jim remain his press secretary for eight years. the white house did not seem complete without him. he and sarah became dear friends.

i miss jim and pray for sarah. as do we all. if i may indulge myself with a few personal comments as i do the warm up for mark weinberg, it seems strange the back here in my hometown. i now live in charlottesville, virginia. i don't get here as much as i used to. i knew it was time to retire when i went to a big press event at the willard hotel and art lter hit on me. [laughter] it's true. his ardor cooled after i asked his quested in the negative, which was do you have a car and driver? he had an alter your motive. since jim brady died, the reagan communications team has been in frequent touch as you can imagine.

for all of us who worked with jim during the campaign and in the white house, he was always this huge looming presence. i suspect he will always be a powerful influence on us. one of the early reaganites was planning on being here today. she had a minor medical emergency. she told me a story and gave me permission to tell it. during the 1980 campaign, they were in tampa florida. it was at a hotel. she struck up a conversation with the waiter about the wine list. he offered to show her the wine cellar.

off she went. he opened this closet and shoved her in and when and after her and went for the kiss. jim saw what was happening and he rushed down the hall and rip the door opened and through the waiter side of and saved the damsel in distress. but this is the wonderful part. every time he saw her after that, whenever he saw her, he said to her, have you been in any good wine cellars lately? [laughter] it was one demonstration of what we knew. he always had our backs and always helped us. if there was a fight we needed to win, he was there for you. his death brought back the personal anger that i felt from the assassination attempt. when sarah asked me to speak, i wondered what to say about that anger and it is something many

of us carried with us. that got me thinking about this fellow with the gun. that pathetic guy that got the perfect way to impress jodie foster was to try to shoot the president. then i realized, i couldn't remember his first name. i can't explain the sense of release. he didn't matter to me. he is inconsequential. ronald reagan found it in his heart to forgive him. nancy not so much. i am sort of with nancy on that. i think a lot of reagan people feel that way as well. we prefer to give thanks to god for the survival of our president and we are especially thankful for the neurosurgical excellence at gw hospital.

i don't know if everyone has heard the story about when the mistaken announcement that jim had not survived, his classic response, no one told me or the patient. it's hard to think of a world that still turns without jim brady. in the belief that he is up there listening and probably critiquing our remarks, for me, a big special high-five with

jody powell. two thumbs up for jimbo. thank you. [applause] >> i realize that this is not the signing of health care reform, this is a big deal. to paraphrase a great man. mr. vice president, sarah, members of the brady family, it is an honor to be at this podium

today to speak about my boss, mentor, and friend. thank you sarah for the privilege of representing the brady bunch. when people speak of those who of passed on it, history is re-created. sharp edges are softened. reality is replaced by fuzzy images. kind of like a reagan campaign commercial. no truth need be stretched no scrubbing need be done. no revisionism is required to present an absolutely honest picture of extraordinary man whose goodness, intelligence, since of humor, courage, love of life touched us all. l you about my journey with him. i was 22 years old with my own typewriter, a banquet table for a desk in a rented metal folding chair writing press releases when i first crossed paths with

jim. he was hired as the press secretary. after the routine introduction, the first word he said to me in the conley campaign was, houdini. confused? so was i. i just written what i thought was a routine press release about some campaign event in lord knows where and put it on jim's desk. i expected he would come out and say it was ok and then i would issue it. but no. he came to my table/desk and headed me the release and said houdini. i said i don't understand. he smiled and said it again. your draft says he will appear the campaign event. no, magicians appear.

he is not houdini. he is a candidate for the presidency of the united states. they campaign or speak. my first of many lessons from jim brady. he was a great boss. does anybody rim that jeep he used to run around in in arlington? he came to get me one saturday afternoon in crystal city. i did not want to get in. he was my boss and i did. fast-forward, jim is on the reagan campaign and got me hired. reagan wins and jim is the chief spokesman. i am there working for jim again, writing press releases about cabinet appointments. no one appeared in those. [laughter]

the most vivid image was when we would get information about who is being considered for press secretary. those were not easy days for him. as the days tipped down to a precious few with the decision from you know who, jim reluctantly and briefly considered an invitation from al haig to be the state department spokesman. jim, sarah, and i were having dinner one night. he asked me if i wanted to work for him at state. state with haig it jim said. i'm not sure i am a foreign policy guy. sarah could see where my head was and bless your heart. you said to jim, leave him alone. mark wants to go to the white house. a day or two later, they offered

jim the job and the rest is history. to tell the truth, none of us thought he would be a great press secretary. jim knew himself well enough and from an organizational standpoint, he might come up a little bit short. one look at that desk would prove it. it was always covered in multiple layers of paper. you could never see would. if he had a system, it was among the most great kept secrets. no one knew where anything was

except jim. much of the time, it was all in his head. that is why he hired larry speaks to run the office. jim knew that his role was to be an advisor to the president and his spokesman. no one was better at either. speaking of larry, we lost him earlier this year. i would not be surprised if he and jim are up there right now, drinking heineken and listing to elvis. who can forget his briefings. they are usually scheduled for noon. we would gather in his office and 11:30 a.m. every day. we would have our answers all prepared. as always, wind up waiting for jim.

we were afraid to leave. we never knew when he was going to come. inevitably, he was with the president. he raced into the office and we all turned into whirling dervish is. we were talking over each other in he paid us no attention at all. he sat at his desk and hunched over a notebook. he would stand up and swoop up some of those papers and head for the briefing room. we scrambled to follow him almost falling over each other. he nailed every briefing. it was almost as if he could read reporters mines in terms of what they would ask and he always had the perfect answer. it was uncanny. jim was more than a boss to me. he had a paternal side to him that made my parents very happy and grateful.

he always seemed worried about my social life, which was not robust back then. jim taught me many things. no lesson was more important than to love life. he did that by example. he loved his family. he loved his friends and reporters and politics and cooking and eating. he loved the class reunion and nathan's on saturday. they all lit up when jim brady was there. he knew who he was and he was happy. he was not afraid to laugh at himself. there was nothing vain about jim brady. when people asked about his figure, his answer was the same. when i get an urge to exercise, i lay down until it passes. jim was real. when he was asked whether he was angry about the events of march 30, he did not make up a politically correct fake stuff

about moving on. he told the truth. he said yes. the important thing is that jim was not bitter. there is a profound difference tween anger and bitterness. bitterness can be an obsessive and ultimately self-destructive emotion while anger can lead to action. that is what happened with sarah and jim. their anger motivated them to do something really important and great with their lives for which this country is better. let me remind you the jim brady was able to fully perform the duties of white house press secretary for 70 days. he served in the role for eight

years of the reagan administration because ronald and nancy reagan were unwavering in their loyalty to him. we were blessed with jim's leadership for only 70 days. that's not a long time. short as it was, jim brady's tenure was as impactful and important and inspiring as any in history. ronald reagan said it best in 1982. "jim brady was a major, now everybody knows about the depth of his courage. ds always knewien

of this strength of character." that was 32 years ago. thank you. [applause] [applause] ♪ ♪

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[applause] >> i'm mike mccurry. i am on the successors to jim brady. we like to refer to ourselves as the human piñata's for the white house press corps. jim brady was a great role model. he knew when to growl like a bear at the press when he had to. he understood the value of the human and kinder touch. the relationship between the

white house and the press corps which covers it must always be an and the serial one. jim brady proved that this adversarial relationship could be an amicable one. i'm going to collect up for distinguished people who can speak to that. first the me read a letter we have received for this occasion. " i wish i could be there to celebrate jim's courageous life of service. jim was blessed with a unique combination of wit, intelligence, tenacity that made him an effective and often entertaining white house press secretary. perhaps there is no greater testament to his abilities or to the mutual respect he shared with journalists than his successful effort to convince the white house press corps to abandon tradition and begin raising their hands one of they

wanted to ask a question. when an assassin's bullet changed everything at the pinnacle of his career, he could've lived up the rest of his life in private regret. instead, he chose to publicly embrace what he could still accomplish with his mind and heart. he transformed his personal tragedy into an opportunity to save lives. he taught us the true meaning of perseverance and showed that although much can be taken from us, we can always keep giving. he did it with a level of grace and honor that most of us with far fewer obstacles in our way never achieved. it is really great honors of my life that i had the opportunity sign the brady bill into law in 1993. jim and sarah five so hard for more than six years to help pass it. the background checks mandated by the law who stopped or than 2

million gun purchases by felons, fugitives, domestic abusers, and stockers. our families are safer because of jim's efforts. hillary, chelsea, and i pay to be to a remarkable man and inspiring leader and a true friend. may god bless you all, president bill clinton." [applause] now let me introduce for a standing journalists who knew and jousted with jim brady and lived to tell about it. they are andrea mitchell, bill plante, al hunt, judy woodruff. >> thank you. mr. vice president, sarah,

>> thank you. mr. vice president, sarah, scott, reverend clergy and friends and colleagues, jim brady was a national treasure. at the peak of his life in the i know i won't any arguments

from the press secretaries who successors when i described him as the most honest and straight talking and fearless and best like press secretary ever. he was the most effective. it was an accolade that he had earned despite being struck down by only a few months on the job full-time. it was a trustee had earned in every job you held before that. that was on the beginning. jim was a fighter. never more so than he was fighting for the cause of his

answer is life. as sarah wrote in her book, the bear named brady was the brightest, funniest man should ever met. clearly, he was also the most determined. their fight for handgun control was initially inspired not by his injury, by an incident that occurred four years later. they were visiting his hometown in illinois. scott picked up what he thought was a toy gun. so did sarah. they were visiting friends. the gun that he had started playing with was not a toy. it was a saturday night special. it was similar to the one that had been used against jim. sarah's fear and her shock at how close are precious child had come to a terrible injury turned into anger and into resolve. out of that, came the campaign.

a movement and a cause. by then, i was covering congress. i am ever so well seeing them together. what a love story. lobbying members of congress. jim did not sugarcoat his argument when he was testifying against the gun lobby's objections. the nra said the five-day waiting period would inconvenience law-abiding citizens. jim told congress i need help getting out of bed and help taking a shower and help getting dressed. i need help going to the bathroom. i guess i am paying for their inconvenience. i'm over the day when ronald reagan endorsed the brady law. jim said they are not going to accuse him of being liberal.

i will never forget witnessing the oval office ceremony in 1993 when president clinton signed the bill into law. jim said, how sweet it is. how long it took. jim and sarah did not rest with that achievement. after virginia tech, late fought to close loopholes or did they called for new restrictions after new town. on his last visit to the white house, jim was wearing a bracelet honoring gabby giffords. jim brady will be remembered for the press room that bears his name. he was a true hero. as nancy reagan wrote, he was a patriot. he served his nation with honor. thank you, jim brady.

[applause] >> good morning. that is exactly what i did when i heard that jim brady was coming to the reagan campaign. i had known him in chicago. we had a good time there too. it was a grill treat to meet him. john conley's campaign had just collapsed. it spent $11 million and gotten

one delegate. jim brady was known as the bear after winnie the pooh, came to reagan's campaign. he brought with him his wonderfully extroverted personality. there was nobody in politics quite like him. he brought with him and enormous store of information and a gift of irish gab and a fearlessly sharp wit. these are dangerous traits for a press secretary, even more for his principal. they were catnip to us. brady referred to his bosses and the candidate.

that was when humor was safer. there was no social media to speed along to everybody. brady had been around for twitter, god only knows what might've happened. he was always ready with a quip and i quote. it seemed to be right of the top of his head, but it always fit perfectly. somehow, he managed to serve his candidate well, but also satisfied those of us on the other side. not that his irrepressibly didn't occasionally land him in hot water. we all caps track of governor reagan's sometimes fanciful rhetoric.

one fine autumn day, the campaign plane was descending somewhere in the midsouth. the speechwriter looked out the window and saw smoke rising from the forest below. killer trees, he said quietly. brady loved it. he bounced back to let all of us know look, killer trees. mrs. reagan was not amused. nor was bill casey who did not have much of a sense of humor. jim was thrown off the plane for about three days. he returned on repentant with the same assessed for both his job and life in general. jim loved good food and good wine. we ate and drank our way through

the primary, the convention, and the fall campaign. i have the expense account records to show for it. i went back and looked at them. it was wonderful. he loved to eat and he loved to cook. after ronald reagan won the election, jim really wanted to be press secretary. as you have heard, the transition team took their time. he was an outsider. he was perceived as more moderate, brady joked that one point so much time had elapsed and lunches with him during the transition were no longer tax-deductible.

then the was the narrative that suggest that nancy reagan thought that he was not good looking enough to be your husband's spokesman. at one point, he came out to begin his daily briefing saying i come before you today as not just another pretty face but out of sheer talent. [laughter] when he did get the job, his knowledge of the way washington works, the president love brady the president loved brady style. he gained access, the kind of access that press secretaries need. those with a good times. he was of the top of his game and he loved every minute. here is the really important

thing. after his injury, after the moments of up-and-down, months of up-and-down before he left the hospital, jim brady was still someone who could laugh and had the same sharp wit and who despite his own pain still cared about his friends. the real measure of a person is in the way he or she deals with that adversity. jim brady was a champion. he showed the rest of us the kind of courage that we didn't know existed. in 1966 interview i asked him if he was still bitter. he paused. well, he said, it's not classy to be bitter. i try to be classy, as you know.

is it much of an effort i asked? he answered, yes. he made that effort valiantly for 33 years. stu spencer put it this way the other day. jim brady was a keeper. that is what i hope will sustain and comfort sarah and scott and missy. thank you. [applause]

>> mr. vice president, sarah and friends of jim brady, i first met jim several years before the white house. he was the press secretary for bill roth. senator roth was a moderate conservative republican and an honorable man. he was the quiet senator from delaware. [laughter] he singly wore a hairpiece, which is one area were jim brady could provide no assistance. he was the cosponsor in 1978 of a tax cut that magically was going to raise gobs of new revenue. it was a nutty notion. voodoo economics. the other cosponsor was jack kemp.

this was always the kemp-roth bill it should've been kemp-roth-brady. our next encounter was when he was campaign manager for john conley. john conley was a bigger than life texan, overpowering. he exercised top-down power. i wrote a profile which he disliked. he summoned his press secretary and said, get him fired. go to the ceo and get him fired. jim told him, governor, you know those press bastards all stick together and i got nowhere. conley replied, those sons of bithces. jim had called no one.

in february, 1980 wanted, judy nine went to dinner with sarah and jim. i was the walk on. judy was the nbc white house correspondent. i covered politics for the journal and i asked a bunch of skeptical questions. finally jim looked at me and said, conley was right, i should've gotten your ass fired. [laughter] we laughed and drank another glass of wine. he was always fun. it was a great secretary, appreciating the dual demands and the cities of loyalty and integrity. it is so fitting, as joe said earlier, that the press brake is named after jim. his first 40 years were impressive, his next 33, even more so.

jim was unlucky that march day at the hilton, in the wrong place at the wrong time. but even more important is how lucky he was years earlier when he fell in love with and married sarah kemp. you all were partners throughout. what you accomplished against great odds was remarkable. judy and i have a son with a brain injury and we know how challenging and sometimes painfully difficult it can be. in addition to his great character and heart, he always had you, sarah. could not have done it without you. there is much to do in your quest or sensible gun policies in america and it will never be easy but there will be more progress and it will all be built on jim and sarah have caught. the jim brady story transcends

our age. he was a profile in courage and determination against the odds. we will tell it to our grandchildren who will tell it to theirs. we were also lucky to have known that there -- the bear. [applause] >> mr. vice president, friends of jim brady, it is wonderful to see all of you here. i just have to say first to sarah and your ordinary family, i am so deeply honored, as al is, to have been asked to say a few words about jim. it is great to see so many friends of his here, to celebrate his life. i love hearing the stories, i

love laughing about jane, the man we knew. my memory of jim dates back to shortly before the election of 1980 when i was the nbc correspondent who had spent the previous four years covering president jimmy carter. so i have not had the opportunity to meet many people on the reagan team. not a good position for the white house correspondent. so nbc quickly gloomy out to los angeles right after the election, i spent weeks out there, worked like mad to get to know everyone. how lucky i was to find jim brady, who are the reporters already liked and trusted, who even seemed a little sympathetic about my predicament as a newcomer. jim and i immediately hit it off. i thought i must he someone special but it turns out that is how he was with every reporter. he teased me all the time about the years that i have spent covering the georgia peanut

farmer. he teased me about the lingering southern accent i could not completely get rid of. and about being with the newly married to al hunt. he wondered out loud if i really knew who this guy was a covered politics. i soon met sarah, and it was freer, they adored each other. they had a terrific sense of humor, teased each other nonstop. when we went out to dinner, they came across as real people, as al mentioned. yes, we laughed a lot. we had many glasses of wine. they had many of the same thoughts and worries that we did, even though we had worked on opposite sides of the political divide. i brought a picture which you probably cannot see, it is one that i cherish. it hangs in al's study in our home.

it is in jim's office a couple of weeks after he came to the white house, there was not much on the walls yet. he was giving me a big scoop, i would like to say, but that is not the truth. i think he was explaining supply-side economics to a georgia peach. it took him a while. but i cherished this, and it reminds me of the personal connection that i felt to him and to sarah. a few weeks later, that connection was permanently sealed, but not in the way that i ever imagined. because i didn't join the press pool on the trip to the hilton hotel that day when jim and president reagan and agent tim mccarthy and officer tom delahanty were shocked. i was standing a few feet away next to the press than -- van and two months pregnant with our

first son jeffrey. i will never forget how jim fought his way back from the brink with sarah's help. in instant, everything changed, but the twinkle in his eye, the teasing in his voice, that sharp mind that we know so well, and you have heard about this morning never left him. whenever we saw jim over the years, and it is on in. he and sarah were active. he wanted to know about that crazy al that i had married. lou cannon told me this week that he is confident that even if jim had never been injured, he said we would still be celebrating his life right now. he was that kind of guy, he was always going to make a difference, would always have an effect on people. two other things. i feel a closer connection to jim and sarah because of our son jeff, who, 17 years after jim

was shot, experienced a different kind of brain injury. sarah and jim were among the first people to reach out to us and every time we would see them the first thing they would ask about was jeffrey. and second to sarah, when i think about jim's life and the funny and fun loving couple you were, i see the seeds of the extraordinary bond that gave you the strength to be there with him for all those years. there are so many unheralded people who give much of themselves to take care of a lot of one. you embody the very best of who they are and what they do. jim could not have lived like he did without you. it is a privilege to know you. thank you. [applause]

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♪ [applause] >> it was great to hear from the journalists about their relationship with jim. one of the advantages to having this many press secretaries together is that they agreed to hold a background briefing to go over some of the planning reports in detail. there has been allusions to a glass of water to. i hope the document proves us to be conservative estimates.

everyone has made reference here today about jim and sarah's work when it comes to gun safety and gun violence. our next two speakers are people who have lived in the trenches on this issue over the last two decades and have made a difference in a terribly difficult and divisive issue. dan gross is the president of the brady campaign to prevent gun violence. before that, he started the center to prevent youth violence and has devoted much of his life to the cause. gail hoffman, who many of you know, was central to putting this event together, has been at this since the late 1980's with handgun control, was the point person for all of us in the clinton administration to getting the brady bill done at the justice department. i think both of them can reflect on the incredible work and incredible accomplishments of

jim and sarah brady when it comes to making this country safer. >> mr. vice president, sarah, scott, missy, friends and family of jim brady across the country, it is a privilege to be here and it is my privilege to lead the organization that bears jim and sarah brady cost name, the campaign center to prevent gun violence. it has been my greater honor and privilege to know jim brady, to call him my friend, and in a way, he was even my brother. every time i saw jim was precious to me. either through words of wisdom or a joke, or that twinkle that i swear never left his eyes,

even when he could no longer see, jim had a way of turning even a brief encounter into a lifetime memory. but as i was preparing these remarks, the one memory that stood out the most was the very last time i saw jim. it was extra special because i brought my two children to meet him for the first time, this man that had been so much to me and had such a profound influence on our life, my life, on our nation. as we were introducing our kids to jim, sarah, who had already met them, told jim that my daughter played tennis. then there it was, jim last that mischievous grin as he playfully launched into a story about when sarah took up tennis and how she was more concerned about her fancy outfit than she was with the sport itself. he also mentioned how great she looked in that out it. but the most special moment came

as we were saying goodbye as we were walking out after a long visit. jim had to be tired. he called out to my daughter, and in his slurred speech, he said, good luck with your tennis. those were the last words i ever heard jim brady say and i don't think they could've been more fitting. that was the jim who really cared about you. that was the jim who really cared about all of us, even if they were suffering more than he wanted you to know, that was the jim cared about people. and i believe that is why jim and sarah brady are the embodiment of the gun violence prevention movement, the greatest champions we have ever seen or the safer nation that we all want. because jim brady really cared about all of us. jim brady really loved this nation. when it comes down to it, i believe there are three things

that jim brady's remarkable life tells us about gun violence in america. first is the toll of gun violence. 30,000 americans killed every year, about one million lives lost jim was shot. the statistics are staggering, but what the story really tells us is the impact of just one of those bullets can have, just one. that one bullet took jim's physical strength, cause profound lifelong health issues, put his loving wife sarah in the role of a lifelong caregiver, rob a brilliant and remarkably popular young press secretary of his career. my brother, too, was shot in the head and survived. like jim, my brother has worked remarkably. as i said, in a way, jim was my brother. every year, hundreds of thousands of more americans are introduced into our same tragic

brotherhood and sisterhood, a family no one ever wants to join, all in an instant, in the same way, one bullet. two, jim's story taught us about the importance of stronger, sensible gun laws. jim and share a -- sarah showed our nation why we need a background check before we buy a gun, which jim's shooter was never subject to. jim and sarah did not stop until they push through one of the most important public safety laws in this nations history, the brady handgun prevention violence act which i stopped over 2 million gun sales to dangerous people and has prevented countless more from even trying. as we heard, when the corporate gun lobby argued that background checks were too inconvenient for gun buyers, jim, in his inimitable way, responded, i guess i am paying for their inconvenience.

sarah is fighting with us still. third and most importantly, jim brady teaches us about the strength of the human spirit. how victims can not only survive but thrive. how each of us can make a difference and how anyone of us truly can change this country and the world. i believe that jim and sarah brady have saved more lives than almost any citizens in our nations's history, and that is not hyperbole. there are literally millions of americans who will never notice of ring of gun violence because of jim brady, and he did it without the trappings of power or wealth, a man that suffered a great injustice, who was robbed of so much, but refuse to be paralyzed by bitterness or hopelessness.

jim brady was a great man and a good man who changed the world in profound and extraordinary ways. there will never be another jim brady. but that must not stop us from carrying on the fight that was so important to him. jim, we will follow in your example. thank you, jim brady. can't bless you. and as he would want me to finish, thumbs up. [applause] >> first i want to thank joe lockhart for all the work he has done to make this event, celebrating jim's life, so very special. and thank you all for joining in this wonderful sendoff for the bear.

it was a tremendous privilege for me to work with and become so close to jim. for many years, the bradys have been like family to me. it is also a tremendous privilege for me to introduce our next speaker who jim adored. vice president biden and jim brady enjoyed a very long history together. before jim was white house press secretary, he served as an aide to senator bill roth of delaware, back when joe biden was senator biden. neither could know then how much they would subsequently do together to alter the course of history and ultimately saved so many lives by getting the brady bill passed. during the effort to pass the brady bill, we relied heavily on senator biden, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee, to help shepherd the bill through the senate. he was always there for us, as was his tremendously dedicated

staff. we were in constant communication and we knew that joe biden always had our back. later, when jim and sarah moved to rehobeth beach, delaware, they became constituents of senator biden and the strong bond between the bradys and the bidens endured. the bear and the vice president have a lot in common. speaking truths and telling it like it is. when jim first testified before the senate judiciary committee in 1989, he not only talked about what it was like to be in his wheels, but he said there were too many cowardly lion's walking the halls of congress. you bet there were. our next speaker was never one of them. in fact, he was and is a courageous public servant dedicated to the cause of making us all safer and doing what is

right. vice president biden has been there for jim and sarah from the very beginning and immediately after we lost our bear, vice president biden was there within the hour for sarah with an outpouring of love, and as always, offering to do anything and everything he could. there was never a question as to who could best honor jim's memory and legacy at an event like this. jim and sarah's longtime friend joe biden was the obvious person who could best speed to jim's public and private life. it is my great honor to introduce to you the bear's good friend and our vice president of the united states, joe biden. [applause]

>> my name is joe biden. i don't like twitter either. [laughter] oh for the good old days. my staff asked me whether i wanted a teleprompter, al. as the president said at one of the gridiron dinners, he said, i am learning to speak without a teleprompter, joe is learning to speak with one. i don't think jim would have ever put me on a teleprompter. folks, i only take one issue with what has gone on so far this morning. when the clergy stood here and recited those irish blessings, as the grandson of ambrose finnegan, i don't think any of those irish blessings were ones that jim would have been attached to.

the one that i think he probably liked the most was the one that my grandfather ambrose finnegan used to use. he would say, may those who love us love us, and those who don't, may god turn their ankles so we see them coming by their limp. [laughter] that, to me, is a brady-ology. i don't know. all of these faux irish people out here, i don't know. [laughter] my mother had an expression, and it was real. she would say, joe, remember, you will be defined by your courage and redeemed by your loyalty. i cannot think of a better phrase to describe jim brady.

jim was a national figure but we in delaware. before he went -- thought before he went to president reagan or governor connally, that he was delaware's property. i am told that jane roth may be here. judge, how are you? one of the best judges in the third circuit and a partner of bill roth the whole time. jane, i remember -- does remember when jim was bills mr. secretary -- press secretary. the thing that would startle you is that we like each other. for 30 years, without exception, there was never one time where a harsh word or public criticism of the other the entire time. that perplexed and when he first came. jim and sarah got me in trouble

with my then young children. jim had always had bill doing something really exotic. i will never forget the time that they were doing the kemp-roth bill. jim gott bill on top of that elephant. remember he was riding that elephant? my daughter looks at me and says, daddy, why can't you be like senator roth? gail, thank you for that introduction. scott and missy, i know -- i'm sure you appreciate all the love that your father engendered but i know it is hard to sit here and -- i know it is hard for you, sarah. we talked backstage. no matter whether it has been a week thomas a month, 20 years, 30 years -- when moments of the

morrill come along, they are appreciated, but they create that ache. there is, in ireland, a tombstone that reads, death leaves a heartache that no one can heal, but love leaves a memory that no one can steal. this is both a reminder of the heartache and love, and i admire you, and the heart of all the bidens goes out to you. the poet rg ingersoll said when the world defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scores to

compromise death, this is heroism. jim brady was heroic. it was all the things that everybody said, but to me, jim brady was simply heroic. life dealt him a really cruel blow, but the interesting thing about jim was, in the 30 years since that time, is that jim never compromised. jim was never ever defeated. he said back in 1986, you have got to persevere, keep a sense of humor. he said they could not she got away. and they never did. but he did not just persevere, he triumphed. and he did it with such dignity and grace and fierce

determination. he turned tragedy in action. we always talk about that, you are either made better or worse but you never stay the same after some god thing happens to you. but what is interesting about jim is he turned it all into action. he not only reached out to survivors of gun violence, but he reached out to the disabled with a message of encouragement and hope on the road to recovery. and the reason why it mattered so much to them, and you could see it in their eyes, is because they knew that he knew, that he understood, and he literally helped heal, and he gave hope. when you are in jim's position, it takes a hell of a lot to

focus on someone else's pain. a hell of a lot to spend the energy and time to communicate to other people that have gone through something like you have gone through, to stand up, to fight. and, sarah, i think it was al who said it. yours was a great love affair. we have all been around long enough to know when we see couples who are still couples, but every once in a while, you see a couple and you can tell it is still a love affair. it is not just they have grown used to each other, not just that they love each other, it is a love affair. that is a remarkable thing. what an incredible gift you gave

to one another. what a model for your kids to know that that is how it was. you know, i don't ever remember, sarah, seeing jim without you after the assassination attempt. but, you know, the interesting thing to me is through a whole lot of pains taking effort and all of the frustration that you felt, the thing that is missing right now in washington, you are able to generate consensus and bring people together. i watched, when we wrote the biden crime bill that contained the brady bill, the assault weapons ban, the other things, and i would watch how you would both import to my colleagues in

the hallway. they were scared to death to walk by you. if they saw you, it was like, oh, god, what am i going to do? [laughter] it was a pleasure watching jim work them, and i mean work them, and you standing there just so nice and forceful. none of the brady bill, despite all the help that you got from public office, all of it would not have mattered -- it was the one-on-one, bipartisan consensus that you pulled off.

it was pretty incredible. i think the most remarkable thing about jim was that -- i cannot say the day that he died because i had not seen him for two months before that. the same remarkable man the day that he died that he was when i met him over almost 37, 38 years ago. as the old saying goes, there are two things you have to know about jim brady. one was that he was tougher than you, and two, that he was smarter than you. those were helpful going in. he had an incredible mind, but the thing that i loved about him most is he seemed more driven by his heart, as much by his heart as his mind. as i said, he never let up. he understood that it was really necessary to get important rings

done, to question the judgment of other people. but the thing that he never did which is done today, is he never questioned motive. the question judgment. when you question someone's motive, it is often hard to make that switch and then come with you. he never did that. he always left room for people to come around. as i said, he never let up. jim truly lived every moment that he was alive, even at the end. i remember talking to him once. a guy that he knew well too was ted kaufman, my administrative assistant, became u.s. senator. i was telling him once, ted, i saw a picture of jim with the pope. ted told me that there was a quote from pope john paul about

going quietly into the night, adjusting to age, excepting god's will, etc. and i told jim, ted sent me this quote. i told him what i sent back to ted. i send back when dylan thomas wrote. do not go gently into that good night. old age said -- should burn and rage of the closing day. rage, rage against the dying light. that is the thing i loved about the son of a gun. he raged against the dying light. never out of anger, but such incredible passion, born out of love. he cared too much to leave the fight to others, not even when he knew there was so much to do.

the bullet of that would be assassin robbed him of so many of his faculties, as so many other victims of gun violence no, but it did not rob him of his voice. more than 11,000 men and women in this country still need his voice because, every year, they fall victim of homicide, and they cannot speak for themselves. but to end his life with every breath that he took, he spoke for them and hundreds of thousands of others. because he knows we had no choice -- he knew we had no choice but to speak for those who were lost. the voice that spoke or a president, senator, the

disabled, victims of gun violence everywhere, now speaks no more, but i think jim finally has some peace. i think he is waiting for you guys. there is a poem i love called the lake of the industry. i will arise and go down to industry and i shall have some peace there. four piece comes dripping slow, dripping from the veils of the morning to where the crickets sing. there, and midnight is all the glimmer in new is a purple glow and the evening is full of linton weeks. i will arise and go now for always, night and day, i hear lake water lapping down by the shore. while i stand on the roadway pavement gray, i hear it, that

the deep heart score. i think he is waiting for you, i think he is waiting for those in this fight or so long with him, but most of all, his family. if my dad were here, scott and missy, he would probably look at you guys and say, you have good blood. you have good blood. it is my hope that we may all eventually, not in the too distant future, live up to the legacy and standard of jim, and finally get done what he worked so very hard to do. we have convinced the american people the last time out with a proposal i put forward through the president. the fight used to be, can you fit -- convince the american people? 75% of the american people agree

with us. what we need is another jim brady who has the skill and the ability to convince those who are afraid to walk the halls of congress to step up and do what they know is right. one will come along. it will happen. i pray that it is sooner rather than later. sarah, god bless you, dear. to the kids, take care of one another, as i know you will. one thing is for sure, you know your father is looking down and wondering why the hell i talked so long. [laughter] thank you all very much, god bless. [applause]

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♪ [applause] a discussion about same-sex

marriage with ryan brown. center for audit quality executive director on the implementation. 7:00ngton journal live at eastern on c-span.

>> earlier this week, the u.n. approved preliminary funding of

$49 million. this is an hour. >>. >> i call to order the informal meeting on the public health crisis emanating from the ebola virus outbreak. as noted october 8th, 2014, i have invited dr. david navaro and mr. anka baramba, head of the united nations mission for ebola response to address the membership on this pressing matter. i take this opportunity to warmly welcome the deputy general, his excellency johan

erickson, of the office of the secretary general and our distinguished invitees to this meeting. mr. bambara is joining us here via video conference. by resolution 69/1 on 19 september, 2014, the general assembly, it came to the attention of the secretary general to establish the it ebola emergency response and the united nations for these and the united nations assistance provide their full support to the mission. your excellency, mr. secretary general, dr. navarao, mr

mr. bambari, distinguished d delegat delegates, ladies and gentlemen, this morning, we are briefing on the ebola outbreak and the global response to the epidemic. let me begin by thanking the deputy secretary general for joining us today, for also special thanks to dr. david navaro, special envoy to secretary general on ebola and mr. anthony bambari, special representative for the emergency response who will be briefing the assembly on the latest development on this crisis. as you recall, in the very first preliminary meeting of this 69th session, exactly three weeks ago, we adopted resolution

a-res-69-1 welcoming the secretary general's initiative to establish the united nations mission for ebola emergency response. member states and united nations entities were provided full support to the mission. i am pleased to note that yesterday, the assembly approved preliminary funding required. also, yesterday, the leaders met in washington, d.c. to discuss the critical issues needed and solutions for addressing the health and sorry i don't economic impact of the crisis. no meeting, we discussed if the outbreak is not quickly contained. as you will know, the situation on the ground of the affected

countries remains extremely precarious. the epidemic, humanitarian staff, workers and ordinary citizens are doing extraordinary work at great personal risk yet despite the heroic efforts, it continues to ravage communities with the death toll rising with each passing day. in light of the spread of the diseases, there are grave concerns that the outbreak has evolved from the regional to trans national crisis. ebola is a threat that can easily land at any nation's doorstep. therefore, i am pleased pleased to see that the international community has wasted in time in responding to the call for action. many mer states have come forward with generous pledges for support, both in terms of financial and in kind contributions. for these efforts, member states

deserve thanks and appreciation. furthermore, teams have been deployed to ghana and thanrespo efforts in the most affected countries. today, potentially, the rapid response of support the implementation of critical prevention and containment measures. yes, if the response from the international community is comme commendable, much more needs to be done to stem this public health crisis. in this context, i urge commitment and pledges for support. as we have said all along, this addressing the crisis requires bold coordinated action on the part of the international community. your pledges of support are a

vital component of the global response. there are commitments made by member states. i also encourage concrete proposals on how the global community can support those steps in terms of financial, humanitarian and other requirements. given the unprecedented nature of the epidemic, the international community must work together to come up with innovative yet practical solutions to contain further spread of ebola. in this regard, i urge member states to share specific proposals on how to improve assistance orstream line response efforts. even for those members states who have already made contributions, more is needed. i thank you for your kind attention. i now give the floor to the

deputy secretary general johann erickson. >> mr. president, excellency, ladies and gentlemen, i first of all, want to thank you, the president of your assembly for convening this crucially and important and timely meeting which i have the opportunity to represent the secretary general who is on travel. let me state from the very beginning, our response to the ebola epidemic must be swift and effective to match the scale and urgency of the challenge. now is the time for. we must catch up with the menacing ex uponcial en curve of the virus. the crisis is multi-dimensional with serious affects not only on public health, food security, economic and social and political stability.

it development progress is in jeopardy. knees are at risk. none of us are insulated from this threatposed by ebola. it is a global concern and demands a global response. >> that's why we have formed the global super bowl xl response coalition to it galvan eyes the ency response we site general supports for these. i resided over the response coalition. we needed wide range of how we

can cat lies you, we cannot do this work alone. no country, no organization can is this demands mobilization outside and inside the affected countries as the president just stated. we would like to pay tribute to the yajous work of local health workerscouragous work of local health workers many national health workers have lost their lives. others also working for organizations the international red cross and red crescent are risking their lives. so are our colleagues from many agencies, u.n. agencies. defeating ebola is going to demand the best efforts of all

of us working together. governments must, bank, international and non-government organizations and many others. we must work in consent to support the affected countries to implement their national response strategies for ebola. to that ends, we are rapidly deploying people and assets and working with unprecedented collaboration and speed we are guided by five simple commands: one, self concervation. 2, at least those with ebola. 3, ensure essential were services. 4, preserve stability and, 5, prevent further spread. the u.n. peacekeeping mission and those in the affected countries have been providing critical assistance for many months. they are continuing with theun farmed framework. on 29th september, bambury arrived at the headquarters in

akara with an advance team. we have just finished a week long assessment visit to the three affected, most affected countries, liberia, sierra leone and guinea for how we can best have programs without duplicating them. the secretary general has just appointed the ebola crisis managers for each country. he is in regular contact with the three presidents of the three most affected countries. special envoy david navara at my side remains fully engaged in efforts to forge strategic partnerships through the global coalition to achieve the massive scale-up of in kind resources so urgently needed. there are now over 18 newly deployed staffed with more on the way but many more staff willing needed to reach those areas where support is most needed, especially at the district level of the three

countries. i now appeal to all member states to act generously and swiftly. speed is of yourself he knew. a contribution within days is more imports than a larger contribution within weeks. recent cases of the virus outside the region have shown this is a global crisis. the answer is not to close borders or impose shutdowns. such will isolate the affected countries not the disease. they will prevent urgent aid from reaching those in need. we need international solidarity in the face of an international threat. we are grateful for the growing number of in kind contributions flowing in. over $20 million has been raised for the multi-party trust fund but we need more. of the $1,000,000,000 aid only one quarter has been funded. we also feed a surge in trained

healthcare personnel who can deploy the stay to staff ebola treatment at community sentencers. here we have some important contributions from imports states like cuba. we need to make med i have a c available and provide necessary ainsurance for personnel to be deployed. we need dedicated treatment facilities for all healthcare responders in country who continue to work at great personal risk. we must achieve quality care for all affected citizens of guinea, liberia and sierra leone. we should also recall that with the crisis in the health sectors in these three countries now, there are so many people who are not getting normal medical help the hospitals are overburdened. people are even worried to go to the hospital. you can imagine the number of people that are suffering and maybe dying from other diseases.

malaria, tuberculosis, you would normally treat. >> that's not part of our statistics yet. the health sector and now, make sure they have food security and stronger regional prepped necessary. in close, ebola is an unfor giving and a frightening disease. it can be defeated if we work together in solidarity and with effective covered nation. every hour counts. every countntribution counts. the people of the world are watching. the people of west africa now to a great deal depend on us although, of course, the national ownership is crucial. let us give them hope. let us be at their side. let us end this crisis swiftly and decisively. i thank you, mr. president.

>> the united nations, a statement, i now give the floor to dr. david navaro, special envoy to the secretary general on ebola. . >> mr. president of the general assembly, mr. deputy secretary general, champ de cabina. excellence sees, ladies and gentlemen. false, i would like to acknowledge the really important role of this global body in focusing attention on and leading support for the response to the current outbreak of ebola. in my remarks, i would like to

cover six points. i would like to talk a bit about history of the outbreak. i would like to focus on its significance. i would like to reflect on some of the actions being undertaken now to scale up the response. i would liable to concentrate on the different partnerships that are being built, the leadership of different bodies and particularly the presidents of the countries. and then the coalition that has been referred to in the deckty secretary general's remarks the i will be formed by anthony banbury, who will give a more specific presentation on the work of the united nation's mission for ebola emergency response. . >> let me start a bit with some history. i have worked as a public health

doctor for 35 years. and i have been involved in many disease outbreaks and indeed some pandemics. but i have never encountered a challenge like that one in my professional life. the reason is that this outbreak has moved out of rural areas and is coming to towns and cities it's no longer just affecting a very defined geographical location. it's affecting a whole region, and it's now also impacting on the whole world. it's outbreak is advancing quite rapidly ahead of the control effort. and the rest of us are having to

work really hard to catch up and overtake it. am together we are going to do it and our commitment to all of you is to achieve it within a matter of months, a few months, rather than going slow and letting the outbreak cause a lot more harm and misery. my second point is about the significance of the outbreak. it's got into societies in west africa in a very deep and worrisome way. for many of the communities that are country affected, the day a person dies is most important day of that person's life.

>> that's the day when the spirits move from the person into friends and relatives, into the community. the day of death must be treated with proper respect and ritual. otherwise, it undermines the very fabric of society. yet people who are dying of ebola are very dangerous and if they are touched, and if they are held at that moment of death, they can infect large numbers of other people because their bodies are toxic. their bodies contain the virus. it's often on the surface of their bodies. so sfovrnltunfortunately, the t death has proved to be a time when the virus tends to spread very widely.

and in order to get control over the virus, people are having to change the way in which they handle illness and handle death and to move away from traditions that are centuries old. this has been a major difficulty for many of the societies that are affected. it is really only in the last few weeks thanks to the courage of the leaders of the countries concerned that there has been a much greater emphasis on people coming to terms with and owning the disease and changing their behaviors so that they are less likely to spread the disease. another phenomenon that's occurring is when people get the disease, they get scared and they tend to run to people who they think that can help them.

traditional healers, centers of faith, or even friends and relatives. and that, in turn, leads to the movement of sickness and the disease in to new communities, new chains of transmission, and that has led to the widespread citi dissemination of the disease and the virus. third point, how, then, do we respond as the disease spreads. we have to recognize it's spreading very rapidly, probably doubling in numbers of cases every three to four weeks. in a means a huge profession of treatment facilities for people with the disease, a great increase in community centers, a lot of work with societies to help them respond to the disease, and others to help they will get prepared. a massive social mobilization on

an enormous scale, not just in the most affected countries but in neighboring countries as well. indeed throughout the world. it's going to scale so that everybody knows about the disease, knows how to prevent it, knows where treatment is available, involves thousands of health workers from all over the world, thousands of community mobilizers and hundreds of people to help construct centers and start them and make sure they are properly supported. it's going to scale, perhaps increasing level of response, 20 times greater than it was at the beginning of this month. it involves just about every country in the world. certainly every donor agency in the world, many non-governmental organizations, all working in

support of the people of the affected currents trees because without that mass mobilize ace, without a global movement, it will be impossible to get this disease quickly under control. and the world will have to live wi with the ebola virus forever. >> that's why your leadership and the leadership of the security council, the leadership of the presidents, the leadership of the chair of african union and, i would like to particularly single out the decisive role played by the secretary general of the united nations recent weeks gives me some hope that we now have mechanisms to bring together all of the different partners to scale up action.

we will continue to need and request resources from all of you, doctors and nurses, to come in as teams to help start treatment centers. airplanes, helicopters, vehicles, motor bikes, boats to provide the transportation necessary for logistic systems that go deep into the villages and the townships of the affected countries. and, also, to provide prepare pair tory expertise into the neighboring countries. we will continue top ask you for cash because this is an expensive job because it requires contracts and arrangements that have to be set up now so whether we get the scale up as quickly as possible. >> that's why we are super grateful to everybody for contrail butting to the trust fund. the last point about the coalition: as far this virus c

its way through defenses, especially if there are holes in the fences. it can find its way often inside the body of infected inteem transportation systems if they are not strong defenses there. it can find its way from village to village and town to town if people are frightened and not provided with proper care. and that's why we are seeking to encourage all who are responding to come together in a coalition which will be facilitated by the unit united. deputy secretary general will chair it, in which will help all of us to work together knowing what each other is doing and keeping regularly informed. it is most extraordinary challenge that the world could possibly face. it you sometimes see films about this sort of thing, and you imagine: how could such a thing happen? this is more extreme than any

film i have ever seen this is a really challenge to all of us that's going to require every piece of enginuity and collective action that we can work to mount to respond to it because the enemy, in this case a virus, a tiny micro scopic thing, is invisible to our eyes. i thank you for making this possible. thank you, sir. >> a special envoy of the secretary general on ebola for, i thank him for his briefing. i now give the floor to mr mr. anthony bambury, special representative and head of the united nations mission for ebola

emergency response joining us by video conference. >> mr. president of the general assembly, mr. deputy secretary general, champ di cabi, distinguished delegates, thank you for giving me the opportunity to brief you today on the activities of the united nation mission for ebola emergency response. i am here. i am grateful to you, mr. president, for your leadership on the ebola crisis and for convening this section and for ensuring that the response to fighting the ebola epdemtic remains on top of the global agenda. i also wish to thank dr. margaret chan, directory general of the world health organization and all of the u.n. agency funds and programs for their support

both in terms of material and personnel. since the establishment of unmer on 19 september and it's immediate and welcome endorsement by the general assembly, the secretary general made clear his expectations that the united nations system move rapidly and decisively in responding to the ebola crisis. and we have been moving swiftlock a number of fronts. my colleague, dr. nabarro, has detailed his efforts in building a global coalition to respond to this disease. she and i are working together closely. dr. nabarro is leading the international effort to garner support for the fight. i am here with the help of multilateral and bilateral partners t concentrating on operational crisis response activities on the ground.

both are integral to a comprehensive strategy to fight the disease. following my appointment, i deployed to the region with a small but now growing team to start up the next. i am grateful to the government of ghana for hosting ummer's headquarters in akra which has fas ittated at a time growth. i have visited the three most affidavit countries, liberia, sierra leone and guinea for three days each. i went on the trip to listen to learn and to identify areas where unmeer can be most helpful and find ways it can accelerate the response to the crisis. i met with the president of leipbiera and president of sierra leone and of guinea t i also met with government ministers and officials, with civil society, actors