irwin mcqueen of elie served as an army infantryman in vietnam. [applause] air force master sergeant served during the gulf war, iraq and afghanistan. [applause] >> amy wallen of reno served in the coast guard during the global war on terrorism. [applause] national guard captain denise ramos of las vegas deployed

three three times, twice to iraq and once to afghanistan. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, let's give one more nevada thank you for these nevada heros! [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen nevada stands at a threshold. we live in a state that is transforming before our eyes,

the 21st century companies, jobs and technologies that place us at the forefront of innovation and the new economy. yet we still operate with decades old funding systems and an education structure that will eventually grind us to an inevitable halt. i know. i know that we have the ability, willingness and determination to do what is necessary. we all, i know, we all want to tell our grand children that we were the architects of the new nevada that we were here when nevada needed us most. those before us rose to the challenges of their time and built a foundation of the state we all love. the centennial celebration

highlighted those achievements. but tonight as we close the chapter on 150 years of history, this is our time. and we must resolve to make our own history. now i'm a son of the silver state. i love our people. i'm proud of who we are and i'm optimistic about what we can become. i truly believe that nevada's best days are yet to come. i know that you all feel the same. we may stand for different causes. we may even wear different political jerseys. we may have different beliefs, but we're united in our desire to move nevada forward with a

transformed educational system, a healthy citizenry, safe and liveable communities and vibrant economy and efficient and responsive state government. [applause] >> with our spirit of perseverance and courage we must dare to write the next chapter of the nevada story. a story that nevadans in 2,064 will look back and say they got it right. i ask all of you to rise above that which seems easy. i ask us to lead. i ask us to lead so that nevada can lead. god bless you.

[applause] >> god bless you and god bless our great state of nevada. thank you very much. [applause] followed a speech by new mexico governor susanna martinez. congress returns on monday and house gavels in on 2:00 p.m.

eastern to begin to debate a bill on human trafficking and u.s. border security bill. the senate returns at 4:30 on our companion network. more debate and amendment votes are on the keystone pipeline artsdzand debate and amendments to the bill as they go into their second week on the measure. there's been 134 disagreement on the amendment process between leaders mcconnell and senator dick durbin. here's part of the exchange late last night. >> quote your motion on the pending substitute. >> we the under signed senators cord dance with the provisions here by move to bring to a close the debate on the amendment number two, the keystone excel

pipeline approval act. >> i consent reading of the names be dispensed with. >> is there an objection >> no objection. >> i send a motion on the underlying bill to the desk. >> we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 here by to move to bring to a close the debate on s-one, the keystone excel pipeline. >> without objection? >> mr. president i ask for consent at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow the senate proceeds to vote in relation to the following amendments sullivan 77, mckowski, 98, flake 103, cruz 15 moran 73 danes 132.

be subject to 60 vote affirmative vote and be in order to the amendments. two minutes of debate equally divided and all votes be ten minute votes. >> is there objection? >> mr. president reserving the right to object, now that we -- >> democratic leader. >> now that we have purged the calendar of five of the six democratic amendments the majority leader tells us it's time to vote. it doesn't strike me that this is in the best interest of what we're trying to achieve here in going back and forth in a bipartisan constructive fashion. i would like to ask the majority leader, are you prepared to be in session tomorrow and consider democratic and republican amendments and work through the list including the ones that you just tabled? >> does the senator from illinois intend to object to my -- >> what i'm asking frankly is to

try to amend this so it has some balance. you mentioned one democratic amendment and at least 5 or 6 republican amendments to be considered tomorrow. well, we just had votes on democratic amendments that your members had offered and didn't want to agree to -- to have a vote on. mr. durbin: and the record will reflect the spirited debate on those amendments when you wouldn't even give the authors 60 seconds to describe what was in the amendment. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, am i correct that the senator from illinois is going to object to this consent agreement? mr. durbin: i

please raise your right hand. i, thomas westerman wolf do solemnly swear that i will support, obey and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of this commonwealth and that i will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity.

congratulations, governor. >> thank you very much. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the 47th governor of pennsylvania, tom wolfe. thank you so much. chief justice sailor, governor corbett, governor rendell, governor stat and governor's ridge and governor swiker. everyone who is here. leaders and members of the judiciary. leaders and members of the

general's aseplsembly and family and friends and above all my fellow pennsylvanians. i'm so thankful for so many here today that i want to start by thanking governor tom for his many years of service for the commonwealth of pennsylvania. governor. [applause] next i want to thank my best friend and wife for nearly 40 years the love of my life and best friend francis. [applause] without her incredible love and support i would not be standing before you today. i'd also like to thank my two daughters sara and katy. [applause]

let me tell you a special thanks to speaker who reminded us when he was sworn in as speaker of the house we cannot take lightly the great history of democracy of which we are a part and encouraging all members of the legislature to meet with people across the aisle. that's important. [applause] and i also want to thank chief justice tom sailor when he was sworn in for his observation that he said, any disagreements we may have are quote creatures of to value and liberty as well as order and fairness and equality. i went to thank all pennsylvanians who worked so hard to get me here. [applause]

what you did was took a chance to vote for a different kind of leader. to those of you who didn't vote for me, i hope i'm able to give you a chance over the next four years to believe. because i am an unconventional leader and governor. i may be the first who ever operated a forklift. [laughter] >> who ever managed a hardware store. i volunteered and served in the peace corps and ran a business. i'm an product of our political system. i pledged to be a different kind of governor and i will keep that promise. because what we need today is leaders who are willing to listen to each other and learn from each other and work together to give all

pennsylvanians a shot at a great life. we're told that we're living through a transformational era. and it's true. the world hasn't seen this much change happen this fast since we moved from farms to factories over 100 years on theed. and for those of us who are part of that change and who are ready for that change this new era is creating opportunities our ancestors could never have dreamt of. but if you travel across our state you realize that many of our fell low citizens haven't yet found their place in this new world. travel to bethlehem or mount wolf or redding from rural counties to inner cities and the story is the same. we used to know what it took to succeed. we used to know that schooling we needed to get good jobs. we used to know what skills it

took to start and run a business and be part of the economy. now we're not so sure. we need new skills for this new era. we need to compete in a whole new way. because of that, pennsylvania, our state, stands at a crossroads. the industries that we used to rely on to create good jobs they're struggling to survive. paychecks, they're not keeping up with the lost of living and ordinary families can no longer afford college or higher education. too often when we looked to our leaders for answers we've been disappointed and frustrated to the point where we feel very cynical about our government. i ran for governor because i refused to be part of the first generation of pennsylvanians forced to tell their children they need to go somewhere else to succeed. [applause] >> i ran for governor because i believe with all my heart we can

rebuild the middle class and get this state back on track. after all, remember who we are. like you, i have been proud to be many things in my life. but above all i'm proud to be a pennsylvanian, proud i was born here, proud i was raised here and proud that i call this state my home. and that's why i want to restore the belief that pennsylvania is not just another place, not just another state. pennsylvania is something bigger. it is something much better. it's an idea. pennsylvania is an idea that all things are possible. the holy experiment where religious minorities can trade for prosperity and worship god as they see fit. it's the idea that on one summer day in philadelphia 56 patriots

could sign an extraordinary declaration that could create a remarkable new country and the idea we can create new things. pennsylvania was the state that gave america its first daily newspaper. its first stock exchange and first commercial oil well and first computer and i believe its first art museum. amazing. we're amazing. we have always pursued the ideas that all things are possible with boldness and courage and i refuse to believe that we are any less innovative and entrepreneurial and committed to committing a better future today than our ancestors were yesterday. now, to create new opportunities we need to be bold. we need to work together and we need to get started. we have to respect each other's ideas. we have to respect each other's values. to believe that none of us alone has all the answers but together

we can find an approach that works. that's what i've done throughout my career. i've worked with all kinds of people to turn a business around i had to get everybody to buy into one mission. i had to get everyone to buy into the powerful idea in that context indeed all things are possible. and i'm going to bring that same mindset to this leadership position i'm taking on today. so, how do we do it? how do we get pennsylvania back on track for ordinary pennsylvanians. how do we help the people of our state make their lives better? as you know, i laid out a plan during the campaign to give pennsylvania a fresh start. we'll stke bait those ideas, i know in the days and months i ahead. my administration will be dedicated to three thing. first jobs that pay and second, schools that teach and third a government that works.

[applause] that's what the wolfe administration will be about. so let's start. first getting pennsylvania back on track means we'll have to start with jobs that pay. as a business owner i know that the free market requires a constructive partner, a partner in government. that means our government should not do everything. it shouldn't. but it cannot do nothing either. that was a double investments in education and health another thing it can do to create the conditions necessary to bring manufacturing jobs back to our state. that's exactly what i did in my job, in my business and that's what i plan to do here. in pennsylvania, we're also blessed with an abundance of natural

resources, gas, timber, coal, sun, wind, fresh water and open spaces agricultural land, beautiful scenery and opportunistic location that makes us the keystone state. we must take full and absolutely responsible advantage. to the protestors today i say help me develop these opportunities in a way that's clean, safe and sustainable. [applause] thank you. if we want to be a state where the next generation can envision a bright future pennsylvania has to offer a level playing field where all entrepreneurs can be confident their risks will be fairly rewarded. the companies and countries that are thriving in today's global economy are those that are committed to diversity inclusiveness and fairness. all of pennsylvania's families

deserve those same opportunities no matter what their race, sexual orientation and where they started life or who they are. [applause] that's important. my company has a profit sharing plan because i believe that everybody working for me deserves a chance to share in the benefits of their hard work. but you know what, it also makes my company a lot better and a lot more successful. being inclusive, being fair, paying good wages, those things aren't just the right things to do, they're also the smart things to do. and acting smartly is how we'll grow this economy. that's first. second, getting pennsylvania back on track means we need schools that teach and provide all of our young people with the skills they need to find good jobs and compete in the global economy. in this limited government free

market system our collective future depends on the next generation. our state will never be as strong as it needs to be if some schools have all the resources they need while other schools are cutting band and football just to keep the hraoeutsdz on. that's why nothing is more essential than working together to make sure that every child tkph pennsylvania, every child has access to a great education. and, that all teachers have the resources they need to deliver that great education. from early childhood to college ask apprenticeships we must strive to provide our kids an education that is both affordable and second to none. our schools must be our highest priority. and finally getting pennsylvania back on track means creating a government that works, one that is worthy of all our trust. we have to be good stood wards

of taxpayer dollars but we also have to be stewards a grand democratic tradition. what we need is a government that is more efficient and less wasteful, that's true. but we also need a government that is responsive to the concerns and needs of the people it serves. by all means, let's get rid of the things that make no sense. out dated laws, silly regulations, but let's focus on levelling the playing field and making sure that all businesses and pennsylvania kpwreupbs have a chance to get ahead. let's work to put hard working ahead of special interests. that's the kind of interest i intend to lead. [applause] >> with a large deficit stagnant wages and shrinking middle class our challenges are great. let's remember the last time america went through a great

transformation. it was pennsylvania that led the nation through that great transformation, the industrial revolution. we led then, we can lead today. but it's going to take everyone of us, everyone of us working together to create a better future. i understand the indifference some people feel. i understand why fewer than 42% of pennsylvanians turned out in the most recent election. our experiences made us cynical. but we cannot allow that cynicism to deflate our democratic spirit or capacity for effective self governance. over the last three centuries every generation has been called upon to right a new chapter to create the idea of pennsylvania forward. now it's our turn. as your governor i'll do everything in my power to make pennsylvania a place where jobs pay and schools teach and government works and where every pennsylvanian can believe in the fundamental notion that our

democracy works. [applause] i hope that elected officials from both parties and all across the commonwealth will join me. but it's up to all of us, citizens of pennsylvania to reclaim our government. i'm asking for your ideas, for your passion. i'm asking for your hard work. because i know if we come together with the sense of shared purpose we can build the better future we all deserve as pennsylvanians. let's get started. may god bless us in this noble task and may god bless the commonwealth of pennsylvania. thank you very much. [applause]

see the presidential remarks live from the east room of the white house at 4:45 p.m. eastern. this saturday live coverage of the iowa freedom summit from des moines begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern. governors rick perry scott walker and chris christie. former governor mike huckabee. as well as 2008 vice presidential nominee sara palin. the freedom summit this saturday on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org >> larry horg began was sworn in as maryland's 62nd governor and discussed fiscal responsibility and government reform and tax fairness. this is 25 minutes.

>> good afternoon. it it is a tremendous honor for me to be here today and i want to personally thank my friend governor hogan, his wife and the rest of their wonderful family for allowing me to share this day with all of you. it's a huge day for their family and great day for the state of maryland. when i look at the state of maryland from the state of new jersey all i see is potential. i see a beautiful state from the mountains in western maryland to the beaches in ocean city. i see a place with the kind of natural resources that most other states can only dream of having access to. i mean, we do. but other states can only dream of having access to. i see some of the hardest

working best educated people in our entire nation who are filled with the desire to build a better life for themselves, their families and their children. and i see a man in governor larry hogan who is ready, willing and able to lead this state into a bright new future. a future where the people of maryland get to keep more of what they earned, a future where maryland and its people are free to live up to its unlimited potential. as you all know, governor hogan is willing to do the hard work that its going to take to make maryland the best state that it can possibly be. he hasn't claimed all the answers but i know that he knows how to bring people together because he's been doing it his whole life. let me tell you why i like

larry. i like him because he stands up strongly for his principals. i like him because he's blunt and direct and he says what he believes. yeah. [applause] but he also knows that his job as governor is to get things done for the people of maryland because that's what maryland needs the most. you see as long as you stick to your principals i do believe that comprise and consensus are not dirty words. because accomplish what you need to here in maryland, you're going to need someone who can bring people together, someone who isn't afraid to be known as bipartisan and that's exactly the person you have in governor larry hogan. it's going to take everyone

working together for a common purpose to make maryland the best state it can be governor hogan, lieutenant governor rutherford set a great example what can be done with the strength of ideas and i know he'll continue to do that well into the future. i have every confidence maryland is in good hands and i look forward to coming back here four years from today to watch governor hogan to get sworn in to his second term as governor of maryland. ladies and gentlemen, it is my high honor and great privilege to introduce to you my friend and your friend the governor of the state of maryland, governor larry hogan. >> thank you. thank you. y'all look great out there.

they said it was going to be a cold day in hell before we elected a republican governor. thank you all. thank you very much. governor christie, thank you for being here. thanks for your tremendous support and thank you for that very kind introduction. to my wife and my daughters, my entire family it is because of of your incredible love and support that i'm able to stand here today. i'm privileged and proud to have lieutenant governor boyd rutherford by my side. he's been more than a running mate. he's a friend and i'm honored to serve with him. governor o'mally, thank you for your gracious cooperation during the transition and for your

years of public service. lieutenant governor brown thank you for your service not only to the state but to our nation. to my good friends governor you are lick and lieutenant governor steelethank you for your leadership and it was an honor to serve in your administration. governor hughes and governor mandel thank you for all you've done for maryland. senate president miller, speaker bush and members of the maryland general assembly we have great challenges ahead of us but i look forward to working together and each and every one of you along with come troller and

attorney general and chief judge bar berra and other members of the judiciary and all the local elected officials and other dignitaries. thank you all for being here for this historic occasion. most importantly, i want to thank the citizens from all across our state who put aside party politics and who came together and voted to change maryland for the better. >> i'm grateful because i know something about putting aside partisanship in order to do the right thing. 40 years ago a maryland congressman, a republican, sat on the house judiciary committee during watergate and the entire

world was watching. with this man be willing to buck his own party, his own president to do what he thought was right for the country despite tremendous pressure, this state'sman put aside partisanship and made the tough decision and became the first republican to come out for the impeachment of president nixon. that man was my dad who is here with us today. [applause] >> dad put aside party politics and personal considerations in order to do the right thing for the nation. and i'm going to get emotional now. and he taught me more about integrity in one day than most men learn in a lifetime and i am so proud to be his son.

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, today we are gathered in front of our beautiful state house which has been in service since 1772. a few steps from where i'm standing is where general george washington resigned his commission. 231 years ago the revolutionary war ended right here. inside this state house with a ratification of the treaty of paris in 1784. and just a few miles away from here when the future of a fledgling nation was in doubt maryland and for our nation this is a place where great things begin and where great things are

accomplished. today against this historic backdrop they start once again a new chapter in the long and proud history. today's inauguration marked a new beginning for mare plan anded limb litness possibilities before us. i'm a lifelong marylander who loves this state. every great experience, every great memory and every great moment i have ever had in my life has happened right here in maryland and such an incredible honor to be standing before you today as the 62nd governor as the great state of maryland. [applause] >> i am truly humbled and deeply grateful for the opportunity to

serve my fellow marylanders and i vow to work tirelessly every single day to prove worthy of this great honor that you have granted me. today we celebrate a new beginning for maryland. remembering our past while striving for a better and more promising future. the question isn't whether maryland is a great state. the question is what will we do, all of us, to reinvigorate this great state we all love? what will we do to ensure that our future is better than our present and our past? i believe that the time has come to capacity aside the status quo and to come together to build a better future for our state and all our citizens. we must set the bar higher. and we must create a bolder vision of the future. let's create a maryland that is

thriving growing, innovating and strive to make maryland the best place in america to live, work, raise a family, start a business or even to retire. let's renew our sense of optimism and make maryland a place of unlimited promise. together let's make maryland a place that we can all be proud of again. [applause] today i am reminded of those brave marylanders too first came to this land seeking freedom and opportunity when they landed in st. mary's city in 1634. while the challenges facing us today are differently know that the courage and the spirit of marylanders is the same.

we seek the freedom to compete without the undue burden of high taxes and bureaucratic regulations which make us less competitive. we seek opportunities to build better communities and better businesses and lives for ourselves, our children children and our children's children&most of all, we cherish the freedom and opportunity to decide our future and today we celebrate that freedom and opportunity. what i envision for maryland is not just an economic and fiscal recovery but a rebirth of our spirit and a renewed commitment to our common purpose. the citizens expect great things from us and they deserve great things from us. [applause] >> too often we see wedge politics and petty rhetoric used to belittled a saeurryes and

inflame partisan divisions. but i believe that maryland is better than this. our history proves that we're better than this. it's only when the partisan shouting stops we can hear each other's voices and concerns. i'm prepared to create an environment of trust and cooperation where the best ideas rise to the top based upon their merit regardless of which side of the political debate they come from. no problem faces us that hard work honesty and courage cannot solve if we work together. ladies and gentlemen we can improve the tone and we will. and we can move towards a common sense solutions based government. the problems we face are great. but so is our resolve to fix

them. president kennedy once said let us not seek the republican answer or the democratic answer but the right answer. in that spirit let us sit down together and come up with real bipartisan common sense solutions to the serious problems that face us. that's what the people of maryland voted for and what they want and what they deserve. the history of our great state is rich and deep and our commitment to freedom and justice has always been our strength. in 1649 the maryland toleration act one of the first laws that granted different faith the right to freely worship was enacted. since then over the many years maryland has blossomed into a state wonderfully defined by our vibrant culture of racial,

ethnic and religious diversity. in our hearts, marylanders are hard wired inclusiveness. it's of who we are. it's our founding principal. it's a part of our identity and it's our greatest strength. our culture of tolerance and mutual respect must also extend to those with whom we happen to differ on politics. today is not the beginning of an era of divided government. today is the beginning of a new spirit of bipartisan cooperation in annapolis. there is so much that aoupb nights us. a love of our state, a commitment to fairness and desire to be economically strong and successful. and to those who would divide us or drive us to the extremes of either political party i remind you that maryland has been called a state of middle temperament. our politics need that middle

temperament as well. the politics that have divided our nation need not divide our state. in the days ahead i asked all marylanders to seek that middle ground where we can all stand together. i recognize that the events of 2014 stirred strong feelings throughout the nation, but in keeping with the moderate tradition of maryland we expressed our passions in positive, open respectful and civil way as concerned neighbors. it's one of the many reasons i'm proud to be a marylander. our greatest challenge has always been reaching the high expectations set for us by our founders. that is why we will always keep trying and always keep growing and why we shall never fail. [applause]

>> in the end, it isn't about politics. it's about citizenship. and the ability to understand the difference that is what it means to be a marylander. maryland's greatness is in her goodness. partisanship should never denigrate the unique legacy entrusted to us by our founders. i assure you that partisanship will never play a role in my decision making. everything we do will be guided by four common sense principals. first, fiscal responsibility. our state government must provide essential services yet still live within its means and run our state government more efficiently and more cost effectively. [applause] >> second, economic growth. maryland has an educated workforce world class universities and colleges, great community colleges and public schools. we have the beautiful chetsapeake

bay and port of baltimore and leverage these amazing is sets to transform maryland into a place where businesses can flourish and create more jobs and more opportunities for our citizens starting today let me say loudly and clearly maryland is open for business. [applause] >> third, reform. remust improve our state government's ability to be more responsive to and better serve and represent all our citizens. fourth fairness. we must restore a sense of fairness and balance for maryland's hard working and beleaguered taxpayers in order to rebuild our middle class. we must get the state government

off our backs and out of our pockets so we can grow the private sector and get back to work and turn our economy around. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, we can accomplish these things and together we will. this is our chance to build a state government that works for the people and not the other way around. to accomplish these objectives will require leadership. i'm not talking about any one leader. it it will take many all of us working together, rolling up our sleeves and acting with mutual respect and doing our jobs for the people of maryland. it will require listening and educating and bold actions and it will take the courage to do things differently. a commitment to doing things differently will be challenging. but i lost the teleprompter.

it will be challenging. [laughter] >> it will be worth it. we're worth it and more importantly maryland is worth it. [applause] >> 100 years from now i want marylanders to say that this was when maryland's renaissance began. ladies and gentlemen i stand before you today full of hope, hope for our great state, hope for our people and hope for our future. i want maryland's future to be brighter than its present and brighter than its past. it can be and it will be. before my father cast his vote on the impeachment committee 40 years ago he voted president lincoln who said we cannot escape history. my fellow marylanders we cannot

escape our history and cannot escape our future. it's out there waiting for us. let us show our fellow marylanders that government can work, that we can work together that change is possible and that maryland can live up up to the promise of our founders. let us always act worthy of the great task entrusted to us to renew and advance our great state. let us appeal to the better angels of our nature so that we can achieve the great and shinning promise of maryland. ladies and gentlemen, we can change maryland for the better and together we will. thank you. god bless you. and god bless the great state of maryland! [applause]

we'll take you live now to the east room of the white house where president obama will be speaking to the u.s. conference of mayors. kevin johnson make the introductions right now and he's the mayor of sacramento. the president of the u.s. conference of players and former nba player. >> tom cochran, all of us, this is a big deal and we don't want to take this for granted. to be here in the white house, we got a chance to interact with vice president biden. we got a chance to talk to eight cabinet members and dozens of officials. the level of cooperation, six years he has opened up the white house to us every single year. [applause] >> so again, this level of cooperation between administration and may kwrorz regardless of political

affiliation is a result of one thing and the leadership of president barack oh bam max the leadership has led to some of the most dramatic and impactful changes in our nation's history. he walked into the worst financial crisis since the great depression and averted an economic cat is an is a tpeu /* /* -- catastrophe. he passed healthcare reform for millions who could not afford it. [applause] >> he repealed don't ask don't tell. [applause] >> he appointed two female supreme court justices. [applause]

he ended the war in iraq and drew troops out of afghanistan and he brought justice to osama bin laden and he got elected not once but twice which he reminded us of on tuesday. on top of all that he's a really cool dude if i must say so myself. he's hip and smooth president and he croons with al green. "i'm so in love with you", slow jams the news on the jimmy fallon show and been known to talk a little hoop and maybe even play a little hoop. in honor of that i thought i would give him an introduction befitting of the star.

ladies and gentlemen, you guys ready? standing 6'1", 180 pounds, south paw from colorado -- columbia university, the fortieth president of the united states of america barack obama. [applause]

thank you. thank you. good to see you, man. good to see you. everybody have a seat. have a seat. i would have thought that it would bring back bad phplryes for kevin. playing that song. i want to thank kevin for that introduction. i have to say that that introduction is longer than my remarks. and more exciting. so, i'm feeling a little outshown here by kevin. as everybody knows kevin has that about him. did he when he was a

professional basketball player. he not surprisingly has brought that flair to his outstanding work in sacramento and we're very, very proud of him. i just want to thank him for his outstanding leadership as well as introduction and give kevin a big round of applause. [applause] >> i want to thank stephanie rollins blake of baltimore and mayor of oklahoma city for their leadership as well. we're proud of them and i want to thank all of you. is that playing again kevin? we got over 200 mayors here representing tens of millions of americans. as you've seen today we take our partnership with you seriously because you're the change happens fastest. that's one of the reasons i named two of my cabinet members

happen to be former may kwrorz former president of this conference, jerry abram son of louisville is one of my top advisors. the other night i talked about what we can do together to make sure that middle class economics helps more americans get ahead in the new economy and that's something we want to partner with you on as well. and in some areas in fact many areas we already have. last year we kicked off the mayor's maker's challenge to create the industries and jobs of the future and mayor greg fisher of louisville stepped up and now students and engineers are creating smarter appliances and hundreds of folks are getting trained for local software development jobs. we worked with some of you to raise the minimum wage without waiting for congress. and more than 20 cities and

counties have stepped up to raise the wage since 2013. some have passed sick leave laws as well and i want to help more of you do that. we launched the mayor's challenge to end homelessness and mitch landrieu of new orleans stepped up. new orleans became the first major city to wipe out homelessness among veterans and we could not be prouder of that. thank you. [applause] >> and mayor greg in phoenix and mayor ralph becker of salt lake city are closing in on that goal as well. we issued my brother's keeper community challenge to create pathways of success for boys and young men of color and all young people and over 10050 local and tribal leaders have stepped up so in birmingham mayor william bell and business leaders created a mentoring program and

in new haven mayor is canvassing to connect to kids with services and support. that's what mayors do. they get things done. they make things happen. and on other urgent issues like responding to climate change or getting more families ensured, rebuilding infrastructure and making sure our youngest americans get the best start in life may kwrorz like you are helping to get it done and we want to help. so i had a chance to meet some folks earlier before i came out here and i just emphasize to them what i always do whenever i'm at a mayor's conference and that is to emphasize that we are here in large part to make sure that you are able to achieve your goals because if cities are successful, then america will be successful. that's not disrespect towards

suburbs and not disrespect towards rural communities. in every state of the union the city and its health becomes a bell weather for how well the state as a whole is doing. and that's true around the world as well. what we know now is that successful cities end up being the engines by which communities and states and ultimately nations succeed. what i also say whenever i meet with may kwrorz is that i have confidence in you because the fact is that you can't afford to be ideological. i don't care whether you're a republican democrat or independent. the truth of the matter folks want to make sure their tkpwaeur badge is picked up and roads are functioning prop hreur and traffic isn't sucking away their days. they want to make sure that

their schools are high quality and they want to make sure their streets are free from crime. and so you don't have the luxury of just jacking instead of doing. because at some pointare you going to get done? present illness opportunities which is one of the reason our cabinet numbers are so excited about what they are doing and finding what you are doing. my instructions to my cabinet over the last two years is that we want to squeeze every possible opportunity to do some good from this fourth quarter. and a lot of stuff happens in the fourth quarter. and one of the most promising avenues for us is to partner

with you and help you do some of the terrific things you are already doing and help you visions of things you want to do in the future. i can guarantee you that we will not only partner with you aggressively, but we will also be creative and show flexibility , and if you have ideas that do not meekly fit into what is already -- neatly fit into what is already being done, we will give you answers that will make you succeed. thank you for being here. thank you for the great work you are doing. i will take a couple questions, and we won't ask the fourth estate to step up one second so we can let our hair down there. [no audio]

>> having some audio] technical problems with their feet from the white house. tonight on c-span, 8:00 eastern will be -- we heard from earlier today secretary of state john kerry. he spoke at the world economic forum. he talked about recent global terrorist attacks. take a little look at some of what he had to say from earlier today. >> i never imagined the number of simultaneous crises that we might be able to face which we are, by the way, i believe managing for more effectively. but we cannot shy away from this reality, that terror networks in

some places are operating with near impunity, and imminent dangers to others in a potential threat to everywhere. a few of these networks are attempting to govern land that is the first time event in the trans vision to these terror groups, and they are looking to expand. and greatly adding to the risk of the so-called -- are the so-called lone wolf's and copycats, and it seems that terrorists are competing with each other for recruits and perpetrating ever more copper crimes. -- macabre crimes. the 20th century was defined as their struggle, and today we are witnessing more than a form of criminal anarchy. a nihilism which legitimately

claims ideological and religious foundation. against this enemy we are increasingly organizing fighting , but in doing so we have to keep our head. the biggest error could make would be to blame muslims collectively for crimes committed by muslims alone. is that the only majority of muslims oppose, crimes that their faith utterly reject some and that muslim leaders themselves have the greatest ability to address. religions do not require adherence so they can blow up people. it is individuals with a distorted and even ignorant interpretation of religion to do that, abetted by networks of individuals who have a different agenda and who incite and

finance those action. we will certainly not defeat our foes by vilifying potential partners or by suppressing the very freedoms that terrorists trying to destroy. unless we direct our energies in the right direction we may very well fueled a very fires want to put out. >> just some of the comments from secretary kerry earlier today. you can watch his remarks in their entirety. you can watch the anytime online. go to www.c-span.org an update on the event with president obama. president wanted a closed q&a session. tomorrow on "washington journal," a talk about the tax policies proposed by the

president during his state of the union. and then a talk about the potential republican presidential candidates your attending tomorrow's iowa freedom summit in des moines. wife tomorrow morning and every morning at 7:00 a.m. on seas then. -- on c-span. >> this saturday, live coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern. speakers include 2016 potential candidates, governor rick perry scott walker, and chris christie mike huckabee, donald trump, and dr. ben carson, as well as sarah palin. the iowa freedom summit this saturday on c-span, c-span radio, and www.c-span.org. >> or are some of the programs for this weekend. on c-span2 saturday night at

10:00, mike huckabee on america's current political landscape. sunday night at 11:00 an examination of lyndon johnson and his great society. on american history on c-span3 a professor on the role of the british royal air force and allied strategy during world war ii. sunday evening at 6:00, an archivist of the amelia ehrhardt collection. find out complete television 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. >> both chambers of congress out of session today. house and senate return monday. for more, he spoke with a reporter on capitol hill. host: we are joined by a reporter who covers congress for "los angeles times." between that the gop tough border security bill is headed for a vote in the house early next week. what are the details of this bill, and what does it tell you about the overall strategy of house republicans on immigration? >> this is the next step that started the -- next step at the start of the week next week. this is the first foray

republicans are trying to take on the immigration issue. republicans have been very displeased with president obama's executive action from mcmaster when the president put together some proposals that are now being implemented to do for deportation -- defer deportation. republicans want to respond, and one idea is to look at their own ideas. it is a tough bill. it requires completing the 700-mile fence along the border. it requires the department of homeland security to have control of the security. some of the hotspots where crossings happen, they have to have that under control under the first two years, and then 100% control of the border shortly after that. the bill passed out of the

committee last week and is on its way to the floor and looks like an old enjoy a lot of support. >> let's move on to the abortion bill. you wrote about this emerging cloud from moderate -- clout from moderate republicans and said you think this group will influence legislation. what influence will this have an house, and what influence on conservatives in the party? >> it is interesting what happened. it was the first rising up of we do not call them moderates. these are conservative republicans, was of the members who had concerns about the abortion are pro-life antiabortion conservative republicans. they had concerns about some of the details the weight of the was written and voice their concerns and ended up backing off the bill putting forward another bill. that coupled with an earlier vote he saw, an immigration bill

that happened two weeks ago where a number of house republicans, 26, declined go along with part of the planned at the party put forward to will roll bac one of the executive actions that would help you fork deportation for young immigrants, they said no, i do not want to do that, and this is a new flexing of that point of view after the last four years where we have seen a more conservative, harder right approach from the republicans in the house and the senate. >> a lot of that came out in their retreat, a surprise to leadership. let's move to the senate, work on the keystone xl pipeline kept a lot of you reporters is in the capitol the other night. there was an interesting exchange between the senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, and the assistant minority leader, dick durbin, on

this amendment process. what happened there, and what might that mean for the future of the bill next week? >> what you're seeing play out has been what senator mcconnell promised as part of taking over the senate when republicans won the majority. he wants to return to regular order and let the senate go through vote after vote on all these different amendment that senators might want to offer on a income important bill like the keystone xl pipeline. what happened that ran into trouble last night because the senators, the majority leader, and the assistant leader, generator -- senator durbin, or having disagreements on how to proceed with a number of amendments, the kind that would be allowed -- the time that would be allowed or debate of the amendments, and in the end the majority leader cloud/the democrats behind and's darted -- and started making motions to

table these amendments. the senator state until midnight tabling the amendments. now they are almost done with the amendment process. it left a lot caps off feelings on the democratic side that felt like democratic senators feeling like senator mcconnell was not holding up his promise to keep the open amendment process, the open process going. senator mcconnell said he tried and tried and the democrats were stonewalling on getting an agreement on how to proceed. that is a bit of a standoff, left everybody a little raw emotions in the senate passed like, and we will see how that turns out on monday when they will have a key vote on the pipeline, which is to advance the bill. they need a 60-vote threshold to advance that. republicans who had only 54 will need to get their democratic senators who support the

pipeline on board, and he will see if they can do that on monday. >> keep following her on twitter. at latimes.com. thanks a lot. >> thank you. >> earlier today, the heritage discussion on human rights in cub. -- in cuba. the discussion ran an hour and 15 minutes. >> thank you, and thank you everyone for joining us today. we appreciate everyone being here. thank you for caring about a cause that is near and dear to many of our hearts, particularly many of us on the panel, and each one of us is connected to the island and connected to the cause of democracy on the island. my parents are political refugees.

my mom and her family came in 1981. they were one of the initial families is silent at the peruvian and the city. enough about me. it is about these three guys who are on the stage. each and every one has participated in the cause of democracy and is very vocal about their opinions on this new cuba policy. and really what are the implications for human rights and democracy. so i'd like to introduce rosa maria paya, a member of the cuban christian liberation movement of the daughter of slain cuban activist oswaldo paya sardinas.

it's hard suspected the cuban government was behind his death and to the cuban liberation movement, the cuban christian liberation movement was found almost three decades ago and oswaldo paya sardinas was the leader of the. bighearted over 25,000 signatures and in a country like cuba and a totality in state like cuba, 25,000 25,000 is like millions and attorney.

he has served for over 10 years as the washington representative for freedom house, a very respected human rights organization. and he has written many articles in the united states and elsewhere and appeared -- anybody who watches hispanic american to the mill will -- will know his face. and his work at the center for free to really entails the maintenance and details of contact with congress and the democratic government officials run the world and was about the human rights movement on the island. so what do i pass it over to the rosa maria. >> ok, thank you, ana, thank you very much for coming here to hear about the situation in

cuba with the change in the -- [inaudible] which i keep my eye on. the situation we are facing, a new area, a scenario we have to assume it is a fact. we are into this new approach between two governments that in my opinion have skewed the opinion and the voices of the cuban citizenship. but that does not mean that we can start to influence this conversation, that does not mean that we cannot raise our voices, and especially in this country but also inside the island, trying to put our points to locate our tropics, the topics that the cuban people are important in today's

conversations. more than 10 years ago, more than 25,000 cuba's citizens were delivered into the hands of the national assembly in my country and an illegal initiative to change the law and guarantees and basic human rights as the right to free association, the liberation of the political prisoners. they tried to have real enterprises, which is not the same thing -- what we are facing [indiscernible] it is how we call the business that the cubans are now to have. the situation is that these reforms are changes that the cuban government has been trying

to sell to the international community. i actually implemented in the island, not the recommendation of the human rights of the cubans a recognition to have a free enterprise -- a new area [indiscernible] that the cuban government could -- [indiscernible] your political prediction or maybe you are a person that could travel other places or have contact with people in civil society. in the same way, they have limited the rest of the reforms. to travel in cuba, to leave the island and enter the island is

not a right that cubans have. it is a privilege that the government gives you. that is why -- [indiscernible] who was recently trying to make a performance in the place of the revolution in havana, she cannot travel right now, she cannot leave the island. the cuban government actually sent to her that if she wants to leave the island, she has to do it in a definitive way. so she did night that so she is denied to leave the island, and she is now on the island without a passport because the government does not allow her to travel, if she is not leaving the island, like forever is the reality of the reforms of the reality of the change that the

cuban government has been trying to sell for six or eight years right now. with this government, with this government which is not ever been shoes and -- chosen by their own people, the government of the is now trying to normalize their relations. and we think that even when they are traveling -- trying to normalize relations with the government, it is not normal because they had never been elected by their people. no one who is younger than 18 years old in my country has ever participated in fair political elections. this government violates human rights of their own people on a daily basis. but the united states government is normalizing relations and is

talking with the government in the process. so what we are proposing here is that in this stage of the negotiations should be the support of the demands of decision -- demand of the citizenship. why demand? we demand that the key events have already been prepared. the demands that cuba already are trying to obtain, specifically what that is the very face of democracy. we think that we cannot break the should be the support of the demands of decision -- demand of the citizenship. why regime without citizens' participation. you can start that process is the opinion of the cuban people is not consulted.

that is why our proposal to the government of the united states, also to the democracies of the world today, the democratic institutions of the world, is just so -- with recognition of the political parties and with right to free expression of the access to the media that we need to make an pay for a parasite in cuba. humans -- cuba has had their website, and they had a lot of international support. another important topic that we think we need to adjust in this conversation, but also in the conversations with the european union and the relationship of the cuban government that rest of the latin america is the fact that not so democratic of the

government has been spread in our region. we are facing a higher level of impunity, not just in cuba, but also in the region, and i think that just about the recent -- in argentinian that appeared, and also thinking about the students disappearing in mexico and also thinking about the -- in argentinian that teenagers in the streets of caracas us -- a year ago. i am not saying the cuban government -- but what i'm saying is we are facing a not so democratic movement in our region needs to be controversial. and i think that the influence of the cuban government has a

large responsibility for these not so democratic thoughts in our region for these not so democratic and has pluralistic systems that we had seen replicated or are trying to be replicated in the rest of the latin american region. so our goal to the international community is support of transparency in the dialogue with the cuban government, for instance the independent investigation about the death of my father, oswaldo paya, who is the winner of a price given by the parliament and another person who was the leader, the

more important leader in our movement, and the retail few years ago in an attack. we think that transparency and to stop the impunity is very important in a transition process. it is necessarily the recognition of the ability to be able to talk in an authentic way, for a real conciliation process, and to be able to walk together because we have to walk together because we have -- because cuba launched all cubans, but we need the recognition. we need to stop the impunity. and i do think that to support these demands that are not

inventions of the international community, are not in differences of the united states government, of the european union, are to support the demands of the cuban people who have prepared and are demanding for a long time right now is not just going to help us as a country, it is not just going to be good for cuba, it is not just going to guarantee the real democracy and the real stability that we know is very important terms of international affairs. but it is also going to support the democracy in the rest of the region. i'm going to finish with this. we were here a year ago, less than a year ago, during a meeting in have anna. we heard thei'm going to finish with this.

president's of latin america to pertain -- to proclaim america a country of -- and we have to say during this year teenagers disappeared while years disappeared or dead, young people are not too young people dying because of the insecurity and because of their political debate. and a lot of separation in gl in cuba and in the rest of the region. so sometimes stability can be just guaranteed with real progress. and real peace means the recognition of -- and needs to be coherent with our democratic now use. thank you so much.

>> thank you, rosa maria. ambassador? >> thank you very much, ana. it's an extraordinary privilege to be on this panel, particularly today with frank calzon, a stalwart of the cause of a free cuba, and rosa maria who is the daughter of a martyred hero. and i'm not a cuban-american. i'm mexican-american from kansas who was raised right. so i care about these things and young people in the audience here and listening, this is your struggle, too. this is your opportunity to step up and make the world a better place. and to do taht, you have to understand the reality what's going on in cuba today, who are the good guys and with the bad guys. quite frankly, it's not that complicated.

those of us who are critics of president obama's new initiatives on cuba do not oppose it because we hope he is wrong, but because we know he is wrong. we know that the single biggest obstacle to economic and political freedom in cuba for 55 years has been and still is the castro regime. we know that a courageous, quiet christian was killed when police ran his car off the road in southeastern cuba july 22. we know an american aid worker alan gross, who tried simply to offer cuba a small jewish committee internet access on the island was held hostage for five years for his efforts. we know that while the obama administration was holding secret talks with havana, the castro government arrested more than 9000 dissidents, journals human rights activists, and other political people. so, yes, we know better than to expect anything from making

unilateral concessions to a dictatorship. and, frankly, president obama should know better, too. from nixon to ford to carter to clinton, several of president obama's predecessors eagerly sought to normalize ties with havana. none of them salt other capitulation to a dictatorship as being in the national interest and obama. record -- president reagan and bush administration adopted programs to empower the people of cuba, including a broadcasting and direct support of independent cubans. none of these presidents until now, there was a good idea to resuscitate the caster bridging or arrange a soft landing. the issue for consideration is not to impose sanctions on cuba, but when and how to lift them. do we do so unilaterally and risk helping machines that

systematically denied political and economic freedom, or do we reserve normal relations were opposed-castro transition shall we can use them as a lever to induce broad, profound, and irreversible reforms that will effectively operate cuban people? inexplicably, president obama chose the latter course. i hasten to add that this is not a partisan debate. there is strong bipartisan consensus is strong for the regime but is moving toward democracy. although president obama is moving quickly to forfeit a part of the leverage by normalizing diplomatic ties, he can respect opposition to his plan to lift the economic embargo with cuba. one misconception of the debate is the so-called helms-burton

act, the solidarity act of 1986. there is a misconception that this codifies the embargo. that act, drafted originally by the democratic senator robert menendez, is a formula for establishing normal trade and even aid to cuba in a post-castro era. it merely anticipates a friendly transitional cuban government frees all of its political prisons, respects political freedoms, and commits to holding their elections within 18 months. the wall expects the government to make amends to establish independent course and honoring international human rights and labor rights. a charter that design on september 11, 2001, set more detailed benchmarks for all 34 of the members of the

organization of american states. these are not draconian requirements. the trouble is cuba is the only country in the western hemisphere that cannot meet any of them. is the president giving the people of cuba any favors by saying that their rights do not matter or that they are worth less than the other people of the western hemisphere because he is in a hurry to trade with a bankrupt government in cuba? tragically, although the new approach is being touted as a historic shift in the u.s.-cuba relations, all of the measures being implemented as far serve to reinforce the status quo, legitimizing and benefiting a 55-year track record of opposing change. purposeful travel is a good thing.

i made a visit to cuba in 1998 and acquainted myself with a stifling oppression that exists and its impact on the cuban people. the obama regulations make it easy to travel to visit family members for other purposes. the concern is the u.s. tourism will represent a windfall to the hospitality sector all of which is co-owned by the regime and most of which benefits the military and security apparatus. other new regulations performers humanitarian -- small farmers, humanitarian projects and the telecom companies to offer services and invest in cuba. and well continual while restricting the benefits to the people. and will continue to restart the shoot down u.s. companies while restricting the that the to the

people. accepting that this is not what the president intended, he must get serious about engaging the other 11 million people of cuba rather than trying to placate the regime that torments them. the president has yet to offer a meaningful strategy for supporting change in cuba. for example, the president showed dispatch the high-profile personal envoy to the european capitals to explain how the united states proposes to help the cubans other than the castros. they should invite the counterpoint to explain their own efforts at some of the americans in panama certainly they can agree to simple steps on the cuban authorities to liberate all political prisoners

and to cease the arbitrary detention and harassment of critics of the government, and allow people to exercise their political liberties as detailed in the democratic charter, commit to supervised elections as soon as possible and allow unfettered access to the media and the internet, allow the human rights commission to visit the island and established a permanent presence to monitor conditions, and give the international committee of the red cross access to inspect cuban prisons and jails. the latin american and caribbean governments have been hassling president obama since he was elected about the u.s.-cuban policy. that pretext no longer exists and it's time that he pushes back and insist that they do something for their friends and their neighbors who live in cuba. in the five weeks since president obama's decision on diplomatic relations, the regime

has arrested more dissidents. even several of those who had been free as a result of their deal with president obama be demanded of them into the end are going to demand a termination of the cuban adjustment act under which the refugees are in the territory and demanded that they be removed from the list of terrorists. also in the last month the number of cubans climbing on rafts and fleeing the country has more than doubled. it seems they know what to expect from the regime that has been emboldened by the weakness. they are voting with their oars. all of this is entirely predictable. those who know the nature of the castro regime expected no meaningful steps toward liberalization of any kind particularly because it's already been handed a major diplomatic victory, political recognition in exchange for doing nothing. the normalization will have very

little positive impact on the lives of the cuban people unless president obama now rallies other countries to press for economic and political change on the island. if he fails to do so with a pro-democracy campaign to incorporate authentic cuban voices into the dialogue cut in then his new approach will be exposed as an amateur blunder that prolonged the dictatorship and accomplished little else. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. i would like to thank the

heritage foundation for inviting me and all of you for coming to this event. it is difficult to know what is in anybody's mind, but one thing that is certain -- that president barack obama and many of those that support his new policy have bought into the dynasty narrative. for example the president said the united states is partly responsible for castro's repression because american policy the president said provides a rationale for the cuban government repression. i guess i learned in government one-on-one that dictatorships are always three precious best your present that whether you talk about nazi germany or economist regime command that is what they do. they have to have freedom. it has very little to do with the foreign policy of another government. i wonder what that sentence and the president's speech.

the president also said another of -- a number of inaccurate things. he, like some of cuba's apologists, talksaid another about that many people ask him why does the u.s. have a policy for china and another for vietnam? it is very simple. politics 101.the cubans are not vietnamese. the cubans are not chinese. the cubans would like to have the kind of policy that the united states has an kind of society that they live. people in showchile, costa rica. why is it that some people would like to have a worst possible model applied to my people?

beyond that, i guess the folks know that the idea of one policy for the whole world is simply nonsense. the policy of the united states or canada is not the same as the policy of the united states toward mexico. very basic. and yet this is the kind of thing that one hears from this white house sometime. another misunderstanding is that they say that having full diplomatic relations and trade with cuba, that will bring respect for human rights, civil liberties, and recovery of the cuban economy. do they know that cuba has had full domestic relations with spain, with rants, with canada, and the rest of the world? did they know that there have been trade relations with those countries during more than 50 years?

is it that the american dollar is better than a dollar that goes to cuba from the canadians or the british? as a matter of fact, cuba has had more assistance, more development aid during the revolutionary period that some european countries -- than some european countries have after world war ii under the marshall plan. the american dollar is going to go to the cuban government. you do not trade with cuba, you do not trade with cuba and countries, you trade with the cuban government. starting with the cuban cigars the government has a monopoly on cigars, like the spanish colonial government had 200 years ago. if a cuban farmer wants to grow cigars and seven, he goes to prison. whole thing applies across the

board. some of these reforms that we talk about being that now a cuban can work as a barber, or you could manufacturer paper flowers at home. cubans do not have the same rights in cuba that foreign investors have in cuba. cubans have the same rights as foreign investors are members of the castro family. you are talking about a dynasty that resembles a north korea. it goes from one to somebody else in the family, people have to be obedient and very respectful. the present cuban policy i am sorry to set is based on outright lie. the president promised two

prominent cuban dissidents that before anything would be done with cuba, gays and other dissidents would be brought into the discussion. the president's promise was not cap. why do i say lies? that is a strong word. a few weeks ago at a congressional hearing, someone who appeared before a number of senators was asked, somebody from the state department, was asked by senator rubio about u.s.-cuba policy. and that official from the state department said before anything would change, of course, the committee and the congress would be brought into the discussion. that same official i believe yesterday said that he was sorry about what he had said, but

nevertheless, the whole idea of secrecy, of keeping the congress away, is not a good day. i guess a joke in cuba is that while raoul castro has not changed, some people say that mr. obama has changed, because his handling of the cuban policy resembles the way that raoul castro handles everything with cuba. there is no discussion in the media. this is what we are dealing with. another issue that is often -- that i often come across when i speak is, again, coming from the cuban government, why did the cuban-americans have to play a role in the u.s.-cuban policy? question is, are cuban-american

doing something that is not appropriate? i hear that sometimes. that is what the cuban government says. that is what the policy of the castro government says. they forget that the cubans here have been here for more than 50 years. they pay their taxes they become presidents at universities, they served in the armed forces, and if anybody wants to go with me this afternoon to the vietnam memorial, you can put your hand on the name of cuban-americans who have died serving under the american flag. i think cuban-americans have earned a right like people in the jewish community like lack americans, like the americans like those in the financial sector to be part of the discussion and not to be ignored when something significant to them is being discussed.

imagine that something has significant has been done by the president in secret that would affect the black community or would affect any other community. this is taken for granted that is all right, but it is not all right for everybody else. and then there is a historical perspective, because in the united states government being such a big country policies toward little countries and little people are in the news today when three months from now nobody will remember. cubans will remember, and cubans will remember -- when i was a little boy in cuba, all cubans kn that at the end of the war between spain and unitedew states and the cuban patriots

who a thought for 30 years, the united states went to paris, met with spanish diplomats, and between the americans and the spanish committee decided future of cuba in secret without consulting with cubans, without allowing the cuban patriots to be a part of the discussion. and the same thing is happening today. i hope that 50 years from now cuban children will not say that what america did. by the way, what happened in paris has been a true of castro's propaganda for all these years. he gets saying the united it is evil, what they did, they would to paris, they debated, they discussed the future of the island, and no cubans were allowed. now raoul castro is doing the same thing. for a while, some of us were wondering, what is this campaign about lifting the embargo

getting cuba out of the terrorist list, and so exchanging cuban spies for an innocent american hostage? now we do the answer. for about a year, it has been a coalition of a well-finance very respected organization that they all had an agenda. and if you put it on a blackboard, this is not a personal attack, but if you put it on a blackboard, getting cuba out of the terrorist list, getting the embargo lifted, providing more dollars towards travel, all of those issues were part of an agenda that was promoted by "the new york times," by the u.s. chamber of

commerce, by the brookings institution cuban projects, by the council of the americans, by the atlantic council, buty the center of strategic studies. all these ideas -- all these folks at the that something was happening. nobody knew, but they were campaigning were trying to portray what the president was going to do in a favorable light. now they have a policy that they wanted. they should be held responsible for the consequences. i am also sorry to say, that it appears that the president and others do not believe that every american life has the same value. why do i say that?

president has exchanged at least one of the terrorists, one of the spies, who was serving two life sentences for his participation in the killing of three americans and a florida residents in the florida straits in international airspace. it was proven in an american court. he was sentenced. the spy went back to cuba, but those three american and the florida residents will not be coming home. airci'm sorry to say that no one in the admin this patient had a decent the of calling the mothers of these folks who were

killed by cuban migs that were ordered out to murder by then minister of the armed forces, raoul castro. i assumed, i hoped that those are some of the issues that ought to be on the discussion. the president back then, the president came to him, and madeleine albright said those responsible for the murders would he brought to justice. they have not been brought to justice. what castro did was pinned medals on them, and i think it might not be too late for the president to pick up the phone and talk to those folks and explain what it is that the murderer of their sons is now in cuba and that apparently the president's not seem to care about those lives. the cuban people will regain their freedom, but it remains to be seen whether those advocated

this misguided policy will be able to regain their credibility and self respect. thank you very much. [applause] >> now we opened it up to question from the audience's. he asked that you state your name, the organization you are affiliated with. please keep your question in question form and not a state. -- not a statement. great. 'mi'm sorry. thank you. >> what do you think about the argument that the previous he policy did not seem to have a strong enough to effect and obama's stance that he takes change kis necessary -- change

is necessary because the previous policy was not effective? >> let me say that just because one policy does not work, any policy is going to work. just because you are taking medicine that is not, you just do not take any medicine. it is not logical. leon to that, to -- beyond that it remains to -- we can look at the previous policy. the previous policy in conjunction with tech ologies -- technologies, the internet and so forth can have resulted in the development insight de cuba of a substantial opposition. t the president turns his back onhose. they are beaten by police. political prisoners. none of those are in favor -- very few of them are in support

of the president's policy. yes, there might be a reason to make adjustments on the policy, but the way the policy was done is not the way to do it, and secondly, the new policy does not in any way shape or form, helps the cuban people. all the money -- now the cuban government wants american support, i saw yesterday come in the negotiations, for cuban government organizations. the cuban government claims that the federation and other entities are part of civil society and they would like the american taxpayer to subsidize us. so i think you got to take this whole thing with a grain of salt. >> maybe this change in policy is new for the united it's, that

-- united states, but what the united states is not new for cuba. it is just similar to the way that the rest of the government in the world have relations with my government. the new thing would be to support the real demands of the cuban people. the new thing would the to demand transparency in the relations. the new thing would be to coherent in united n ations, to be coherent with the values of this democracy, and to

support the right to decide of the cuban people and support transparency in the investigation of -- to support the liberation of all the political prisoners and democracy, and to support the right to not just talking about the government of the united states. it is because it is talking. i am talking about the rest of the government's in the world especially the european union. thank you. >> very briefly, i agree with what has been said here actually. tried new things periodically in the relationship. administrations previous to president obama actually had direct and indirect contact to talk about normalizing relations and it went nowhere. i know friends and mine who have advocated change in policy were flabbergasted when they heard the announcement, that we got nothing for this. this is dressed up for

university campuses, that this is a realpolitik, this is how sophisticated obama is, getting nothing in return for political recognition of the regime is staggeringly incompetent and if there was some need for looking for more creative ways to help the cuban people, engage the cuban people, then i don't think there would be very many critics but what he's done essentially is emboldened the actor on the island that is the implaqueable foe of change and expecting that you can coax some concessions out of him by total capitulation in