tv House Session CSPAN April 15, 2015 11:00am-12:01pm EDT
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really great to actually go out and do the stuff and not just learn about it for weeks on end and maybe get to do some of the stuff hands on so it's been great. ms. clinton: and is your experience doing the work on auto similar to what i heard in advanced manufacturing you have to learn a lot of math and understand computers and they were talking to me about with the computerized knew marek control, trying to really -- numeric control, trying to really use their math skills and upgrade them so they can deal wall of the computerization? >> yeah. i mean, cars are controlled by computers now so we do a ton of work with tools and computers so that's hands on and that's valuable skills. to be certified in if you want to go to the automotive field. . ms. clinton: how long have you been teaching here? thank you. thank you. that's one of the other things that i really like about this
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coordinated, cooperative model because young people who might be in high school, if they can get hands on and feel like they are doing something that they love, that motivates them in many instances to actually learn the math or learn the composition, learn the skills that will help them. at least that's been what i have seen happening in lots of different places. go ahead. >> just for everybody's benefit this was started six years ago. this was our first one. we had such great success. if you think about the partnerships we formed with business with the steel people, especially in this area, but throughout the whole -- our whole seven county service area, this is the first one. it proved so successful that we actually went out for a bond issue and asked the seven-county area to approve dollars to build more of these. this is the first one. the second one's in cedar
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rapids the their one is in washington, identify washing the fourth one would be the first in the nation where a community college builds on a four-year campus. so it's a great partnership. last year -- this year we are going to serve over 5,000 high schoolers. you have to think about those high schoolers. some of them are the first generation. so they get a chance -- just like these folks have been talking about, to experience something different than the high school. maybe at a different level. because that's what we are all about at kirkwood is being an opportunity system. not only for our college-aged students but also for our k-12 partners. if they have widely supported it as well. 5,000. not only do they come to our four centers, eventually, we also sent our faculty in to the high schools. they get what's called dual credit. last year alone if you talk about -- if they came to kirkwood, which is more
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economical than going to a four year those parents will save $3.25 million just for last year in tuition. if they came to iowa -- kirkwood. if they came to iowa, just double the number because their tuition is about twice as high. and triple if you go to a private. it really gives some, like ellen will v. she'll have a year and a half under. when talk about student debt, that will lower the student debt. it gives them experience. one of the best pictures that we have from here is all the students we have cookouts and stuff, they all come dressed in their football uniforms and their volleyball and all the cheerleading and everything, we take a picture. so at night they are going to go compete on the field. here they are learning together. they are in a collaborative partnership. i think they have really grown and have had an opportunity to interact with them also. another thing that we really think sets ours apart s. a lot
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of our c.t.e. courses are nationally certified. so when they leave here, they'll have a n.i.m. certificate. just talked to a young man in washington he's a senior. he's going to graduate with a n.i.m. certificate in welding. he's had five job offers. and he's going to go out and make $40,000 his first year out of high school. we hope they come back and go through our whole program. it's quite an opportunity. it's really like this land was donated by a businessperson. we get a lot of community support. ms. clinton: it's sort of reinforcing. you get community support because you provide the services and people, parents, business, members of the community, they can see the results. >> exactly. ms. clinton: we've got to rebuild that connection again because in too many places there's been kind of a lack of appreciation of the importance of investing in education at all levels. and then being created, as you
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have been, about how we provide more opportunities. and i did want to ask you, ellen, when did you start taking courses here? >> i started my sophomore year. i took an online course. it's post secondary enrollment option. and i actually started taking the kirkwood academy, arts and sciences one. but i actually don't take the main course. i take it at the high school. but i get dual credit. so i get high school english credit and also college credit, too. ms. clinton: you will have 48 college credits when you graduate from high school? >> yes. i'm also taking an online class right now. and i'll take a course out here in the summer. i also took one last summer. ms. clinton: are there many other students doing what you're doing? among your friends or classmates? >> there's a lot of my classmates that are in the
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kirkwood academy with me. but there's not a lot of people that will do summer courses on top of that. and also online classes. because this year at our school we started where we can take kirkwood a p.s.o., online class, so i can get a lot more credits. ms. clinton: you're still doing your high school courses or these substitute your high school courses? >> the english credit is kind of different. it's the composition one and two class would be college credit. and you get high school english credit. usually if you would take a kirkwood class, you would get an elective credit so it wouldn't -- you would have to take your english classes and stuff at the high school. ms. clinton: what's next for you? >> i plan on going to mount mercy after this. and i think i'm going to major in business, but i'll have like
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two years done almost. ms. clinton: that's terrific. then you'll only have to pay for two years of a four-year college. >> that helps a lot. ms. clinton: it's a big deal. >> kirkwood and the high school the partnership has provided me with a lot of students and i'm fortunate to be a part of that. ms. clinton: you're a walking advertisement for it. how important this option is. dianne, as an instructor, how do you see the benefits of these kinds of blended programs and what issues have you seen arise? how would you make them even better? america online that's a great question. jason mentioned many of the positives that come out of the classroom. i think the best thing that i see is although i understand the premise of no child left behind,
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i do feel as if by focusing so much on making sure that everyone is proficient we sometimes don't stretch the higher achievers. and that's where kirkwood has been fantastic. it has offered programs for students like ellen who excel in high school who need an extra challenge. sometimes it's not just the challenge in english or speech, but in the c.t.e. areas. so i think that's been a gap that this program has helped fill. ms. clinton: that's a really important point because i have been involved in education reform for a long time. not in recent years in an active way but certainly as a very interested observer. i do agree with you that we have to do more to open up our education system so that we are meeting individual students where they are and where they could be with the right
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motivation, the different opportunities for learning, the hands on, for example. and i think we do have to have accountability measures, but not at the expense of the individualized learning that needs to go on. so how we do that in this gigantic country of ours, you could see how it can work on a school by school basis and the partnerships between monte cello and kirkwood, and i am looking for those really good ideas so we can try to go further and provide them to more people with perhaps not the exposure that your students have had. so you have taught, i think how many years? >> 21. ms. clinton: 21. predominantly in high school? >> correct. ms. clinton: how would you characterize your students today from the students you taught when you first started as a teacher? >> whoa.
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another very good question right there. i think our students are bolder today. i think that they are more willing to take risk. i think they are also more apprehensive about their future. 20 years ago i think a set number of students believed, all right, i'm going to go to college and another set said i am very content getting a job, working on the family farm. that's what i'd like to do. and we have seen a shift in education where there's a lot more pressure, if we want people to pursue an education. and a lot of that has come from of course the financial gain. you see all these charts about high school education, this is how much you're going to make. with a two-year degree and four-year degree this is how your outlook can change. i think students see that. if i want to live this american
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dream, i've got to go to college. if i think that now our students feel that pressure to go to college, and i think that's the pressure they want to challenge themselves to do more. i think they are also becoming very aware that these jobs where once they are able, 20 years ago, when they were able to leave high school now they don't have all that training that they need. and i do think that's another gap that kirkwood helps fill is some of that training. >> one thing i see is i have been doing this for about 15 years. what i have seen is you're exactly right. except one thing that's different is kids have to be more precise about what their choices are. because i think if you go back 20 years ago, you know you're looking at jobs were plentiful. the economy was great. ms. clinton: i remember.
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>> you remember that. someone was helping lead us through that who you might remember. what i say is that it was easy to get a four-year degree, i hate to say that. now you're talking about college loan and debt and all that. that's what i spend a considerable amount of time with my counselor and families being precise and focus on what we are doing to save them money. so that she can make that decision to get 48 credits for the right reason and find out where she wants to go. now ellen is like, man, i've got to get this credit because this gets me to mount mercy, what happens when you're a junior and don't know where you're going? now you have to be more precise because we are having the conversation in eighth and ninth gade you used to have when you were a senior. the pressure is you have to be precise. you have to find out where you're going. that's good because rooms like this get nationally certified. we have to do a better job at
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school, administration counselors and teachers, getting kids through that process and thinking about it. ms. clinton: that's another thing kirkwood does which i wanted to ask nick to just explain. as i understand it you do a lot of financial counseling for the students here. a lot of outreach to help them -- you start in high school. but a lot of people are still not going to know exactly what they want to do and they end up community college. and then they need continuing help, right? >> certainly. as you think about the value of the community college, there's a couple that come to mind. one is we are at a lower cost, so a student that doesn't have a clue about what they want to be when they grow up, they can come in and start. that's the advantage of all of our centers. they can come in as a sophomore if they want or a junior, and they can think about nursing. they find out they don't like blood, well, ok. i'm going to try something else. there's a lot of those students. but probably the best thing that
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this does is, as you think about what we are delivering, and it's really, we are really focused in on those middle skill jobs which are plentiful out there where people -- there's not enough people to take those jobs. a lot of our academies focus right in on those. we have over 20 academies. so you can do pre-dental, pre-engineering, c.n.a., you name it, we've got t there's a lot of opportunities for students to choose from. you can see they have all done something different. that's the value of having an opportunity system as you look at it. but it's that great partnership we have with the k-12, there are 32 k-12s in our service area. every one of them is involved in our concurrent enrollment which gives an advantage there. i just -- we do one thing in eighth grade we bring in every eighth grader and do a financial literacy day through what's called our workplace learning connection.
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and that's -- i won't go into what that is. ms. clinton: that's a good thing. >> they actually come in for a day and they've got what they want to be when they grow up. everybody has to do that at the end of eighth grade. you got to have a plan. i have a plan is what it's called. ms. clinton: that starts the discussion were you talking about about being precise. this is what you say you want to do. what do you have to do to be able to do it. you also -- look, i think that there are a lot of families who are just as confused and apprehensive as their kids are. what does this mean? how do you do it? how do i even talk to my kid about it. the school and the college are helping to support whatever the conversation is going on inside the families. tell me about your coming to school and what did you do before and how did you make the decision? anything else you'd like to share. >> i worked for close to 10 years in homeland security.
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i decided on a career change. so i decided to come to kirkwood. i'm a single mother of three kids. there's no way i could afford anything other than kirkwood. i was allowed to work the work study program here and i was also in a program which helped me tremendously through this. being a parent of a high school student that's getting ready to come to kirkwood next year, i have learned so much being here to help her get through the rest of it. because college has become more of an a necessaryity than it ever has before, i think. in order to -- which is why i came back to kirkwood, i wanted to be proficient in a skill that i could use in a broad variety of ways, which this does it for me. ms. clinton: does the work program and the pell grant pay
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for it? or do you have additional costs? >> so far it's paid for it. i am getting to a point where i may have to take out loans, which i'm trying to avoid at this point, because i don't want a large debt when i'm done. when i'm done with kirkwood, i would like to continue on to a four-year degree, which -- ms. clinton: yeah. that's what you want to do. great goal. i fully support president obama's blan to make community college free -- plan to make community college free. even if we were successful in making the cost directly associated with going to college free there are all these other cost that is people have to figure out a way to pay. and so we've got to look at this from the perspective of the actual student and the student family. what can you afford. what amount of debt are you willing to take on? but how do we make sure that
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it's affordable for you and that it can be paid back based on your income so that you don't get pushed into an absolutely untenable financial situation right out of school when you're just trying to get started. but then there are all these other costs of whether it's books or online materials, whatever you need, to be able to actually go to the courses. some people have told me that that becomes a bigger problem. a pell grant covers in many instances most if not all of the community college cost. but a lot of students are working or they are single parents, and they have all these other expenses that they don't have any help trying to pay. so how have you thought about that? >> that's where the work study has come in for me because it's allowed me the opportunity to make money while i'm going to school. it's not enough to raise my family on, obviously, but
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eventually it will be. i'll get there. ms. clinton: i think that looking at education, it truly does remain not only the best pathway, although not everybody has to do it exactly the same way, getting these national certifications that enable you to go out of high school and make $40,000 because you're a metal worker or autoworker or whatever it might be, but still getting those skills, getting that education, and in many instances getting the credentials is really important in today's global economy. we just have to get back to making it affordable and open for everybody willing to work for it. in many parts of the country now, we have the costs are so high. some of the for-profit schools, some of the scandals that have arisen in these places where they take all this money and put
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all these young people and their families into debt, even if they graduate they don't have credentials that are going to get them those jobs. or they can't graduate because the other costs are just too great and they can't continue to incur debt so they drop out, but they still have a debt and don't have the degree or credential. we've got to sort this out and we have to take on those interests that want to keep the system the way it is, because it generates a lot of money and a lot of interest payments for them, and instead get back to basics. how do we have -- love your phrase, nick, an opportunity system. i think we have to start that in prekindergarten. i think we have to can i have -- i think we have to give more kids ready. you have to realize you're growing your baby's brain. my poor granddaughter her first words will be stop this, i grant bear it anymore. we know neurons are firing and
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connections are being made, and by the time a child gets to kindergarten, much of their vocabulary has been formed. a lot of their brain development has occurred. so we need an opportunity system literally from birth through lifelong adult learning. and we should be embracing that and coming up with the best ways to create the kind of partnership that you have here in more places and kind of flesh out the bad actors who are taking advantage of students and not really providing much in return and really lift up the good actors, like kirkwood. you've been in the field for a long time. how do you see all of this? >> let me comment, besides what we do during the day, we offer -- we have over 1,000 students take continuing ed. when you talk about lifelong learning, there's a lot of opportunity for everybody to keep their brain active i guess
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is how i'd call it. i have been in education for a long time, 46 years. this is my 46th year. i have always thought that we are not doing enough to provide those students student systems. not everybody is going to fit into that same mold. we need to have different pathways that each one of these students has taken. we need to provide that. we need to provide that in the most economical way possible. so when you think partnerships, you think collaboration, that's how we are going to get it done. we did -- we do that on a statewide basis. we got one of the t.a.a.-c.t.t. grads for $13.5 million in the state of iowa to focus in on advanced manufacturing. all 15 community colleges in iowa are focusing in on that. when you put the power of all that together, i think you can really make a difference. the presidents of the community colleges in iowa, we put
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together a proposal that we just started to put down the road that would make it possible to have what we have here there are a couple of others in the state, but to put this opportunity in the entire state. so it doesn't matter if you're in cedar rapids, monticello or timbuktu you will have the opportunity to take some of the courses through the academies. we are slowly moving that ahead. being deliberate about it. i think that's what it's all about. we all have to work together. we can't let boundaries define us. ms. clinton: you are really singing my song here because i think we need a new vision, new paradigm of how we are going to do education. and that can get people excited again instead of what in too many places has become a pitched battle with a lot of arguments based on ideology instead of results. there's been an enormous amount of research done in education.
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and there's some really good zeta about what works and i -- data about what works and i think we should be focusing on that is correct the model, the partnerships the results are what i hope will guide us as we look at the role of the federal government. there is a role for the federal government but the real work has to be done at the local level. starting in families, then schools, then in community colleges four-year colleges. and i really believe that the country is ripe for that kind of conversation. i think there's a lot of frustration. you mentioned no child left behind. there were a lot of goals that were important there. but i think we have learned what works and what doesn't work so well. and we ought to focus on the former more than the latter and try to figure out how we can take a system that has so much potential and has produced so many positive outcomes for so many millions of people. and just get down to really
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sorting out how we work together instead of arguing about education. how we work together, get everybody who's acting in good faith around the table, and try to sort it out. because it's clear to me that when you look at community colleges, those are a uniquely american invention. that's why i'm really starting here because if you talk about american education and american innovation and creating jobs, community colleges is something that nobody else in the world did. now, i spent years telling people around the world, look at our community colleges, but a lot of people still haven't caught on to the secrets. until they do, let's make sure that community college is available and affordable and in partnership. i am thrilled to be starting this campaign in iowa going out listening to people and learning from all of you what works, what
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you're concerned about, what the problems are, but also what's exciting about the future. then putting it all together so that we can be really focused on how we respect each other again, trust each other again, listen to each other again, work with each other again. sort of leave the ideology and partisanship at the door. and come in and just say, look, here are the goals we should have. an opportunity system, i'm going to steal that, an opportunity system for all of our people starting before they go into formal school and all the way through in the education arena and then in all the other areas that really matter to middle class families. that know that this is the root forward for them and their kids. i'm really grateful you-all would take time out to spend with me.
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i want to give anybody a chance to say any last-minute concern or issue. andrew, anything? since you're going to the naval academy, how do you see our security and some of the issues around your service? >> after meeting with a lot of the midshipmen there who are -- i met with some that just finished their first year, a couple that just finished their last and about to go out, and the future for the military is bright. i haven't seen a lot of it yet. i'll get plenty of that the next four years. ms. clinton: ready to serve your country. >> i have been for a while. ms. clinton: good for you. what about you ellen, as you think about your future? >> well, one thing that comes to mind with me, it doesn't particularly affect me, but my sister has a disability, and so in school it's harder sometimes
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for her to grasp concepts that other children grasp more easily. so i was just wondering what were your policies that you have for children with disabilities. to help improve that education. i think it would be beneficial for her if she had an opportunity like in the summer to continue her education so when she came back to school she didn't have to start over again. she could continue. ms. clinton: that's a really important point because for many students, again, there's research that have difficulty learning, whether it's because of disabilities or other circumstances in their lives. they lose a lot of the ground that they gain during the school year. because during the summer they don't have the constant stimulation, education that would give them the chance to keep learning and keep building. i think that we should do much
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more to realize the promise that again, tom harkin was the champion of, to make sure that people particularly young people with disabilities, have the learning opportunities that they need. and an opportunity society not everybody learns the same way or at the same pace. there are students who learn with their hands. there are students who learn by listening. there are students who need a relationship with the teacher. others who do it online. we've got to start sorting this out. and for students with disabilities, we want them to have a place in society that gives them satisfaction and provides an opportunity, even to make -- -- even to make a living or to make a contribution. so i would like to see us explore more ways that we can use the existing systems to
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provide, whether it's at a community college or four-year college or a local school district that other people come from other districts to be part of so that kids with disabilities have that one-on-one continuing support that so many of them need like your sister. i'd like to see that. dianne, what do you think? what other points would you like to make? >> i think that we are very blessed to live where we do. where education starting very young if you're high school, college, we have all these opportunities and we are so fortunate heemplet i worry that not all of american gets to experience this treasure that we have. and i think the common core is a wonderful step in the right direction of improving american education. it's painful to see that attacked.
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i'm just wondering what can you do to bring that heart back to education in the united states? what can we do so that parents and community and businesses believe in american education and that teachers are respected and our schools are respected and our colleges are respected? and we offer a quality education to all americans throughout the united states. ms. clinton: wow, in a is really a powerful touching comment that i absolutely embrace. when i think about the really unfortunate argument that's been going on around common core, it's very painful because the common core started off as a he -- bipartisan effort. it was actually nonpartisan. it wasn't politicized.
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it was to try to come up with a core of learning that we might expect students to achieve across our country. no matter what kind of school district they were in. no matter how poor their family was. that there wouldn't be two tiers of education. everybody would be looking at what was to be learned and doing their best to try to achieve that. now, i think part of the reason why iowa may be more understanding of this is you've had the iowa core for years. you've had a system, plus the iowa assessment tests. i think i'm right in saying that, i took those when i was in elementary school, right? the iowa tests. so that iowa has had a testing system based on a core curriculum for a really long time. and you see the value of it. you understand why that helps
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you organize your whole education system. and a lot of states, unfortunately, haven't had that. so don't understand the value of a core in this sense a common core, that then, yes, of course, you can figure out the best way in your community to try to reach, but your question is really a larger one. how did we end up at a point where we are so negative about the most important nonfamily enterprise in the raising of the next generation, which is how our kids are educated? and there are a lot of explanations for that. i suppose. but whatever they are, we need to try to get back into a broad conversation where people will
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actually listen to each other again and try to come up with solutions for problems. the problems here in monticello are not the same problems that you'll find in the inner city of our biggest urban areas. that's a given. we have to do things differently. it should all be driven by the same commitment to try to make sure we do educate every child. that's why i was a senator and voted for leave no child behind because i thought every child should matter. and shouldn't be you're poor or you've got disabilities so we are going to sweep you to the back don't show up on test day because we don't want to mess up our scores. no every child should have the same opportunity. i think we've got to get back to basics. we have to look to teachers to lead the way on that. you're the ones who have 21, 15, 40 -- 46 years of experience. i think you make a very
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important observation about what we need to be doing and what i hope i can do in this campaign and as president. bethany. >> i'm kind of wondering what the government can do or what the schools can do to help people like myself, single mothers, that are struggling to better themselves and bert their families. what kind of advantages can they help with? ms. clinton: well, i want to tell but a prame started when i lived in arkansas and when i was teaching at the university of arkansas. i got to know a lot of the students who were single parents, predominantly women, not all, but mostly, and who were trying to raise their families, work, and go to school. it was really difficult. so i started something called the arkansas single parent scholarship fund. and we raised money first in the
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county where i lived and where the university was. and now it's a statewide program in arkansas. people give money to supplement the needs of single parents. that's what i was talking about earlier. if you're a single parent, you have an old clunky car and it breaks down and can't be fixed, where are you going to get the money to buy a new car or maybe get it toed here to see if they can -- towed here to see if they can fix it. either way right? or you have childcare and your childcare falls apart. the person who you trusted to look after your kids while you go to school is moving or no longer -- are getting a different job. where does the money for that come from? so this single parent scholarship fund that i started all those years ago provides these kinds of emergency financial assistance packages for people. i think the last time i checked
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it's helped 35,000 single parents go to college, either community and get their associates degree, four year get their bachelors. and it's really been a lifesaver. for so many people you're on your own. you're trying to do this and manage it and it's not easy. i would like to see that kind of program available in every state. it's all donations. it's everybody just contributes because they want to help. and every county runs their own version of that. >> even with employers, if you could go out and get a full-time job and still go to school if employers were willing to work around your school schedule rather than say well, know, your hours are 9 to 5 or 3 to 11 or whatever. if they were willing to help you out it would be such an advantage to people like myself. ms. clinton: it would also create more loyalty among employees. >> it would.
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ms. clinton: i will be rolling out a lot of different policies about how to help families balance work and their family responsibilities. but business also has to step up. because i think many businesses i'm not going to say all, but many businesses could be more flexible and more understanding and more supportive of the stresses that are on modern families today. i think we should try to incentivize some of those behaviors so that businesses get some support for doing an approach that might be different than the one they would prefer because it's easier if you just come at 9:00 and live at 5:00, or come at 3:00 and leave at 11:00. one of the biggest challenges we are facing right now is in a lot of places there is no predictibility for schedule at all. put yourself in the position you're in now, raising your three kids, doing your work going to school, and suppose
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you're working at a place that calls you up the night before and says i don't need you tomorrow. don't show up. so you don't get paid. or they call you up and they say, you know, i want you to come on tomorrow and the next day from 3:00 to 11:00, well, but i have a class at 6:00. too bad. people are finally saying, wait a minute. that's not right. there should be some predictibility in your employment and there should be some flexibility on the side of your employer. i think we have to really address that and try to find ways to bring that about. >> that's great idea. ms. clinton: drew. a identified' just like to comment on how great this program's been because it allows you to really experience different career fields. you take one you're like i like that. but if you take a different one, you're like, wow this is better. can you eliminate your options. you find out what you want to go to and spend monty to go to school for. along with all the job shadows
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and internships. it gives you a sense of what's out there and gives you a chance to actually get hands on experience and really get a good education on what there is as well as the program themselves for the education from the program. ms. clinton: it's really been a big plus for you. you really feel like it's helped you not only learn skills but have a bert idea what you want to do in the future? >> yep. ms. clinton: good for you. jason? >> we actually had that conversation on the way over here. he's one of my students. on the drive over we were talking about that. i guess i don't have a question here. i guess i have some statements and requests. we are really happy to have you at iowa. i know iowans are pretty pragmatic crowd, people that really -- i have to use the best word i can is like we are just regular people. we really appreciate you came here in your first stop. that's pretty cool. coming to kirkwood is huge. one request i have for you as
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you start campaigning and moving around, remember this right here. at the end of the day, if you're a lawyer, if you're a doctor, no one's ever done that job. when you look around people, i don't understand that. education, everyone's been in school. so everyone feels like they know what education should be. that's good and also problematic when you're trying to make change. one thing i hope you focus on not only here in iowa but around the country is education is really, i believe, the key to everything we do. you think about it. you're a teacher. when you one minute to other countries and talked to them about what's going on, you're teaching them about what's going on here. you're not in the classroom. your students were the world. you're going to be doing that as you move across the state and country. help everyone remember that education is like the heart of everything we do. and we need to really do a good job of that whether it's here at kirkwood, whether it's in high school or college. i really think education should be like a big part of what
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you're doing. ms. clinton: absolutely. both of you mentioned heart about education. and it really is at the heart of what i think we need to stand for and the values we need to pursue in our country. i just want us to trust and respect, especially our teachers, again so that we can get to where we need to go in terms of providing these pathways for opportunity. we live in such a fast moving world right now that what you decide to do, drew, and you get out of high school, may not be what you decide to do when you're jason's age or what andrew decides to do coming out of the naval academy may not be the same. or ellen, you may decide in 10, 15 years to use your education for something else. that's the beauty of our system. we do have that flexibility. and there's not many other places in the world that really do have that.
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but with that flexibility comes a responsibility to make sure that our young people are well prepared so that they can be on a trajectory that allows them to make the choice that is are best for them as they grow up. that's what i want to see again. i never doubted that. when i was growing up in illinois i never doubted that if i got a good education, that was preached into me every single day by my parents, i didn't know what i would be doing. i never thought i would be sitting here telling you i'm running for president. but i knew if i got a good education i did my part. i had to work hard. i'm not just sitting around letting somebody else do it. but if i did, that this country held out so much promise for me. it then would be up to me to try to find my way forward. and make the decision that is were best for me and -- decisions that were best for me
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and my family. that's what i want for everybody. i have this new granddaughter and i want her to have every opportunity, but i want every child in our country to have every opportunity. and that's one of the main reasons that i decided to run because believe me i know it's not going to be easy. i'm going to have to work hard to earn every single vote and get every caucus goer i can round up to show up next february. but i just felt like i couldn't walk away from what i see as the challenges we face. and i want to build on what we have done to get out of the terrible recession and get back on our feet. but we have to run the race. and i don't want people whose views about how we run that race that i don't believe we are in the best interest of our country to be making the decisions. i'm here. and i'm looking forward to
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traveling around the state. i think i'll go to a few more community colleges. and learn some more by talking to the people and seeing what you're doing and finding ideas that not only work in iowa but can work anywhere. thank you for having us. fun fun -- [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. fun one shall -- [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.
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visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> live congress here on c-span when they come back in in 15 minutes or so. up to noon, a discussion from today's "washington journal" on these own other tax relate the bills on the house floor this week. joining us now is representative jim renacci joining us to talk about several pieces of tax legislation on the floor. guest: we have a number pieces of legislation. of course, it is tax day. but we are trying to bring some issues to the table, especially my bill and other bills, a taxpayer bill of rights, targeting issues, and putting those issues to the forefront. host: is this over the issues that several hearings were undertaken because of that? guest: i think over the past several years, there have been a
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number of fishes talking about that, but also some other issues within the tax code and the bill of rights, the taxpayers will of rights. it is an important day to make some clarifications. host: clarifications such as what? guest: we have to major that the irs commissioner and the individuals work for the irs realize that the taxpayers do have some rights and their rights are also protected. when it comes to targeting, my bill is making sure that anyone in the irs doesn't target. if they are targeted, they are terminated. these are issues -- specific issues throughout the system. we have a number of other bills. i can go through them, if you like. host: one of the ones that would be considered later on this week. what are they considering on that? guest: the estate tax, that has come out of the committee, and that is to appeal the state tax. host: why is that important? guest: i think it is one of those issues when you talk about
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small businesses and farms though seemed to be the issues where people are getting really hurt. i could tell you story after story of individuals that are not prepared for that tax burden when somebody passes away in the family and their assets are passport. they don't have -- our past forward. they don't have the dollars because there land is tied up in fixed assets, whether it is a small business or a farm, where it is tied up in land. they don't have the money to liquidate those assets. it is so problematic if you want to have that farm passed onto future generations. host: a columnist writes about the state tax day. he says, hurting family farmers and small businesses with a question mark. for that time he number affected, -- that tiny number
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affected, there are all sorts of provisions already in place to soften the blow. guest: what is interesting whenever p2 -- people want to use statistics, they forget that the very wealthy have ways of eating around the estate tax. those that don't have the dollars, are the ones who always get caught. and it is usually that small farmer, that small business owner doesn't have the ability to prepare themselves for the state tax burden. host: the associated press says for the estate tax, the joint committee on taxation says that over 10 years or so, about $270 billion could be lost because of the state tax. guest: again, think about it from the family farmer. i love to go back to those instances we talk about the small businesses where they lose their estate, their farm, their small business because they can afford to pay the taxes when it
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liquidates. host: the taxpayer loses potential revenue, though. guest: again, the tax code is mixed with all kinds of issues. but we have to do is have a fair system of taxation. host: what does that look like? i know the ways and means committee is working on some sort of taxation. guest: look, i know the chairman, i know chairman ryan. this was prior. i know the president wants it done, the senate once it done and members of congress wants it done. myself, as a cpa and business owner for 20 years, i believe it needs to be done. but we need to simplify. today, 6 billion hours spent in doing taxes. $168 million to file their taxes. this is a complicated system. 4000 changes in the last 10 years. we need to simplify it. we need to make it simpler fairer flatter, not only so
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that the american people don't have to spend this kind of time, but so the businesses can grow and not spend their time thinking what a couple get a tax rules will they use or try to work around. host: on this tax day representative jim renacci joining us. if you want to ask him questions, you can do so. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 745-8002 for independents. and you can also send us an e-mail, if you want. mickey is in arizona, the republican line. go ahead. caller: yes, thank you so much. on the tax issue, i agree with you 100%. it is like that money has already been taxed. so why, when you die, do you have to have it tax the get? it is just kind of will --
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weird. but i do have a serious question. why are we obliged to allow illegal aliens into our public schools? why can't we just have the -- have to be a citizen to be in that school system? for instance, when you have somebody here on a temporary basis going into the schools. i don't quite understand that. people won't bring their families here illegally if they know they can't put them in school. guest: thank you. immigration reform is an important issue. it is something i believe we have to work on. in the house, we have a number of issues we are going to break -- be bringing forth, including border security. but also, a number of other issues when it comes to immigration and immigration reform. those are all important issues.
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when individuals get here and they go to the schools, these are the kinds of things we have to be able to see it the processes that are current and also make sure that it is a fair process. but those individuals who have gone through the immigration system properly -- i was in an airplane one day flying with an individual who is almost finished getting to the immigration process and she said to me, congressman, please don't allow people to get in front of me. i have spent the time, i have done it right. i need to have the opportunity you know, why should anybody have the opportunity to step ahead of me? and that really rings very true. we have to make sure the system -- now, we have a complicated system there, too, talking about the tax code. we have to make sure this is simplified also. host: here is either -- edith from kentucky.
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good morning. caller: good morning. my question is, yesterday, i believe there was a gentleman who came on and he made mention that the taxes that are collected by the government, that these taxes aren't used for government spending, but instead there are things called appropriations. and that these appropriations are, in fact, what are used for government spending. so this is something that is new to me. i didn't quite understand the difference by what the caller was implying. so if the representative could maybe shed some light on what exactly appropriations are? and if tax money that is collected is not used for spending, then i thought that was the case, so i am just looking for some insight on that topic. guest: sure. again, i understand -- i have only been here for four and half years.
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it is interesting when you go back and you see the process done. the starting process is a budget. what a budget is prepared, which gives us a guideline to move forward, the next process is the appropriations process. and that is where you take the dollars that you're going to a spend -- going to spend and you appropriate them to the appropriate areas. that whole process has to actually fit under the budget process. and that is where the budget is so important. it should be one of the most important things that congress does, to not only pass a budget but to pass all the appropriations bills. then, once those are past, now you have -- passed, now you have an appropriations process which says here are were those taxpayer dollars are going to be spent. host: myron up next from new york. hello. caller: good morning, sir. great show. what i understand is that the
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taxes start at 5 million plus. so anything below five -- if you have a family of four in the inheritance, that is $20 million. how can you say it is small? and number two, with farms, they receive a lot of subs these from the government -- subsidies from the government. they do get money from the state. all they are doing is getting money returned at the state gave to these people. we will use as the example ralph wilson, he received an $80 million grant to build facilities for training. these people here are getting money back along the way as we the citizens, we are only getting the money that we gave back. and we are getting it back to use for future people. guest: look, that's not an
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example of small businesses or small farms in the buffalo bills. remember, some of the farms some of the agreement is $1 million apiece or have him on dollars for a combine. land values are very expensive. the new get to some businesses, some small businesses only have 10, 20 employees but they have millions of dollars tied up in equipment and assets. so when you really look at small, i agree with you, you have to look at the definition of what people are saying is small. but for those small businesses and the small farms, small, again, could be hundreds of acres of land, but also the equipment on the spot. so you're talking about valuation, fixed assets, a lot more than a definition of small or large. host: our guest is a republican from ohio on the ways and means committee. our next caller is from akron ohio. this is tommy. go ahead. caller: good morning.
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before i make my comment in my question congressman i am 59 i have never owned a computer and i never will, so i can't go to your website, but i live in portage lakes. a marina and trailer park. and beside today and beside seeing you in the "begin journal," i never -- "begin -- "becon journal," i never see you. when will you start communicating with us up here in the portage lakes, akron area? and breakaway from canton. let us know your outlooks ahead of time. and maybe i will dislike you a little bit less if i know your platform. thank you. guest: thank you, tommy. one thing i can tell you is i am
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one of the most reachable and approachable members of congress. i do a lot on the computer. i understand you don't have a computer. quite quickly, i am on the radio every week. i am on every radio station at least monthly talking about issues that we are doing here in washington. i do a weekly report that goes out into every paper that will accept it. and then i do visits every time him back in the district. i have spent time and time again going to every -- here is the interesting thing. i have actually made it a goal to visit every public entity, whether it is a city, community or township, everyone in my district every year at least once. my district is pretty big. but i have made it a point to try and visit everyone of those locations. i have had a multitu >> this conversation available online at c-span.org.
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the u.s. house is gaveling in. congressman renacci and others taking up a number of tax bills on this tax day. looking live at the u.s. capitol and the flag on capitol hill and elsewhere at half-staff. the 150th anniversary of the assassination of abraham lincoln. on this tax day they are taking up a repeal of the estate tax and a number of other i.r.s. related bills. liven now to the house floor here on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, union grove baptist church north carolina. >> may we pray. heavenly father, today we hum apply come into your presence confessing our since
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