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>> president obama, wrapping up at the national league of cities conference. coverage continues this afternoon with jay johnson and sally jewell, the featured speakers. we will also included transportation discussion with anthony foxx and we will hear from epa administrator gina mccarthy in that panel. it all starts live at 3:30. also today, we will get remarks from bernie sanders the luncheon speaker at the national press club, he is expected to talk about his priorities and floor debate for the budget resolution. the house is not in session this week. members are away for a weeklong break in their home districts. the senate is in and will gavel in at 2 p.m. eastern. here is what is on the agenda for them this week.

niels: good morning to you. john: i want to talk about the iran deal that is going on and the bill that was expected to be on the floor this week in the senate and then got pulled. what has happened with the floor schedule was we had what is going on there? niels: what has happened with the floor schedule was we had anticipated that on tuesday, the up a measure sponsored by the foreign relations chairman bob corker of tennessee that would require the administration to send any sort of agreement that may be reached with the iranians over their nuclear program to capitol hill for a sixty-day period to

allow congress to weigh in on any sort of agreement. what happened was, a number of democratic senators who had supported the legislation indicated to the majority leader in the senate that they would not vote for their own bill until after a march 24 deadline for some sort of resolution in these talks with iran. what we are left with is the prospect that the bill was not going to be preceded. our corker -- bob corker told me he knew he did not have 60 votes for his own bill. that plan was put on hold until after the 24th. john: if a bill like this does not get past by this congress

how much say will this congress have in any sort of nuclear negotiations that are happening? niels: it is not clear the way this is being structured that there is anything the congress will have specifically approving any sort of agreement with iran. if there is some sort of agreement reached, you would have a situation where members of congress might be waiting in through -- weighing in through something like the appropriations process. in order to implement the agreement. without this legislation -- at this juncture, the white house had indicated it would be vetoed . there is no real way for congress to necessarily have to weigh in, absent something like

that. john: with that legislation off the table, attention turning to the debate over the president's war powers request. talk us through what is happening in the senate this week. niels: while they are working on the floor with a much less controversial matter, they are going to take up anti-human trafficking legislation that should have broad support. you will see at various committees that there will be all sort of foreign policy related hearings, the highlight of which is the secretary of state john kerry, the new defense secretary, ash carter and the chairman of the joints

these -- joint chiefs of staff are scheduled to be testifying midweek about the president's request for an authorization of the use of force against the group called isis or isil or the islamic state. what we will see, i think, is that that is going to lay bare how big the gap is between the group of lawmakers who think that the request was too broad those that think the request was too narrow. i think that will be the most interesting thing of the week. it may be that we find out there is no way this congress can move forward with that request at all if the gap is as wide as we think it is. john: touch on some of those other hearings we are expected to see on capitol hill this week on some of those foreign-policy matters. niels: there is -- a weekly a

current, -- weekly occurrence, a closed briefing at the armed services committee. we will see another hearing about the status in ukraine. today, this morning, it might be of interest to washington journal viewers, senator chris murphy, a democrat from connecticut is hosting senator mccain, the chairman of the armed services committee. in connecticut. they are meeting with the ukrainian american community up there about the situation on the ground in ukraine. that will be another talking

point for the week. the other thing we might see as this goes forward, how they will respond to see if anything will be done about russia in regards to ukraine. john: niels lesniewski, appreciate your time. >> a reminder, you can see the senate on c-span two. this morning we spoke with a journalistic covers the white house to talk about her book and it gives an inside view on how moderate presidents -- modern presidents do with race relations. ryan, joins us. the author of the recent book, "

the presidency in black and white." we will talk about apple, but i want to talk with the president's visit to selma. what does the ch check mean, not just did this president. you were there. guest: not only was i there, i got a ride down with the president. our group of five black journalists. we got to interview the president. a lot of them were raise questions. what it means to this nation and the presidency -- john, race plays, and it has played through history and in the white house. for each president, they have dealt with the issue of race. from war to peace and in between. in between is race. this president talked about the

president who authorized the voting act. you had former president george bush on stage with obama. in my book, "the presidency in black and white," i have a chapter on selma. ambassador and a young talk to me about the conversations that he was involved in with dr. king and lbj about pushing forward the voting rights. host: the congressman and the former ambassador. guest: yes. former ambassador and congressmen, and the young said, lbj said at the time he did not have the power to push for voting rights. what they did strategically was said ok, and went down to alabama at a time the you cannot have three african-americans on a street together. because of an ordinance.

they found out way, and the rest is history. we talk about that in the book about how race is played out in history. host: this is a topic that you hear so much about, and you have covered for so long, in nearly 20 years at the white house. when you have one question with the president, like this on air force one, what's your question? guest: my question was, since race is such an issue -- and in the book on the researching for the book, i found there are many people in this country -- like three pillars in this country and emancipation proclamation, abraham lincoln, then the civil rights act and voting rights act with lbj. many people say we are now in a post-racial america. i asked president obama, would you consider a post-racial approach? he said, yes.

i'm paraphrasing. he said, yes my election was his story, but he does not a quay his presidency to all the legalities that change the course of history. so yes my presidency in itself is his story, but what he is doing now is closing the gl gap of discrimination, base underscore -- based on historic decisions on race. does it surprise you, for and 10 people say race relations have gotten worse under the nation's first black president. guest: it depends. if you feel it immensely, you feel it. the president, i asked a question at the 2014 press conference, about the state of black america. he said, on average everyone is

doing better honor his presidency. it depends. if you are hurting financially that's when there is the season this country. it all depends on who you are. i'm not surprised. host: the book is "the presidency in black and white." april ryan is our guest for the next 45 days or so on "washington journal." if you want to call income of the numbers are on the screen. democrats can call in at (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independencts, (202) 745-8002. if you're outside the u.s., (202) 748-0003. in your book, you rank the three press on their grades.

the rankings might be a bit surprising. talk about who comes out best in your book. guest: it all depends on which issue. overall, i gave president clinton and b plus and president obama a b plus. president george bush, a c minus. the only reason i gave a c minus is because he had a failing grade of f and one categories. that failing category was katrina. anytime you have people die, people. people who felt disenfranchised and felt their country did not stand up for them or was there for them, that receives a failing grade. we are still feeling the affects of katrina, 10 years after katrina. specifically for the new orleans community. president clinton received a b plus. yes, there were things he could

have done more. there were things he did nbc did not do. as obama is interesting. i changed his grade while i was in the process. you see a big difference between first-term black obama and second term. specifically, second term fourth quarter. he had to navigate the waters strategically. anything to target african-americans, would have been viewed, by some groups, in a negative light. you cannot discount the fact that there are deserve what it should -- there are disproportionate numbers when it comes to african-americans in this country in almost every area. i change the grade because right now, we are in his area where the president is coming out talking about race. targeting issues that have been a problem for decades in this country.

speaking about the mistrust of minority communities and policing. trying to root out some of the evildoers. he is also talking about voting rights. that's why i changed his grade. i posted it up a little bit because you see a different obama when it comes to race now. host: you brought up the issue of a post-racial. period. you talk about the expectations placed on obama right after he was elected. i went back and found a call him from november 5, 2008 talking about expectations right after obama's election. i just want to read your piece of this.

how could a decent person not hope for all of these possibilities, or give america credit for electing its first black president? talk about the expectations then and now. host: i like the word hope in the article. the expectations then -- he couldn't even rise up to the level expectation that he saw for himself. it was like a savior. he did something that no one else did. it was almost viewed as a savior. it's not, he's human. we were in a time in a recession. we were really starting to fall in recession. gas prices were: climbing out. -- gas prices were climbing up. we were also in the pain of war. financially and physically. he was talking about change.

hope you can believe in. he really made people believe. he said, i'm pulling you out of war, i will fix these problem spirit you never know what happens. you can't predict. there is no handbook for that office. the oval office. anything can happen. i don't think he could have reached the level of expectation that he said. he's human. all of them are human. i believe they go into the job the best they know how to, and i do believe they'd want to do the best for the country. host: your book may be considered something like a handbook. why did you write the book? guest: i have a friend who really encouraged me. he is in the media as well. he said to me, when i first got his job -- i fell into this job -- he said, you cannot sit here and do what you do and not write about it.

i journaled and journaled and that we compiled the book during that clinton years. i was too young and too fresh. during the bush years, we had a bite. the person who is working with us, giving us a contract, he got fired. that was a no then. my agent and i diane, diana night, we looked at one another during the obama time. littlefield said, let's do this. the book hasn't totally changed since then and now. i think diane and littlefield for birthing the 17-year-old baby to the world. it took 17 years to write. i'm very proud of this. the crazy thing about this is

admissible, you have presence on the record. you have president barack obama on the record. you have bill clinton former president clinton, on the record. condoleezza rice on the record. i can name a whole bunch of people. the former head of the wall opportunity commission. the commission of civil rights. a whole host of people. host: including some press staffers that you went back and forth with. the book is "the presidency in black and white." a caller in baltimore, maryland is waiting to talk to you. the line for democrats. caller: good morning. this is just a statement, more than anything else. i got out and voted for

president barack obama. i did consider the fact that he was black, but i voted him to do a job. he has done exactly what i wanted him to do. i'm sick of hearing about wars of the tragedy of four. i'm also a taxpayer citizen. i worked all my life and i'm retired now. i did not take one foodstamp, i not been on welfare. i pay taxes and i expect my congressman and my senators to represent me. i did not see a republican congressman or senator -- i might be wrong, by did not see them down there at that march, which was important to me. at 66 years old, i know where i went through in civil rights and voting rights. i expected them to represent me. if they did not show up to

represent me, who are they representing? host: april ryan, you were down there in selma. can you talk about some of those issues. guest: i didn't see republicans and democrats. it was heavier on the democratic side, i believe it is very political at this point. you have republicans and democrats that know the history. yes, this was wrong. "bloody sunday" was terrible. worse than terrible, it was an atrocity. i believe, because it is not a coming together, they did not want to -- this is my personal opinion -- send a message that they were in support of it by being down there. it's a sad day when politics rules instead of coming together and dealing with an issue in history that really is profound and really change the lives change the country, and lives of

so many. host: a column in today's "washington post" about this, specifically the voting rights issue. where now king's agenda remains unfulfilled. there is a photo that was used and there on our screen for our viewers. dexter is waiting in silver spring, maryland. good morning. caller: i'm calling from maryland. i think it is a backlash against blacks in general. since obama has been elected. i voted for him twice. i was hopeful that america would rise up and get past racism in this country. for me, it has gotten worse ever since he was elected. i don't blame him for it. i think it is just a backlash on life in general. host: thank you, dexter. guest: there is a segment of america that did not want this

president as president. there's a segment of america that may not have wanted him not because of the color of his skin, but because they didn't want him. you do have that segment. i hear it. i was listening, driving in to ad radio program, and a major gospel thing it was talking about how her daughter has to deal with it. with some of the girls, they talk about the racial component. i've heard many things. i've heard a lot of people tell me, in my walks of life, they work in a multicultural environment, and say, i don't like obama. they assume, just because you're black, you instinctively or immediately voted for him. that is not always the case. you can be an african-american and not agree with everything he says.

you can be a republican that supports republican presidents you don't necessarily agree with everything he says. there has been a little bit of a backlash because -- i'm not going to say little bit -- there has been a backlash in this country by certain sects, or sectors, they didn't like the fact that this president is here. host: for viewers who are unfamiliar describe what american urban radio network is and what you see as your role covering the white house for the last several decades. guest: my role as a journalist is just that. objective. objective in bringing in all the sides, not just two sides of the story. all sides. i'm not an activist journalist. i ask questions on all the issues. for urban american radio network, we are the oldest and only minority owned radio

network that has programming news programs, radio stations, things of that nature. we are basically a minority owned company that basically puts out news pertaining to, and programming, pertaining to minority america, particularly black america. we have 30 some odd stations across the country. we are very aware of our heritage and who we are as a company and what we stand for. host: talk about your experience at the white house. you take a lot of pride that you started in the six the role of the briefing room and moved up to the third row. what does that mean? guest: the farther back you are, the less likely you will be called in on. if you come in on a daily

basis, and you are really there, traveling with the president you are really not sitting on the back row but you're putting in all the work. i was there, and i'm thankful to steve scully. he moved me from the sixth road to the fourth row. then it karen bowman build me up smack dab in the middle. i've been there and i been there for 18 years. it's sad that the room is divvied up with a hierarchy. radio -- i call radio the vassar child of white house reporting. it is tv, wires, then the newspapers, then magazines, then you go down the radio. there are a lot of radio folks on the second and third row. i'm proud to be one of that number. host: do take it personally when

you are not called on? guest: oh yes. it is ego. if you have a question, but it's about your work, you have a question that may not be the same question that everyone else has. they could be asking isis or benghazi, or the e-mails, or netanyahu. i want to hear that, but you're not going to assess fairly about the nigerian girls, or the new labor fax that affect minorities. they're not been asked that. i'm going to cover that, but they're not ask those questions. host: on her twitter page, weighing in on this question -- modern presidents had handled race on a business as usual basis, in a word, poorly. our guest is april ryan, white

house correspondent, covering the president every day. ron is waiting in ohio. my for democrats. good morning. ron, are you with us? ok. jim is waiting as well on our line for independence in chicago. jim, good morning to you. we will hold off on the calls until we get them back. why don't you talk about your experiences in the press corps. what you have asked for a presidents. the questions, specifically on the issue of an apology for slavery. something you talk a lot about your book and something that was a big part of bill clinton's presidency. as specific trip to africa. guest: former president bill clinton -- i want to thank him -- i was in his office last year we did a great interview.

we smell long time talking. when he was president, he said to me, you are going to get me in trouble for your questions. a lot of times, they don't know what to expect when i asked questions. i think that's why sometimes they don't call on me. he told me that. it made me feel good. i took that word from him to let me know, ok, this is how it's going to be. when it comes to slavery apology, i asked the president that because he was the president that had this historic trip to africa. host: we are showing our viewers some photos from that trip. specifically, the door of no return. guest: i'm getting goosebumps. at that time, he also embarked

on this very bold initiative. the race initiative. trying to bridge the racial divide. get people talking about race. he knew the nation was browning, and we were changing as a nation, our makeup wasn't going to be what we started out as. he wanted people to understand it was a hard issue. not necessarily legislative, but a hard issue. when you start talking about race there's one dynamic. that black-white dynamic. how can you talk about that without dealing with the rule of the problem. that's how the apology for slavery, the question kept emanating in the press conferences and briefings. they tabled it. he thought about it, but he tabled it. there were factions in the white house, somewhere for, some were against. at a historic soul food dinner.

host: one where your aunt cooked for him. guest: you read the book! my at pearl -- aunt pearl. to hear an american president say that he is getting all these different comments from people within the black community there are coming together, it could change the course of history. things could have changed. i don't know. it's something that i've heard as a child that a lot of times we cannot come together on issues. the hear an american president say that -- you have blind people in his white house saying, yes and something no. you had the white people saying i don't think so. i was told many times they would happen.

written language was so strong, but he pulled back on it when it was time to go talk about the issue of slavery. when he gave a beautiful speech in senegal. that's kind of why the big issue of an apology of slavery was there when bill clinton. then, when george w. bush, it came back up. he went to africa. will you apologize for slavery? no. he felt because only people participated, america shouldn't apologize. i mean, why not apologize for what happened? what this nation are allowed to happen. host: candace president doing and should this president do it? guest: candace president doing i doubt it. i doubt he will. if he wanted to, i'm sure he could. i think it would send a bigger

message if there were to be president, who is not necessarily african-american, do something like that. any president could do it. i think it's more so a president, not necessarily the color. tried different underlying issues if this president were to do that. host: let's try again, chicago illinois. jim. caller: good morning. i'm from chicago and i've been following barack obama ever since 1995. i never voted for him as a state senator or u.s. senator because he was really not that active in the black community. he really did little to nothing for the black community. as president, it seems like he cares more about illegals and gain is then minorities that live in chicago or other parts of the country. i'm very disappointed with him.

i was hoping he would do something great for the black community, even though i didn't vote for him. unfortunately, i think a lot of people are disappointed with him. guest: i could understand that. again, that's a level of expectation. this president will go down in history as the president for the lgbt community. jim makes a good point. the level of expectation is what i think he is pointing to. he has to navigate the water strategically. in the first term in order to get a second term. had he really targeted in on race a lot, i don't think he would have gotten a second term. i don't think anything he would have done what had passed. for instance, look at all the groundswell that came out after he started talking early on and his administration.

they stop that fast. second term, it's all or nothing. he's moving forward. host: how do you respond to jim who writes on twitter why do you refuse to believe that it's his policies not his skin color? a minority who voted against him did so because of the agenda and not race. guest: i like that question. you have a president where the economy is getting better. i don't say this as anyone who supports him or not support them. i say it, looking at the racial dynamic and the policies. we're climbing out of the recession. osama bin laden was killed. we still have terror. the economy is better. people are wanting health care, he did something that no other president was able to do.

you may not like his politics but he has been a president who has moved and done things that no other president has done. i think we see his hue more than you see his politics. host: james is on from south carolina for republicans. guest: before we go to james, i just want to say that i'm not famous in support of him or against him. just looking at it from a historical standpoint. some of his policies are not the best. he is president of the united states. host: james, you are out. caller: good morning. i think maybe you do like the president. it's not about liking or disliking the person. if this policy. anyway, a million things i could say. what i was calling about is you mentioned grading bush on his

situation with black folks in america. guest: katrina. caller: right that's where i was going. katrina. what does he have to do with that? the governor told him to stand down. told him to stand down. he was on tv five days before the car c hurricane and said this is category five, get out. and then you blame him. you were there in selma, correct? guest: yes. caller: the family's picture of obama and all his -- fabulous picture of obama and all his supporters. bush was in that picture as well? guest: yes he was. not only in the picture, he was also in on the stage.

i thank you for this call. i really do. i actually personally, like each one of the president. clinton, bush, and obama. as people. i am a journalist. it's about relationships in washington. i want to talk about this. in the bush chapter, i talk about how president bush was not the person who many people believed he was. he was not a racist by any stretch of the imagination. actually, i think kanye west got it totally wrong. i think this president was wrapped up in the politics of the republican party. he is the head of the republican party, leader of the country. katrina went on. he went down there and did an abysmal job.

people were left homeless . people were left to die. any time something like that happens, it is horrible. in this country -- the president at that time, george w. bush, he felt it. he kept going back. i traveled with him on the first year anniversary. i traveled with the first lady to mississippi. we went to church is where people were house. that is one piece of it. he has done so much. for one, he is the president who is known to have done more for africa than any other president. i believe, and i say in this book, because the african-american community did not vote for him, the republican party, and those in the administration, did not promote what he was doing. there were things he did that a lot of people don't agree with. particularly, but then -- then

national security adviser calling for no referential treatment in admissions. there is a mixed bag. i do believe george bush is a president who got hung up in the politics of the rug and party. i see george bush and a different light than other people saw him. in this book, i really give him a lot of credit. i would like for you to get the book and read the bush chapter and then come back and talk to me about it. host: and for folks understand the grading system, some of the areas that you grade on when you're coming up with the overall grade -- you are in aa a you and

a you can see the breakdown in the end of the book. chris is waiting. you are on with april ryan. caller: good morning, folks. longtime listener, first time caller. to get the cliches out of the way. i guess, i would like to start by commenting on professor skip gates book. recently her with it yet -- are you familiar with that? guest: let's about his book. go ahead. caller: he difficult their report and the daily show. one of his signature lines was about presidential poet laureate

-- what is turning you go -- what is her name? host: we've got a lot of colors -- callers. what is your question? caller: my angelou. he said that she was, in fact, 85% caucasian. host: do you have a question? oh, we lost him. let's go to the line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm sitting here listening to all these people. i'm a 70-year-old black man who spent 20 years -- 25 years of

his life in the service, from 1963 to 1988. when i hear this question about race and relationships in this country, it brings to mind my service in vietnam in 1964 and 1965. guys like me, born in north carolina and raised up in brooklyn, when i joined the military in 1963, i was off to do the countries bidding. i wore the flag of this country on my back all over the world. two distinct times i was asked why does the document fight in the u.s. military? one was in 1960 eight and the other time was in 1988 when i was stationed in germany. when that german asked me not,

my heart stopped. because it made me realize, a lot of people realize that your service, particularly a black around person, is not really accepted. when i look at pictures of that bridge, it brings to mind my uncles and my cousins, who i know fought in world war ii and world war i. they weren't treated very well. guest: i got your point. what you are saying, you go and fight for this country and you come back and there are still discrepancies and disparities and you don't deal you have all the rights that you feel you should have. in my correct? host: the caller hung up. guest: i've heard that from sony people, -- from so any people. he still have problems because of your race, or being declined credit, or cannot find a job or

are underemployed. there is -- there are still issues in this country that need to be fixed. i think that was part of why george w. bush was there because he sees that are still issues. we've got to open our eyes and look at the facts and look at it really accurately. the issue of race is something we are so scared to touch because we are hypersensitive about it on every side. if we can come down and put the facts on the table and just talk and have a civil discussion, i think things would thereof differently -- bear out differently than they have. host: on the twitter page. anthony is waiting in michigan the line for democrats. caller: thanks for taking my call. i was wondering if she knows when the drumbeat for netanyahu

when he came up, and they applauded and this guy was going to get money for a war. all of these things that americans are upset about right now, we've got a really big water problem. these people will not come here to straighten that out, but they will applauded the drumbeat of war. i'm wondering if those lenses she is looking through -- and i'm a former marine -- are rose-colored. because i thought that every thing that happened in louisiana was atrocity. guest: i believe i did say that the things that happened in new orleans was an atrocity. host: the thing we get from colors a lot is the amount of money that goes overseas as opposed to money spent on community building here in america. guest: yeah, there are still areas in this country where you

would be surprised. he would think you were in another country. there are pockets of poverty, pockets of hurt in this country. that is what the problems and that is where the racial dynamic , and i'm along with the color how things cannot be seen or -- with the caller where things cannot be seen or have not been dealt with. you have schools that are crumbling, kids using outdated books, water systems that are not updated. homes that are not fit to live in. you have roads in communities that are not protected from different elements. there are issues of race that they are out in everything. and i understand the caller's frustration. that is why i wrote this book. race is in everything. those kinds of issues that the settlement was talking about do not make it on the "new york

times" or the "washington post" everyday. they do not make the first block of the news. you get a couple of questions and then that is when the race question comes up. that is why i wrote the book. people say, why would you asked the president questions about race? why not? people think the issues of race don't matter. that is why this book is here. bill clinton in my interview with him, he said race doesn't matter. it may factor in the white house, but when you hear it in the briefing room, it does not play a factor. race doesn't play a part with the daily white house mix with the senior advisers. we don't hear about it. host: on the line for democrats rating. -- randy, good morning. caller: i really want to thank

you for bringing up issues that are related to race when you are in that white house briefing. and i know that's not the only thing you pursue, but you are the only one who does. when i hear these polls during the election that race -- racism is exposed. let me suggest something especially to a lot of your white colors that call in with ignorance, they are blaming president obama for exposing their racism. the election of president obama truly exposed their racism and they blame him for it. that's like blaming a bank for having money as the reason for someone robbing it. host: do you think they disagree

with the policies of this president? caller: they can have that, but if you listen carefully, you will hear it. when people are talking about president obama's inability to work with congress, i don't see how you can say that without factoring in what transpired on january 20, 2009 on the inauguration night of this newly elected president where these 15 u.s. congressional people got together and plotted to destroy him. and that was at the onset of the worst financial crisis. host: i want you to pick up on that and specifically this president's relationship with congress. guest: that is interesting because many people say he has an ability work at congress. hiram everything in the briefing room and asking questions of this president when democrats are screaming -- i remember

being in the briefing room and asking questions of the president when democrats are screaming he will not work with us. he has tried to work with republicans. there is a natural give-and-take also there is a natural back and forth in this town. there is an extra piece in this last six years. this president, he's got his faults definitely, but he's got his positives. and i believe he has tried to work with congress. at one point, democrats were very angry with him because they felt that he was giving into them. there's this crazy dance in washington that has gotten a little crazier over the last six years. and i do believe that race is a factor. host: let's head back to michigan. marty is delightful republicans. caller: thank you so much for taking my call.

first, i want to say that the health care bill was passed with no republican support and rammed through the congress. i've seen clinton work with the republicans passing health-care reform and getting things done. hillary clinton getting the same opposition when she pushed health care. it is just, i would say, the attitude of the congress is a reflection of leadership. there is no leadership. when we say the economy is getting better, there are 92 million people out of work stopped 60 million people with no insurance. $61 trillion in state debt. 119 trillion of unfunded debt that my daughters, my next -- my daughter's next $10 will be paying for. $4 trillion under bill clinton. guest: i think that was wiped

out during the clinton years, if i'm correct. i remember wearing a button -- well, the clinton folks were sending out buttons where there was a black button that said in white, zero debt. host: the federal deficit? guest: yes. the clinton years were the best economically, and then we were down in the bush years with the wars. and now we are dealing with the repercussions of decisions made from years ago. and i guess the president is trying to pull it out. it's a dance he's got to do. any president, it could have been mitt romney or john mccain and they would still have to deal with the issues of trying to do the dance of getting us out of this economy. it is not all just one president. you have to go back and see what is let up -- what has led up to

why we are here. health care was made during this administration. it was not made during the bush or clinton years. health-care reform is here now. that is his legacy be's. but the other -- his legacy piece. but the other issues were before him. he was dealing with the residue from another president. host: one more call in bronx new york. the line from republicans. caller: good morning. two things i would like to say. i am very disappointed as a republican, very disappointed with republicans yesterday, why they didn't show up at selma. and they keep talking about, oh the middle class and poor people

, and i would like to know from you if you think that many republicans in there are still thinking thinking like the jim crow era. i'm very ashamed to be a republican today. host: let's take that in our last minute. guest: i will say this the republican party is definitely trying to correct the errors of the last few years. they are trying to be more inclusive. at least, they are reaching out to me in trying to do different things. i heard rand paul is going to maryland for a couple of days

and he's got the republican party really trying to reach out. this is a nation that includes so many different people, not just white males. i say this to you, if you are very disappointed by republicans or democrats reach out to your leaders and tell them that. make it known. we will see what happens. you've got to speak up to your party leaders. i don't care few our a democrat, republican, what have you, you have to speak up and let them know your dismay or your distort -- or your support. host: april ryan, radio correspondent and author of >> live now to the national press club, bernie sanders.

he is going to speak now. >> i would like to welcome our speaker and those of you attending this event. our head table includes guests of the speaker, as well as journalists to our club members. members of the public attend our lunches so a applause is not necessarily evidence that journalistic integrity is lacking. [laughter] i would also like to welcome our c-span audience. you can follow the action on twitter using #npcspeech. now it is time to introduce each of our head table guests. i would ask each of them to

stand as their name is announced. from your left, make dole act -- mick. john dolan, reporting on the fed and the fomc. brian herr -- harris. tad devine, a political consultant and a friend of senator sanders. a journalist and former politics editor at huffington post. jane sanders, the senator's wife. [applause] donna, a reporter at usa today former national press corps president and vice chair of the club's speaker's committee. speaking -- skipping over our

ski -- speaker for a moment. a reporter from bloomberg news and one of many who helped organize today's event. thank you. senator sanders' chief of staff. derek will bank, congress reporter for bloomberg first word. the communications director for social security works and the vice president and chief analyst at box office.com -- boxoffice. com. [applause] senator bernie sanders sanders is widely known in vermont simply as bernie. he began a life of activism as a student at the university of chicago where he led a sit in to protest discriminatory housing policies. after graduating and living on

an israeli cubits, sanders moved to vermont and had a range of jobs from filmmaking to carpentry. he ran and lost as a third-party candidate for several offices before winning a race as mayor of burlington in 1981. his margin of victory was 10 votes. sanders gained popularity by promoting burlington's local businesses fixing potholes, and bringing a minor-league baseball team to down. vermonters elected him to the house in 1990 and the senate in 2007. when sanders arrived on capitol hill, he was the only independent in the house. he has gone on to become the longest serving independent and congressional history. he caucuses with the democrats and he has become the ranking member of the senate budget committee. sanders speaks out frequently on issues he is passionate about

thomas such as cutting military spending, taking action to protect the environment, and working to reduce income inequality. in 2010, he conducted a nearly nine-hour filibuster against tax cuts for wealthy americans. so many people followed his effort online that the senate video server crashed. these days, sanders is considering a bid in the 2016 presidential election and what better place would there be to announce such a bid -- than the national press club? [applause] not that we are suggesting anything here, senator. [laughter] senator sanders is also been tinkering with his crusty persona. as "the boston globe" recently wrote, sanders is a "

issues-oriented class warrior" who has begun to loosen up on the stump, softening up his from a generally -- kerr much in -- curmudgeonly demeanor from time to time by telling a joke. we want to give a warm welcome to senator bernie sanders. [applause] senator sanders: thank you very much. john, thank you very much for inviting me, and let me thank all of you who are here this afternoon. before i begin the thrust of my remarks. -- my remarks, let me give you a very short, thumbnail sketch of my political life, because my journey here to washington dc --

washington d.c. has been a little bit different than many of my senate colleagues. as john mentioned, i was born in brooklyn, new york in 1941. my father came to this country from poland at the age of 17 without a penny in his pocket and without much of an education. i always think back about the extraordinary bravery that was his, as well as many other millions of people who came to the country with so little. my mom graduated high school in new york city. my dad worked for almost his entire life as a paint salesman. my parents -- my parents, my brother, and i lived in a small rent-controlled apartment. my dream was to move out of that apartment -- my mother filtering

was to move out of that apartment and buy a home. she died young and never realize that dream. i learned what money means to a family and that is a lesson i have never forgotten. my wife jane and i have been married or 27 years. we have four great kids and seven beautiful grandchildren. and without trying to be overly dramatic about it the reason politically why i do what i do is to make sure these kids and all of our children can live in a wonderful country in a wonderful world. representing the great state of vermont, as john indicated, i am the longest serving independent in american congressional history. i served 16 years in the house and as vermont's loan congressman, and in 2006 i was elected to the senate and reelected in 2012.

i began my rather unusual political career back in 1971 as a candidate for the u.s. senate on a small third-party called the liberty union, and i received 2% of the vote. a year later i ran for governor as these -- of the state of vermont and received 1% of the vote. [laughter] not being the brightest light on the block, iran again for the senate and received 4% of the vote and two years later iran for governor and received 6% of the vote. i thought i would give the people of vermont a break and i retired from politics in 1976. remembering one particular guy who said, bernie, i promise i will vote for you if you promise me you will never run for office again -- in 1981, i was

persuaded by friends to run for mayor of burlington, the largest city in our state against a five-term democratic mayor. iran as an independent. nobody, but nobody thought that we had a chance to win. we did. and that very remarkable election, we put together an extraordinary coalition of workers and trade unionists, of environmentalists, of activists of low income organizations, of woman's -- women's groups. in that type of coalition politics, bringing people together around a progressive agenda changed my view of politics today. in a campaign that cost $4000 i, and the people who supported me, knocked on thousands of doors in the city, and let me tell you it gets cold in

vermont in march. on election night when the votes were counted, we won the working class wards i something like two to one and won the election by all of 14 votes. it was the biggest political upset in modern vermont history and after the recount, the margin of victory was reduced to 10 votes. i took office with 11 out of 13 members of the city council democrats and republicans in very strong opposition to my agenda. and if many of you in this room think that president obama has gotten a rough time from republicans, that was nothing compared to what i am i supporters experience doing my first -- during my first year of office. a year later a slate of

candidates working with me seceded -- succeeded a number of incumbent obstructionists. a year after that, the voter turnout was almost doubled from what it was when i was first elected. i easily defeated a democratic and a republican candidate continue to get reelected. in 1988, iran for the u.s. congress in a three-way race -- in 1988, i ran for the u.s. congress in a three-way race. tw years later, iran that election with 16% more -- two years later, i ran that election with 16% more of the vote. a candidate who spent three times more money than anyone had ever spent before in our state's

history, and ran a very, very negative race was who i was against. ir ran and for reelection i got 71% of the vote. as mayor of arlington, my administration took on virtually every special and powerful interest in the city and in the state. against the wishes of developers and railroads, we created a beautiful people oriented waterfront and walkway and bikeway along lake champlain. we won national recognition for urban beautification by planting thousands of trees throughout the city, and we made major improvements in our streets and sidewalks. we implemented the largest environmental program then in the state's history of building a new wastewater facility to prevent untreated waste from

going into the lake. we started a youth office which created beautiful day camps, a little league program afterschool programs, all of which continue to exist today. we were the first city in vermont to break its dependence on a regressive property tax. we made changes to the police department, moving in the direction of community policing. we had a very active and successful arts program. and the result for the last several decades, burlington has been considered to be one of the most beautiful and livable small cities in america, and i invite all of you not only to visit burlington, but to visit our beautiful state of vermont. in 1990, i became the first independent elected to the u.s. house in 40 years. we formed a caucus that stands as one of the largest and more important caucuses, doing a

great job representing working families. one of the first votes in the house i cast was against the first gulf war. i believe that history will record that was the right vote. [applause] as was the vote i cast years later against the war in iraq and what i consider to be one of the worst foreign-policy blunders in the history of our country. [applause] that war -- and i think as the forrmer chairman of the veterans committee, what the cost that war is. that cost does not only be lives of thousands of beautiful and brave young men in women, but it also created the situation where

today hundreds of thousands 500,000 men and women have come home from iraqi and afghanistan with posttraumatic stresses order and dramatic brain injury. they have come home with a loss of arms and legs and eyesight and their hearing. before we get involved in another war, we should remember what war is really about. [applause] and that war in iraq also destabilized the entire region and opened up the can of worms we now see. we have the organization called isis and we are deeply concerned about our remaining influence over iraq. i was one of those who led the fight against td regulation of

wall street -- the deregulation of wall street. in retrospect, i think it is fair to say that most people today do not believe that it was a great idea to and glass-steagall -- to end glass-steagall and allow activity on wall street to go unchecked. [applause] i also strongly oppose the trade agreements written by corporate america and have gotten support from democratic and republican presidents like nafta, cap to, which have led this country into a race to the bottom. needless to say i strongly

oppose the transpacific partnership trade agreement. [applause] while in the house, i took on the pharmaceutical industry and the outrageous prices they charge our people and became the first member of congress to take americans across the canadian border to purchase prescription drugs there and i will never forget that trip where women struggling with breast cancer bought the medicine they needed for 1/10 of the price in montréal that they were paying in the united states. and my understanding is today hundreds of thousands of people sadly, have to continue buying their medicine in canada rather than local pharmacies. as the chairman of the senate veterans committee, i worked hard in a bipartisan way to pass the most significant veterans legislation passed in many, many years.

we put $15 billion into improving veterans health care to make sure that the people who put their lives on the line to defend us get the best quality health care possible and get it in a timely manner. and i have -- [applause] and one of the wonderful honors i have received in recent years is to be the recipient of the highest awards from the american legion and the vfw and i'm very very grateful to them for that. as someone concerned about health care and our dysfunctional harrop care -- health care system, i worked with jim clyburn to put some $12 billion into qualified community health centers which resulted in some 4 million lower income americans gaining access to health care, dental care low-cost ascription drugs, and mental health counseling.

we also significantly expanded the national health services board. the president was very supportive of these efforts, and in my view this program has been one of the success stories of the affordable care act. as one of the leaders in the senate trying to combat the crisis of climate change. i helped create the block grant program that put billions into energy efficiency and sustainable energy. several years ago, working with several of my colleagues, i formed the social security caucus and we were successful in reading back and massive effort to cut programs, social security, and benefits from some of the most powerful people in this country and that is an effort i will continue to make. [applause] now, that is a very brief

description of my life and political history. let me start with something more important, and that is the future of our country. what i am going to tell you now i suspect not many people come up to talk about, but as someone who has been described as being too gruff, a grumpy grandfather i have to live up to my reputation. so i will be gruff i will be abrupt and i will let you know what i think. today in a nation plagued by many, many concerns, the most serious problem we face is the grotesque and growing level of wealth and income inequality. [applause]

this is a profound moral issue. it is a profound economic issue. and as a result of citizens united, it is a profound political issue. it is the issue that impacts all other issues. job creation, health care, climate change, the environment education, you name it. they are all fundamentally impacted by income and wealth inequality. let me be very honest with you and tell you what very few elected officials will tell you. and that is that given the incredible power of the billionaire class over the economic life of this country over politics, over media, i am absolutely convinced that the struggle for economic and social justice, the struggle for a strong middle class, these

struggle -- the struggle for a vibrant democracy in which elections are not bought one not be one in our lifetime unless an unprecedented grassroots movement is developed which is prepared to take on and defeat the power of the 1%. [applause] over this last weekend, my wife and i had the opportunity to visit selma alabama and montgomery, alabama, along with many other members of congress and tens of thousands of citizens to honor the incredible bravery of those who marched and were beaten on bloody sunday 50 years ago. i was there with my good friend john lewis and many others. standing outside of martin luther king's small and modest dexter avenue church in

montgomery, i was reminded that real change never takes place without struggle, without the active participation of millions of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for justice people who are prepared to put their lives on the line in those struggles. these political battle of this time is not republicans versus democrats. it is not the political gains inside the beltway that preoccupy much of the media's attention, it is not the ugly 32nd tv ad that flood our airwaves. the challenge at this moment in our history is a declining middle class of millions of people working longer hours for low wages, if they are lucky enough to have jobs, against the power of a billionaire class whose greed has no end.

[applause] it is the struggle of americans black, white, hispanic asian native american, women and men gay and straight. the struggle for decent jobs, adequate incomes to take care of their families, struggling for retirement security, struggling for decent education with their kids, struggling for health care, struggling for dignity against the greed and power of a few on top who apparently wanted all. -- want it all. economically the great middle class, once the envy of the entire world has been in decline . despite exploding technology despite increased productivity,

despite the global economy and the increase in trade, millions of americans today are working longer hours for low wages and we have more people living in poverty today than almost any time in the modern history of america. today, real unemployment is not 5.5%. real unemployment is a 11%, and if you include those workers who have given up looking for work or working part-time when they want to work full-time. african american youth unemployment is up to 30%. shamefully, we have by far the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on earth, and despite the modest success of the affordable care act, some 40 million americans continue to have no health insurance, while even more are

underinsured with heavy copayments or do duck doubles insurance policy. we remain -- heavy copayments or deductibles and their insurance policy. we remain the only major industrialized country that does not guarantee to its people health care as a right, and that is a shame in my mind. [applause] there are a lot of angry people all across this country. some of them from the occupy wall street movement. some are in the tea party movement and see themselves as conservatives. but let me give you a hint as to why we are angry and why they are. since 1999, the typical middle-class family has seen its take-home go down by almost $5,000 after adjusted for inflation. the median male worker made $683

less last year then he did 42 years ago. are we better off than when bush left office? of course we are. but the suffering anxiety the middle class feels today has no idea what is going on in this country and that is my perception on capitol hill. there is a world here on capitol hill that is very different from vermont and the rest of the country and i think it is imperative we close that gap and begin to let them know what is going on with the working families of this country. meanwhile the wealthiest people and the largest corporations are doing phenomenally well. the gap between the very, very rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider and wider. the top 1% now owns about 41% of

the entire wealth of this country, while the bottom 60% owns less than 2%. today, incredibly the top 1/10 of 1%, 1/10 of 1% now owns nearly as much wealth as the bottom 90%. today the walton family, the owner of walmart, is now worth $157 billion. that is more wealth than the bottom 42% of the american people. the fact of the matter is, over the last four years we have witnessed an enormous transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to multi billionaires. 90% was 36% in 2013 went down to

just 2.8%. listen to this. if the bottom 90% have the same share of its nations wealth as it did 30 years ago it would have more than $10 trillion in wealth while the middle-class has shrunk, people on top are doing extraordinarily well. today, the richest 1/10 of 1% have increased their share of our nation passes wealth by more than a trillion dollars over the last three decades. in terms of income, as opposed to wealth, since the great wall street collapsed 99% of all new income is going to the top 1%. our people all over the country struggle and worry about how they will feed their kids and how they will send their kids to college and how they will do childcare and worry about their parents.

99% of all new income generated in the last several years goes to the top 10%. a very rich get richer and everybody else gets poorer. 2013, just as an example, the top 25 hedge fund managers make more than $24 billion. that is the equivalent to a full salary of more than 425,000 public school teachers. is that what america is really supposed to be about? i do not think so. [applause] but income and wealth equality is not just a moral issue. it is also an economic issue. maybe more profamily, it is a political issue. the people who have the money are now putting their money under the mattress is. they are investing heavily in

the political process. to make the rich even richer. as the result of a disastrous supreme court decision on citizens united, billionaire families are now able to's been unlimited sums of money. i know that sounds like a harsh statement, but if anyone doubts what goes on in congress that piece of legislation after piece of legislation is not done on behalf of the wealthy and large corporations let me respectfully tell you you do not know what is going on in washington. according to media reports, it appears the koch brothers are prepared to spend more money in the then either the democratic or republican party. one family, the second wealthiest family and the entry worth the process hundred billion dollars may well have a strong political presence than

anyone of the major two parties. here is from a recent article in politico. the koch brothers and their allies are pumping tens of millions of dollars into companies developing state-of-the-art detailed profiles on 250 main americans giving the brothers political operation or the mark of a political party or the coke network has developed in-house exit teeth in polling, fact checking, advertising, media buying, and nationally, aggressiveness and years of patient experimentation, plus the coke operation actually exceeds the republican national committee passes operation in many important respects. because they had an endless supply of money, they only get stronger.

i want everyone in this room and those listening to the program to step back and create a deep breath and tell me what you see. when the second wealthiest family in this country with an extreme right-wing agenda and a few of their billionaire powers -- howells have-- pals have more critical power in this country what is that political system called? i think it should be called by its rightful name. it is not call democracy. it is called oligarchy. that is the system we are rapidly moving toward. that is the system we must vigorously oppose. [applause] i have exceeded my time. i always get people in little nervous. if i go on too long, yanked me. i have been yanked once or twice

before. let me just touch on what a congressional agenda looks like to begin to adjust some of the problems. let's never forget today, despite the improving economy, we have a major draws in income prices. we need to build -- rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. i introduced along with barbara of maryland a trillion dollar piece of legislation that would go a long way to rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges and water -- 13 million decent paying jobs. [applause] when we talk about jobs and income the $7.25 minimum wage here at the federal level it is a starvation wage. we need to raise it over a time of years to $15 an hour to an own working 40 hours a week in this country should live in poverty. [applause]

despite what my republican friends may think, climate change israel. climate change is caused by human activity, and it is already causing devastating harm. we have got to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy sufficiency and sustainable energy. [applause] we have to pass pay equity for milk -- for women workers. it is unacceptable they are making seven -- $.70 per hour. [applause] we need to fundamentally transform our trade policies. they are not working. corporate america will have to start investing in the united states. not in china. [applause] we have got to learn from the rest of the world that investing in a higher education is an

asset cared it is a positive step. it is a national disgrace that billions of our young people are graduating school deeply in debt and many others cannot afford to go to college. that is not the way you create a great nation. anyone who has the ability and the desire should be able to get a college education regardless of the income of their families. [applause] six, you cannot regulate wall street. wall street is regulating the congress. the sixth largest financial institution have assets of almost 60% of our gdp. if teddy roosevelt were president today, you know what he would say? break them up here he would be right. it is time to break up the large wall street bank. [applause] as i mentioned earlier, the united states remains the only major country on earth to put out a national healthcare program and yet we spent almost twice as much per capita. it is time for america to guarantee health care to every

man, woman, and child, as a right of citizenship. [applause] my colleagues in congress, some of them are republican, working day and night to cut medicare and medicaid. needless to say, i strongly disagree. we have got to expand social security. not cut social security. [applause] we need real tax reform. it is not acceptable that major corporation after major corporation making billions of dollars pays nothing in taxes. we lose $100 billion a year in revenue because they stash their money in tax havens. it is time for the large corporations to rejoin america and start paying their fair share of taxes. [applause] so let me thank you and my forgiveness for overextending my time.

we are at a crucial moment in american history. it is imperative we learn from the civil rights movement, which achieved so many extraordinary victories, that we organize, we educate, and we bring people together to create an america that works for all of us and not just a handful of billionaires. thank you all very much. [applause] >> senator, when will you declare your intentions of 2016 regardless of what they are? bernie sanders: that is a good

question. the reason i have been thinking about becoming president sitting here with my wife who is less than enthusiastic about the idea it is not because i wake up in the morning and say, i have a burning desire to be president of the united states. i am as proud as i could possibly be to be representing the great state of vermont and i have reached a higher level of political achievement i ever dreamed to be possible or the reason i am thinking about running for president is that at a time when the middle-class of this country is disappearing and so many people are giving up on the part of -- the political process, -- last election, 63% did not even bother to vote. we need candidates who will stand up for the board -- the working-class of these -- of this country. it ain't in easy task. it is easy to give a speech, but we are taking on the koch brothers and the billionaires and wall street and the insurance companies and the

military-industrial complex. that is not easy stuff. not easy stuff. i do not want to do this thing unless i can do it well. can we put together the political movement of millions of people prepared to work hard to take on the billionaire >>? that is what i'm trying to find out. i go around the country and there is a lot of support for these ideas. more than i think the inside beltway pundits understand. can you convert that into a grassroots organization? i woke up the other day and said i -- if i were really successful and did something unprecedented and had 3 million people contribute $100 each, and my election campaigns, i think the average contribution is $45. not a lot of money here in washington dc. i do not do these fundraisers for $100,000 each. i do not know anybody who has got that kind of money.

if i were really enormously successful and had 3 million people check -- contributing a hundred dollars each, 3 million people, that would be $300 million, an enormous sum of money, one third of what the coat others themselves will spend. -- the koch brothers themselves will spend. >> you are an independent and you caucus with the democrats. if you ran would you run as a democrat or would you run as an independent? bernie sanders: quick question and i'm getting bolder and bolder and grayer and grayer and trying to think through all of these issues. if you go out among the american people and ask if you have a lot of confidence in the democratic and republican party, they will tell you if -- the republican party has moved to a right-wing wing extremist party and the democratic party, once the party of the american working-class very few people to see it would be the case anymore. more and more people all over the country are looking for

alternatives to the two-party system. it is one of the reasons one might run as an independent and what is the negative? as you all know, it is awfully hard to run as an independent if you are not a billionaire. i'm not a billionaire. how do you put together a political infrastructure? outside of the two-party system, how do get invited to debates question mark with all due respect to the media will the media follow someone who is an independent not debating? some places, you cannot get on the ballot as a third-party candidate. those are the issues we are trying to work through. >> what makes you an independent, given that you always do caucus with democrats in the senate and with the republican senate, are you forced to vote with the democrats anyway so republicans cannot get their agenda passed? the question is what really makes you an independent?

are you really a democrat? bernie sanders: as i started my discussion, my first victory was defeating a five term democrat and i've defeated democrats and republicans for many years. this is what i think. i think we have a political system right now, and i think the republican party has become extremely right-wing. this is not the party of david eisenhower. there is no way i would caucus with mp or within the democratic party, you have some great people and you have some really, really good people who often do not get the credit they deserve. many progressives or some progressives in the senate working night and day for working families. for me, given as a member of the u.s. senate, there are two caucuses, so there is not much question about which caucus i would be in. i want to think harry reid and the democratic leadership in the senate for treating me very fairly and very decently.

to my mind, there is no question, the democrats are far preferable to repel things on the issues i am concerned with. >> if you ran it if you were elected, how would you work with congress? there seems to be a gridlock between the white house and congress now. would that be the same case if you were in the white house? bernie sanders: the reason congress is dysfunctional is not because of the so-called gridlock that exists. it is not that every member of congress has a personality defect and is unable to communicate with people in another political party, or the people end up hating everybody around. it is just not the case. this is what is the case. the case is, right now, the united states congress is not representative of where the american people are here they

are way out of touch. the american people say, raise the minimum wage. united states congress says, give taxpayers to billionaires. [laughter] the american people say we have to move toward sustainable and clean energy and energy sufficiency. united states congress says, kill the keystone pipeline. on and on. you ask me a question, and it is a very important question pair i happen to have a lot of respect and personal affection for barack obama. i think history will judge him in a lot kinder way than his contemporaries have. [applause] i think that as a politician, he has run camp lanes that -- campaigns that will also make history books. not tell you any secrets what the major mistake has been is that he thought after putting together this extraordinary, grassroots movement of young

people, minorities working-class people, putting together a coalition and getting elected to the presidency, and then he thought he could sit down with republicans and negotiate all of these fine agreements, he was mistaken. the only way any president in this day and age taking on the billionaire >> can succeed, the only possible way, is to mobilize tens of millions of people to say to congress, guess what. this is what you are doing. you are going to raise the minimum wage. you are going to create millions of jobs. you are going to protect our veterans and our seniors. you are not going to give tax breaks to the rich. you're going to make college affordable. we are watching you. you do not vote for this legislation, you will not return to office. when i can say with 100% certainty, if we continue to have elections in which 63% of the people do not vote, 83% of

young people do not vote, the rich will only get richer and continue to dominate what goes on here in washington. any serious president that wants to run for working families has to mobilize people all over the country to make the congress an offer they cannot refuse. [applause] >> how will your decision running for president he affected by what others do? secretary clinton, if she gets in the race and depending on what she does or says, if she goes to wall street and comes out very strong against wall street or if senator warren or somebody like that got in, with that affect your decision to get in or get out? bernie sanders: i do politics. people in vermont understand this. you are looking for somebody who has run in many elections.

in the house for 16 years, eight elections, in the senate twice. do you know how many negative ads i have run during those years? not one. i never ran a negative ad. if i do not run against people, it is not my desire to trash people. hillary clinton is a remarkable woman with an extraordinary history of public service. it would not be my job to run against them. it would be my job if she ran in iran to -- and i ran, to debate serious issues as intelligent people should be doing in a democracy. [applause] this is how i always get myself in trouble and i am getting my wife nervous already. we cannot have that serious debate if the media does not allow it. i would urge my media friends

instead of political gossip, let's respect different points of view. when sisi 3% of people in a poll last year do not know which political parties controlled the house and the senate, something is wrong. with political consciousness in this country. what we need is civil intelligence debates on real issues facing the american people. not about who says on the particularly stupid. i'm sure i did today. but let it be. how do we rebuild a crumbling middle-class? how do we leave the world in transforming our energy system so we can save the planet from climate change? how do we deal with the grotesque level of income and wealth equality? not easy stuff. how do we do it? those are the issues serious

people should be talking about. [applause] >> i had read that you were frustrated about the number of times you were asked about cedric -- secretary clinton's e-mails get i wonder if you view that as a total tempest in a teapot, or are there real transparency issues about how the government operates at the core of this that people like yourself should talk about? senator sanders: the frustration is out of all of the years i have been in congress, not one person in the media came up to me and said, bernie, we have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrial world what will you do about it? bernie, we have 11% of our people unemployed today. how are you going to put those people back to work? bernie, are you worried that so few people have so much political power? what will you do about that? those are questions i do not

hear very much about. i do not know a whole lot about it. i know what you know, what you read in the newspapers about the e-mails. i do not know what the rules are, but frankly from the calls, just mentioned, i asked at the front desk, how many calls are we getting about hillary's e-mail? in washington dc, zero. quite how would you handle the federal reserve as president and what you think about the push the republicans to have the fed audited? senator sanders: an important issue. when i was involved in dodd frank, a major piece of financial legislation, we managed to get an amendment for the first time in history in the united states that did not audit the fed in its entirety but did audit the fed during the

financial crisis. boy, bloomberg was active in that effort as well. i think they brought forth a lawsuit. what we found out was that during the financial crisis, $16 trillion in zero or low interest loans, was led out of virtually every major financial institution in the united states and central-bank all over the world. $16 trillion, zero or low interest loans. and yet, working families today have to figure out how they will pay 728 it -- seven to eight percent interest rates. in terms of auditing the fed that is legislation -- here is an example of strange bedfellows, together, ron paul

and i worked together on that legislation which we managed to pass some of it in the bill. the idea of auditing the fed does not make sense to me. >> several questions about war and defense we are running short on time. we're trying to combine a few of them and you will jump in. you have opposed the wars in iraq and afghanistan. if you were president, how would you have responded to the attacks of september 11 2001? that is one question. another questioner notes you are a big advocate of cutting defense spending and yet this prison also believes you are a supporter of the f 35 program which has come under a lot of criticism is being wasteful. how do you reconcile that? f 35 in september 11. -- and september 11. senator sanders: i voted for the war in afghanistan. the reason i did this because we had a pretty good idea who led

the attack on 9/11. osama bin laden he was being harbored in afghanistan and they refused to give him up and i supported our troops going in there. i did not then know that the world would go on and on and on. that, i did not know. i strongly opposed the war in iraq and i think history will call that the right vote. how you deal with isis is a difficult issue. none of these issues are simple. anyone who jumps up and thinks they have a magical solution is usually very wrong. this is what my fear is. we have been in war in iraq and afghanistan for over a decade. the cost of that war and human life and suffering and financially has been very heavy. i strongly feel that some of my colleagues are hell-bent in getting us involved in never

ending war in the quagmire of the middle east. i will do my best to oppose that. right now, what you have is a situation where, as an example saudi arabia, some of you may know, is a country controlled by multibillion-dollar family, one of the wealthiest families in the world. it turns out saudi arabia has the fourth largest military budget in the world. now why in god's name is the united states contemplating sending combat troops into iraq again, when you have got the saudis sitting there, watching us do that. ? what you have now the middle east is in fact a war for the soul of islam. what will islam be? will it be the peaceful -- peaceful religion many believe

it to be, or will it be isis inform? it is incumbent for saudi arabia kuwait, for jordan, for the countries in the region, to get actively involved in that effort against isis. i think united states and western europe should be supportive of their efforts. but i do not believe the united states should leave that effort. [applause] -- should lead that effort. [applause] >> we're almost out of time. before i ask the last question, i have a couple of other important matters to take care of. i first want to remind you about upcoming speakers. fda commissioner margaret hamburg will be herewill be here on march 27 . and the chief internet evangelist for google will be here on may 4. second, i would like to present our guest with the traditional national press club mug which

is really a nicer and more valuable gift than anything you would get as president of the united states, let me tell you. [laughter] senator sanders: thank you very much. [applause] >> last question, ben and jerry periodically retires its flavors. as a powerful political personage, what flavor would you use your considerable clout to save if it ever got put on the chopping block? [laughter] senator sanders: ben and jerry are good friends. they have stopped eating a lot of that ice cream and then is a luskin year he used to be. i like them all, i have got a confession, but i am old-fashioned. chocolate cells just fine with me.

[applause] -- sells just fine with me. [applause] >> thank you for being here today. i would like to thank the press club staff for organizing today's events. if you would like a copy of today's program, or to learn more about the national press club, go to our website press.org. thank you and we are adjourned. [applause] senator sanders: thank you very much. >> another picture. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> if you missed any of what senator sanders had to say in his speech to the crowd at the national press club this afternoon, you can see his remarks any time in the seas and

video library or go to c-span.org. as the senate gavels and at this hour, they begin their legislative week. the hill looks at the senate republicans agenda in dealing with their democrat colleague spirit with the department of home and security standoff in the rearview mirror, senate republicans are going on office with of that divide democrats, such as iran oversight bill and trade legislation. senate republicans are desperate to show they can delve -- they can govern after they largely wasted february haggling the dhs funding bill without winning any of the concessions they hope for an immigration. after battling for weeks republicans now want to put democrats on the defensive by pushing issues that split democratic centrists and liberals. we are definitely moving to offense be it we hope democrats want to work with some of us on those issues but as usual, we're not holding our breath. that is from the third ranking number of the gop leadership. for more on what we can expect this week, we spoke wi