is 96 hours of american history beginning at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow those are some options to tune into this holiday weekend we'll see you tomorrow morning. >> this thanksgiving week, c-span is featuring interviews from retiring members of congress. watch the interview tonight through thursday at 8:00 eastern. >> i want to look back at that so much as to look forward to the next couple of months.

there is a couple of things i would like to do. one is to get my defense authorization deal passed. a major effort involving large amounts of staff. looking at gimmicks to avoid taxes. if i was a manager for a baseball or football team, i would be in the hall of fame. i was not just such ongoing but i had cochairmen that were 18 county members that wanted me to run. and i did. >> we will take an american aid -- variousof

native american tribes at 10:00 eastern. attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the new diplomacy center in washington with former secretaries of state. that is this thanksgiving week on c-span. for the complete schedule, go to www.c-span.org. >> early voting underway in louisiana for the only undecided u.s. senate seat. the national review rights in electionsff voting between democrat mary landrieu and bill cassidy began saturday. there is no voting on thanksgiving or friday. from 11-21nging points. cory booker and new jersey democrat this weekend.

an ad aimed at young voters for opposing the minimum wage increase. equal pay for women. representative cassidy leading to fight the amnesty plan. here is that advertisement and others both campaigns are currently airing. and im mary landrieu approve this message. >> bill cassidy need as speech that was nearly incoherent. >> senator landrieu make it. >> the record is crystal clear. and mary landrieu clout. >> before the end of the year,

we will take whatever lawful actions i can take. >> stop obama. plan. fight the amnesty your tax dollars should benefit you, not those here illegally. every morning i say a prayer for my kids. i just want them to be happy and do their best. bill cassidy as a doctor but billionted to cut 86 dollars from louisiana schools to pay for a tax break for millionaires like himself. i do not know what kind of doctor would do that to his kids. >> i approve this message because lee m&f -- louisiana's kitchen the for pay the price for a tax cut. >> a few words from mary

landrieu. vote for the bill again, i would vote for it tomorrow. >> boating with obama 97% of the time. >> i am happy to see the president defends what i think is an extraordinary record. >> if they don't like it, they can on the left him. >> now you know what to do on election day. -- debateal date between senator landrieu and senator cassidy monday night at 8:00 eastern. live coverage on c-span two. than 30 five years in congress, tom harkin said to retire at the end of the year. he served at the house of representatives. moved onto the senate. he ran for democratic residential nomination.

in an interview he talked about his career in the current partisan climate in the u.s. senate. iowanator tom harkin of we're sitting in a room you spend a lot of time and it over the past three years and have of important legislation. i am wondering what prompted you to make the decision to retire this year, there is still a lot to do? >> i guess what prompted me where long discussions with my and thinking about the past. i came to the decision that 40 years here is long enough for anyone to be here. the whole concept of clinging onto power and all of these nice offices and a great committee

but i think a lot of people around here stay here too long. i thought, i am still relatively ,oung, at least i feel healthy and contrary to what my political opponents said my medical faculties are still decent. but i love the senate. i loved the senate, my committee, my work here. i like to give intake, to legislate. miss the senate. i do not think it is reason enough to stay around until they carry me out of here feet first. at some point you have to say it is time to move on and let younger people come in with new ideas and fresh enthusiasm. so i decided for me it was time to move on.

>> what are you going to do now? >> at drake university in des moines, iowa, a small college of thel-known because drake relays started the harkin institute on public policy. board of good directors, nonpartisan -- bipartisan board of directors. former chair of the iowa republican party is on the board for that very reason. so i will spend a lot of my time in iowa. we only live about 12 miles from drake. worke to be doing a lot of with that institute. the ofknow as a senator all of this stuff on her plate,

a lot of stuff to deal with. it has been said one of the good things about being a senator is to get to you with a lot of stuff. it has been said one of the bad things is you have a lot of things on your plate. in my retirement, i want to narrow them down and will focus mostly on probably what i am best known for and that is disability work. i want to work with institute and also some here in washington , and i hope some even internationally on what i consider to be one of the last of making the americans with disabilities act work and that is jobs and jobs for people with disabilities. things areng happening out there with people disabilities getting jobs.

really interesting things and i would like to be a part of that and start to expand. >> you mentioned consulting with your wife emma ruth. life be like after you leave the senate? hope, i suppose ok. you have to understand -- sounds like you will still be very busy. my wife has always carved out her own career. attorney, prosecuting and then in washington with the in them and later back federal government as the president and ceo of the overseas private investment she did an, which outstanding job at and later as a corporate executive.

now on the board of regents of iowa, so my wife has always had her own career path. i remember one time when i was first elected and was already a prosecuting attorney. my wife and i ran for office the same year in 1972 areas i lost and she won. democrat inthe only the courthouse and the only woman county attorney in the state of iowa. so she was breaking glass ceilings. so she was interviewed around that time. she said i think my whole life

andd be very boring disappointing if all i had to hinge on to was that i was the wife of the congressman. wife has been pretty much an advocate of women doing their own thing and seeking their own career paths. she is been very busy. she is been on a couple of boards. she has never been a senatorial wife or something like that. >> i am wondering if the senate has been a little harder or tougher to love in the past decade or so? >> well, certainly requires a different approach. are speaking in the language of romance. the last decade has been very

different. again, i always want to be careful about getting into the do not want to thate one of those old men constantly say things were better when i was younger. things were better when i first got here. i heard that from my father and people growing up. different, yes. i do believe there are things that the senate should be doing that i think transcends decades. more personal relationships. the grease of good legislation is still personal relationships. trust. getting to know one another. that has broken down in the senate.

be pulled back together again. we need a broader base in the republican party now. you might say what about the democratic party? it was up until just recently the republican party had a pretty good broad. liberal republicans, moderate republicans and until lately we have had moderate democrats and some conservatives in the south. in the mix we were able to get things done. the republican party got rid of all the liberals. he gender the response on the democrats that and probably get more and more liberal so we need more of a mix than what we have had in the past. i just hope the republican party get back to having more moderates and liberals in the

republican party. -- might i also add icing procedures need to be changed in the senate. i have long advocated that we get rid of the filibuster. i think it is a weight around our next that is not the constitution. primarily for almost 100 years to stop civil rights legislation. that was the basis of the filibuster. it has no relevance today. it really does not. what has happened in the past few years is individuals have found they can use the filibuster to stop legislation. was never intended that way. it was intended to slow down legislation and stop it if you had a sizable minority but never to be used in the way it is now.

in 1996 when we are in the minority i propose adding rid of the filibuster because i said at that time and it is in the record, i said if -- what is happening is when the democrats are in power the republicans will use the filibuster. then when the republicans get in power the democrats will say we will do it to you. the anti-always goes up. so every time the senate would party hands, the new would do more filibusters than the last. i said it will be like an arms race. we will come to the point where we cannot run the senate. that is almost true today. get rid of the filibuster on legislation as well as nominations. on the other hand, i have said the republicans to have legitimate argument.

the best way to get rid of it is to get rid of the filibuster and guarantee to the minority in new rules in the senate that the minority will be allowed to offer to remain amendments that any bill on the floor. reasonable time limits for debate. the minority does not have the right to prevail, which they are doing now because they can control the filibuster and stop things. is not the minority prevails but should be the rights of the minority to amend or offer amendments to have full and vigorous debate and have vote on the amendment.

i think the senate would begin to operate very well. >> i heard you say the resulting gridlock upsets the balance of power are giving more power to the president. would you explain why? >> i think the gridlock in the congress, because we cannot get things done, just gives more power to the president. resolve this president and the last. more and more power will evolve to the president when we cannot get the work done here. >> when and why does it change? was sort of a gradual thing. started back in the 1980's a little bit. accelerated a little bit in the 1990's. then it took off in the 2000. you can say the democrats did

this and can always book go back to say both sides started it. really it really 1990's.d in the late from the late 19 90's early 2000 to early 2012. every couple of years it got worse and worse in terms of the number of billable thirst -- filibusters. that the the point now only thing we vote on is if it is unanimous consent. not even debate any longer. i think the country loses when that happens. >> you talk about the collegiality and relationship being so important to the legislative process. the senate work week has gotten shorter, more structured.

you talk to is people are always -- have said that is one of the problem, people are always out of here. it backgoing to change because people are going home to raising money? >> why are people will be being here? to go out and raise money. campaigns have gotten so expensive. if you have been reelected as a senator, you better start raising money right away. >> do you remember what your first campaign cost? >> it was not that much. the question. -- good question. 1984. it has increased exponentially. >> awful. i would be surprised if my 1984 campaign cost -- i know less than $2 million.

last senate campaign right around 12-15,000,000 dollars in iowa. it is crazy. that is just not. but that is what it has gone to. to build the relationships you have to have personal time. it used to be with the senate dining room. we had a little dining room only senators could have lunch in. no staff, to senators. and would gobles in there and talk. personal stories and what is happening in the family and get to know one another. we had great conversations. some were political.

record so you, can talk openly. the dining room does not even exist anymore. nothing. they came a time when fewer and fewer senators were going there does not event exist. something we used to do on a daily basis here, we never do. why is that? , the senate was monday afternoon. we usually came in monday at noon and then would be here until friday at noon as a minimum. sometimes friday later. have monday, tuesday, wednesday thursday and friday basically. for were five days of lunches. four.m

now we do not get here monday until monday evenings. tuesday is the caucus lunch. thursday is the policy lunch or democrats and republicans. we leave thursday night. that only leaves wednesday. is almost every senator doing for lunch wednesday? they are out raising money. but it's not healthy. not healthy at all. we used to, and here is another , we used to make have caucuses likely used to on and tuesday afternoon. hoursld take two or three and that would be the caucus. now it is at lunch time.

we used to have a policy lunch. we do not do anything else around here for crying out loud. of: -- collegiality, i am wondering about your relationship with chuck grassley. you have both been here so long, you are the soon -- junior senator from the state. the longest-serving junior senator. >> i am the most junior senior senator in the senate. grassley and i got sworn in on exactly the same day in 1975. >> a few hours earlier in his case. >> without a left of the same day sworn in january 1975, same day. time does not make difference. .e came to the senate

in terms of the time here, exactly the same. he was only on the house six years. he is a conservative, i am a liberal. we have always had a good relationship. we don't agree on national issues -- every once in a while. when we do things for iowa, we work together. iowa is ao remember, very slow state. the registration here today is about what it was when i first started 40 years ago. one third democrat, one third independent. there are a said

lot of conservative iowans, liberal iowans and moderate. grassley fulfills the conservative. the conservative end of the thingsm but does enough to reach over to the moderates. i've represent the liberal and reach enough in the moderate. >> how does this through the rearview mirror? i know bob dole once said famously there is only one cure for the defined to be president and that is a wooden stake through the heart. think, first of

all, i was ill-prepared to run for president. i have not banned on it for a long time. -- plans on it. it was not something i was geared up to do. i became so upset about bush economic policies, but also the iraq, that ik -- just felt we needed a good, populist voice running. so i was not prepared. quite frankly, i ran a terrible campaign. if i had half a brain i would just campaign in a few states. just campaigns and set up operations.

i remember driving down the highway in south carolina on a rainy day and i thought, what am i doing in south carolina. i have no support here. he was running clinton's campaign. here the whole state tied up. why was i even spending a day aside from having staff and campaign people? if i had just concentrated on a few states, that might have been different. i also believe my message was wrong. think howeverd the country and me are probably better off.

-- i am notjust just saying that forsake modesty. i say it because i love legislation. i like legislating. like that atmosphere. i am not really an executive type person. i have always been a legislator. plus, i love my in a minute he. i really liked going into a store and no one knows me. i like going to a restaurant and i do not see -- do not need secret service. no one knows who i am. i have enough notoriety or issues i am involved in that certain elements of society know me and know me well but broadly speaking it is a nice feeling to

have that. to get elected president, it is over with. as i think about it, i think morefe has been fulfilling. i think my personal life has been much more fist -- much more for filling and happy. fulfilling and happy. bill butler toet run for president back in 1988. three of us were working on bumpers to run. i got him to come to iowa. paul simon and me. we try to get him to run. know, i think i could run a good campaign.

i think i can even win the nomination. i think i could even win the presidency. but i would never have another happy day for the rest of my life. that is the way i feel. watched yourk and withdrawal speech. it was a cow you debt university here. it is the washington-based college for the death. would you tell the story about how your interest developed in that? >> it started with my brother who was deaf and saw how he was just ruminated -- discriminated in his lifetime. i thought if i can ever get in a position to do something about that. i got into the congress and senate. i first worked in the house -- my vision was only on deafness.

on. is what i was focused so i was involved in closed captioning and setting up the cash -- -- thing institute in virginia to caption pre-recorded tv programs. senator randall and i delivered the first recorder box to jimmy in the white house. that led me by the way, and this is not something to many people know about. they know about my sponsorship of the american disabilities act but before that i did something else, i got a bill through that was called the television deco der circuitry act, which that every television set sold in america with a size 13 inch screen or better had to have invented within the tv the

.hip that decoded that line i got it through. that is why you have the mute button and all of the lines that come across the screen. deafnessmy interest, and then my sisters boycott injured in the military. he got sucked down a jet engine and broke his neck and became a quadriplegic. then he wanted to go to college. i will never forget, he called me up one day and said i cannot even go to college. he said i cannot get around in my wheelchair. steps to go up the to school and they have classes on the second third floor and i cannot get up there because there is no elevator.

all of a sudden my concept of disabilities started expanding way beyond deafness. , by that time i met a man who had down syndrome and was the captain of the full all team at ankeny high school. he took care of everything. he acted in school plays. he was a mac with the same young man. thinking about how many people with intellectual disabilities are like him in the shadows someplace? so bit i bit my concept began to grow. about that time in the mid to 1980's, i found there was a movement in america to have a broad civil rights bill covering

i came to thees senate in 1985. to getators wanted me onto the committee because we have open committee spots. john glenn because we flew the same jet in the military, another story. and then ted kennedy. he said glen wants me on his committee. if i could work on disability issues, which is under your jurisdiction, if you to havegure out someway that niche on the committee, i would be interested. within a day he got back to me and said i will tell you what, you come on the committee and i will form the committee and you can share it. i said i am on your committee

and that is what gave me the precision to have the hearings, shape the bill and move the american with disabilities act through the senate. >> was your brother still around? >> that was wonderful. there were two great moments in my time. the passage of american with disabilities act. i gave my speech & language. kerrey willbob always tell you about that because he was sitting in the chair. all of a sudden i started speaking sign language with no verbal noise and the recorder did not know what to do. he just sat there looking at me. speecha great part of my in sign language. he said i will always remember

because we did not know what to do. my brother was watching that and got to see that. he had always said i wish they had something like that when i was a kid. he relates he was discriminated against and was limited for what he could do simply because he was deaf. all by theathy at organization to invest as much money that they may not have had and retrofitting facilities? that is some of the complaints. right after we passed the american disabilities act we pass the tax bill input in a tax credit of up to $5,000 or any small business that has to widen the door, put in a ramp, or

anything else. to this day a lot of small businesses do not even know that. up to 50% tax credit. can get it done with very little expense. you set up systems around the united states from like a clearinghouse where if anyone has a problem or question they can call and will be able to tell them how they can meet the requirements. a lot of it is so simple. i remember a school -- dubuque, iowa. called curious because they would have to replace all of the water in the school. and theany comes in planning -- forming has to be changing cost a lot of money. meet withstaffers to

them and see what could be done. he looked at it and made a suggestion. every waterde fountain put up paper cup dispenser and a wastepaper basket. that is all you need to do. someone is in a wheelchair, take the paper cup and drink it and put it in the wastebasket. there is a lot of people out there trying to make money off of this. a lot of times you do not have to do that. these are sometimes very simple kinds of things. mentioned john glenn. you served as a long time in the reserves. i am wondering about that and how it affected things you had ando like voting for war what perspective didn't bring?

>> i think what affected me was my time in the service to confess also many of my friends killed in vietnam. i saw a lot of my friends and i imember another young man, will not mention his name but i saw him in the philippines and knew he had been flying in vietnam. i saw him. he said i just got canned. it said what do you mean? he said i'm not dropping any more bombs, and he said they had me on the next plane off the aircraft carrier back to the state. so i asked him about that. got so told me and i

the war.oned by he said i went into the reserves and flew in the reserves. i was better trained, got more hours flying in the reserves that i did on active duty. yet it cost the taxpayer one third as much. i am thinking, we had put more money into the reserves and national guard to get more bang for the buck because they can do other things other than being on active duty. that is why i have been a strong reporter of the reserves and national guard. i also think a we had more reserve and national guard rather than active-duty, less opportunity for the general's to into wars and things like that. >> what is the john glenn story? >> iris wanted to fly airplanes when i was a little boy. i never flew in any airplane until college. i was in navyhen

rotc but i always wanted to fly. , there was ajunior picture in the des moines the marine major that had just broken the cross-country speed record from california to new york and an s eight crusader and his name was major john glenn. above my bed and said i want to fly that airplane. as luck would turn out, i did get to fly that airplane. he went on to be an astronaut. i went on to be a united states senator. ien i first came to the house introduced myself to john glenn.

when i first came to the house, i introduced myself to john glenn and so we talked about flying the f-8 and what was it like and when i came to the senate, we just always had that kind of relationship there. it was interesting fighter. it was the fastest plane at that time. it was first jet to go 1,000 miles an hour in level flight so glenn flew it, i flew it and we always had that bonding because not many people flew that airplane and a lot of people were killed flying it, too. that was the john glenn story. >> did you ever show him the clip? >> i never did. i don't have it anymore. i don't know what happened to it. once i went to college and went in the military my brother or somebody threw it away but the picture exists. you can go back in the archives of the paper and find picture. >> you said there were a couple of special moments in your career besides a.d.a. i'm guessing one had to do with the passage of healthcare legislation? >> yes, absolutely. americans with disabilities act was the biggest point in my legislative career. but the affordable care act also because in that i was able to put in the prevention title and

as it so happened, kennedy became very sick, as you know, and it sort of devolved on to chris dodd and me to get this done and so kennedy asked me in the beginning, since you're so involved with prevention and stuff, you take care of that. so the prevention title in the affordable care act, that's what we did. that was my deal. and think what it does. it means from now on you can get colonoscopies, breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, cholesterol screening, all these things can you get with no co-pays and no deductibles. my idea was always to change our sick care system. i always said we never had a

healthcare system but a sick care system. if you got sick, you got care, one way or the other. but there was nothing in our system to promote wellness and to keep you healthy in first place. so that's why i wanted that prevention title and it's taking hold and there's another part of the prevention title in which i got 15 billion dollars, billion, with a b, over 10 years, for grants to communities to set up community wellness programs and that's now happening all over america. where communities are getting together and saying what can we do to promote wellness in our community? and they're getting these grants. so to me, i like that part of my legacy because i think it's going to take hold and it will promote wellness and more healthful living but there's something else i did. i'm also on -- i have been on the ag committee for 40 years. i was chair of two farm bills. two things that i point to with pride -- maybe three -- two --

one, i started a new conservation program. it's now called the conservation stewardship program. we have over 60 million acres in the united states now in this program. the concept behind it is this. that since world war ii in agriculture, the government paid formers subsidies based on what they grew and how much they grew. it to be a program crop and the more you grew, the more you got. that promoted bigger and bigger farms all the time. the more you got, you can bid up the price of land. it skewed the system. so i always thought, no, that's wrong. what we need to do is to pay farmers not for what they grow and how much they grow but for how they grow it. are you a good conservationist? do you preserve soil and clean water? do you provide crop rotation and good tilt for the soil so that's what the program is. it's not that old but i think

it's firmly established and more and more farmers are seeing the benefit of it. the farmers get a benefit of it and people living in cities and downstream get cleaner waters. our hunters like it because we have more cover for wild fowl, pheasants and ducks and things like that, for hunters. they like that. so that's another thing that i'm glad i was here to do. the other thing i did in the agriculture bill is i started something called the fresh fruit and vegetable program. i did an experiment, 2002 farm bill. i got $5 million for four states, 25 schools in the states, 100 schools, try an experiment. what would happen if you gave kids free fresh fruits and vegetables, not in the lunch room but in the classroom, or in a kiosk in the hallway. not just at lunch time, but whenever they felt like it, in the morning if they were hungry. so i started that. 100 schools, four states. $5 million.

in the last farm bill, in 2008, i was able to expand it because each one of those 100 schools are still in the program today. they love it. we found kids eating fruits and vegetables they'd never eaten before, fresh, fresh fruits and vegetables and they got those free because you always say, well, we have a vending machine and we always have a couple of apples in the vending machine but a kid with money is not going to pay for an apple. they'll buy candy or cookie but if they get it free, they eat it, they like it, they don't go to the vending machine. >> in lunch rooms, when reporters have watched, when they go in their lunch bags, they end up in the trash can because you can't force kids to eat them. >> yes and no.

yes and no. that's another thing. school nutrition standards i changed those, too, that's the school lunch program. but the fruit and vegetable program for kids is fantastic. now over $100 million a year. low income kids across america are getting free fresh fruits and vegetables with a lot of spill-over effect. kids in lunch room, they throw stuff away. they want hamburgers and french fries. that's right. so people have accused me of trying to tell parents what their kids should eat and tell the kids what they should eat. i said, yeah, i'm guilty. i plead guilty. should we let kids eat what they want to eat? if they want candy bars in the morning, would any parent want their kid to eat candy bars all day long? or to stuff themselves with

hamburgers or french fries every day? no parent wants that. parents want their kids to have healthy food. to the extent that kids revolt against that, i understand that. that will work for a while and pretty soon they'll start to change. things will change because kids will find as long as the food is prepared well, they'll find that a lot of healthy food is pretty darn good but people say, these kids, they throw it away and stuff. well, for a while. for a while. it will change. >> we have maybe four or five minutes left. you've told me some of the things you're proudest about. do you have any regrets over the years? >> oh, sure. oh, sure. yeah. probably the biggest regret i have, the vote that i wish i could take back, was the vote on the iraqi war, resolution of george w. bush's. a lot of people say it was a

resolution to go to war in iraq. no, it wasn't, it was a resolution to give the president the power to go ahead and initiate action in iraq and i voted for it and it was a bad vote, terrible vote. i was convinced at the time that the president did not want to go to war, that he only wanted this as a hammer at the u.n. to make the u.n. inspectors do their job in iraq. colin powell convinced me, not so much about the weapons of mass destruction, this was before that. but that the president would not go to war but this was just a hammer to give him the power. i believed him. i was wrong. that was not a good vote at all. i suppose there are others but the others pale into

insignificance compared to that one. but i'm sure if i went through all the thousands of votes i cast, i'm sure there's some others. >> the last thing i want to ask you about something you're synonymous with, iowa presidential politics. so are you going to stay involved in will you have the ability to be something of a king maker in the state when people are there? >> there's one thing i know, once you're outta here, you're outta here. i have no illusions about that i'm going to continue to be some grand poobah in the iowa democratic party. new people coming in, that's for them. to the extent i can be helpful, i will. i like politics. i still want to be involved some way but not to the extent or in the role i have been playing the last few years. it just won't happen. but i intend to be heard. i intend to use whatever forums i have to continue to push a progressive populist agenda in america, one that talks about

more equality and more opportunity for kids without anything, one that is more compassionate and more caring and one that understands what i've always believed, that with the right people and right policies, government can be a positive influence in people's lives. i still believe that. >> senator, it's difficult to fit 40 years in 45 minutes. there's so much more we could talk about but thank you very much for the time you've given us. >> thanks, susan. >> after more than three decades representative howard coble will retire at the end of this term. recently he reflected on the

house and what issues still need to be addressed in future congresses. coblegressman howard retiring after this session. longest-serving republican congressman in north carolina history. what do you think your legacy will be after 30 years on capitol hill? .> not unfavorable i hope it will be one that has been less -- laced with credibility. we have interns on the staff year-round. many that have political desires to run for office one day and they asked me what should would -- what should we emphasize? i say, you emphasize credibility, accessibility. people back home expect to see their elected official and i think justifiably so. i go home just about every weekend. i did every weekend this year. i recall, having served with a

fellow who could have been in the congress his entire life. he was that good. he was a good public servant. and he was defeated in the republican primary and i asked him what happened to our buddy. he quit going home, was the answer. quit going home, they never saw him. so they showed him the gate that leads to the road out of town. >> legislatively, what are you most proud of? >> well, when i was elected in 1984, we were known as the furniture, hosiery and tobacco textile and tobacco capital of the world. not true anymore. but they're still hanging on, all of those different occupations or professions. my mama was a textile worker so

textile legislation was close to home with me. so i'd say accessibility and looking out for the -- back home, that the country did not suffer as a result. >> how has your district changed since 1985? >> oh, tremendously. when we were elected, we had a very compact three-county district -- guilford, alamance and davidson. >> northern north carolina? >> northern north carolina, north-central north carolina. now, i've only stood one election under the new re-districting plan but now we have eight new counties, continue to embrace part of alamance and guilford, picked up portions of granville, orange and durham and coupled with the five complete counties, all new. it was quite an adjustment. most recently, we had -- that was altered somewhat. we kept portions of guilford, alamance, davidson. picked up a portion of rowan, which would be salsbury,

randolph, solid republican county, home of the one of the best zoos in the world, pinehurst, golf capital of america, lost all of that can re-districting. i tell you a story about pinehurst. dr. charlie norwood, now deceased, dentist from augusta, georgia. i went to his funeral in augusta. there was an old man about my age with a big sign with these words, "thanks, charlie." i wish it had been in the next morning's paper. but norwood always would go out of his way to put down pinehurst as opposed to augusta. never missed a chance to do that. so one day when i left the floor, one of my colleagues said, what's the makeup of your district? norwood heard the question and i said my district consists of the furniture capital of the world, high point.

one of the best zoos in the world, i said to my colleague. and then knowing that norwood was listening, i said it in a condescending tone, i said the golf capital of america in pinehurst. he came out of his seat. he said i'll give you furniture and zoo but you ain't taking golf. i told that story to the rotary club at pinehurst, or southern pines, one of them. i think it was pinehurst. that story was told to them. someone in the committee knew norwood, called norwood and told him when i had done so he was waiting for me the next week but i fondly remember that exchange. of course, i was right.

it was furniture, zoo and -- furniture, zoo and golf. >> so were you able and has it been the same here in congress to develop relationships with other members? >> pretty much so. yeah, you hear a lot talk about how partisan everything is. and it is partisan but we live in a republic where there are only two major parties. partisanship will be inevitable so that in and of itself doesn't bother me. i have many good friends on the democrat side. my mom and daddy were democrats. i was reared in a democrat home. but i would say easier than much of the media would portray it to be.

>> congressman howard coble, over the years, congress' approval ratings have gonep and down and currently they're pretty low. why do you think that is? >> very low. i'm not sure that i can put my finger -- get my fist around it because i don't so that much because i do not see that much changing philatelic community ago to now -- from three decades ago to now. but, of course, they are an easy target. that could be -- that could probably be a lot of it. think that the president has tried to be -- i have tried to be as nonpartisan as i can -- bbut the president, as it comes to has been very s, disinterested. and i think it shows.

that may well contribute to the most recent low marks. you are right, we are at the bottom of the barrel. have worked with speakers since jim wright. has been most k effective -- who do you think has been most effective? while he was here. we emember one time when discussed the contract, it was 11 or 12 o'clock at night, and good rapport y with gingrich. of my buddies said, howard, why don't you go and see if you can make this 100 legislative days. 45 saturdays and sundays, maybe even monday's. i said, speaker, the troops are restless.

they are wondering if we can extend the hundred day timeframe to 100 legislative days. he thought pensively for a few seconds. he said, get back to work. i said, aye aye, sir. but i think newt -- >> you have also worked with president since ronald reagan. who do you think had the best relationship with congress? along with reagan, both bushs. i have been very high on the bushes. >> why? >> easy to be with. george w. bush calmly back a week later -- i should have i have me folks that him because normally --

the remember montgomery, democract for mississippi? he gave me the number and i called them that they. they gave me a voice message. i left my name and number, and i didn't tell the staff what i had done. the next day, george w called our office. i do not recall who entered our -- kimberly, i believe. our receptionist upfront, sshe said it was george bush, and held the phone up. my administrative assistant called, and he hung up the phone. so you want to tell you stuff what you have done to avoid unpleasant surprises.

but i would go with newt, as the speaker. >> during the clinton administration, you served on the impeachment committee. looking back at that period in time, how do you think that would be looked at in future generations? know, the late i won't even -- i want even qualified as a probably. the most eloquent orator in the congress. i think i remember this correctly. wild about m not impeachment, but 43% of surveyed americans support this. he said, how do you justify that and then turn a blind eye to the president. i will always remember henry saying that. your question was how it will play with the passage of time?

well -- this came -- i believe he might have been only one of two presidents who have been impeached -- >> that is correct. he and andrew johnson. >> yes, north carolinian, by the way. >> from tennessee. >> yes, from tennessee. >> congressman coble, what in the you to congress first place? started some years an old time from duke law school ccall me aside one day and said, i want you to run for the state legislator. this was in 1968. he said, when you go to vote on the tender the republican side of the ballot.

it is vacant. there are no names on their. how do you expect to build a party with no one willing to run for office. and he convinced me that i needed to run for state legislature, which i did and was fortunate enough to be elected. that was in 1968. a good year for republicans. then i served three terms in raleigh. i was appointed us attorney after my first term. in our state capital of raleigh. looking what started -- ahead, maybe -- the seat was known as the revolving door district. congressman richard was elected in 1958. a very good man.

ultimately, it was reported -- i forget where i was going with this -- >> why you got to congress. >> back to the old lawyer. he encouraged me to run for congress, as well. with evolving door started the election of pryor. the year, he upset of johnson defeated pryor in a solid democrat district. i -- it was probably classified as the number one upset in the country. one term congressman, he was. i'm sorry, in the 1970's. he was defeated by a

rookie. a good guy. and then i ran against him in 1984. that is the track. >> you have been on the judiciary committee for quite a while, too. all 30 years? >> all 30 years. >> why never the chairmanship of that committee? >> well, i have told my chief of staff this. believe that lamarr smith has served -- i believe they are better lawyers than i. >> why is that? i have not always been a trifled student. lazy. and i just felt -- i think i

it, but they ndled did -- they were better talent d and had more than did i. >> congressman coble, one of your chairmanships is the subcommittee on the internet intellectual property center. you have been pretty active on that issue. when you first came here, the digital aid was first kicking off. it has been 30 years. have you done to promote, in your view, telecommunications? >> well, the high mark of my career would be serving on the intellectual property subcommittee. good fit for a us, and i have met so many interesting people as a result. we -- i have tried, along with emphasize , tried to the significance of intellectual property. patents, trademarks, copyrights.

what it means to the well-being of our society. we have done a good job, i think, of disseminating that word. i -- i would not be qualified to be an intellectual property lawyer. i am not that good. it is very complex. very intricate. it wrong, you pay a high price. but that would be the highlight of my career up your. worked on e also prison reform and some prison issues as well. why did that pique your interest? i was practicing law, my two areas with an criminal law and criminal negligence. so it was coming into an area i was not with which unfamiliar. you like to see the prison systems in america go? which direction?

>> i think prison overcrowding of the severe problems facing the society today. i think, probably, we need to look more carefully at sentencing. there are many people confined prisons today, serving active -- serving active -- serving active penalties for this that or the other. those people should probably not be in jail. be some sort of second-tier, so they can free up the space. bomb waiting to explode. >> so, congress and, do you need that maybe drug laws to be reformed? a lot of conservative republicans have called for that. >> probably.

i think that may well be a first step. i do not say that every jailbird loose. suggesting that at think that do certain measures can be adopted that would result in freeing up space. >> what is your advice to john boehner? >> well, i am not sure he needs my advice. i think he has been criticized from within and without, but he has been favorable. i think he has been a pretty good speaker. comes from a hard-working family. his dad, i think, on the bar. so his jobs were to clean up the bathroom and clean up the decks at the end of a busy day. so he has been there, done that. >> looking around your office

here on capitol hill, tthere are two things i wanted to note. number one, there are some of you with cigars. longtime cigar smoker? >> there is a cigar picture right there. at one time, i was smoking probably five or six cigars. four cigars at a day, to four or s changed five cigars a week. some of my colleagues didn't like it. i think they led the fight on that. is annoying to them, then i don't have to have a cigar everyday.

i have been free of cigar smoke probably in the excess of five years. >> congressman coble, you have a couple of issues that may not strike your positive, such as congressional retirement, term limits, cola increases. have you gone some pushback from your colleagues here? >> wwhen i came up here until i of the ng to try get rid congressional pensions, that got a lot of attention of senior members who explain things to me. i -- i vowed that i would -- make a point -- that i would not take the congressional pension, which i have not done. and that is going to cost me a lot of money. the issues back with 's issues

jobs -- unemployment, i will put to one hat. i'm drawing a blank -- >> we were talking about money issues. taking the congressional pensions. yes, sir. >> yes, i had the idea to change the availability date. my bill would increase that to 12 years. that one cosponsor. is subject ers, that to interpretation -- term limits, that is subject to interpretation. i think a good argument can be have term limits now. that is you exercising term limits. >> but aren't there a lot of built-in advantages for incumbents?

>> i think that is one of the things that folks back home don't like. is obvious that -- on imately, how does a favor the one hand comes from the table on the other. today, people come to be a complaint about congressional pensions. one who has only refused the plan. we have a thrift plan. not my most brilliant financial decision, i might add. >> you are a bachelor. a lifelong bachelor. >> yes. >> why is that? had told a girl that i never had time. i have dated girls, and i

like them, and they like me, it just never did -- never did play out. >> so why retire today? why are you retiring? >> well, i have a bad back. i have skin cancer. neither of which is favorable for my health. with eight new counties, a ten counties in all, with a bum back, a lot of these folks don't know me. i thought it might be a good time to walk away. where are you going? what you going to do? >> i haven't thought about it. they say, you haven't thought about it. time.ave had 30 years of now you're going to be -- no

spare time. now you are going to be in the time with nothing but time. that was very endearing to me. you and ize, peter, to your staff, i am on my late tell by old, as you can my voice. >> what will you miss most about capitol hill? scheduled to i am meet with -- i meet with them periodically. infrequently, but periodically. i will miss meeting with them. i will not miss the weekly trip to the airport. years ll -- it has been ago, now -- of being driven to the airport by one of our staffers. 95° day. you can say the sun is my enemy.

bumper-to-bumper traffic. i said to her, i would live in this town. she said, you do live in this town. but you don't think of this town is being home. that aside, it is still recognized as the cradle of democracy. the cradle of freedom. the cradle of liberty. when i look at that window, and well e capital, it pretty falls in line. this is the best place to be. >> you heading back to the district after january? >> oh, yes. i'm sure i will be. >> where are you going to keep in your office records? >> university of north carolina at greensboro. >> why there? >> tthey have an adequate that can handle it. they have an appropriate

library, and they expressed interest in it. where they will be.where they w. >> who are you going to miss here? >> i have been richly blessed with a good staff here. my staffers, my sides of the both aisle -- but i really am indebted to a good staff. i have tried to treat them right. they, in turn, treated me right. >> you have had long-term staff, haven't you? people come and they stay. which, promotes reliability. promotes confidence. and out the door. outcome one day here, one day gone. >> any regrets?

have taken a ld congressional -- i say that with just. >> congressman howard coble, after 30 years, retiring from congress. thank you for your time. >> thank you, peter. >> more interviews tonight. senator carl levin. texas republican ralph hall, the older serving member of the u.s. house. the interviews begin tonight at 8:00 pm eastern here on c-span. here is a preview. purpose is no economic microsoft or an apple are able to shift their revenues to ireland or puerto rico or someplace to avoid paying taxes. there is no economic purpose these when a -- oone of

new intellectual property produce good stuff -- they produce wonderful stuff other ro with them and comedies like them tthat have huge profits -- other companies that have huge they avoid that paying taxes by shifting their tto themselves, to their tax havens. those are the loopholes that we need to close. and we need the revenue from that. to avoid another round of sequestration, which is this mindless way to budget. where everything gets cut, including the national institute of health. i mean, we are in the middle of an ebola problem. research has been cut at the national institute of health. the national institutes are out because of the sequestration method of budgeting. have to and that.

most of us, not all of us -- the tea party guys, not the libertarian guys -- but most of us really want to and sequestration. >> i have been a member of congress to 34 years and, you to finally get beat -- if i was a manager for him baseball or football team that was 34 1, i would be in the hall of fame. so it didn't bother me. bothered by n't getting beat. were people supporting me to make a run, and i did. it is hard to get elected if or 91 years old. to lways tell that you run

lives every morning if you are 91 years old. >> all 90-year-olds are not built the same, in other words. those who want to be 90-year-olds are wondering how you run 2 miles per day. told one time that if one of your heifers have a little bull calf, grab enough calf over the fence -- day day after day r -- until he is a full-grown bull. when you can still looked them over the fence and throw him over the fence, you can throw the ball enough to run for congress. that is what they told me. so that is how i got in the race for congress. >> the entire c-span conversations with carl levin ralph on start at 8:00 pm eastern. a citizen tip pm,

conference, activism, and social responsibility. he had to me of what say. >> we tend to volunteer when we know we need to. kind of to do that thing -- we tend to step forward and take responsibility when times are hard. i will tell you right now, i think this is that moment in america. and we look around, instinctively know that we have to change the concept of citizenship. if you go to many people in america, they think that if they voted pay the taxes, they did their job. but that is that what citizenship is. the country is no more than a covenant between people who decide to be nation, and it's a relationship between people that has a responsibility to and for each other. that is what citizens are. they are jointly bound to take care of each other.

and so the concept of instead of being small and being a set of either entitlement or limited responsibilities, is what you and and what you are about why you do or don't do what you do. i think citizenship in america has eroded ffor lots of reasons. but it has eroded to the point where we need to stop and look at the real problem. we can look at partisanship in politics. we can look at economic inequality. we can look at the polarization of different parts of our society. look at the ally problem, and we want to fix it after each going individual thing. and if you want to take a big step, it will take big ideas. tonight on c-span3, the new president for the kennedy of the performing arts will outline plans.

>> thank you for your comments about a programming. here are a few we received about "q&a". >> i just watched a program. i find that it is very online ve to put someone for an hour -- on air -- who knows very little about the quran in history. she misquoted the koran, the life of mohammed. ridiculous, lutely and one can refute on very scholarly basis. i find it very offensive. i'm completely shocked that someone who watches c-span to see this program.

i'm completely, completely shocked. comment on the "q&a" on c-span. most complete the and concise, articulated explanation of the muslim in the modern world that i have not heard of. am a religious scholar of over 65 years. she should be commended just for this piece. >> continue to let us know what the programs ut you're watching. call us, email us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter.

>> to place a stint in her artery, the ry associated press says the the ear-old ginsberg had procedure this morning, after a coronary blockage was discovered. they say ginsberg has had some discomfort and was taken to at the hospital. she is expected to leave the the next 48 hours. we will update that story as new information is available. doug jones, the former us northern from the district of alabama, says that crime in the us has declined in the last 40 years, while the us has 25% of the world inmates. part of the discussion looking at the role of federal prosecutors. from new york university's brennan center for justice.

>> good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us today. i'm going to start with some brief introductions of my panelists. i'm going to make a few remarks. we will engage in a role of tion about the federal prosecutors, and then we'll open up at the end of the presentation for questions. i want to start by -- i will start in the middle. introducing many brewer. lenny served for over four years as the assistant attorney of eral at the department justice in washington. he is one of the aag's in the ng country. next to me as paul fishman. at least one term as the chair of the executive committee of us attorneys that meets regularly in washington. next to paul is ken polite.

ken is the united states in the eastern district of louisiana. i was just remarking to him in t he is a compass more the first year as us attorney than many of us hope to accomplish in our entire terms. he has some great programs down there is going to talk about this morning. the to lanny, with striking white hair, is my elder colleague barry grissom. people say what is wrong with say not barry grissom. he has been in the attorney position as long as i have. barry has had a great ru over the last four r years, and has been a great leader in the community in terms of civil rights, as well.

at the finder the podium, is doug jones. his work has led to the report. he is an attorney in northern alabama. i spoke to a large group of attorneys about his work, of our cally, his work case in his district stemming from the 1963 bombing of the birmingham baptist of four nd the murder young girls in that tragic incident. personally handled the ku klux klansman involved in that bombing. it was an inspiring speech. and getting to know doug over this process has been a great, great thing for me. that is our panel here this morning. that is an introduction, and

let me just kick this off. i'm the united states attorney in north dakota. i have served just over four years. and i was delighted when the asked me to er participate in the blue ribbon panel. think that this report and the brennan center is a very important voice at a very important time in the reef formation of the federal justice system. as you heard michael say earlier, there are a lot of coming into confluence here that have created an opportunity and a space for substantive change in the federal criminal justice system. this report is a very important voice in that effort. the brennan thank center -- we all want to thank the brennan center for inviting us to be a part of this. we want to make sure that we do that. the panel this morning is -- is intended to discuss this question. what is it to be a prosecutor in the 21st century? be a federal

prosecutor as we enter the 21st century? long time, i a think the model of being a for ecutor .-- maybe years -- the prosecutor sat in his or her said in their office for law ed for agents, enforcement officers -- be they or fbi agents s -- to bring an investigation to the prosecutor. would look at it and would move forward with the goal, oftentimes, of trying to get as much prison time as possible. sort of reactive model. is one that is the department of justice, and has been changing for the better part of the last four or five years.

shortly after he was confirmed, attorney general holder gave a speech in which he had a remarkable line. one that has guided me, and i think some of the other prosecutors here. the united states attorney and assistant united states they ney must be more processor -- more than a case processor. in mind, the ion agac set about creating an antiviolence strategy for communities in the united states. they really leapt upon an expansion of the prosecutor's role. certainly, as a prosecutor, we are responsible for the reinforcement and the of federal laws -- violations of federal us. that is, obviously, are bedrock -- our bedrock. the other laser crime

prevention, support for viable prevention programs in communities, and reentry. we put into e that the prisons, they come home to their communities at some point. out a way ot figure reduce reincarnate rates, we will have a big problem. in north dakota, with these a als in mind and with strategy in mind, i worked with my colleagues in our office to develop an anti-violent strategy for the american indian reservations in our state. as i came in and looked at safety, i was ic crime at the daunting problems that face american indians. fact that hink of the

american indian female beaten one in her's arm has a six chance of being assaulted sometime in her life, that is really something to think about. i spent many, many days talking consumers of public safety that we were attempting to supply. together an that violence strategy i wanted to wo -- living in those community, i wanted to do what i can to make them a part of the communities. we are not in a position with the budget to place a permanently on those

reservations, but i set for the requirement that we were going reservations e every six weeks, meeting with communities, leading multidisciplinary teams, meeting with the community, and starting a dialogue so that we could make the community safer. gets e spirit of what measured gets done, i put that requirement into the performers were plans. if they wanted to continue to advance and get raises and be successful in their jobs, they were going to have to have those benchmarks of engaging with those communities. we have seen some result of the last four years. we have er of cases brought -- we have assigned additional prosecutors to those and we are -- removing those dangerous folks in those community. we are also working hard to support viable crime prevention programs. i have a colleague, who, for

the last three years, has routinely gone to high school and middle school at the standing rock indian reservation in north dakota and met with middle schools and high schools to talk about the challenges they face. and to talk about, with them, stay away from drugs, this is what domestic violence is, this is the challenges of assault in your community, you need to wear your seatbelt. things as simple as that. and this representative tells in that when he now sees, our juvenile system, one of he has ids that interacted with, those kids are embarrassed. him in not want to see the courtroom. they want to take to heart the lessons he has given them when he comes to speak to their schools.him in the courtroom. so that is an example of a crime prevention program that, for ink, has a potential success moving forward. experience in an north dakota. that we can -- we

had shifted the way we have done business. will hear the way our folks have done -- first, i want to start with doug. doug, we're talking here a new le bit about the generation of prosecutors, but your lens here is broader than some of the rest of us. you have been involved in these issues for longer than some of the rest of us on this panel. get to this point? we are interested in hearing your views on that. >> thank you. let me initially say thanks to the brennan center, not only for the panel and the work on this program, but for the work they do in general. it is just amazing the way the a voice center can have of progress for, particularly, the area of justice. also want to thank them for asking me to cochair. think, re two things, i

that michael said that i think we ought to take particular note of.get to this point? number one, crime over the last 40 years has reduced. the second aspect -- which is all good. every thing about that is great. but the second aspect is that of the rcerate 25% worlds prisoners in this country. those are connected. as this panel is not naïve rest h to set think, the of the prosecutions have not contributed to the drop in crime. they certainly have. it is important for prosecutors to show the flag and that they are being aggressive. budgets we see the being busted -- you see this spends $260 billion annually to incarcerate individuals -- overwhelmingly, the majority -- not the rest of the prosecutions have not

contributed to the drop in crime. they certainly have. majority, but some 40% of the prison population in this country is african-american. there is something skewed with all those numbers. chairman, michael alluded to -- ffolks are starting to look a little bit smarter and reduce that reduce crime even farther, but at the same time, not send further generations of people to prison. i first began my career as an assistant us attorney in birmingham in 1980. a day when just aas the war on drugs -- you all the war on drugs -- it hate, by the at i way, because the term war implies that some is going to win and somebody is going to lose. well, we're still fighting the war on drugs, and we will always fight the war on drugs. the fact is, during that time, the politically and with department of justice, things term to change and the

-- prosecutorial discretion -- of the sun became a smaller part of the prosecutor's role. we had mandatory minimums that congress decided they needed to show their constituents how tough they needed to be. i'm not criticizing that, by the way. it had its point at the time. the department of justice also became very aggressive, not only on the crimes -- drug crimes, but others. as the decades were on, congress continue to act. the byproducts of that was that in the federal system, that you had crime seen has now all of a sudden found its way into the federal code of criminal conduct. now, it used to be -- you have all heard the saying, don't make a federal case out of it. well, that used to be a big deal. now, you can just make a of eral case just about out

anything. he has been very vocal about the federal criminalization of our loss. but as the criminal code the role of did federal prosecutors. in 1984, congress passed the sentencing guidelines that went into effect in 1987. the sentencing guidelines were mandatory. had only had the ecutors who lacks discussion on sentencing, so the judges. for a couple of decades, before made those court guidelines advisory, it was a very difficult time getting learn ant us attorneys to how to exercise prosecutorial discretion. they just didn't have any. us department of justice sent and guidelines that required and mandated their the highest eek

sentence possible. that has helped reduce crime, but the budgets of the governments have been busted. and so many people have gone to prison because of it. a little t dates back bit longer, back, i know, 15 or 20 g the past years, you have seen the programs t began to do just us attorneys were not supervise their assistants and make sure that they were aggressive and prosecuting, out into the ach communities. one of the most famous programs weed and feed programs, where money went into try and help o neighborhoods with afterschool care. things that would keep people off the streets. so the prosecutors have slowly united states attorneys -- have now see their as the re as -- not just

lead prosecutor, not just as a chief prosecutor. i was always introduces the chief federal law enforcement officer of the district. now much, rules are much bigger than simply enforcing the laws. we have to figure out ways in which we can reorient the well as the as priorities, of us attorneys offices. a lot of doing. we talk about assignment change. the ss the way at the un, joint global initiative, they're talking about climate change. so are we. it is just a different climate within the criminal justice system, aand it will take some both our political leaders as well as our regardless of the administration -- and a

up artisan effort to come with new solutions that do not require prosecutions and incarcerations. going to take congress at the way they look budgets -- you know, one of the us attorneys ll have faced in the department of justice is that congress has budgeting, ir focused on specific areas that they want to see more prosecutions of. was geared get towards those, and you had to spend new money toward prosecutors in areas of drugs, firearms, terrorism, whatever the case may be. congress is going to have to kind of loosen up. we have artie seen the supreme court make the sentencing guidelines discretionary. but prosecutors are having, i think -- with all due respect to my colleagues -- there still having a difficult time .

understanding the roles that they now have a new sense of discretion. that they do not just have a look at a case and say, well, this fits within this guideline so that is what i would recommend. that they will look at a much broader picture. they will look at the same fact judge might look at in sentencing under the code. at that point, i think we're beginning to see a lot of training. a difficult time k the understanding the roles that they now have a new sense of discretion.attorney general and his crime is a huge step -- a huge step -- in the right direction. but make no mistake, we have a climate change, a culture change tthat we have to address. not just within the department, both in our political system and our communities. to make sure that we are doing efficient t and because every -- eevery budget in the country is being busted law enforcement and incarceration aand prison system issues that we face in this country today. you.k >> so, doug, thank you. the point you make about the

budget is an interesting one. of the crime initiative, i have heard this discussed this way and it has as a us d with me attorney in a district trying to do business in a tough budget time. when you know that the federal budget is one third of entire department is a huge ste justice budget -- and that is the ected to grow to 40% in near future -- that money is going to come from somewhere. it is going to come from our offices. not the choice here is between mandatory minimums or shorter sentences. debate here is between the status quo mandatory minimums, and less cases being done on the front and. in me, that start to bring the question of safety to communities. so we have to develop strategies for that moving forward. in kansas, you have taken some

the last few months to the idea of -- of what can the us attorneys office due to sort of impact the federal budget. we are prosecutors, right? our folks do with, in many cases, very dangerous criminals that need to be incarcerated. but in kansas, how are you taking up this challenge? >> well, one of the things i first became aware of -- i came in from outside of the department of justice. i do not have the experience of working with the doj. the first thing that i soon realized was that i was a resource manager. i have a slice of the pie that is a certain size, and i can have so many prosecutors. to do i want my prosecutors merely focus on getting the longest sentence as they smaller can for a group of individuals, or could they brought in their efforts and get reasonable sentences

larger group of individuals. that we he things looked at was something that has been on the books a long time, bbut had not been fully is diverse and programs. the classic diversion might be a young woman who works for a bank, and works as a bank to a drive-through window, and calls in the police and says, i have been robbed. in and stuck came a gun in my face. five minutes after she is being interviewed, she breaks down and says i took it. she has no prior criminal history. the money has been recovered. the victim has been made whole. someone we erson should saddle with a family for the rest of her life? is that someone who we should so that the system the urces of the folks at

probation department -- which have to be there to monitor folks that tim just described a more violent nature, aand are now under some sort of supervised release -- do we want to bring those resources up for that person? i don't think so. so what we did was we drafted a diversion program in kansas, and we did it after we did an extensive amount of outrage. one of the things that i did for my fellow ve are s is the feds on high making another bill, telling us what we have to do. so i have been engaged very actively in outreach. as i told the attorney general when i first got my job, two folks in my state live in the one third of the eastern portion of the state. the phrase i heard most often, to denigrate mean

was in ecessors, when i western kansas -- the refrain i always heard was, this is the met t time i have ever united states attorney. so getting outreach was important. did that, and as part of the move towards initiative, we set out the folks in and put together and retooled our television program. it had not been tweaked since 1995. now, since we change the too, will that will be used? one of the issues that we have as prosecutors in this environment is breaking in institutional mindset. we have always done it this way. typically, if you are prosecutor who grew up or came department during mandatory guidelines, it really

was, drop your finger down, you two points for this, you between this do many mmiles in this many miles. with prosecution discussion, went out the uch window. for a lot of folks, this is how they matured as prosecutors. one of the challenges we have is to now institutionalize the you have greatly way. the guidelines as guidelines, not something that is mandatory. that, again, has been a real i know ge for us, but the attorney general's leadership, we had a number of our llead prosecutors offices go down to the -- down to the y nac in south carolina to meet with the attorney general. to meet with various folks in management to impress upon our line of prosecutors that this change is coming. i had the great fortune, along

with my colleagues here, to go to the white house at the last us attorney conference. at the conference, the president came in -- we all got picture with him -- and typically he leaves. well, he stuck around this time. on the climate initiative and how this was a unique moment in time that we need a disease. when i went back to my office, i convey that to my prosecutors that this is not a gray area, there are not a lot of if sin this is what our -- not a of ifs and ands, this is what our boss wants us to do. challenges to l people away from doing sentencing -- that is when someone has prior and dedication as a felon. in the past, you would file a 851 to enhance that

sentencing -- to maximize the time. have a process were we to use ay, if you want an 851, justified to us. we have a dialogue. has also helped us with keeping down the unnecessary incarceration of people's. fellow judge one time said i don't know if doing 10 years instead of 15 years really makes that much of a difference. and that just struck me. approach a to prosecution with good kansas commonsense. >> thanks, barry. we have had a lot of discussion about the change and what it is in the 21st ecutor in terms of enforcement, but i want to turn ken from new orleans and his

tools in terms of crime prevention and reentry. i know you have some truly remarkable programs that have been working over the past few years -- your 322 initiatives. >> sure. thank you, tim. the united states leads the world in incarcerations. well, my state happens to lead this country in incarcerations. and, indeed, the city of new orleans leads the state. been doing is focusing exclusively on enforcement is simply not working. i see it every day in the state of louisiana and, specifically, and southeast louisiana. so we have tried to engage some different tools. specifically on the reentry level, we have tried to engage with our business community.

i think we all can agree that a this issue of reducing reciprotism -- nation in leaves the terms of reincarceration, well, returned to also our cities. so we have talked to some of the incentives out there -- things like the workforce tax that is out there, things like the federal bonding system that is in place to the department of labor -- but our office is not stopping there. we have had an initiative that

really a reentry collaboration between some of organizations in the community, as well as our businesses, where we are trying encourage 30 local businesses to hire to returning citizens for a three-year period. we're looking for businesses who are looking for diversity, businesses oking for were committed to providing long-term employment opportunities for these individuals. not simply for a two month, three months, six month period. are doing is we partnering with a state penitentiary. interestingly, the types of they are far surpass what we see certainly at the federal system, but also in our local jails. with that program, we are that are getting

they are getting over 100 hours of cognitive and life skills. drug treatment, drug education. ultimately they are getting out of that system. they are getting very cheap east or high school equivalency. once they return from fat what we are hoping to do is to provide the initiative as a pipeline where they walked out of prison with a long-term stable job before they returned back to the community. we are hoping that becomes part of the answer. where every aspect is really engaged in the fight of trying to reduce crime in the city of new orleans. that is one pillar of the work in the office. the second is trying to prevent crime in the very first place.