i know while hammerstein, and i know what kind of man he is in the candidate he could be once the people of new hampshire got to know him better. i let them keep talking about that, and i kept coming. as chairman of the rga, i was proud to have our organizations as $3 million in his campaign. he ran a great campaign against the incumbent governor. we ran just a bit short of victory. nothing like the blowout that people in the press were predicting. it was a close race. when i watch what you're governor's up to here now, and presenting their budget, you need walt more now than you did last november. i love these politicians who run one way and the governor another. you're governor is not tying the any of this stuff. i was appear a lot. imagine if she had campaign on what she is now proposing,

higher taxes more ending, more employees in government, and keynotno. keno. always one of the bed rocks of affair and prosperous day. imagine if the governor had actually campaign on the way she of governing. i suspect he would have governor have in stock right now. something to remember, everybody. certain politicians who try to pretend to be something different than what they are never really change. we saw the kind of campaign that she ran into lesson 12, and how she govern for two years. that's why i believe that we ha had a great shot with waltz interview her.

the way she is governing now and what she did in 2012, it should be a cautionary tell for everyone in new hampshire, no matter if you republican, democrat, or dependent. she will use this platform as a way to try to increase her own visibility and run for the next job. let's be careful. we have enough of those types in washington dc already. we do not need you to send any more there. [laughter] new jersey is more than feeling your quota. let's watch very carefully and pay attention to not just what politicians say in campaigns, but what do when they actually have the levers of power. imagine, if we had learned that lesson to thousand 12, after watching what four years of

barack obama did to the united states of america. i know and love and eight, he gay one of the speeches about hope change. and what he would do. he gave wonderful speeches about how we were not red states or blue states, but the united states. how he would be a unifier for our country. he was going to bring a different type of politics to washington dc. in that respect, the president has stuck to his word. washington has never been more divided, less functional or less productive than has been in the last six years under president barack obama. as i traveled the country went to 37 states in the last year, as chairman of the republican governors association, i can tell you that the report you hear around the country that voters are angry is wrong.

they are not angry. well i thought when i traveled across the country as a nation of voters filled with anxiety. worry about our country's future. worry about their children's future. it was personified best buy and 82 young woman who i met in florida. i was b campaigning for reelection of rick scott. she summarize, better than i ever could, what i found the mood of the country to be over the last year. as i was shaking hands with people, i shu shook her hand, and went to move on like they teach you to do and politicians school , and she held onto my hand. she said, governor, i've a question for you. she said, what has happened to our country? we used to control events, now events control us. if you get every aspect of this

government under the current president, she summarize the problem. i system is grossly unfair. encouraging companies to leave our country, yet he does nothing to fix it. a nonexistent national internet policy is not taking advantage of the natural resources that this country has been blessed with two bring greater economic opportunity for citizens and greater stability for the world. he does nothing. nothing to fix that problem. he says, these energy problems, all of the above. that is not an energy policy that is a bumper sticker. around the world into thousand eight, he tried to convince the american people that america is because of violence in the world. if america was just -- what just pull back and give some nice beaches, and tell people that we like them, that violence would

decrease, peace would increase, and stability would come to the globe. i had nothing to do with that, i swear. [laughter] i think you can tell, i was nowhere near the scene. [laughter] kids say, i never did it, by did not do it that time. think about the world today, everybody. i 52 years old. i do not believe that i have ever lived in a time in my life where the world is a more dangerous and scary place. think about it. i was just in great britain two weeks ago. i have not seen security at that high level since immediately

after 9/11. difficult to move. due to the concern for terrorist attacks in london. we saw the murders in france. we watch people concerned about radical islamic terrorist attacks throughout western europe. you moved to the middle east, iraq is on fire. libby is on fire. syria's on fire. egypt is under martial law. jordan is being besieged by its third wave of wartime refugees. israel feels less secure today than it has in decades. turkey. also threatened. you look at the entire region, not only is there not peas nor

stability. running over is a terrorist threat brought by isis and al qaeda. this president has the audacity to tell is that terrorism is on the run. as they are earning jordanian pilots alive, as they are beheading hostages, does terrorism look like it is on the run? we have not even g gotten to eastern europe and russia. what vladimir putin has decided that it is time to get the old dan back together. as he moves into crimea and ukraine. and he looks at the states. and let's remember, it was secretary of state hillary clinton who hit the reset button with russia. remove missiles from eastern europe.

and told us that we were moving to a new era. we sure did. it was this president who jewel of redline in syria, and said if a side use of chemical weapons against his people, america will not stand for it. then, when he did, he said, never mind. and allowed russia to intervene in syria. another moment of failed leadership for this president. see, you listen and said to list some of these things, and i don't know, feel bad for the president. he is like a man wandering around in a dark room, feeling along the walls for the light switch of leadership. let me tell you something, he has not found it for six years that he will not find it in the next two years of the white

house. this has been in after failure of the leadership of his presidency, and it is time for him to go. [applause] one of the saddest things is that so many these problems are solvable. their only solvable through the exertion of strong leadership by the person who is sitting in the oval office. you see, my mother taught me a long time. if you have the choice between being loved and respected pick respect. love with that respect is fleeting. if you have respect first, loave can grow. of course, she was talking to me about women. it applies just as much as it does to politics. it does. you see, the problem around the

world today is that america, america has lost respect in the world. folks used to try to be like us because they respected what we did. they wanted to emulate us. our government works well. our leaders both strongly directly, and understandably. when we made promises, we kept them. when we made threats, we enforce them. when we said we would lead, we did. we let the world. now, not only to our adversaries not fear us, our friends are worried. friends around the world do not know what it means to be america's friend anymore. will america stand up and fight the fight that need to be fought?

i do not just mean militarily. i mean diplomatically, economically. they look our dysfunctional government in washington dc, and let me ask you something, who would want to emulate that right now? i saw the approval rating of congress going into the new congress at 15%. only question in my mind is who are the 50% -- 15%? who are the people who look at that and say, that is a good thing. let's do more that. we are not working together with each other anymore. we are not respecting each other's opinion. we are not getting anything done. that adds to the nation's anxiety as well. when we see that we have problems that need to be solved, we are not solving them, that adds to the anxiety of a people who is concerned about america

standing. i come from new jersey. we are about as blue of a stay as you will find. with 750,000 more th democrats to republicans, we have not elected a republican for the longest streak than anyone in the country. before i was elected, we did not elect a republican the wide in 12 years. this is a everybody. when i ran for governor, they told me there was no chance that i could when against an incumbent democratic governor. and yet, we won. we won by telling the truth and being directly or they told me in a state where a pro-life candidate -- i'm beginning to think it is me.

as a pro-life candidate, i could never be elected. there has not been a pro-life candidate elected in new jersey since roe versus wade. i told people what i thought from my heart. i told them the truth as i saw on that issue. i was not only elected in 2009 but reelected in 2013. you see, what i matters devoted if you get the job done and you tell them what you believe from your heart even if they do not agree with every word of it. let me t tell my fellow republicans in the room, if the standard view hold every candidate to that they must agree with you 100% of the time, let me suggest something. the only person that you agree with 100% of the time is the person you see in the mirror every morning. that's it. no one agrees with everyone 100% of the time.

the fact is that if we hold our candidates to that standard, let me tell you what you will get. buyers. -- fliars. you will get what you want to hear during the campaign, and the government will not look anything like what you heard and campaign. we need to demand the truth. then support them to do the difficult things that need to get done. in new jersey, i inherited a government that, by the first pay. of march -- second pay. rather of 2010, was not going to be able to meet payroll. imagine that.

at that time the second wealthiest state per capita in the nation, and we would not be able to meet payroll for the second pay. in march. that is how in debt we were and how in deficit our budget was. democrats in my legislator wanted to raise taxes again. as they had 115 times in the eight years before i became governor. that was of course to support their 56% increase in spending. i said, no. i vetoed their income tax increase then. i vetoed three more income tax increases after that. we balance the budget each and every year, spending $2.5 billion less of discussion is ending their we did in the system -- in the fiscal year 2008. have 8000 fewer state employees on the payroll that we did when

i became governor in january 2010. but still spending a record amount on educating our children. and prioritizing, making hard choices. that is saying no to the ravenous appetite of democrats and liberals for more taxes and more spending and the government . if we did in new jersey, for god's sake, we can do it in the united states of america to. [applause] how does it happen? and happens only through strong and principled leadership. that's it. strong and principled leadership does not mean a refusal to compromise. our nation as a congressman talked about, is founded on our constitution. our constitution was a product of compromise. our constitution forces us, if

we will govern effectively, the copyright. it is not me you compromise your principles. there is a broad highway of disagreements and agreement and government. we need to find our way through the areas where we can agree to govern and move our nation forward. we have done that in new jersey. without abandoning our principles. i have been told everyone to a while -- everyone's and a while that i am too blunt and to direct, and i like to fight a little bit too much. i had one of your leaders say to me today, we do not want some kindly gensler chris christie. be one of the real chris christie. there is only one chris christie. this is it. there should be some comfort for

you in that. i hope. [applause] you see, because anyone who offers themselves for leadership of the country, should not only offer you their positions for topics, but you cannot anticipate the every issue will be, cross, across a president's desk or a governance death. what you need to know is who is the person, where are they from, what do they believe. only through that can you ultimately determine what kind of leader they will be. before i conclude tonight, let me tell you who i am and why i am the way i am. this direct, blunt sometimes argumentative and fighting person from new jersey. let's start off with the fact that i am the product of an irish father and a sicilian mother.

what that means is i have been trained for a long time in conflict resolution. [laughter] it's not that my mom was argumentative. she would tell you that she was not. she just never found an argument not worth having. [laughter] she ties from a very young age that that is the way you are to conduct yourself. speak in mind. she would speak her mind all the time. ultimately, we would say stop. and she would say, no, i need to get this off my chest. there will be no deathbed confessions and his family, you are hearing it now. that is how our mother taught us to be. i said, i have an irish father who is now 81 years old. getting ready for his 82nd birthday this april. i'he is healthy and happy, if he

were here tonight, he would make his way around the room and hug everybody. my mom passed away about 10 years ago. she fell victim to lung cancer. when my mom initially got sick, it became clear to us that she was declining very quickly. i'm sure a number of you in this audience have gone through the same thing. at the end of april of 2004, she was hospitalized again. i was united states attorney for new jersey. i was off in a conference in san diego. my younger brother called me and said, listen, mom has taken a turn for the worst. if you want to see her again you need to come home now. i took the red home flight home from san diego to new york. i went in the car and went directly to the hospital. i got there in the morning, my mom was there kind of in and

out of things taking painkillers. finally, she woke up and saw me sitting next to the bed. this is typical for my mother. she had not see me in five days. i got no hello. she said, what day is it? i said it is friday. she said what time is it? i said it's 9:00 in the morning. she said, go to work. and i said, mom, i came here to spend the day with you. i'm not going to work. she said, christopher, it is a work day, go to work. and i said mom i will make of the time don't worry about it. i'm going to stay here with you today. she reached over and grabbed my hand. she said, christopher, go to work. it is where you belong. there is nothing left unsaid between us. she knew her life was at the end. she told me there was nothing

left unsaid between us. she was giving me permission to let her go. that was the last conversation i had with her. later that day, she went into a coma and she died three days later. she was right. there would be a deathbed confessions. she was right. what she taught us is that in a trusting relationship, you need to tell the person across from you what you really feel. i know that if she were still alive today, and saw the circus in my life has become, she would say, christopher, these people that you are asking to support you, that is a trusting relationship. don't hide anything from them, tell them what you feel and who you are. that is what you own them. there will be times that i will say some things that make you shake your head. there will be sometimes that i

saved some things that make you think there was a better way to savings. what you will never say is that i do not know who he is, or do not know what he believes, or i do not know what he is willing to fight for and who he is willing to fight to get there. i think that is the essence of leadership, everybody. essence of what you should demand of anyone. to let them know that you know who they really are. and what they really believe in. so, let me be clear about that with you. i believe this country is an extraordinary, extraordinary place. that is the one great hope for peace, liberty, and freedom in the world. i believe that we cannot be and should not be the first

generation that leave this country -- leave this country weaker than it was left with us. i believe that we need to take the risk that will lead to us seizing the great opportunities which are presented to us as a country. i believe the only way that will happen is through our leaders this thing straight and vision. and speaking directly and honestly, not only to our people, but to the rest of the world. we have not had that for the last six years under this president. we need to get back to that, and back to it quickly. i will in with this. frank mentioned president washington. he was truly one of our great founders.

my favorite of our founders was from the state that is your neighbor. john adams was an extraordinary, extraordinary leader for this country. when our country was approaching his 50th birthday, adams was approaching the end of his life in same time, he was concerned that our citizens were losing what it really meant to be an american. the essence of what their responsibilities were. he wrote in his diary for prosperity, for us. adams wrote for us. future citizens of this country that he helped to found. what did he write? adams wrote, "you shall never

know the great sacrifices that were made to secure for you your liberty. i pray you will make good use of it. for if you do not, i shall repent and have an for ever having made the sacrifice at all ago adams, -- adams, in his straightforward blunt way laid the challenge at the feet of every generation of americans that would come after him. he did not want to die without laying the honest challenge before each and every generation that would follow him. think about those words. i pray you shall make good use of it. for if you do not, i shall read that in heaven for ever having made the sacrifice at all. we are confronting today the very real possibility that the 21st century would not be an

american century. we are confronted with challenges at home and around the world that need to be confronted. we know what adams would tell us if he were here today, "get to work." like my mother told me on that bedside. get to work. this country is too great and too filled with promise. if tomorrow can be greater than today and yesterday if we are willing to stand up and fight for what we believe in, and take on the tough challenges that make some uncomfortable, but have always made america great. i am not willingly going to be a member of the generation who leads the country -- leaves the country weaker then when i was born 52 years ago. i do not believe that good

people in the state will willingly be part of that generation either. now it is time for us to decide. are we willing to fight? are we willing to confront the difficult choices? are we willing to lead, not only our citizens, but the world again? i believe we are. we just need to have the type of leadership in our country that inspires us to follow it. we've got time to make this decision. we have no time to waste. i am up to tonight, not only to support really good republicans every level of government is doing great things to make our country a better place, but i'm also here to let you know that we have a lot of work to do. we have a lot of work to do to repair the damage that has been done to our country over the last six years.

i will do my best to work with all of you to be a part of the solution to what ails america. and so, the great news is that is up to us. like no place else in the world, it is up to us. we have, within our grasp, the ability to make the 21st century the second american century. we have within our grasp the opportunity to give our children an even greater place to live and raise their families. we have within our grasp the opportunity to make the world once again a stable and peaceful place. i know there is no way that guy from new jersey is going to go down without swinging on this one. i believe in the live free or

or die state that you understand that too. [applause] >> let's get to work, everybody. let's make this country a better place. let's fight for the things that deserve to be fought for. let stand up for the principles we believe in. let's make the solemn pledge to each other that we will leave america better than it was left to us. if we fulfill that, adams will not repent in heaven for having made the sacrifices he made. he will rejoice at the fabulous country that he helped build and and that we made even greater. inc. you all very much. [applause] -- thank you all very much. [applause] >> all right.

thank you so much, governor. intruder hands or style, we have time for a few questions. if you would like to ask a question, please raise your hand. i will come to you with a microphone. right over there. >> governor, thank you. traditionally and historically, we have seen that elected presidents are able to pass one, maybe two pieces of signature legislation. were we fortunate enough to have you as our next president, what would one or two of those signature pieces of legislation be for you? >> i would say two things and then add a third thing that i think is extraordinarily important but wouldn't depend on legislation.

the first is, we have to change this ridiculous tax system in this country to one that once again encourages entrepreneurship and spurs economic growth better than the anemic 2% of growth we have now. that is what will increase opportunity and lifestyle in this country. it is something we absolutely have to do. within the first 100 days, if i were to run for president and be electric, we would change this tax system so that people and companies aren't leaving the country anymore, but are wanting to stay here and invest in america because they feel they are being treated fairly and given the right type of encouraged to be able to develop and grow. secondly, we would pass a national energy policy. one that takes full advantage of all of the resources that we have available to us to help grow our economy and make the world more peaceful and stable. the fact is, america has great

gifts that we need to take advantage of, not only for our own citizens, but for the world. as i said before, all of the above is not a national energy policy. it is a bumper sticker. we need to get down to the granular level of a national energy policy that gives us the opportunity to exploit the opportunities we have in this country. that would also lead to extraordinary economic growth. and the third thing is -- it would not be -- need any legislation, it would need the care of the president. it would be the intention to reestablish american leadership around the world by first reestablishing our relationships and friendships with our allies and making sure that our adversaries understand that we wish ill on no people in this world, but we will not stand for cure any -- tear any -- tyranny

in the world that threatens our way of life and the way of life of our allies. we need to do both. that is something a president can do without any legislation but through his or her intention, honesty, and time to spend with the leaders around the world. [applause] >> halfway across the room. a question was submitted ahead of time. we are from new hampshire. if we go to the ocean, we say we go to the beach. if we go to get a sandwich, you set you get a sub. you clearly get reelected multiple times in a blue state. we are saying the same thing with beach or sure. how could you translate the same thing you have done in new jersey to the national level. ? >> i don't think there are different brands of honesty in new jersey or oklahoma or california or texas. straightforwardness and honesty is what it is. in new jersey, i told you what a blue state we were. when i got elected in 2009, i

got 48.5% of the vote in the race and won the race. i governed as a conservative for four years. what happens in that blue state? i ran for reelection against a female opponent, a state senator. i got 61% of the vote for reelection. i won by 22 points. i won 51% of the hispanic vote. i won 22% of the african-american vote, up from 9% four years earlier. and 40% of the female vote against the female candidate. honesty and straightforwardness plays no matter what neighborhood you are in a new jersey, or what state you are in in america. that's the way you would do it. [applause] >> another question over here. >> governor, my name is wayne. i'm a political science professor in new england college my college scouted veterans returning from world war ii. recently, i have seen a lot of veterans coming back to school. i think that is encouraging. i'm the son of a 100% disabled veteran.

i've seen what war does when we do not take care of the veterans when they come home. i think we have a crisis in this country that we are ignoring. the veterans returning from war. i like to know what you would think of doing to support them. >> we should be keeping the promise we made them when they when they volunteered their service to our country. the fact is the scandal that is happened at the veterans administration is a national disgrace. the fact that our veterans were being kept away and turned away from the health care that we promised them, both for their physical well-being and their mental well-being, is an unacceptable state in this country. and it not only affects those veterans effects the morale of the active fighting men and women as well. they look at it and say is that my fate? the need to make the veterans administration, not just a

governmental department, but people who understand that the mission every day is a moral promise that we have made to men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country. it is not just another job. it is the fulfillment of a sacred promise that our nation's citizens have given to those who been willing to sacrifice for war. the first way to fix that problem is to reorient the veterans administration as to what their mission really is. it is not just the veterans, it is those who are serving now. second is to bring the tide of management into effect that will bring the type of results. third is to make sure that it is funded so that not only their physical health is dealt with, but their mental health as well. i think those are the ways you deal with those issues on the federal level. >> we have time for one more question.

this young lady up here. she gets last question of the evening. >> thank you. governor christie, i wanted to thank you for your strong support for national education standards and common core in the classroom. i know you have expressed some concerns previously about the obama administration's interference with that. now that you have teachers unions in new jersey and elsewhere, attacking higher standards and also trying to avoid testing to measure those results, is now the time to stand up for higher standards and accountability? >> sure. it absolutely is. let's be sure that we know that but those hired standards should be determined by the people who are educating the children in those particular states. my concern about what the administration has done is the federalization that takes education further and further away from parents. it is not the type of education that i think we want in this country or need.

there's nothing more personal for a mother or father then the education and the future of their children. what we need to be doing is encouraging parents to be even more involved. my concern about what is happening in this debate is that, by federalizing this and taking it further away, you can't do that two things at the same time. you can't federalize this and take it to washington dc the same time saying to the parent that your role is vital and you need to be full participants in it. the two things are exact opposites. we need to have absolute standards. i believe in making sure that we test. we are taking some heat for that in new jersey now. i believe in testing. we need to know if our children are learning and if they are meeting standards that will help them maximize their god-given ability. i am very concerned about the idea that we would federalize this.

the further education moves away from the parents's home, away from the local school, and even the local board of education or education commission, i think it is a problem. we need to empower parents first and foremost, teachers next, and administrators to set high standards and enforce them in a way that meet the community's expectations for their children. and so, i do not think there should be any debate about there being high standards. the question is -- who determines those high standards #should a bureaucrat and washington be deciding that or should local school boards be deciding it where you are as a parent can walk into that local school board meeting and say excuse me, i object question mark or to applaud them for standing strong for something and know that they have accumulated support -- community

support question mark -- community support? that is the essence of the right type of educational system. there are a lot of other problems that we talk about. it is antiquated. we need to modernize it. we need to adjust to different types of children who need different types of things. there cannot be one-size-fits-all for education. the child who is in a single-parent home or a home where both parents work three or four jobs, that child leave the different level of support from school that a child who has more support at home. this is not about making parents at fault. this is about adjusting to the circumstances we have and trying to maximize the god-given ability that is in each of these children, whether they live in a major city or on a farm, within a higher performing suburban school or lower performing school place else in the state. i think high standards are exactly where we need to be.

they need to be high standards of the community determines and is comfortable with it so that they will support it and be a part of the team that makes our children the priority. not the comfort of a baltz but the needs of our children. i will tell you that i think this is the biggest fight that we have for america's continued economic strength. we can no longer continue to be 25th in math and 27th in science in the industrialized world. and consider we will still be the number one economic power in the world. if we do not get focused on this everybody, if we still consider ourselves more concerned about whether everyone is went to like us and everyone is want to feel comfortable and every adult is going to feel good more than we care about whether our children are producing, we are going to wind up falling way, way behind. it is a really important question and a really important area that i care deeply about as a governor. i worked really hard on.

i think we need to encourage everybody from the community level up to focus on this. these children are going to be who will determine the greatness of america. we as parents and supporters in the community need to be focused on it. thanks for the question. i will say, i've done 127 townhall meeting since i have been governor of new jersey. i know i have to get back home. but, this is really like. -- lights. i hope when i come back that we are going to get more questions and more time to have a conversation and back and forth. if any of you haven't seen that, go on the internet and look at some of our more interesting interactions with my constituents back in new jersey. we have a lot of fun. we go back and forth. we discuss important issues. i know you like to do that up here. the more i come back, the less speech you are going to get, and the more time you are going to get to ask me questions and challenge me because that is when i am most comfortable. thanks for tonight and face are being great republicans a member of the state. i appreciate you very very much.

[applause] >> we wanted to present to governor christie a little taste of new hampshire. i wanted to thank howard and robin for putting this basket together. it has got all kinds of goodies. thank you so much for coming. >> thank you. my son patrick who is 14 -- i told them i was going to new hampshire. the last time i was here, i bought maple syrup with walt. the kids loved it. especially patrick. he has a bit of a sweet tooth. i told him the today and my two kids were home. i told patrick and bridget. they were home from school today. they saw me leave to come up. they had two different reactions. patrick said, "are you going to bring home syrup? " he is going to be really

happy. bridget, our final child, the 11-year-old, said where are you going question mark -- i said i'm going to the hamster. she rolled her eyes and said "the president's thing." as with bridget things of all the guys. thank you all very much for the gift. i appreciate it. [applause] [indiscernible]

[no audio]

>> going all the way back a year ago. would you like to need the people actually made it happen? >> that would be great. >> see you. >> happy to be back.

>> thank you. thank you. how you doing? i'm going to repeat last get weepy. >> how are you doing? which one of these characters? they follow me everywhere. >> thank you for your hard work. [indiscernible] >> good to see. good to see you, too.

[indiscernible] >> back again? >> back again. how are you? >> good, how are you. >> this is ryan mccormick. >> thank you for coming out. >> my pleasure. i am happy to be here. >> how are you? really nice to meet you. [indiscernible] >> really nice to meet you. hello again. i'm just in the neighborhood. it is the way it works in this business.

>> very nice to see. >> happy to be back. >> i'm happy to be back. >> how has your trip been so far? >> it has been pretty busy. >> ridgewood transplant, southern new hampshire. >> small world. we have friends that say hello. >> thanks for coming in. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> how are you? >> small world. that's right on the border. thanks for coming in. >> appreciated.

>> of course. >> thank you, sir. good luck to you. >> thank you. appreciate it. >> i was down last weekend. i was down by the river. i see got a go back up the hudson. >> they come back in different iterations. >> governor, could i ask you a quick question? >> keep an eye on me.

>> i will. somebody has to. >> the internet can stand on its own. the federal government shouldn't be preventing the state-by-state decisions. the federal government should stop telling states what they can and cannot do. [indiscernible]

that is up to them. >> i know you have patched up relations with mitt romney. >> patched up? >> do you think he would make a good president? >> i disagree with the premise of the question. my relationship with mitt romney has always been great and it continues to be great. the person who gets nominated to run can be speculated about. i'm not even running it. [indiscernible]

>> don't worry about it. >> that is what he told me. >> you get what you get, giuliana. [indiscernible] you get what you get. >> where you sitting? [indiscernible] >> "the washington post" reports that chris christie is rapidly losing the support of prominent home state powerbrokers who are hesitant to back him or shifted to a former florida governor jeb bush. they have confronted chris by holding a fundraiser on his home turf. they've been wooed by a high

college rate of christie backers , including those who attended a high-profile dinner in january. read more at washington post.com. governor christie will be joining his colleagues in the national governor association winter meeting. utah's gary herbert will be there. we will hear from danny meyer, chief executive officer of union square hospitality. that is the opening meeting at 11:00 eastern on saturday. on saturday at 3:00, a live discussion among the governor's on where the economy is heading. fox business network of moderate that. that is all coming up live tomorrow on c-span. coming up live shortly, white house press secretary is due to brief reporters today. we will have that life for you as we mentioned. in the meantime, part of this morning's washington journal. >> it was earlier this month that c-span bus started a tour of historically black colleges and universities.

our first stop was howard university here in washington dc. went to hampton university, followed by fisk morehouse spellman, florida a&m, and today we conclude artwork with not only a visit, but speaking with the president of the campus. we are in new orleans where the c-span bus finds itself today. on board the bus and taking a look at historically black colleges and university, is the provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at xavier university. dr. fletcher, thanks for joining us. >> can we start with your job as provost. if i understand it correctly what is your job specifically for an academic pursuit at david -- xavier university? >> i am provost and senior vice president of acumen of affairs.

the provost title was given for greater support for being a key advisor on not only academic goals and issues, but operational issues. in addition to that, it provides me the opportunity to serve as the primary coordinator of the work of all the vice presidents here on the campus to make sure that we are laser focused on the goals that we have established here and what we need to achieve strategically. in addition to that, it provides the opportunity to get some additional support to dr. francis. i go out and spread out the word of great achievements happening on this campus, but also to lobby for dollars. there are some critical needs that we have on campus as well. >> some of the things from your website tells us that it was back in 2013 where you consolidated some of the programs in the colleges of arts and sciences in an effort to move people into your pharmaceutical school at a faster pace. is that a part of your job

trying to make academics more efficient on campus? >> that certainly is. that certainly is part of my job. the reality is that one of the things that we have really been working hard to promote here at xavier is a greater sense of interdisciplinary across the different curricular areas. that often times you will find on a college campus and certainly that plans to be the case here at xavier. we are really disciplined here to operating. what we have found is that more and more now, students are looking for opportunities to graduate with multiple types of skill sets. that really transcends one specific didn't -- discipline but will run the cost disciplines. -- across disciplines. one of the reasons why we did move to a division little was to increase an opportunity for faculty to collaborate and to be thinking about innovative programming in such a way that

students will be able to benefit more greatly in terms of options that they would have for their curricular experiences. in addition to that, one of the main reasons that we did this was for leadership purposes. having 19 academic departments operating under one college with the expectation that one dean would be able to give the kind of resources and he kind of help and guidance to those 19 departments became a little unwieldy. the thinking was that to consolidate some of those departments into divisions -- six to be exact -- where now we have another opportunity for the dean to work very closely with those six chairpersons of those respective divisions. they give them the help that they need to move those divisions for. that is one of the reasons that we did it. it wasn't for cost efficiency purposes. obviously, trying to find a model that has 19 departments

now looking at six divisions, has been really healthy financially healthier for xavier. as a result of that, we have been able to really take those dollars and placed the additional dollars that we would have placed into those models and to student success efforts and more importantly to help families to shore up their finances with students who are interested in enrolling at xavier. >> your student enrollment is about 3000 and what is your role of recruiting students and making sure they graduate within 4-6 years? class that is really been the focal part of my work. i've been here for xavier in the past six years. the reality is that student success is really the number one strategic goal of our campus. i'm sure that you have heard the same thing if you have visited the other hbcus. not only in terms of looking at

the number of students who am role xavier, but more importantly, the persistence piece printed --. that is what we have focused here on xavier, providing the kind of support that students need in order to be successful. academic support as well social support. in addition to that, making sure that there are mentoring opportunities. there is a striking difference between being an advisor and also being a mentor. with that, we really have been working with our faculty in providing the kind of development where they have to understand that they have to play dual roles. they have to be advisors as well as mentors to students. that is really shoring up our undergraduate research, providing opportunities for everyone of our students to the link to a faculty member that is

heavily engaged in some form of research. we know clearly that student engagement and research is one of the primary factors for assistance as well student engagement and service opportunities. and so, once a student really gets connected and really understands that all these kinds of experiences tie-in to the next step, and that is, even moving into a career or moving into a graduate professional school, that that really is the beauty of what xavier has been able to accomplish over the years. in terms of student's really connecting those thoughts and understand the valley of the overall educational experience and moving that into strong professional careers. >> professor at xavier university. if you questions for him call

the eastern and central time zone's line. call this number for the mountain pacific time zone. if you attended and hbcus 202-748-2002. dr. blanchard, college educations where you're at. we as someone on twitter who asked if you have a declined pattern and freshman academic readiness due to inefficient u.s. high school curriculum? >> we spend quite a bit of time in our enrollment management work. we look at high schools. we are obviously looking at the feeder schools, the main feeder schools for xavier, not only here in the state but here in the country. it gives us a better understanding of why it is that students select xavier and why they are not. what we are finding is the

category of why they are not. primarily, it has hands on affordability issues. as you well know, atc use -- hbcus were hit very hard, not only by the recent economic recession, but also with the parent plus loan debacle that we will probably discuss more later. what it really ended up doing was creating difficulty for family as well as higher economic class families to be able to afford a college education, mckinley at a private university. with that, one of the things that we have had to do is to really build our base and build stronger our base the scholarship support and really work with corporations and foundations, to help them understand while typically scholarship support is not one of the areas that they would

want to invest in higher education, and became vital for xavier and all the other hbcus to really get those agencies and foundations to help get that level of support in order to keep families hold and more importantly to get students into xavier and to allow them to persist and to graduate. affordability has really been the major challenge as we have been working with our main feeder schools in studying those high schools very carefully. one of the other issues that we face has been under preparation of students, particularly in the math & science disciplines. with that, we have been concentrating hard on two things. one, you may or not know xavier's summer programs. these programs or pipeline programs begin as early as eighth grade. students spend summers with us

from eighth grade all the way up until the time in which they enter the university to our summer science academy which provides them the opportunity to not only help them to shore up, if you will, those math and science skills, but also, it allows us to build a greater sense of scientific literacy numerical literacy, as well as critical thinking and problem solving that we know it really is inherent to being able to be successful in a stem disciplines. >> i just wanted to give folks a chance for the numbers were more time. lori blanchard of xavier university is our guest. dr. blanchard, i want to get some calls for you. roy from jacksonville, florida.

you are up first with our guest. no ahead. caller: thank you for all the hbcus. it was a credit specifically to my family. i once again would like to make mention of a can of mine who attended to the university. his name was henry palmer. he resided in the city of chicago. he spoke system is thickly -- specifically of one of the priest who helped him -- a catholic priest of the name of father bicochy. and helping him attend the university in the area science and history to stick bass and his specific way that he taught, once again, i thought to make

mention of your university as a contribution to my family. host: thank you collar. dr. blanchard. guest: the reality is that while we are a liberal arts university, savior is really -- xavier -- our claim to fame has been our clinical work that we have made over three or four decades now in preparing students for stem disciplines and stem careers. xavier has a unique honor of standing as the number one institution in the united states and the number of african-american students in particular that we prepare to go on to medical school. we also have the unique distinction of being number one in the nation and prepare the

largest number of african-american students who complete medical school. we are also number three in the nation right behind howard and spellman and the number of african-americans who go on to pursue a complete phd's in stem disciplines. we also produce the highest number of pharmacists throughout the country. with that, there is a strong focus obviously on stem. there's also a strong focus on the kind of curricular experiences, research expenses service experiences that we give to our students and stand proud of. we understand that it really helps to create a ring -- a unique brand here at xavier. it is really kind of odd if you think about it -- we are at 3000 students now. we have never been higher than 4000 students since the start of this fine university. how unique it is that with only 3000 students and all the other

colleges and universities that united states that we have the sanction of being number one in the placement of students into medical professions. i do not say that -- i say that as a point of pride, but i also say that to really give, i think, and underscoring of how much work still needs to be done as it relates to minorities and prepared for stem disciplines. host: from middleburg, new york. jeff is up next. go ahead. caller: i've a question and regards the use of the term historically black colleges. you not use the term historically white colleges. you'd be accused of this termination. my question is -- what is the colleges outreach toward other races and is it not racist in 2015 to call a university historically black? and also, since we are trying to achieve the goal of not having

anything related to race, what is the outreach with the term european americans or asian-americans or white or black? why isn't the college focused on getting the best in population and helping people who are economically disadvantaged who might be from other races? guest: good question. let me start by saying that xavier's enrollment practices certainly are not discriminatory in any way. if you were to look at xavier about 10 years ago, you would have noticed that our student demographic were about 90% african-american students and about 5% asian students and 3% caucasian american and the remaining percentage others. today, that has changed substantially. although, we are coy and recognized and we are proud of the fact that we are a

historically black university. reality is we are only 70% black in terms of our student demographics. the next highest amount of students that we have here at xavier are vietnamese americans. that is followed closely by caucasian americans. and so, i know that in many instances when you hear the term historically black, it may connote that it is a distinct university and that our recruitment practices are silly targeted or solely focused on african-american students. that is not the case. we are open to every student. we are product about the fact that aren't democrat -- we are proud about the fact that our demographics are shifting the way they are. and to counter the thinking because this term has long been used, that doesn't mean in any way that contemporary practices

are not used in order to ensure that we are preparing students for the professional workforce. and so, sometimes people get off down with that term historical, meaning old, ancient. the reality is that is the very opposite, not only here at xavier, but certainly at it -- other historical black colleges that you focus here on c-span. host: tyrone is in baton rouge, louisiana. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. this may be apples and oranges. first, i want to congratulate you on the academic excellent. especially the young black students who from a grade on a are trying to get them to critically think what is most important. i want to ask you something about historically black colleges in general. in regards to athletics, this has to do with generating funds.

there an anonymous amount of money at these big colleges like lsu who i'm sure you are familiar with. there's alabama that recruits black kids and they go to these camps. when they are young peewee, they have recruits and seventh grade. i do not see the same emphasis on them recruiting academically potentially gifted kids like yourself. i just want to try to ask your opinion. even though it may not be your department, can you just expand on how much money that generates to those colleges? they do not want the kids at one time. guest: the reality is that we know that he had xavier and certainly --

>> good afternoon, everybody. thank you for making it to the white house today. i do not have anything at the top. >> thanks, josh. of course i want to ask about the 800,000 americans who are not able to fill their taxes on time. what went wrong and what is the administration doing to fix this? >> i want to dispute one fact in your question. this should be no impact on how people can fill the taxes on time. we anticipate that they will be able to send these updated forms in the next couple weeks. people can file an advance of april 2014. it is important for us to take a step back here and recognize what we are talking about. we are talking about the fact that -- first of all, 75% of people who file their taxes will check a box in the tax forms indicating that they have health insurance whether that help

insurance is provided through their employer, medicare, or others. the form that you are talking about only has an impact on those who are likely to qualify for tax credit to make their health insurance more affordable that they purchased their marketplace. it is also true that the vast majority of people who file and received the form actually got the correct version of it. we are talking about a very small fraction of people who are affected. >> 800,000 people is not a very small amount. quest it is a small percentage of overall taxpayers. less than 1% of all people who file taxes. these of these individuals are people who are eligible for tax credits or likely to be eligible for tax credits from the government. the question that has to be resolved is how substantial of a tax credit are they going to receive from the federal government to make their health insurance more affordable? that is the question that hhs and the treasury department are working to resolve.

we do anticipate that they will be able to resolve this with them next couple of weeks in terms of sending out the updated form to the small percentage of people who got the wrong one. >> in terms of what went wrong and what you have done to prevent this from happening again, what he done? quest i encourage you to direct your questions over there and the operational steps to make sure it's something like this doesn't happen again. >> laying out details about this operation through the council that is going to be getting underway in a couple of months. it is a very specific operational detail about how many iraqi brigades in terms of forces. i'm wondering why detailed as an advance? does that not give your playbook to the islamic state and make them -- it easier for them to prayer -- prepare themselves to defend from the attacks? >> i think i may have seen some of the same news reports as you on this.

discussion is something that is done by the department of defense. i'm not in position to confirm the accuracy of those details. what you do know are a couple of things. the first is the department of defense is working closely with iraqi security forces to train and equip them and build up the capacity to take the fine on the ground on their country. they will take it to the isis militants who have encroached on their territory. this will be an effort that will be led by iraqi security forces. the second thing is that this is not offensive that will not begin until iraqi security forces are ready. this is something that would be iraqi lead and will be carried out by iraqi security forces. they will come of course, be backed up by the coalition airstrikes that have been proven quite effective on the battlefield against isis and we would anticipate that this with this training and the strong support of coalition military

power that the battlefield performance of the iraqi security forces will be enhanced. that is a good thing. for the details about when this might commence, i would refer you to the department of defense. as it relates to reports that we saw overnight about what that offensive may look like, i cannot confirm the accuracy of that. i would refer you to the department of defense to again maybe in a position to offer you more details. >> i'm not asking you to confirm the accuracy of those reports. but is there a concern among the national security council the pentagon is handing out the playbook for what the weapons and operations will look like and what make it less effective? >> the point that i'm making here is i cannot confirm that. >> during that month operation to send in u.s. ground troops specifically in airstrikes?]\ >> the president has not made

that decision. i'm not a position to confirm whether that request is what made the military commanders. that will go before congress. at that point, i will tell you. what he said was that this was an option that he would consider recommended to the president. as of last fall, he amount made a decision to recommend to the president. that was something that american military personnel should be in the position of doing. so, i do not have anything new to report to this. what is true about the strategy that we have pursued here is that we believe that it is in the best interest of national security for the iraqi people and the nation military forces to fight for their own country. we tried a different way. we tried it in the previous administration with -- by deploying more than 100,000 u.s. military personnel to go on the ground and engage in sustained offensive combat operations in iraq. what we found is that the

security situation improved dramatically as a result of the courage and effectiveness of american military personnel. what we found is that solution was not in doing. he did not do her. -- it did not into her. there is not a buy-in from the iraqi people. our strategy this time is different with wanting iraqi people to fight for their own country. we will pursue this strategy because he believes it is in the national security of united states, but also for the iraqi people in a security situation and that it will be better off under the strategy as well. >> since it is friday, former new york mayor rudy giuliani attempt to clean up some comments about the president not fully supporting america. could there possibly have been racist remarks as it -- obama

had a white mother and grew up with white people? any reaction from the white house? >> i do not have any response for giuliani's comments. let me indulge her little bit. even though this is not a direct response to his comments -- many of you have been the room when the president has delivered speeches about his love for his country or how the united states is a force for good in the world. in fact, it is the greatest force in the world that we have ever seen. we continue those examples and many of you have been the room when he has delivered remarks like that, both in this country and around the world. unfortunately, i can tell you that it is sad to see one somebody who has attained a certain level of public stature and admiration tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly. the truth is -- i do not take any joy or vindication or satisfaction from that.

i think really the only thing that i feel is to feel sorry for rudy giuliani today. roberta. >> a couple of days ago you said that the administration would make news on whether to make this decision. >> when i can tell you is that the department of justice has made a decision. i will anticipate that they will file documents at the district court level on monday at the latest. when they are filed those documents, they and we will be in the position to talk a little bit more about our legal strategy. that is separate and apart from our intent to pursue an appeal and that something that may be amounts in the immediate aftermath of that decision. we will see that appeal because we believe that when you evaluate the legal merits of the argument, that there is a solid

legal foundation for the president to take the steps that you announced late last year to reform our broken immigration system. is consistent with previous presidents over the course of next -- several decades who have used that authority. that is why we are going to continue to pursue this case in the legal system. >> by filing a stay, what does that mean for people who are considering filing their paperwork? >> of the part of homeland security has also put out a statement earlier this week indicating that they are not prepared to accept applications for the program that the president announced at the end of last year. once we have taken additional steps to this legal process, we may be in position to give you an update about the status of incrementing the program. some of this will depend on the way the question of the state is resolved. >> just one more thing briefly. here, a republican lawmaker has urged the administration to give fighter jets and weapons to

fight i sold. she also wants to see weapons provided to jordan and tools and training for the cash murder. i'm wondering whether the white house is going to do those demands and whether there is any explanation about the fighter jets. >> roberta, as you know, let me just start by saying that i've not seen the remarks from congressman granger and i'm just hearing them from you for the first time. my initial reaction is that you may countries that have a robust security relationship with the united states. it is a security relationship that has been enhanced under president obama. that is true for each of who has a counterterrorism relationship. we're still working through some of the differences that we have of that government. but there is an important counterterrorism relationship between united states and israel and we continue to believe that the interests of the united

states are well served by continuing to have a strong counterterrorism relationship with them. i think something similar could be said about jordan. so certainly we welcome our interest in this issue. the administration has been focused for quite some time on making sure that we are working to maintain strong security relationship with our allies and partners. jim. >> i'm just getting back to mayor giuliani. does the president have a reaction to those comments? >> not that i'm aware of. quite and on the president's speeches this week on countering the violent terrorism specifically the one yesterday he talked about some of the underlying issues that lead to extremism in the muslim-arab world. he talked about economic opportunity, human rights, democratic rights. but it seems that any of the countries that he would be referring to our members of his own coalition.

is the president going to be making that case to qatar when he comes to the white house next week? >> i do not want to give a preview of those discussions. it was no coincidence that the president was talking about human rights and urging those world leaders to become present of universal human values and to do their part in protecting them. we do have important relationships with those countries. they are valuable to enhancing u.s. national security around the world. and yes, the president believes that it would clearly be a nature so those countries and those leaders and our national security if any of those countries did a better job of protecting the basic universal human rights of their citizens. there are circumstances where we know that the government around the world have failed to protect this human rights. that only makes the recruiting

around for some terrorist more for tile. -- fertile. this is what the present is talking about in his remarks. no, it is not a coincidence that a roomful of our allies, some of whom do not live up to the kinds of standards that we wish they would when it comes to human >> these countries are breeding grounds for terrorists. >> that is not what i said. that is not what the president would say. >> that is in fact the potential. talking to these countries, and they have these issues. >> again, i would encourage you to check the president statements. >> the president rolling out a continued resolution to get the department of homeland security up. >> the president believes congress particularly republicans in congress, should fulfill their responsibility to ensure that the department of

homeland security does not shut down at the end of this month. we are basically one week away from the funding running out. it is running out because republicans insisted on not fun to get for one full year at the end of last year. it is on the brink of running out because republicans have failed to take the steps necessary at the beginning of this year to ensure that the operations of that department are properly funded. we certainly hope that they will. there are all kinds of proposals floating out there i'm not in a position to react specifically but i will say that the general matter is the possibility of republicans in congress to do the job. >> to find something to keep things going, workout specifics, or -- >> again, i've not seen any specific proposals like that. let me also say, congress will be returning from one week of recess.

on monday, members of congress, many of them will board airplanes to return to washington dc. as they do so, they will go through security like other americans. i hope they will take a minute and look in the iv tsa officers, representing our american country defending the safety of the public, and i hope that they will think about them as they come back to washington and consider what they will do to fund that department of homeland security. if they don't, those people who process their luggage, they will continue to do their job but they will not get paid on time unless members of congress step up to do their job. we are hopeful that when republicans confront that reality, they will do the right thing. john. >> on the three-day summit on

combating violent terrorism, why was not invited? >> his birth. attorney general eric holder attended. the second thing is we also have local law enforcement officials across the country who can talk about their own experience in working with community leaders to counter violent terrorism and their communities. the third is we wanted to make sure that there wasn't -- that there was not a perception that this conference was overly focused on law enforcement. certainly, law enforcement is an important role to play, that's why we had top law-enforcement officials in attendance and police to use attendance but the point is the broader tools available across the country to protect one or people who could be susceptible to

violent extremism ideology that is shared on social media. >> in terms of countering violent extremism -- we want to combat it too -- in terms of violent extremism, is that the fbi director on the frontline of that. you are having a summit, three-day meeting, on combating violent extremism, but you did not invite the director of the fbi. >> that's right. we invited his boss. quite a few invited the attorney, but not the fbi director. you had the head of the russian security service there. >> openly he was listening carefully when the president was talking about the importance of governments protecting human

rights. quite the successor of the kgb. you had them are not the fbi. >> to be clear, about the official from russia who attended. they made the decision as to who would attend. it's not like an invitation was sent specifically to this official. this is the official that the russian government chose to represent them at the summit. >> was there any hesitation having this official there given that he is on the european sanctions list? >> not aware. >> and not using islamic terrorism as a term, or islamic extremists. >> we have gone back and forth on that. >> you do not deny that in terms

of the current threat, the groups that we are battling now the primary thread are islamic extremists. that is not something you disagree with, is a? >> john, there is no doubt. i said this, you can go back and look at the comments on the last time we went around on this on wednesday. i think i was clear about this. there is i very real threat there's emanating from some of the darkest corners of the muslim community around the world that threatens americans. that is a threat that we are very cognizant of. in terms of countering violent extremism, of course it is a threat. >> on rudy giuliani, you said, correctly, but you feel sorry for him.

you think rudy giuliani has lost it? >> i do not know. someone who has attained a certain level of public stature and even admiration in some cases, to see that person so thoroughly tarnished their legacy, it is sad. there is no element of schadenfreude that people are feeling around here. i think what people are feeling is sorry for rudy giuliani. >> again, on the specific allegation, however you want to categorize it. he says he does not think the president loves america. >> again, there are a number of examples. john, you traveled around the world with the president. you know firsthand that there are number situations where the president has doubled that. the most high-profile example i that i can think of is at the state of the union when the president said god bless, america. >> what makes rudy giuliani

say something like that? >> i don't know. >> do you think the president has any regrets about saying president bush was on the adriatic for adding $4 trillion to the debt. >> i don't know sorrow is the word that i would use. correct but you feel sorry for rudy giuliani. >> yes, i do. >> but as a candidate, president obama said that president obama was unpatriotic. >> i have not seen the comments. i don't know if you have it there. >> he said that adding $4 trillion to the debt was quote unpatriotic. rudy giuliani document issue. but questioning the patriotism of a president -- >> i think what the president was doing was questioning his wisdom. >> he said it was unpatriotic.

collectively he was and not a person. there's a lot to say about the state of the union and the level of our discourse. there is no doubt that we will have significant disagreement across the aisle. that is ultimately why democracy is all about, we go in and debate issues. the president during the state of the union said it we should have a debate worthy of united congress and worthy of the country. there are significant challenges facing this country. resorting to a politics in which we question each other's basic decency is not consistent with the reason that a lot of people got into public service. >> on the summit, i went to go back to what john was saying. you made clear it the fbi director's boss was there agriculture was there, but you

also said that it was not focused directly on law enforcement. were you tiptoeing around not offending muslims. ? >> uncertainly sure that is not how anyone here would characterize it. it was an opportunity to have a frank discussion about the steps that country can take to protect its country and protect people from being inspired by this radical ideology that is being propagated by social media. i think the goal of the summit was to not fits over on these issues, but confront them head on. that's when we have leaders of law enforcement. we had leaders of the muslim community who participate in the summit. it was an opportunity for seven frank discussion of these issues that certainly, as john pointed out, there is concern about the way that some of this ideology has infiltrated some muslim communities. there is an extremist threat

that inhabits other beauties in this country. we are mindful of those threats as well. all of them were discussed at the summit. >> about confronting it head on. a former b i dir cia director was on cnn said something related. >> i do not think the base feel full. >> i thought that you never fullr narrative was the health care. that was doing better, who will be held accountable for the big mistake? >> we are talking about a form that were actually determine the size of the tax credit that an individual will receive from the federal government that will make their health care more affordable. we are talking about less the 1% of taxpayers being affected. we are talking about government

agencies between ages as an cms -- hhs and cms making sure this gets fixed and is done right. people will be able to pay their taxes on time. alexis. >> when the president selected hillary clinton to be secretary of state, that white house and representatives of the clintons took some time talking about ground rules about what the foundation might be doing what the clinton global initiative might be doing. my question is in relation to some of the reporting about conflicts between secretary of state that can be used in the ministration, and the fundraising for the family foundation, does the president think there are any legitimate questions that need to be answered about problems that he went to eliminate at the beginning? >> this is a question that i've

not given a lot of thought. i think i would refer to the state department on questions like this that have arisen. i'm not aware of any. as you pointed out, there was an effort leon on to make sure that the former presidents large international profile was clarified and distinct from the official u.s. government activities. there are situations in which former president clinton did play an important role in representing the u.s. government. there was the effort that he led to build support for rebuilding haiti after they suffered that terrible a earthquake. obviously, he took a high profile trip to north korea to recover u.s. citizen that had been detained there. obviously, it is important to keep all those things distinct. as a it relates to any these questions, i'm not aware of any that have been raised.

christ what joss was axing the earlier. them only one who is confused about this, are you saying that the final day of the summit, that the president was not aware that there was a background briefing happening outlyingining and operation, you are indicating that the president was not aware of that? >> i'm not sure that was the focal point of josh's question. was the president aware of the background briefing being conducted by some military officials? i do not know. you are talking about operation that i'm unable to confirm. if you are asking about whether or not the president is aware that the united states military engage in an effort to strengthen and fortify the iraqis security forces, backed them up with military power so that they can start rethinking chunks of their country, the

president is not just aware that mission, he ordered it. >> why can't you come out on detail, but yet you can, on the strategy? you are asking questions -- >> the department of the difference is responsible for the details of the mission. that is why i'm directing questions to the department of the defense on this mission. you were just asking about the president being aware of it. i do not know that i was necessarily aware that central command, not the department of defense, was conducting a briefing, but again, there are any number briefings that take place across the central government on a daily basis and i do not sign off on all them. why are you shake your head? if i didn't sign off on these background briefings i would be accused of micromanaging the department of defense, and i would certainly not want to be accused of that.

ok. cheryl. >> the president met with senator reid this week. did they discuss a task forward or have you had conversations with the hill, what do you expect to happen next week? >> cheryl, i think the ball is in the court as the majority is in the house and senate to make a decision about whether or not they will fulfill their responsibility to ensure that the department of homeland security is properly funded. if they do not take action, by the end of next week, they will be in a position where they are deer personnel there are showing up on the daily aces to protect our airports and borders protect the from these guys, so to speak. they will be doing so without a paycheck on time. the president does not believe that is fair or in the best interests of our homeland security. we are concerned about the impact of this disruption in funding.

we are hopeful that republicans will do the right and responsible thing. and ensure that the agency is funded. >> are you expecting a shutdown? >> prognostic kate and is not something i'm able to do, at least in public. mark. you have a birthday coming up i see. happy early birthday. i will withhold the details in terms of your age. >> the forms that went out him earnestly, -- forms that went out erroneously, i understand it is a small fraction, but you still have people who have to wait to file the return. many of us will be will to do that before april 15, but many of them are owed refunds. this is money that the government will be hanging on to , and they will not be able to file on the return. still euros the people an apology? -- don't you oh some people an

apology? >> the irs and cms is working diligently to adjust this problem. you are right to point out that the individuals affected have received or are receiving, as tax credit from the government. in order to make the health insurance more affordable. this is why they are working to address this problem. like i said, we do into the great than the next few weeks we have is cleared up. >> no apology is necessary to the fact that the government will be hanging onto their money for weeks? >> i guess, mark, what we are trying to do here is solved this problem. certainly the american people should hold the government to a high standard. they should count on these kinds of operations being and lamented and effectively. when they're not, they should expect government officials to step forward and solve them as quickly as possible. that is exactly what they are

trying to do. >> so those who have already filed will need a subsequent form? is this -- >> in terms of the mechanics whether or not refiling is necessary, i would refer you to the irs. i'm not sure that is true. it certainly is something we want to make sure it is not happen again. john. >> i want as you about the president's remarks. earlier, the president spoke. i see it as an opportunity to cheerlead the democrats, but this meeting comes, i guess you could say on the heels, of a very bad midterm election. why was there no recognition of that in the president's remarks? >> i guess, john, the president spoke very directly in his remarks for the need for the country to look forward. that is what he is focused on.

the future of the country. the president wanted to talk about what the values the party should stand for. the no nominal lead of this is the highest elected leader of the democratic party. that is what he was there to do. as a leader, layout the goals for his party. >> in some way he was looking backwards. he said, the american people stand undecided on both of these issues. if that is a safe the case, why did they do so poorly in the elections? if they stand on the side of the democratic party. >> you are welcome to continue analyzing that, but i think i am done. frankly, they were focused on politics, there's been a

lifetime document the economy. frankly, when it comes to national security, the president does not believe necessarily that that is the top of the list when talking about politics. that is for sure. let me move around a bit. by room. >> inks, josh. -- thanks, josh. it is the white house aware of or signed off on -- >> i believe you're talking about the latest report from the intercept, i believe that publication is called. i do not have any specific information about that. i would refer you to the nsa. i believe that the documents however, that were the basis of the report were from the u.k.. >> a u.s. agency and joint operation. >> again, i'm not in a position

to confirm or discuss the details of those documents. i would refer you to the u.k. government for that. >> is that legal authority that the white house claims, the ability to hack a private company? is there a legal theory under that? >> for the legal basis for some of these kinds of questions, i would refer you to either the dni or the nsa. >> the white house is the document making public private partnerships with tech companies for cyber security reasons. can they u.s. tech industry trust that government? >> we are aware how important it is that he would government to work with private industry. there are a lot of situations where our interest are very cleanly aligned. there are certainly steps of the u.s. government has taken in the name of national security that some members of private industry have not agreed with.

i do think that there is, ground when it comes to the principle that i cited before. it is hard for me to imagine that there are a lot of technology executives out there and it is insufficient to say that they hope people will be able to use the technology. i do think that there opportunities for the target sector and the federal government to coordinate and cooperate on these efforts. look to keep the country safe, but also to protect our civil liberties. we are trying not technology companies, and technology executives that have a lot of expertise in this area. we can benefit from their insight and perspective as we confront what i think everybody knowledge is are some pretty thorny public policy issues. by working together, we are confident that we can reach some common ground that reflects the necessary balance of protecting civil liberties, but also protecting national security of

the united states. chris. >> a couple of things -- well the second part of the obamacare announcement today has to do with uninsured americans, people who did not realize that they would have to pay a penalty for not signing up for obamacare. is the white house concern that this problem with the taxes will reinstate the perception in some quarters that parts of obamacare are broken and will make uninsured people less likely to sign up? >> no. i think this is the opportunity to talk well millions of people across the country who can go to the marketplace, shop for health care, and action get tax credit from the government to make that more affordable. >> like could you understand people say, if i signed up for obamacare, i will not get my tax reform, why cannot file yet does it for pitching this idea

that there are problems with obamacare? >> no. i get is again, a good reminder that people benefit from this law. he can still go to the marketplace. that is why the irs and the treasury, and ages hhs have coordinated what is a pretty novel solution to this. they have set up a special. period for people who were previously unaware that they had to sign up. there will be a limited six-week window in which individuals can ensure that they can limit the penalty that they have to pay and make sure that that money is going to this purpose, which is protecting themselves and members of the family, with health insurance. quite how do you respond to republicans who say this is another example of how this is not well thought out.

it is a constantly moving target, constantly moving the rules of the game. >> i think i would refer to the seniors across the country who saved billions of dollars on their prescription drugs because of the affordable care act. i would refer them to the fact that since the formal care act went into effect, medical costs have grown at the slowest rate in history. i would note that the uninsured rate in the united states has gone down faster than it has since the 1970's. i would just point out also that hospitals have estimated $5.7 billion in lower uncompensated costs. that is good for a deficit, and certainly good for the hospitals . it is also good for every american in the country that has insurance because it will have an impact on the premium. there are substantial benefits associate with the affordable care act. i recognize it is awkward for some republicans who voted against the law that has resulted in such significant

benefit the country, it is probably difficult for them to explain. i imagine that they are looking for an opportunity to wiggle out of that. that will become more and more difficult as time was on. >> if i could read one sentence from the president's remarks today, taking them out of context. he said, making a nation that he loves more perfect. was that written in after in response to rudy giuliani go >> it was not. as i mentioned, the president mention something very similar at the state of the union. the president often mentions his love for this country. lori. nice to see you. >> what is the reaction demonstrations of the latest seven and venezuela? president nicolas maduro iqs the u.s. government of trying to ever though his government last

wednesday. >> these allegations that we've seen from the majuro government -- from the maduro government, like all other allegations, are ludicrous. the venezuela government needs to deal with the grave situation that it is facing. the u.s. is not promoting unrest in venezuela, nor are we trying to undermine the venezuelan economy our government. and i in fact, the u.s. remains the venezuela's largest trading partner. patients -- they should focus on trying to find real solutions through democratic dialogue among the people of venezuela. the venezuelan government should respect the human rights of its citizens and stop trying to intimidate its political opponents, and we continue to call on the venezuelan government to release political prisoners, including dozens of

students, opposition leaders. >> the government has taken action t against individuals are you considering other actions, seeking action from other countries, like brazil? >> i can tell you that the treasury department and the state department are closely monitoring this situation. they are considering tools that may be available to better steer the venezuelan government in the direction that they think they should be headed. that obviously means that we are continuing to engage other countries in the region. and we are trying operating in a coordinated fashion as we deal with the situation there. ultimately, it will be the responsibility of the government of venezuela to stop blaming other countries, including the united states, for the problems.

as one must question. i understand that the justice department will file by monday. is that is denied, what would be the next step for the ministers and? how desperate would you be? >> i do not want to assume that the rejection of a legal to moni and document that has not yet been filed. i'm sure we will have board time to talk with us next week. the thing you should remember, and terms of this day, it will be filed at the latest on monday. the u.s. government will be reviewing the decision. that is because we continue to believe that there is a solid legal foundation for the steps that the president has taken to bring some accountability to our broken immigration system. another couple points.