front of a large group of so many americans. men and women who represent the bulwark of the leadership of the conservative movement in the united states of america. i appreciate that kind of introduction but the introduction i prefer is a little bit sure old -- shorter. a christian, a conservative, and a republican. in that order. [applause] there's an old saying when you see a box turtle on a fence post. you know one thing for sure. he didn't get there on his own. that is certainly true of my life. other than my faith, my family my beloved wife who is with me tonight, and my fellow hoosiers, i rise to pay a gratitude to all of you. i oh so much. and to cpac. the namesake of this dinner, the inspiration and opportunities i have been given. it is good to be back at cpac. the conservative gathering in

the united states of a character. administration paralyzed by ideology. and stifling our nation's economy. the challenges we face are daunting, the challenges we must make to meet them are not. 50 years ago, ronald reagan helped birth of our movement with his iconic time for choosing speech. today, i believe we come to another time for choosing. you either choose to view america as a shining city on a hill that inspires the best of all mankind, or you don't. the either want america to stand by her friends and stand up. you are for limiting the power of the federal government or you're not. you're either for protecting the unborn and the religious liberty

of every american, or you aren't. after winning both houses of congress, more state than ever before, electing 31 republican governors in states like maryland and massachusetts. the american people have made their choice. we are on the verge of a great american come back. i believe that because i believe in this movement. while we actually started in politics, in the great state of indiana. i served 12 years in the congress and i love to say if i only had 12 years left to live i would want to live it as a member of congress. because it was the longest 12

years of my life. [laughter] the truth is, we haven't had a government as good as our people in washington dc for some time. but it's worse today than ever before. they are almost too numerous to recount. whether it is the government takeover of health care or the internet, the unconstitutional executive amnesty. this administration's policies are shopping national vitality and threatening our prosperity. most americans understand you can't improve health care by forcing everyone to buy it whether they needed or not. you cannot change the laws of this land by executive fiat and you cannot build an energy policy by raising the cost of electricity on working americans. it should go without saying that obama care must be repealed. the fcc ruling must be reversed. the executive action rescinded.

and the epa war on american energy must and. -- must end. [applause] tonight, allow me to offer some advice. some advice to the rising generation of leaders who are gathered here and looking on from across the country. of how we might confront the challenges we face with renewed focus. submit that 2016 could be the first foreign policy national election since 1980. sadly, this administration has reduced our army to its smallest

size since 1940. the navy has fewer ships and our air force has its smallest tactical fighter force in history. history teaches you cannot reduce our military strength without provoking our enemies. weakness arouses evil. as we speak, it is across the world. the president says jobs are the answer to violent jihad. mr. president, jihadi john doesn't want a job. he wants to see paradise.

and i think we should help him get there as quickly as possible. [applause] and with the growing threat of homegrown terror, it's important to remember our first line of defense is the right of self-defense. now more than ever, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed on the american people. but violent jihad is not our only threat. in asia, china is massively expanding its military. the pentagon admitted that the china satellite and ballistic missile technologies are rapidly approaching parity with our own. and as we gather here tonight, a new iron curtain is descending down the spine of europe. modern russia seeks to draw the map by force.

unlike the former soviet union that respected the strength of the west, president putin supports rebels in ukraine with impunity. and if we didn't know enough about the threat we face, the heritage foundation index of military strength lists it as "by far the most significant security challenge facing the united dates and its allies and its interests in the middle east." our most cherished ally will come to washington dc to warn congress and the american people of the gathering storm he believes will strike his country. traveling to israel, trying to force a settlement that would have compromised israel's security. i saw firsthand the resolve and determination of this courageous leader.

who stands to often alone in times of great peril across the middle east. speaker boehner was right to invite president netanyahu. israel's cause our our cause and israel's enemies are our enemies. america stands with israel. [applause] you cannot command the respect of the world when he spent years apologizing to our enemies and abandoning our friends. lecturing the american people about the crusades while refusing to cause islam and militants by name is an abdication of leadership. calling for the defense of the united states is the chief responsibility of our national

government. with everything happening in the world, i believe, my fellow conservatives, i believe it is imperative that conservatives, again, embrace america's role as leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy. [applause] i believe the time has come to dramatically increase defense spending to confront the noble -- knowable and unknowable threats of this new century. no strategy or innovation, no matter how brilliant, will be sufficient to protect the american people and the sovereignty of the united dates.

among other measures, we could revive the future combat systems of the army and the marine corps. revive the f-22. and rebuild our navy. a safer and more secure america is a stronger and more prosperous america. [applause] of course, our strength begins at home. our families, communities businesses, states. second, let me suggest our movement also put the promise of federalism and state-based reform back at the center of the conservative agenda in the 21st century. as president reagan said, it's important to be reminded that "the federal government did not create the states.

the states created the federal government." our states are not territorial outposts of the territorial government. they are a wellspring of vitality and reform. i should know. i come from a state that works. [applause] in indiana, we have balanced budgets and have an aaa bond rating. that is better than washington d c. we has the largest tax cut in indiana history. we have the largest voucher program in america. i am proud to say indiana was the first state to withdraw from common core. we have stood without apology for the sanctity of life. the importance of marriage. the freedom of religion. it is working. unemployment has dropped from over 8% to 5.8%. we have seen 100,000 private sector jobs created and we led the nation in manufacturing jobs.

graduation and test scores are up. life is winning. abortion is in decline for the fifth straight year in a row. [applause] i didn't come here to brag on indiana. i didn't just come here to brag about indiana. i came to encourage you, each of you with the progress that is being made in indiana and other republican-led state. urge you as leaders and activists in this movement to take encouragement from the results conservative policies are achieving in states across this country.

after 12 years in congress and two years as governor, i am more convinced the cure for what ails this country will come more from state capitals than it ever well from the nation's capital. [applause] let's put state-based innovation and reform back at the center of the national agenda. let's look to the example of republican-led states balancing budgets and crafting solutions to the most intractable problems facing our nation. it includes getting runaway federal spending under control. when it comes to most public assistance programs, state are better equipped to innovate. manage anti-poverty programs in a fiscally responsible way. states cannot print money. during my years in congress, i never recall anyone focusing on revenue forecasts we passed a spending bill. in indiana, where we have balanced budgets, this year's budget will only be completed when we get the final revenue

forecast to make sure the income meets the outcome. states are better equipped to innovate and reform those programs. we ended traditional medicaid for all able-bodied adults and replaced it with consumer driven health care and savings accounts. [applause] we have expanded access to health care, not through government mandates and taxes, but market-based reforms. on education, because we believe all honest work is honorable indiana is crafting plans to be the first date in america to make career and vocational education a priority in every high school again. let's empower the states with renewed flexibility to develop positive alternatives. give each other room as a

movement to try new ideas and innovate without reflexively rejecting policies that break new ground. that's wean ourselves off the idea all problems must get solved in our nation's capital. some say the next nominee should be a governor. i am sympathetic to that view. all kidding aside, what i am looking for is not somebody that says, send me to washington dc and i will run the capital the way i ran the state capital. for those of you who served in the city, you know. it is not a state. literally or figuratively. i am listening for someone who says, send me there and i will make it more possible for the next person running my state to run it with more freedom and flexibility. that is the constitutional way. [applause] when we take back the white

house and reelect a republican congress, let's make it aim to reduce the size and scope of the federal government by restoring the states the freedom flexibility, and resources that is theirs under the constitution. finally, as we strive to be the party of solutions at home and abroad, let's be relentlessly positive. i have said for years, i am a conservative i am not in a bad mood about it. we need to be cheerful partisans. happy warriors. lord knows, we need a little optimism. a man walked up to me with sad eyes and a weary look. he approach me to say, he supported everything i stand for. he said, do you think the country is going to make it? he had all the telltale signs of excessive cable television viewing. [laughter]

i put my hand on his shoulder and said, of course we are going to make it. we are americans. we always make it. we always find a way. [laughter] but that man and millions like him are worried, understandably, about our country. because of the failings of our national government. the national government does have all kinds of problems and flaws and weaknesses. america is not the american government. let's stop confusing the american government with the american people. ronald reagan said it best. we are a people with the government, not the other way around. [applause] i learned that lesson a long time ago, back when indianapolis was hosting all the living recipients of the medal of honor. we were dedicating our memorial

to those great men. i was a top radio show host at the time. i had the privilege of interviewing those heroes. jack lucas was born in 1928. he enlisted in the marine corps at the age of 14. pfc. lucas was so to determined to enter combat that he stowed away. he turned 17 at sea, a few for landing at iwo jima. the day following the landing, he was crawling through a ravine with three men. two enemy hand grenades landed nearby. the teenager used his own body to cover both grenades to save his fellow marines despite suffering injury. he was awarded the medal of honor by president harry truman.

i had him on my radio show. during the interview, we talked about his experiences. he spoke with humility about his extraordinary courage. i asked him a question. i said, you are part of the greatest generation. you are probably really worried about the country when you see young people these days. in that moment, his manner changed. he said son, you don't have the first idea what you are talking about. i laughed nervously. this was live radio. i said, why don't you enlighten me. he did. he said, let me tell you something.

growing up in the 1930's, we didn't have any more sense than kids do these days. we wasted just as much time and partied too much. when the time came, we stepped up because we are americans. kids these days will do the same thing. [applause] as we say, i have been told. i did not know how right jack was until a few years later. a sunny morning in september 2001. that day i found myself in my first term as a member of congress in capitol hill. sirens in every direction. columns of smoke billowing from the pentagon. the next day, there were lines outside every recruiting station in every city and town across this nation.

jack was right. [applause] in the years that followed, in my trip to visit soldiers in afghanistan and iraq, i saw the sacrifices of the new greatest generation. who stepped up and did what needed to be done. i say with conviction, the american people today, despite all the failings of our national government, the american people are just as strong and patriotic and generous and selfless and resilient and freedom loving as they have ever been throughout the history of this nation. [applause] our nation deserves leaders who believe in the american people with an unshakable faith.

faith is my final point. because we are not in this alone. the bible says, where the spirit of the lord is, there is liberty. when we hold the banner of liberty high. and take up the cause of freedom abroad at home, we make his cause our own. we do not fight alone. my fellow conservatives, let's be confident and have faith. faith in america's unique responsibility and the founder's vision of limited and constitutional government. faith in the boundless capacity of the american people to craft solutions to be complex problems facing us. face in him who set this miracle of democracy on these wilderness shores.

that he will fulfill his promise for this last, best hope. we have come to another time for choosing. i believe with all my heart, with your help and god's help once again, america will choose freedom. thank you. and god bless you. [applause] >> president obama discusses retirement issues and new rules to protect middle-class america's future earnings. jim of ohio has the republican response. he talks about the importance of saving for college and legislation passed by the house

earlier this week that expands 529 savings plans. it's one of the critical components of middle-class life. this week i took new steps to protect it. six years after the crisis that shook a lot of people's face -- people's faith, our economy is growing. last year was the best year for job growth since the 1990's. over the past five years private sector has added 12 million new jobs. since i took office, the stock market has more than doubled replenishing the 401(k)s of millions of families. we have more work to do to make sure our recovery reaches more americans, not just those at the top. that is what middle class economics is all about the idea

that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules. making sure everyone plays by the same set of rules is why we pass historic wall street reform and a bill of rights. it's why we are taking new actions to protect hard-working families and their retirement security. if you are working hard and putting away money, you should have the peace of mind that the financial advice you are getting a sound. that your investments off target. -- investments are protected. any financial advisors put their client interests first. some get back your payments and hidden -- and hidden fees. all told, that of -- bad a device that cost middle-class families and working families

about $17 billion every year. i called on the department of labor to change that, to update the rules and requirement -- and require that retirement advisors put the best interests of their clients above their own financial interests. middle-class families cannot afford to lose their hard-earned savings after a lifetime of work. they deserve you treated with fairness and respect. that is what this rule would do. while many financial advisors support these basic safeguards i know special interests will fight this with everything they've got. while we welcome different perspectives and ideas on how to move forward, what i will not accept this there is -- not accept is the notion that there's nothing we can do. we are going to keep pushing for this rule, because it is the right thing to do. for our workers and our country. the strength of our economy

rests on whether hard-working families cannot only share an american success but contribute america's success. that is one i will never stop fighting for, an economy where everyone works hard and has a chance to get ahead. have a great weekend. >> i have the honor of representing the good people of ohio 16th congressional district. this week the house of representatives passed a good bipartisan bill that can help many middle-class families. i would like to take a moment to tell you about it. first a story. like many of you i was the first in my family to go to college. i had paid my own way -- pay my own way through school. as an accountant i have seen countless parents struggle with putting away money for their kids tuition. you want to make sure they have it better than you do. just at the time that the cost

is going up and incomes are barely moving, that job has only gotten harder. when president obama proposed taxing toy five plans. -- tony five plans, people were understandably outraged. we talk about true boarding people who work hard and play by the rules. they empower families to set up accounts for their children right from when they are born and down the line they can use that money for books, fees tuition, and room and board. there are 12 million of these accounts open in all 50 states. why would we stop that growth? so the government can take even more of the money we works so hard to put away? the president was forced to drop the idea. with all the challenges middle-class families are making

right now we need to make it easier, not harder to save. our plan will do a few simple things to first qualifying expenses under accounts. we remove unnecessary paperwork for administrators of these plants. third we allow families to redeposit firms without taxes or penalty. it is just good piece of mind to have. the bill passed was more than 400 votes. now we just need president obama to help us get this done. let's make sure the plants will be there for middle-class families for years to come. we all know a good education means a great opportunity and a stronger economy. let's take this step to make college more affordable and easier to plan. thank you for giving me a few

minutes of your time. >> on the next washington journal, match lap talks about the >> joshua musser be talks about the somali terrorist group and concerns of possible attacks at the homeland. as always, we will take your calls. washington journal live at 7:00 a.m., on c-span. >> c-span, brought to as a local service.