>> we have been doing this pipeline since 2008. more and more people are saying on both sides of this debate is overblown and that the jobs impact is not that big in the climate impact is not that big. do you agree with the people that believe this debate is not as big as it is. do you think it should be the

first bill that the senate is pushing with republicans in control? >> first off, not only have you been aware of this project for six years, but you have been out to see firsthand what is going on. it is a bigger issue about billing -- building the energy infrastructure to be energy secure. the energy we producer in the united states together with canada we produce more energy than we consume. consumers are reaping the benefit or in a. look at the price at the palm gases down more than a dollar if we eat gated -- more than one dollar. if we equated that to consumers -- the point is when he to build the energy infrastructure to have the kind of energy plan we are building for this country for north america read at is what this is about. the opponents are trying to block it. it is not just this project.

it is the bigger picture. >> you think the low oil prices present an opportunity for congress to pass a variety of measures that might be hired to do and a higher gasoline environment such as perhaps higher taxes? >> i am not a fan of higher taxes. way to do tax reform and you get revenue from economic growth not higher taxes. we have to build the kind of business by may in this country that empowers the investment to produce more energy more cost-effectively. the infrastructure to move more efficiently and safely. at the same time, and develops and deploys the technology to give us better environmental stewardship. that is will we have to do. build that climate front invest investment. >> because you have the first

bite at the apple in terms of getting the bill on the floor this year. it is the first test of the open amendment process, something that is entirely unfamiliar to a lot of recently arriving senators from the leadership of senator reid. i am curious how that is going in terms of the progress that is being made and if you see majority leader mcconnell possibly pulling the plug and saying we have had enough of this. >> is a good question to duck tell off what you are saying. we are trying to build the right of energy plan for this country. we have this open amendment process which means we are turning to regular order in the senate. republicans and democrats can

bring their movements down and offer them on this legislation. they will get a vote, so we will have a good debate on energy which is what we need to have. we are hoping that this helps bring more bipartisanship and open up the senate and break to the gridlock. i expect we will be on this bill probably for several more weeks some people have the opportunity to offer a movements and vote on it. >> how was the eminent negotiating going? i figure you are going -- getting involved and the senator of alaska is taking the lead on that. how is that going so far? >> it is going well. i want to give senator makowski a lot of credit in working to get this process going and being open. she can work with both eyes of the aisle very well. we are welcoming all amendments. we have a number of amendments

that are pending and we will vote on them next week starting on tuesday. i think that is going well. some amendments are from people for an opposing the bill. >> some amendments that have been offered have been pretty controversial. senator ted cruz, or public in from texas, has offered an amendment to repeal the oil export ban. there are some people that would rather not see a vote on that. do you think the senate should vote on of lifting the ban on oil export? >> we have talked about this before. it is a debate we need to have and a discussion we need to have. people need understand why it is a benefit in terms of growing our industry in this country and long-term lower gas prices to benefit the consumer. we are still doing our homework. this is the time when we would get enough people to support something like that. it may be a little soon, but that is a debate.

that is part of having a bigger energy debate. that is something we anticipated on working on this year regardless of whether it is on this bill or some other energy legislation and little later. >> bernie sanders from vermont is pushing an amendment that says climate change is real and caused by humans and something is to be done. among the democratic party is seems that there will be an amendment that will be voted on this. do you think there should be a vote on that and could it be politically controversial for some members of the republican party? >> if he wants to offer it, i am pretty sure he will get a vote on it. i don't think senator mcconnell or anyone else a strike to block him on it. i would expect senator sanders will offer and we will have a vote. we will have amendments from the republicans and democrats.

some amendments are for people supporting the legislation and some are opposed. >> how would you vote on it? >> senators offer that type of amendment and a committee and it is not one i would support. i motioned to table it and we voted to table the amendment. i made the point that one of the offer on the floor? if it is the same amendment he offered in the committee, i would vote against it. >> scientists announced that 2014 was the hottest climate year on record. i am wondering how that statistic fits in this broader energy debate that you have been referencing. >> and make the point that i continually try to emphasize and that is the way that you get more energy on a more affordable basis more dependably and moving more safely is if you build the infrastructure and make the investments to develop and deploy the new technologies that help us produce the energy and

an environmentally friendly way. when you block the way to do that which is what the administration is doing with keystone, you prevent us from developing technologies that help us create environmental stewardship. the greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 28% since 1990. that is a most one third. it shall and exxon -- shell and exxon have multimillion our projects for carbon capture and storage. if we can develop that, that can be a played -- that can be applied. that is a you develop the technology. >> on the point of not just energy infrastructure but also the broader infrastructure area, we are hearing the president has made some announcements about infrastructure today. the vice president with the epa

administrator at secretary of agriculture and the mayor of the district of columbia have an event today. what you think the federal -- is there anything you're looking to hear in terms of infrastructure that you think you might actually hear from the president in the state of the union address next week? >> what i would like to hear is that he will work with us. our number one focus is creating jobs and growing the economy making sure the all americans have an opportunity for a job. this first bill is about jobs. the key is that he starts working with us instead of one we have legislation that is supported on a bipartisan basis and that has overwhelming public support, the first thing he does is issue a veto threat. work with us. that is number one. in terms of infrastructure, i think we have to do a highway bill this year and i think we can do a six-year long-term highway bill. that is something he should talk about also working on trade.

we should be able to work on trade. that is good for all industry sectors. let us hear about areas we can come together. >> are you any camp with some of your republican colleagues and democrats as well for talking about using revenues that maybe gleam from a corporate tax overhaul to try to come up with a way forward on funding the highway bill that may not be a gas tax. >> i think repatriation is and idea that has a lot of support on both sides of the aisle. we can get a long-term highway bill done this year because if we use repatriation, you have the opportunity to have those revenues to the highway bill without raising taxes. i talked to the ceo of microsoft. microsoft has $80 billion part overseas. to bring it back, they would

face a large tax burden. if we did something on repatriation, they could come back and it could create revenue that we can invest in infrastructure. >> you reference the president's veto on the pipeline, are the four votes findable for an override? >> we will see. that is why we are having the open amendment process. we are tied to come up with something that can attract more votes so it is at the 67 vote threshold. if we can't, our plan b would be to bring back the bill attached to other must pass legislation such as an appropriation measure. there is precedent for that. the first keystone bill which was passed in 2012, we attach to payroll tax for holiday. >> that was to make president obama make a decision within 60 days. >> you have truly follow this.

>> you did and he rejected it. the president has been increasingly critical of the pipeline in the last few months. he is been saying that their jobs are temporary and somehow not as good as other broader infrastructure jobs. we can debate the facts all day but what i want to hear from you is what do you make of these negative comments? you think it signals he is getting ready to reject the pipeline? if he does rejected, luck in congress do at that point? >> we have addressed every one of those criticisms and we actually use his own administrations information there on impact statements to reap but -- to rebut the reasons given. it is hard to understand why he

doesn't make a decision. if he is opposed to it and want to turn it down, why are we still sitting here six years later and he hasn't done it and when you have poll after poll showing 65 to 70% support from the american public for the project and we have a bipartisan majority in the house and senate and everything the state has approved it, why does he still not make a decision? and then he says he is a process. copy of a process when you hold it of reliable reason for six years? it makes no sense. a goes back to the fundament of fact that the american people want this done and he is essentially holding it up on behalf of special interest groups. >> what will you do if he rejects it? >> i always said we will win on the merits. if he rejects it again, we would approve a congressionally.

a gust back to the merits -- it goes back to the merits. >> that he would veto it and we would go back to talk and war. -- back to tug-of-war. >> if i can use that to dovetail into the subject of must pass legislation, although i don't think this is when you're talking about in reference to where you might try to add keystone, it is my understanding that you may well be the chairman of the homeland security appropriation subcommittee in this new congress. if that is true, your appropriation bill -- that government is running under stopgap funding. you have any take away from the recent retreat that republicans were just in hershey, pennsylvania and with the prognosis is for keeping the department of homeland security

funded as the end of every? -- end of february? >> as you have seen, we will make sure that homeland security is funded but at the same time do everything we can to block the executive order issued by president obama. >> going back to the keystone debate, a bill is 200 pages, but the senate is debating other issues. so i want to ask you about the epa's agenda. they want to regulate methane. what are some of the biggest things that you are looking at in the epa including msn regulations and the carbon regulations for power plants. i would like to ask you about the renewable fuel standard. north dakota has lots of -- can

you comment on whether you think congress needs to step in there and change this law that epa is a year behind in getting? >> epa will come for. it has taken longer than it should, obviously. in terms of some of the things you are doing --for example, you mentioned the report on water in the u.s., it is no surprise for them to publish a report to justify what they have done. i have the votes to do that right now to defund and the authorize it which means 60 plus vote on the senate floor. we have a real shot. i talk to people who are involved in agriculture and we will get democrats with us on that. we made the authorize it. in terms of co2, that is a tough one. the effort they're would be to -- the effort there would be to

go through an epa subcommittee or the energy and water subcommittee. i am on both of those. that will be more difficult to do. on methane, here's what i'm talking bout with the state of the union. we are putting legislation out there that will reduce flaring. my north american atlantic energy security act will help us build more gathering systems so we can reduce the flaring on federal lands in north dakota dramatically. even things like he's some provide infrastructure that the environmental impact shows will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. mr. president, work with us on this legislation and we will get those reductions rather than having the president or his agencies go unilaterally an issue regulations that will prevent us from producing more affordable energy and getting

better environmental stewardship. >> if i can follow up on amy's point there. you mentioned the interior apa bill -- interior apa billepa bill, is that bill something that looks like the kind of thing that is vetoed bait in terms of the number of riders that would be attached to it that the president would not want to sign? >> that is exactly the balance. we will have riders in that bill. when senator reed was in charge of the senate, that bill would never come to committee. we will take it to committee and we will bring it to the floor. we will have riders and

theirin there.if you will be how many issues can we address and still get this bill across the floor. then the president will have to make a decision. i hope we see from him some movement to congress on all of these issues. >> we have six minutes left. going back to a contentious issues that involve the oil industry and environmental groups and the ethanol industry. the obama initiative continues to support the love. do you support the renewable fuel standard and do you think it is to be changed at all? >> i don't think now is the time to eliminate the rfas because you have to provide some certainty to the marketplace and that is what i have always contended. you have to have a regulatory environment out there that business can count on so they can make these investments and we can build our energy future

meeting all of the above truly. try not to pick winners and losers. just create a good environment and encourage the investment. let us build our energy base from all these different sources and that is what benefits the consumer in terms of choice and competition reduces price. >> i saw a bipartisan do an amendment to your keystone bill to eliminate the rfs. is that something you think should be voted on? >> if they want to bring it up and vote on it, i don't think that is what fits what we are trying to do. that is a discussion we can always have. that is something that should be dealt with at another time. we are not saying to anybody they cannot bring your amendment forward. so far, >> looks like you have

-- >> >> so far you have succeeded in avoiding things that are not at all related. something like the rfs that you definitely do not want to see, but it at least is on an environmental question. how have the conversations been going in terms of getting colleagues to stay away from diving into the health care law or immigration or something that is not related at all to energy? >> because leader mcconnell has said we will have this regular order open amendment process and we will be bringing bills through committee and bringing them to the floor, people understand there will be other opportunities for these amendment which may fit better on another bill and maybe they have a better chance to get votes and pass.

that is why so far, the amendments seem to be more focused on energy. there may be some others, but i think it is because people understand that we will have regular order and other opportunities. >> if you have amendments that succeed as part of this debate -- and one that seems like it could is the amendment that senator portman and senator shaheen have which is a recurring issue with energy efficiency. it was the inverse in the previous congress. you are attempting to attach the keystone pipeline measure at one point to the energy efficiency bill. if that a movement or other amendments succeed, do you have a message for the house on if they should just take up your bill and passed it with the amendments that may be attached to it so you can go to obama right away? >> we will conference with the house obviously.

the underlying bill is the exact same bill. i gave them our bill and they passed it. i think the energy efficiency measure could help us gets more votes. the figures put on their, that might be fine. it might attract some votes. >> with two minutes left i will close with this. this is following france and our attention on mobile terrorism. what are your comments on the following energy crisis and what you see as the prospect for global relations based on flowing energy prices that falling energy prices. >> these events remind us that we have to combat terrorism and islamic extremism and we have to do it on a global basis and we have to get our allies across the globe involved. any time something happens like

these tragedies our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. it does tie into the discussion we are having on energy. we don't want to be dependent on opec for our energy. what we are doing to create more energy and work with canada to create more energy him a look at the impact it is having. it is helping our allies. look at vladimir putin's aggressive behavior vis-a-vis ukraine. the russian ruble is down by half because of the drop in oil prices. understand that when we built our energy future, we help ourselves and our allies and we hurt our opponents that are petro dependent like iran and russia. >> thank you for being with us.

>> thank you. >> newsmakers is back. we just talked to senator john hoeven of north dakota about the keystone pipeline debate in the senate. much of the conversation with the senator focused on something that will sound arcane to the public and that is the open amendment process in the senate. why is a significant? >> in some ways, that is the most significant long-term peace of the conversation -- piece of the conversation of the senate itself. when democrats are running the show, there was a persistent complaint from republicans and even some democrats that he was too controlling and restricting the ability of senators to offer amendments.

what the new majority leader mitch mcconnell is attempting to do is sort of let the floodgates open to some extent to allow senators to have more opportunities to cast votes. what comes with it is the potential and likelihood that they will have tough political votes they will have to take if this process goes forward. the amendment amy was talking about that senator sanders has filed and floated regarding the reality of climate change or the view on the reality of climate change is that sort of amendment. it remains to be seen how tolerant republican senators will ultimately be on having to vote for these amendments, particularly as the elections grow closer next year. >> the senate does not have a rule that you are referring to

so they can use any piece of legislature to bring up the topics they are talking about. what are the expectations about how this will work? >> it is all in flux. i wouldn't say to give mitch mcconnell credit for this until we see the open amendment process. something when you to give in mind is that most if not all of these amendment probably will not get enough votes to become attached to the bill. it will most likely be 60 votes but most people will most likely not get 60 votes. the underlying bill has been on the veto threat from the president. all of this is to see where senators land on certain issues. will be interesting to see what the senate about the science of climate change. i would say senator sanders amendment goes further than that and will probably not be a good barometer to tell where senators are on the issue.

for example, exporting oil will help see where people are on the z's -- on these issues. one last point, i think it is important to remember that they do want to have additional energy debates. one of the things we will be seeing in the republican congress caucus is internal talking and urging senators to not put forth certain amendments. that is how you will see some of these controversial votes avoided. >> the other thing that senator hoeven mention that was interesting was a balancing act they will do on the interior epa appropriation bill. if republicans were left to their druthers, they would attach hundreds and maybe thousands of these policy riders

that would restrict the ability of the epa to implement all sorts of actions. again, because of the 60 vote requirement to get over a filibuster in the senate, it sounded like senator shoehoeven thought the goal should be a bill that could get to the president's desk which means they will need a number of democratic votes, some of which they will get because there are democrats who don't like the way the epa is currently run. there are others that i am not so sure of and they might have to hold back. >> the sound like legislation will take a lot longer. >> it is. i will be busy this congress. a lot of that is -- we have the president said of the union on tuesday to this is uncharted territory for a lot of people.

this is something we are not used to. i think time will tell. >> that is it for our time but is something there will be lots more opportunity to talk about the pipeline. thanks to both of you for your questions this week. >> to our -- thank you. >> our guest today on q&a is on the frontline battling infectious diseases. >> we have drugs right now that when given to people who are hiv-infected -- i can show you the dichotomy in the early 1980's if someone came to my clinic with aids, their median survival would be 6-8 months. half of them would be dead in eight months. now, when i go back to rounds on friday of someone comes in to my clinic who is 20 plus years old

and relatively recently infected and i put them on the combination of three drugs, i could accurately predict and say we can do mathematical modeling to say if you take your medicine regularly, you could live an additional 50 years. to go from knowing 50% will die in a months to know that if you take a medicine you can live and essentially normal lifespan, just a few years less that i lifespan, that is a huge advantage. >> dr. anthony felt you tonight at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's q&a. >> former presidential candidate mitt romney recently spoke to the public and national committee. this was his first public speech since it was reported he was

considering a third presidential run. here, he spoke about the republican victories in the 2000 or team midterm elections -- in the 2014 midterm elections. >> it is good to be right back with so many friends. it is like coming back to the high school reunion. everyone looks young and has lost weight. as i get older, my eyes get weaker. it assure wonderful to see you and what a generous welcome. it is been great to see high to so many of you and get selfies taken. it touches my heart. congratulations in a historic reelection. what an extra ordinary chairman. he came in at a difficult time. we had a financial deficit and

they technology -- and a technology deficit and now he is leading the way to make sure we have a technological advantage. this is an extra ordinary man. he and the entire team deserves the extra nurse support you have given them. just a wonderful time to look forward. i want to congratulate you on the successes in 2014. i know you hear that time and time again. i had a chance to visit with the number of people who were running for office. you know this. it is a very impressive group of men and women. that you have elected offices across the country. i can't possibly think of all the names. some of these folks, you meet them and it is like well, this is an amazing person. tom cotton. [applause]

background in the military. thom tillis, dan sullivan. doug ducci. mia love. my governor of massachusetts a republican governor charlie baker. [applause] how about joni ernst? isn't she an amazing person? [applause] just something else. there is some people that not only impressed me but also inspire me. martha mcsally, you know her story. a fighter pilot, air force fighter pilot. she comes back and runs for congress and believe she wins. they send her to washington to meet the other members in 2012. only to find out by recount she did not win. she has to go home having thought she had been elected. she decides to go at it again.

she has been an extraordinary person. a rising star. some people who have served in the military, who have gone out and fought for our nation, despite having extraordinaire academic credentials and career opportunities, they went to the military and have come back to serve in the senate. it is quite a story. i want to congratulate you on the work you have done to improve the primary process, to change the date of the convention, to limit the debates and reign them in. i think you ought to be proud for doing that work. [applause] in particular, thank you to you for your help to me in 2012. you were hard-working. dedicated. you went all over the country for me. you should know that from our perspective, the romney family everything works seamlessly

between the rnc and the campaign. that is how it should be. you really want to have those work hand to glove as we did. your leadership in this group deserves great credit. we pulled for different people but we came together once i became the nominee and it was an extraordinary blessing. you should know this -- no greater honor has been bestowed upon me than to become the nominee of the republican party for the president of the united states. i owe you a debt of gratitude. [applause] thank you. there is speculation on if i'm going to embark on a political endeavor of which i have been previously unsuccessful. [applause] i have no intention of running for senator of massachusetts. seriously. [laughter] for our party, and for the nation, 2016 is not going to be about the obama years.

it is going to be about the post obama era. in that era conservative , principles are needed as perhaps never before. this isn't the right venue to lay out the policies that may be appropriate for our party and people who represent our party. i do want to mention three principles that i think should form part of the foundation of what we take to the american people. first we have to make the world safer. second, we have to make sure and provide opportunity for all americans regardless of the neighborhood they live in. we have to lift people out of poverty. if we communicate those three things effectively the american people are going to be with us and with our nominee, and with our candidates across the country. let me elaborate. making the world safer. the world is not safer. six years after barack obama. there is no question.

i used to joke during the campaign that president obama didn't have a foreign policy. of course that was a joke because he did. it was crafted by he and his secretary of state hillary clinton. their foreign policy was based on the premise that if we are friendly enough to other people, and if we smiled broadly enough and press the reset button peace would break out around the world. this is a foreign policy that said we should walk back from red lines. this is a foreign policy that said we should lead from behind. this is a foreign policy characterized by speaking loudly and carrying a small stick. it was a foreign policy that felt that america and her friends like israel were the problem rather than the solution. the results of the hillary clinton/barack obama policy have been devastating. you know that. terrorism is not on the run.

as a matter of fact, the radical violent jihadists and their forms are terrorizing and brutalizing people all over the world just in the last several days. tragic events in paris and nigeria, in yemen. hundreds of lives, possibly thousands of lives taken needlessly. it is extraordinary. we also see in the middle east and north africa, turmoil. the syrian tragedy races on. liberia is in disarray. libya, i mean, is in disarray. iraq is under siege. iran is rushing to become a nuclear nation. this is a difficult time for the world. you have russia having invaded ukraine, taking crimea. you have china saying they own the south china sea.

you had the alliance and south america continue to expand. -- this has not been a good time for american foreign-policy. to make the world safer for americans and to make the world safe for freedom, our party must stand for making the world safer and our principles will do that. we have to make that point loud and clear. [applause] in the post-obama era, we have to use our strength to anticipate events, to shape events rather than react. i mean our economic strength and our diplomatic strength. those are the sources we will be able to rely upon. number one, safety for the american people and freedom, and freedom loving people all over the world. number two, i believe we have to communicate to the american people that our principles are principles that will bring opportunity to every american. this is the land of opportunity.

regardless of where you live you ought to know that your future can be brighter and your kids future will be brighter. we have the principles and the vision to do that for the american people. it is a tragedy, a human tragedy that the middle class by and large does not believe the future will be better in the past. we have not seen rising incomes over decades. the american people are struggling to make ends meet. our policies in this regard are designed to help create economic growth and put people back to work, and get rising wages. people want to see rising wages and they deserve them. they are working hard and using technology. they face competition around the world. the policies we are going to be talking about all over the country will be education, dealing with legal reform. job training. tax and regulatory reform. energy policies. immigration policy. it also means if they want to

see growth we are point at the -- we will have to limit the size of government and balance the budget. finally repeal and replace obamacare so we can get real growth again. [applause] number one, safety. number two, opportunity for all americans. number three, we have to lift people out of poverty. -- we are anwe are an abundant nation. we have the resources and the capacity intellectually, financially, to lift people out of poverty. it was how many years ago? 50 years ago, lyndon baines johnson declared the war on poverty. his heart was in the right place. his policies did not work. under president obama, income inequality has gotten worse. more people are in poverty than ever before. his policies have not worked. their liberal policies are good every four years for a campaign but they don't get the job done. the only policies that will

reach into the hearts of american people and pull people out of poverty and break the cycle of poverty are republican principles, conservative principles. they include family formation, education, good jobs. we are going to bring them to the american people and finally end the scourge of poverty in this great land. [applause] i believe in the post-obama era, we need to stand for safety and opportunity for all people regardless of the neighborhood they come from. we have to stand for helping lift people out of poverty. i should tell you the last few days the most frequently asked question i get is, what does ann think of this? [laughter] she believes that people get better with experience. [laughter] [applause] and heaven knows i have

experience running for president. by the way, she knows my heart. in a way that few people do. she has seen me not just as a business and political guy. over 10 years, i served as a pastor for a congregation and groups of congregations. she has seen me work with people who are very poor to get them help and jobs. she knows where my heart is. i love her, and appreciate her support. she is my strongest advocate in almost every single thing i can imagine. i am giving some serious consideration to the future. but this i know -- we can win as a party in the house, senate and the white house if we communicate a clear vision of where we are taking the country, what we believe in, those

principles i have described are among those that we are going to fighting for. we are going to win. regardless of what happens in the primaries or the political process that goes on, ann romney and i are going to fight for our nominee and win back the white house because the american people deserve it. we're going to make it happen. thank you. great to be with you. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] ♪ thank you. mr. chairman. thank you. [applause] >> on the martin luther king holiday, we are featuring all the programming on c-span twos batavian c-span3's american history tv. money morning and 9:30 eastern cornell west on six revolutionary african reckon

figures and their impact on their own generation and now. gail sheehy on her life and journalism career at 4:00. at 9:00, allen west on the importance of preserving the core values of family, faith and freedom and that he feels these values are under attack are the far left. monday morning at 8:00 eastern one needed jones abernathy on her experiences during the civil rights movement. the state of the union addresses by linda johnson, gerald ford and bill clinton. we also examine how policing and the criminal justice system have contributed to racial conflict. find our complete schedule at www.c-span.org and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us, e-mail us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation

like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> next, the state of the state address from iowa governor terry branstad was elected to office. he talks about creating jobs for veterans, expanding broadband access in iowa and steps to prevent school bullying. courtesy of iowa public television, this is 30 minutes. >>[applause] >> madame lieutenant governor,

madam president, mr. speaker leaders, justices, and justice legislators, elected officials distinguished guests, friends, family, and fellow iowans, good morning. it is my honor to stand before you today in this great chamber in front of this joint session of the iowa legislature to deliver the message the condition of iowa is strong. our strength comes from working together and our joint commitment for prudent choices for iowa. two new members of the iowa legislature coming to serve their constituents back home welcome. i also want to welcome returning legislators who returned after receiving a void of confidence from your constituents. i am eager to continue working with you to serve our state.

as we return for another legislative session, we return without a military veteran and dedicated public servant representative duane who will be duly missed in this great chamber. i know now more than ever that they work we do hear matters. they matters in the lives of hard-working iowa families and our main street business. it matters to farmers and farm land grid it matters to public safety and our state parks. it matters to iowa children counting on us to give them a world-class education who are now benefiting from the phase and of the most extensive teacher leadership system of the nation. it matters to the veterans completing their to her of duty. instead of worrying about finding a career after service they are comforted to know the iowa has thousands of careers available for them right here

because of home base iowa. it matters to the hard-working machinists on the line. rather than taking the industry had given up on them, they are eager for the opportunity to sharpen their craft and demonstrate their skills through a national career readiness certificate. in matters that we work together. the successes should serve as guideposts for a familiar journey of coming together to help iowans create more jobs live better lives, and grow prosperity throughout the state. ladies in german, our work together has iowa on the rise -- ladies and gentlemen our work together has iowa on the rise. [applause] in the past four years 168,700

jobs have been created. i was on a been slashed by nearly 30% in over 9 billion in private capital investment in iowa. we passed the largest tax cut in our state's history. it is being of limited throughout the state. we invested historically and our children's future through transformational education reform. we didn't working together. together. we worked across partisan lines to pass historic home-based iowa package that attract veterans leaving the military service to come to iowa to fill high quality careers available here. our actions are working. today, over 600 veterans have

been matched with jobs in iowa through home-based iowa initiative. eight cities and counties have become home-based iowa communities standing ready to embrace veterans and their families as a transition to civilian lives. eight of our college and universities have earned the distinction of champs for the designation and the commitment they have made to welcome service to their -- service members to their campus. we have had 24,000 jobs posted on the home-based iowa job space. our work to pass it is bringing new businesses to the state as well. this month, i met with one of the owners of capital armament company, a former united states marine. he informed me the company is relocating from minnesota to

sibley iowa in part because of home base iowa and the friendly business climate we offer. [applause] simply put working together we have ensure that veterans leaving the service have boundless opportunities to live, work, and prosper in iowa. i work demonstrates that no veteran should worry about having to find a job after sacrificing so much for our state and nation. our work through the iowa apprenticeship and job training program, the skilled iowa initiative, and the national career readiness certificate among other initiatives, helped hard-working iowans move forward. unlike past years when tuition was raised by over 17%, we worked together to pass a tuition freeze for iowa

students. [applause] our work has put us on a bright sustainable path. our budget is balanced. our state maintains a budget surplus. our economic emergency accounts are fully funded. our unemployed at rate is the 10th lowest in the nation. we have done it together. [applause] with our continued progress, we must continue to be mindful of the prudent budgeting that brought us the opportunity to reinvest in our children and return taxpayers hard-earned money. we can continue to grow even if we encounter some choppy waters.

we must continue following the lead of our fellow iowans. like the nearly for me -- 40 farmers who came together last october with a combines and six dump cards and a dozen trucks to help harvest the beans of a fallen friend. the message that rings out today and always in iowa, together we can. together we can make our schools safer. we can continue implement and translational education reform while passing new measures to protect our students from bullying and harassment in schools. together, we can strength and that strengthen our infrastructure by connecting every acre and i went to high-speed internet, better access to broadband means modern farming methods can flourish through all iowa fields as part of a modern infrastructure. strengthening our infrastructure means we must come together and strengthen the roads and bridges that connect iowa farmers

schools, and mainstream businesses to the world. we can make college more affordable and accessible for iowans. we can rent new our commitment to providing affordable world-class education by offering select degrees for $10,000 and again freezing tuition for iowa students. [applause] we can provide more assistance to iowa students with financial needs attending our outstanding independent colleges and universities. let us continue to invest in our community colleges, including skilled training for iowa workers. a better trained workforce means better opportunities for iowa families. sibley book, no position in our state should be left unfilled due to a lack of skilled workers.

together we can make iowa the most transferring government in the land. applicant offer taxpayers a new transparency portal making state government more open accessible, and easier to navigate. together, we can accomplish this forward thinking plan of action. we have these opportunities to improve the quality of life in our state because together we made it possible. in the fall of 2014, the tenant governor tim reynolds, my wife chris and i had an opportunity to visit sioux city and marshalltown school districts to discuss preventing bullying and iowa schools. we were pleased to be joined at each stop by students teachers, parents, school administrators legislators, and community leaders. what we heard was clear. students are ready to stand up and say let us and bullying in iowa. now it is our turn. [applause]

students in these districts and throughout our state have told their stories of learning being disrupted and feeling unsafe. what is worse is we know some students are even being physically and emotionally harmed. community leaders and parents shared that it is time for the state to act. i agree. every day, children in iowa schools are tormented by bullies. bullies attack at school and on the internet. they lurk not just in the corners of the schoolhouse, but also on step chat, instagram facebook twitter and through text messaging. iowa common sense tells us that every child in iowa deserves to go to school each and every day

in a safe and respectful learning environment. they deserve a classroom and a community that allows them to grow and flourish not live in fear of when they believe will strike again. this is the year we stand up to the bully. please join lieutenant governor reynolds, my wife chris, and me in standing up against bullying. [applause] together, we can end bullying in iowa, together we can protect

our students at our schools from bullies. the bully free iowa act of 2015 that i propose today gives parents more information by requiring parental notification. however, i am proposing an extra layer of protection for students. this year's anti-bullying legislation allows an exception from notification if a bullied student and a school official believe that parental notification could lead to abuse, neglect, or rejection. legislation also launches a bullying prevention program, by empowering student mentors to take ownership of anti-bullying efforts in their schools. the bill allows a student, who changes schools due to bullying, to immediately participate in athletics. the legislation will also provide investigator training for schools. together, we can make 2015 the year iowa acted to protect our children and grandchildren by