what we found is there is duplication in the benefit that are being provided and eliminating the family health plan to save significant administrative costs in the range of millions of dollars per year. [indiscernible] one example of many. you can go to the website if you are interest did in a certain federal program. you can find the action tracker to see what action they have. thank you for talking to our viewers about this. that does it for today's washington journal. thank you very much. we will be back here tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern time. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> a soggy monday morning at washington, d.c. live picture of the capital. house and senate will be in session. the house gaveling in at 2:00 eastern for a brief pro forma session. later this week members big victory to take up humor and protection and cyber security measures. lawmakers expected to vote on a judicial nomination. you can see the house line on c-span when they gavel in. here is a look at what else is expected this week in congress. www.c-span.org let's begin with what is happening on the lore in the house and the senate.

>> the senate particularly is really interesting. they are coming in in the same position they were last week. they still have the human trafficking bill holding them up. based only to confirm loretto lynch and still looking at the new weird deal. mcconnell indicated he thinks they're making good progress on the human trafficking bill. that will be the beginning of the series. all of that probably this week will get rings a good -- will give them a good week. >> off the floor house and senate negotiators are meeting today to try to iron out the differences on the 2016 budget. what are they looking at right now.

how long is this likely to take? >> that is a good question this is nonbinding. more of a series of recommendations and a chance for the republican party to lay out the fiscal vision, which is what the party believes the country should be doing and the direction it should be headed in. i think because of that they are not a series of the deadline. that said, the senate and house budget deadline are not that different at this point. i think one of the big arguments we are seeing now is what they will end up what they will do with reconciliation. the house let that much more open ended. we will see who reveals in the argument.

>> they want to use the budget to deal with obamacare, the reconciliation process to try to repeal it. republicans in the house different camps. >> exactly. the house has tried to reveal -- repeal obamacare dozens of times. the feeling we have heard from folks in the house is we have tried this, the president is still in office. he is just going to be tale -- veto the legislation, maybe we should try to use the reconciliation process for something that sends a stronger message. a variety of other ideas. so the senate republicans have pushed this in the first place. they feel this is the number one priority. yes it will probably be vetoed. so let's send the strongest

message propped double -- methods possible -- message possible. >> congress overwhelmingly approving this to allow any kind of deal. you said the senate needs to deal with the trafficking deal first before it can move on to the other bills, but where does it stand? are democrats -- the full senate on board? >> a very much looks that way. senator chuck schumer is a supporter of the bill syria and a number of other democrats are supportive of this. this looks like it will pass very easily this week. the question becomes can congress pass any religious nation, either approving or disapproving of the deal?

this gives them the opportunity to do that. it get them 30 days to make a decision about how they feel about the deal once it is finalize. if a do nothing, then the deal will be viewed of proof by congress. >> also, the stories about trade. where does vote on fast track stand? >> this is really fascinating. this is another situation where you have democrats, the vast majority on one side, and to have the white house and democrats like senator ron wyden who helped to write the bill on the other side. as was just announced at the end of last week. i think a lot of members of the past week looking it over and getting the feel or it. it seems like there is a lot of democratic opposition to the

bill. it will be interesting to see if republicans can cobble together a coalition big enough. >> could that get a both this week? >> i think gpa looks unlikely in the senate. of course, ciber has the big security week planned. >> staff correspondent with national journal. thank you for setting up the week. appreciate it. >> as you heard earlier in the conversation, house and then it conferees over together to work out differences over the budget resolutions. the house and then it passed the individual versions last month. among them are the chair and ranking member of the house and member -- house and senate ranking members. live coverage at 3:00 eastern on c-span. >> challenging the new fcc internet rules, five

organizations have filed lawsuits. we will be to the ceo of one of the organizations. u.s. telecom walter mccormick and christopher lewis. vice president for government affairs at public knowledge. >> what we are is the reclassification of internet act test of being information service to a telecommunication service regulated as a common carrier pursuant to 19th-century railroad organization. this is a vestige of the english common law. apply to airlines. it has been repeal for all of the industries going on 30 years ago. it delayed deployment. slowed innovation and really cheered in cure meant.

-- procurement. that is an important thing to start with. we have been very supportive of the rules that the fcc enacted and have now become force of law. we think after a decade of working toward net neutrality rules that will hold up in court with the strongest for talladega -- net neutrality rules we of seen at the three different attempts at the agencies to ensure the internet remains open. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on the communicators at 8:00 eastern. next the new -- the republic new hampshire committee hold it -- held a conference. coming up, remarks from scott walker. his remarks are about 40 minute.

>> thank you. thank you for the great pet rally. i think we should go start charging the hill right now. thank you for the wonderful introduction and or your

leadership in this party, the state, and the country. it has been an honor to be here tonight not only with governor sunni -- in a ne but the first lady. we have them in the back. i want to begin by adding my things to jennifer horn and the entire state party team. a great job once again. thank you for the leadership once again here. before i get into this, i want to begin right off the bat. i am going to talk a lot tonight and end up talking about freedom . one of the interesting things about freedom is it is certainly something endowed by our creator, defined by the constitution, but each and every day defended by the men and women who wear the uniform of the united states. i know amongst us we have folks that are active in the military

today be in the active military of the reserve some folks that are veterans and military folks of the past. would you just stand for a moment so we can recognize that? [applause] that kind of puts it all back -- all into perspective. i have attached i carry. all of the different deployments we go to, one of the best is welcome home. i get up at 5:30 in the morning anxious to see. last year i had all these families here.

there was a dad with three kids. he was not just a sided, he was exhausted. he had to look, he was taking the kids, i am going to collapse right here. to see the families, it is phenomenal. sometimes we forget about this because it does not get talked enough about the press. we need to be mindful of that as we go forward. tonight i want to say thanks. we're honored to be back here in new hampshire. i did not wear the one dollar sweater like i did the last time although i think the shirt is from kohl's. but i saw a couple of others out here, the three of us get together and said the three of us together made the price of one suit.

i just want to thank you all not just for having us, but i talked to a number of folks. so many of you have told us as you have in past visits that you help us out. someone spend 20 or $30 on the way. some of you physically came to wisconsin and make called online for us. just about everybody i talked to said you prayed for us that night. for that personally, thank you. that meant the world to us. [applause] it is interesting. sometimes it seems like that was an eternity ago. literally four years ago at this point, i think time magazine or one of the headlines was dead man walker. that is because my polls were so low.

one of the critical mistakes i acknowledged is i was so eager to fix the, i did not bother talking about it, i just went in and fix it. i have now learned you have to listen talk, and act in that order but not leave out any of the three. it was interesting. we were so eager to fix rings we just did it. the big government special interest out there, they came in and took us on. they brought within the first week, a few thousand protesters by the first day. they had chartered in people from all over the country. at one point at this point, a little bit earlier in march 2011. we had over 100,000 protesters in and around.

then we had threat. death threats against me and the state assembly and was overwhelming. it was a great reminder to me as that was happening as a few years earlier we had sat down and thought about talked about and ultimately prayed about getting in the race for governor . the reason i tell you that is to put into per active what we were doing and why we were doing it. back then we decided we had two sons who were 19 and 20. one of them will be at state this coming week when he is doing stuff with college students. our kids were in high school. we did it because we want to make sure our sons could grow up in a state that was at least as good as the state we grew up in, maybe better.

this date had not gone republican since 1984. i was still in high school and had a full head of hair. we wanted our sons to do better. we knew it would be difficult. we knew it would not be an easy task. but the voters didn't just elect me, new majorities in the assembly and state senate. a new state senator. i got together in the capital with all the republicans, those in office and the newly elected. i said, it is put up or shut up. i said that, i pointed out that democrats had controlled everything and state voters had flipped it. if we just nibbled around the edges, the voters would have every right to throw us out. i said, we need to go big and bold. we need to show we are different

than the party we were placed. i don't think anybody would doubt we went big and bold. the reason it sustained us during the attacks and protests, we knew it was because of my sons. all the others of their generation. sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, we knew it was not acceptable to have a state that was better than the one we inherited. it was not just about taking on protests. we had to bring together republicans in both houses, one house more than another that was not that thrilled i the past. sometimes there are people who like the status quo. even in our own party. they don't want to change things. we had to make the case for why reform was necessary. four years later, we are much better off. the economy. early in 2010, the unemployment

rate was 9.2%. thursday, it is down to 4.6%. [applause] governor walker: equally as exciting, we have a labor participation rate, the people working in our state is over two thirds, above the national rate. it means people are working and finding more jobs and opportunities. we took eight $3.6 billion budget deficit and turned it into a surplus. we have done it in the last four years. the budget ends with a half billion dollars surplus going forward. we have the largest rainy day fund we have ever had. 165 times bigger than when we took office. he only pension system fully funded. a debt pension one of the lowest out there. i mention that about the pension.

some lawmakers were excited, they said that is not always the case around the country. we are proud of that. we did other things. we didn't just take on fiscal and economic issues. a lot of people don't know this. we covered of seniority and tenure. we can hire based on merit. put the best and brightest in our classes. it makes schools better. our schools today, four years after the reforms, have higher graduation rates and reading scores. the second-highest act scores in states where more than half of the people take the test. we took on other big government. we leveled off the regulatory environment. trained in the lawsuit environment. we have pulled back on the ability to have frivolous and controversial lawsuits.

we do longer fund planned parenthood -- we no longer fund planned parenthood. we signed concealed carry, so law abiding citizens can have access to firearms. [applause] governor walker: we passed, and just about a month ago the spring court took action to allow us, but if you want to vote in the state of wisconsin you need a photo id to prove who you are. earlier this year, i signed into law legislation that makes the case that wisconsin is the 20

event state in the country to have right to work. you don't have to be a part of the labor union if you want to work in the state of wisconsin. i tell you all of that, remember the beginning, i said, when i thought about running for governor, that would not be easy. this is a state that has not gone republican for president since 1984. we did all of that early on because we decided to go big and bold. we said, put up or shut up. we were going to show the voters we were going to get things done. that is something that needs to happen in this country as well. for my nieces, and all the other sons and daughters like them, i am optimistic about the future

despite the challenges we face. i look at what is happening in wisconsin, michigan, ohio, other state. if you put commonsense republican conservative leadership in place, if that team works together, there is no end to the good things that can happen. if we do that in washington, with a republican house, senate, and president, there is no end to how much better things can be. [applause] let me give you three examples of where i think the contrast is important. we need to start talking more about growth. i am all for balanced budgets. i took a $3.6 billion budget deficit and turned it into a surplus. we did not do that just by cutting. we do not just do that through austerity. we did it through growth and reform. fortunately, when i listen to this president, they have it backwards.

they think the way to grow the economy is to grow washington. i think the vast majority of the believe that you grow the economy in towns and villages across the country, that people create jobs, not the government. it is about time to get the government out of the way. [applause] that means we need a competitive tax code in the country. lower the marginal that. make america competitive again so we can bring more to american jobs. put more of the americans back to work. we need to put more money back into the hands of american consumers.

some of you heard me joking about the one dollar sweater but i love to tell the story on why i am so focused on cutting this. we have cut taxes by $2 billion. we cut it on income, properties. property taxes today are four years later lower on a typical home than they were four years ago and are -- when our budget is completed, they will be low work in 2016 then at the end of 2010. what governor in america can say that? [applause] people often say, why are you so focused on reducing the tax burden? i say simple, it is a simple story out there. i leaned it in terms of some of you have heard it explain it before. we've been married 22 years. we are proud of that. there is applause for rooting

for her. not long after that i made a critical mistake. i went to kohl's department stores and bought something for the price it was marked at. any of you shopped at kohl's know what i am talking about. now if i am going to go buy a new shirt, i go up to the rack that says it was 29 dollars $.99 and mark down to $19 99 10th and then i go up to the front and either get out the insert that gives you 10 or 15% off or maybe i take the 15% or 20% or if we are lucky that 30% off mark that i take to the cash register and they market down a little bit further. then we pull the cold cash and next thing you know, they are paying me to buy that shirt. right? not quite, but close.

how does cold make money? volume. they make money off of volume. they can sell a few of those off of $29.99 or lower the price and get more to purchase their product. that is how i think about your money, the taxpayers money. the governor can charge a higher rate for the few of you that can afford it or lower base have more people participate in the economy and make war off the volume. temple concept. it is the kohl's curve in my mind. that is how we have to think about things. it does not hurt think i doubt the presumptive nominee has ever been too cold. -- been to kohl's. [applause] it is not just about lowering the tax heard in but about doing

other things to promote growth. about reining in out of control ending. repealing obamacare and allowing patients and families to make decisions about health care. it is about all of the above energy policy that says we will use a abundant supply we have in america and the continent instead of relying around places -- relying on places around the world that hate us. this will help raise wages. we put us in a position to help lower the debt and deficit problem by raising the amount of revenue to spread the volume like we do it kohl's. first of all, we need to focus more on growth. secondly, we need to talk more about reform. this is where there is a stark contrast. we have a president right now in washington. i love to go to washington. i love flying in by the monuments and i love it even more when it i home. washington is 68 or miles

surrounded by reality. -- 68 square miles surrounded by reality. they seem to measure success and government by how many people are dependent. how many people are and unemployment. we should measure success by just the opposite. why how many people are no longer depending on the government. we understand the true freedom does not come from the mighty hand of the government. it comes from and powering people to live their own lives and destinies to the dig antiporn of work. as a kid i grew up in a small town. paul ryan was on the other side of me and rinse pre-this on the other site. my first job was washing dishes at the countryside restaurant. i moved up big time.

you get a kick out of this. paul ryan flipping hamburgers and bergen -- in delaware. his manager told him he did not have the interpersonal goes to work the front register syria to flip burgers in the back. my manager might have thought that, but she did not tell me that. i think about that and not just a early jobs but my parents. my dad was a preacher. my mom was a part-time secretary. she raise my mother and died. my mother's parents were farmers that did not have indoor plumbing until my dad went off to school. my dad was a machinist nearly reveres. when i think about my family's and the jobs i started out early on, i realized my brother and i did not inherit fame or fortune but we inherited the believed if you work hard and play by the rules you can do and be anything you want in america, that is the

american dream in need to revise that again and test it. [applause] -- and discuss it. we need to put the focus of their. when i grew up, not a one of my classmates ever said to me hey when i grow up i want to become dependent on the government. nobody ever said that. nobody wrote in my yearbook, good luck becoming dependent on the government. that is just not the american dream out there. somehow you listen to those in the government and act like that is something we should aspire to. one of the things i am or is amazed with is that i meet people who come here from other places around the world and does not matter what country they come from. the people life and honor to meet over the years particularly those that are success small business owners, almost all of them tell me the

reason they came to america was not to become dependent on the government. it was because in america one of the few places left in the whole world where it does not matter what class you were born in or what your parents did for a living, in america you can do in any -- do and be anything you want. the outcome should be up to each and everyone of us. we need to stand up for anyone who wants to work hard and play by the rules and say we are the ones that will champion the american dream, the american dream is having championed on the government. [applause] there is a reason we take a day off to celebrate the fourth of july and not the 15th of april. we take a day off to celebrate independence from government not the day we become dependent on it. the last thing i want to talk

about is about safety. safety. some of you may call it national security. safety is something you feel right here. iwatch as i travel the country and see it in my own state and elsewhere across this great america we live in. as i talk to people, i see person after person who tells me when we see the video images of a jordanian pilots being earned a live cage -- in a cage. when we see christians from egypt being beheaded, that is something you start to feel. that is safety. that is not just national security. it is so frustrating for me to think we have a president who are couple of years ago we have a president who calls isis just

about a year ago. who calls yemen a success story. a former secretary of eight and hillary clinton who gave russia -- a former secretary of state who gave russia a reset button. not only the president last fall but even after they move their way back. they had gone into yemen. you have the president current administration still proclaiming it is as a test. how do you say that? there is a reason why putin is willing to act. he is a nationalist. he knows the added to probe with bayonets. if you find steel, you pull back. in the world today i was talking about allies in the arab world. i am not just talking about israel but others in the gulf

states. i asked them what is the number one concern. i ask what is the number one concern you have in the world today? you know what the response was? the disengagement of america. those are the allies in the arab world and middle east. they are worried about the fact that america is not there. they are worried about her presence in the world. i have to tell you, now more than ever for the sake of the children yet to be bored, we need a commander in chief who will identify radical islamic terrorism is a threat to us all. [applause] we need a leader in the country to identify israel as an ally and heard at the like it again. -- and start acting like it

again. and we need a president who will be honest with the american people and look them straight in the eye and say this is not going to happen with a couple of bombings. this is a generational issue. it is not a matter of if there is another attempt on americans oil on it is when. on behalf of the children and future children and future generation, we will not wait until they bring the fight to us , we will bring the fight to them and fight on their soil and not on ours. [applause] so there are some sharp contrast out there. not just -- not just between this president that hillary clinton who has said it is really just an extension of the third term of barack obama. americans need to realize that. this is not just the third term of bill clinton but a third term of barack obama. we have a real choice out there.

i am optimistic about the future. i think we have a real opportunity, not just to win an election but i think we have a better opportunity to lay out in charge at the course for how to make america great again. i see it in this rates. not just my states but others across the country where good teams have come together. republican legislative branch and the governor's office have come together to make their states great again. be a part of armor -- of a remarkable comeback. we can do the same thing for america. it is not just about the state in the past few years. what gives me hope and optimism is something i look at when i look at this great american history. years ago i had a chance to go to the governors conference to philadelphia to the constitution hall. it was a treat. for me as a kid my family never

got the chance to go to philadelphia, which is too bad because i love history. i was a little geeky but i thought of our founders as superheroes, bigger than life. back in the fall of 2011, we got a chance to go to a conference in philadelphia. we got up early in the morning and went to the liberty bell. as the sun was coming up, we went to independence hall. because of my fascination with founders, i was ready to be blown away. i looked in the hall and i looked at the desk and the chairs and at that moment it dawned on me. these were ordinary people. these were ordinary people who are done something that extraordinary. these were people that did not just risk their political careers, people who did not just risk business ventures who risk their lives for the freedoms we

hold dear today. ladies and gentlemen come in tonight i tell you moment like that reminds me what makes america great what makes us exceptional, what makes us the greatest country in the history of the world is throughout our nation's history, and norman of crisis be it military or spiritual, what has made us amazing is the moments of crisis there have been men and women of courage willing to stand up and think more about their children and grandchildren than they thought about their own futures. i would tell you this is one of those moments. this is a time in history when we can look back and tell future generations we were there. we heeded the call.

we did what was required to make america great again. i know that is exactly what we can do and we ask for your help with that going forward. [applause] look that i will take your questions before they give me a hook or through a desert at me. we were so comfortable at dinner. debt and deficit, a series of things. we came in as i mentioned, we had inherited a three point $6 billion budget deficit. i think the second largest per capita. we not only balanced the books paid back state transportation

funds. paid back a quarter billion dollars from the patient compensation fund. we did all that while cutting taxes and we did it through perform in growth. looking forward i think a series of things have to happen. wrote has to be a part of it. we have to do things to halt the american public grow the economy as individuals and employers. i believe we should take major portions of the federal government and send it back to the state. the house has already talked about medicaid. i would go further than that with locke grants. look at medicaid, other social services transportation. other issues like that. the whole spectrum of things the federal government currently does. send it back to block rants for the state. more effective and accountable.

then it gives you the leeway and flexibility to look at big issues like entitlements and to look at other areas where i think we need to's and more money. that is the department of defense. [applause] the governor did a good job of summarizing that. the navy is an example. we hide it down to 250. there are some real challenges for us being able to protect ourselves and interests around the world. i think we need to adjust the defense budget. that and deficit, part of that is sending back to the states. in the coming months we will lay this out in greater detail. not a specific question but manufacturing --[indiscernible]

can you speak about more business and regulations we cannot even stay on top of. >> you did build it, which is a good thing. i think it is part of the mindset that is different. the idea that i believe people create jobs, not the government. starting with the premise that if able create jobs, not just for anybody, someone to start the contrast. hillary clinton and republicans and talking about top-down, government knows best. this has failed. not good at the federal level.

people like the president and hillary clinton keep pushing that. in contrast i think we need to say not just use all business owners and anyone else, we offer the contrast. we believe in bottom-up. we believe that is new and exciting and dynamic and the best way to grow the economy. one of the best things we can say as long as you do not violate the public health and safety of your neighbor, go out and do your thing. you want to start a business, glut in your career, i think it is a refreshing message not just too small business owners that the college students i met earlier today, because they are looking for optimism they can advance in their career that maybe they can start a business like you and others out there. what is frustrating as i sometimes hear from small business owners that say if i knew what i know today, i would not are the small business. that is frustrating.

you have to take away the mindset. a big heart of this is what we try to do at this late level to do at the federal level. we have to say unless you are a clear threat to public safety most of the rest of this should be cleared out of the way. instead of having thoughts around like this why not allow capital to move forward in a way that flows naturally. that will help great on -- greater investment and do more for the people that work. >> we chose to get in. been here a couple of times.

for us, a lot of new hampshire similar to wisconsin. we will want to end a lot of time here as we pursue this. should we get in for sure come back. a couple of folks have invited me to bike week. i ride a 2003 harley davidson broke kick. 20,000 miles on it. i either write my own or pick up with a dealership. this rate is nice enough size in today's you could probably get through all 10 counties to make a knife road trip through the state. i did that in my last reelection. instead of doing it the whistle stop at the bus, i like doing it on a harley. a few lawmakers of our it he said they want to go with. that would be a lot of done. three times in the past four years i have run for governor.

jeanette can vouch for this, but we like the campaigns. we enjoyed meeting people. one of the greatest blessings for us -- he is not incur had no -- she is nodding her head no. defense on the day. we have two sons, one of which will be in state next week to if we make the step forward, is likely to take a semester off to go out and campaign with us. we will be back with that if that goes forward. not just the road trip at town hall meetings. i love going to factories. i love going to farms. i am inviting myself in everywhere. love going to small businesses and farms along the way. i have always found that is a great way. when i was first a lawmaker, i loved knocking on doors. people are real when they are at your house.

they are pretty polite, even if they do not agree with you in front of their house. maybe not elsewhere. i like that kind of interaction. the other part is the states, having looked at this a number of times and talking to folks about it this fits well with what we've done in each of the three elections. we want almost universal support among republicans. 96% in the last election. i think 97. we got 90 so right there. it is great because that means tea party to establishment from social conservative to libertarian, because what people want more than anything is not just a fighter but someone who fights and winds. -- and wins.

[applause] i think that is really for and because a lot of great fighters that they do not win. a lot of winners that do not fight. people want someone who fights and winds for the hard thing taxpayers. -- hard-working taxpayers. that is really important. not only do we win with universal support among republicans. that is not enough to win in mice ate. we have to carry independence by 11, almost 12 points. you do not win the center by running to the center. you win it by leading. they want people to stand up and look you in the eye and tell you exactly what you are going to do. they do not have to agree with you on every single issue but they want someone who will fight hard and in for them and their family. ultimately i think they want the

same thing here and around the country so thank you. [applause] >> scott walker part of the republican leadership conference in nashua, new hampshire. life on friday and saturday. we covered this in its entirety. so did political reporters. they wrote this story, six impressions they walked away with. republicans are eager to contrast themselves with hillary. the gop base units with fresh faces. foreign policy a fresh theme. common core is toxic with the gop base. governors will portray the senators as obama-esque. the house is not in session for legislative work but house and senate conferees will need to work on differences on the republican 2016 budget resolutions. the house and senate passed the

individual versions last month. among them are the chairs and ranking members of the house and senate budget committees. live coverage at 3:00 eastern. joining us today we will hear from turkey's foreign affairs minister. expected to talk about his country's role in the middle east amid conflicts in syria and yemen and the relationship with the west and with on civilities. live coverage under way at 2:30 eastern. >> challenging the new fcc internet rules, five organizations have filed lawsuits against the he. tonight, we will speak with the president and ceo of one of those organizations. u.s. telecoms walter or make and supporter of the rules christopher lewis. vice president for government affairs at public knowledge. >> what we challenging is the reclassification of internet act test from being an information

service to a telecommunications service regulated as a common carrier pursuant to 19th-century railroad regulations. common courage is a vestige of the english common law originally applied to railroads and trucking companies and airlines, but it has been repealed for all of the industry's going on over 30 years ago, because it imposes new cost, it slowed innovation and really chilled investment. >> we both agreed that neutrality protections are important. that is an important thing to start with. we do we with a lawsuit. we have been supportive of the rules that the fcc enacted and have now become force of law. we think after a decade of working towards a way to have

net neutrality rules that can hold up in court that this is the strongest net neutrality protections we have seen in the three different attempts at the agency to ensure the internet remains open. rex>> tonight on c-span two. >> more now from the republican leadership summit in new hampshire that took place friday and saturday. of next, ted cruz comments for about 30 minutes. >> god bless the state of new hampshire. i am the only thing between you and happy hour. i am thrilled to be back with so many friends in new hampshire. last time i was here there was no everywhere.

springtime is here. i have to say as i was coming up i was a little bit startled because i could have sworn i saw hillary clinton's scooby doo band outside. -- van outside. then i realized it could not possibly be that because i am pretty sure you do not have or in nations paying speakers. what an incredible gathering this is. what a testament. has this not been an incredible array of wrong, conservative leaders were over two solid days. -- for over two solid days. [applause] what a testament to the desire of americans want something new new leadership to change the page in turn things around. the democratic version of this i am pretty sure is hillary clinton having a conversation with the chipotle clerk.

that says something about where the passion and energy is in new hampshire in dollars cost the country. every one of us and this is a time of crisis. our nation is in crisis, and yet, we do not want to go back to the failed policies of the past. i want to talk about how collectively 20 months from now we will turn this country around. everyone of us will come together and reignite the promise of america. we will get back to the country everyone of us was less to grow of it. our kids will have a better life than we did and their kids will have a better life than they did. three simple steps to reigniting the promise of america. number one, bringing back jobs and wrote and opportunity.

my number one priority in the u.s. senate from day one has economic growth. we know how to do that. we do that through tax reform and regulatory reform. tax reform, we need a simple flat tax so that every american can fill out his or her taxes on a postcard. then we need to abolish the irs. [applause] there is nearly 90,000 employees at the irs. we need to padlock the building. take everyone of them and put them on the southern border. [applause] now to our friends in the media i say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek. but think about it for a second.

imagine you have traveled thousands of miles through the blazing sun. swim across the rio grande. the first thing you see is 90,000 irs agent. you would turn around and go home, too. then regulatory reform informed me i was out talking to a bunch of farmers in west texas. i asked them what is the difference between regulators and locusts? i set the thing is you cannot use pesticide on the regulators. this old farmer leaned back and said you want a but? 0-- wanna et? bet? [laughter] we need to repeal every word of obamacare. the second key to reigniting the

promise of america is defending our constitutional liberties. all of them. defending the first amendment free speech rights, religious freedom right. we are in a time where some in this country shy away from defending religious liberty. are afraid to defend the very first right protected in the first amendment in the bill of rights. i will tell you i am proud to and with women in beit across this country defending our religious authority. [applause] we need to defend the second amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. i have to say today the new york times is having a bit of affleck. that is such an unusual reaction

for " the new york times." they are very dismayed because when i asked about the second amendment, i sent the second amendment is not designed to protect hunting or sport shooting. those are wonderful things, but that is not what it is about. the second amendment is about protecting our natural rights from god's to protect our lives, families, and our homes [applause] . it is also fundamentally about a check on tierney from government and protection of liberty of the all. -- of the people. [applause] now i am not shocked in the live free or die's date that you all understand what i am talking about. but the new york times today's head that notion live free or

die, that the second amendment is a check on tierney. they said it was strange, silly, written it with, absurd. let me tell you some other strange, silly and ridiculous, absurd people. thomas jefferson. george washington. james madison. joseph story, who said the second amendment is the palladium of our liberties. i'm proud to stand with our founding fathers for our liberties against the perceived wisdom of "the new york times." [applause] we need to defend the fourth and fifth amendments, how privacy, and we need to defend the 10th amendment, or as president obama called it, the what? [laughter] the fundamental protection that says those rights not given to the federal government are reserved to the state and to the people. [applause]

that means there are core areas given to our federal government that they need to do and do well when i need to protect this country, stand with the military, secure our borders. there are other areas where the federal government has no business sticking its nose. areas like education. [applause] we need to repeal every word of common core. [applause] but the third and critical piece to reigniting the promise of america is restoring america's leadership in the world. i want to take a few minutes focusing on this issue in particular on the foreign policy and national security threats facing this country. on friday, i was honored to be down at fort hood, where finally

after more than five years purple hearts were awarded to the soldiers who were shot by nadal hassan. [applause] over five years ago, he committed that terrorist act. and yet for this entire time they have been denied the purple hearts they were owed because the obama administration characterized that attack as quote, workplace violence. i will tell you one of the things i'm most proud of is last year in the united states senate, i introduced legislation mandating that those soldiers finally received the purple heart to which they were due. [applause] we were able to win bipartisan support, bring together every republican and democrat on the senate armed services committee

in support of my amendment. we passed unanimously over the objections of the obama pentagon and in december it became law, which is why on friday five years too late they were finally recognized for their heroism and bravery. [applause] at the ceremony over and over again as i looked the young soldiers, the sentiment i expressed to each of them was, i'm sorry. i'm sorry this took five years. i'm sorry the government -- and by the way, hassan was in communications with a known radical islamic terrorist and cleric, asking about the permissibility of waging jihad on his fellow soldiers, when hassan walked through fort hood, murdering 14 innocent souls, including an unborn child, he yelled out [indiscernible] as he did.

yet in the administration's eyes, they could not acknowledge this was radical islamic terrorism. if we want to turn things around, if we want to restore american leadership in the world, the first thing we have got to do is tell the truth. [applause] you cannot defeat radical islamic terrorism with a president and administration unwilling to honor the words radical islamic terrorism. we all remember in paris just a few months ago the horrible terrorist attack that occurred there, that the president referred to as a quote, random act of violence. there is nothing random when radical islamists with butcher knives go into a kosher deli seeking to murder jews because of their jewish faith.

it is a naked act of anti-semitism. it is inexplicable that this administration will not acknowledge that. our hearts were broken when 21 coptic christians in egypt were beheaded by isis. once again, the white house put out a statement saying, those 21 lost their lives because of their egyptian citizenship. that was not why they were beheaded. they were beheaded because they were christians,. as pope francis powerfully said, their blood confesses jesus christ. [applause] the next 20 months will be a dangerous time. the next 20 months -- is going to be like "lord of the flies."

let me tell you something january 2017 is coming. [applause] 20 months from now, imagine a commander in chief who stands up with utter clarity and says, we will destroy radical islamic terror. [applause] imagine a president who stands with our allies, whether it is the u.k. or france, and we all remember a few months ago seeing over 40 world leaders walking arm in arm in solidarity with france against radical islamic terrorism, and where was the united states of america? if only the terrorists attacked a golf course. [laughter]

that might actually get the white house's attention. holy cow, this is serious! imagine a president in 2017 who says, we will stand with our friends and allies, the nation of canada, and we will finally build the keystone pipeline. [applause] instead of a president who boycotts prime minister netanyahu, imagine america standing unapologetically alongside the nation of israel. [applause] and the single greatest national security threat facing america today is the threat of a nuclear iran. this deal the president is pushing forward is a terrible deal, it is a historic mistake.

and any candidate for president who is sentfit to be commander in chief must be prepared in 2017 to repudiate any deal that undermines american national security. [applause] it is unacceptable and profoundly dangerous for a nation whose leaders lead the people in chants of, "death to america." by the way, that is a national holiday -- an actual holiday in iran. every year they celebrate death to america day, the anniversary of iran taking americans hostage.

they go out and chant "death to america." if history teaches any principle, it is that if somebody tells you they want to kill you, believe them. [laughter] a few weeks ago i was proud to join with 46 other leaders -- senators signing a letter to the nation of iran. [applause] one of those senators was new hampshire's very own senator kelly ayotte. i am amused the far left thinks it's a campaign issue to use against kelly. kelly stood against iran getting nukes. i would encourage them, run with that idea. this is going to be a terrific campaign issue.

shortly thereafter, i went on msnbc. morning show. they were kind of slightly upset , apoplectic, like the white house, why did you sign this letter? do you regret signing this letter? mind you, this is a letter that explained that under our constitution there are two ways that something becomes a law in the united states of america. you have a treaty signed by the president ratified by two thirds of the senate, or you have a law that passes both houses of congress and is signed into law by the president. if you do neither of those, it ain't a law. [applause] iran's foreign minister responded and said, you do not understand. under international law, a head of state has the authority to

bind his nation in perpetuity on any issue he wishes. if someone in iran disagrees with the edicts of the supreme leader, they will take you and shoot you. but one of the great blessings of the united states of america is we don't have a supreme leader in this nation. [applause] when they asked if i regretted if i signed the letter, i said my only regret is that i did not make my signature bigger. [applause] so the ayatollah can read it without his reading glasses. [laughter] i am so grateful to be back with

each and every one of you. it was 58 years ago that my father fled cuba. he had been imprisoned, he had been tortured. when he came to america, he could not speak english. he was a teenager, 18 years old. he was washing dishes making $.50 an hour, and he was filled with hopes and dreams. the same hopes and dreams that everyone of us, everyone of our parents, everyone of her our grandparents had and have. that is the miracle of america. no nation in the history of the world has allowed so many millions of people to come with nothing and achieve anything. it is why we will turn this country around. if you look at the fundamental dna of americans, we are all the children of those who risked everything for freedom. when i was a kid, my dad used to

ask me, when we faced oppression in cuba, i had a place to flee to. if we lose our freedom here, where do we go? that is why the men and women are gathered here today, because not one of us is prepared to lose our freedom. we are standing in defense of liberty, the constitution, in defense of america. [applause] and with that i'm happy to answer any question you like. >> thank you very much, senator. as you know, there will be a vote coming up shortly for a new

attorney general. i would like to know if you can tell us what your vote will be for or against loretta lynch. senator cruz: my vote on loretto a lynch is going to be unambiguously no. [applause] let me tell you why very briefly. i sit on the senate judiciary committee. i took a very active part in ms. lynch's confirmation. when she was nominated, to be honest i very much wanted to support the nomination. eric holder has been the most partisan attorney general in the history of our country. and yet as ms. lynch sat through her confirmation hearings, i

asked over and over again, number one, if she would support the president's illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty. she said absolutely yes. i asked if there were any limits to this executive amnesty, could the president of united states grant amnesty not just to the people he has granted amnesty to, but to all 12 million people living illegally in this country. she refused to answer this question. she refused to acknowledge any limits on the president's authority. i pushed a little harder. i said, could the president -- your theory facing all of this is prosecutorial discretion, the president could decline to prosecute laws. i said, could the next president instruct his or her treasury secretary under the theory of prosecutorial discretion, we will no longer collect any taxes

in this country above 25%? she refused to answer this question. that's great policy, but the way to pass it is pass it through congress and make it a lot. -- a law. [applause] i tried to come up with what was an absurd hypothetical. sitting next to me in the judiciary committee with my colleague john cornyn from texas. i said imagine ms. lynch, in 2017 president john cornyn. could that president using prosecutorial discretion announce the federal government will no longer in force any -- enforce any federal environmental laws or any federal labor laws against any citizen of the state of texas? she refused to answer that question. in my view, when you have an attorney general nominee who looks at the united states senate and says he or she will

not enforce any constitutional limits whatsoever on the power of the president, there is no way in good conscience and consistent with your own to vote to confirm such a nominee. [applause] >> last question, because a young couple is getting married at 5:00 in this room. senator cruz: wonderful. >> if you were sitting in the white house right now, what specifically would you do in order to deal with the islamic threat throughout the middle east, islamic state specifically? senator cruz: terrific question, what would i do in the white house right now to deal with isis. we need a clearer commander in chief who sets the objective is not to weaken, not to degrade

isis. it is to utterly and completely destroy isis. [applause] they are the face of evil. they are crucifying children beheading christians, lighting men and women on fire in cages. when you have set that clear objective, militarily, what would be required? we should be using overwhelming airpower directed at taking out isis in every location. number two, we should be arming the kurds. [applause] the kurds have long been our allies. they are on the ground. the peshmerga, fighting forces for the kurds, are effective soldiers. they are fighting isis today and they are outclassed in their weapons.

isis is using american military equipment they seized in iraq and the obama administration refused to fund the kurds and sends weaponry to baghdad that won't pass it onto the kurds. there's a debate going on right now. about boots on the ground. my view at the outset is any military conflict, particularly extended military conflict should begin with a congressional authorization or a declaration of war. [applause] on the question of boots on the ground, i don't think that should be decided by bunch of politicians in washington posturing one way or another for political effect. it should be driven by the military necessities of accomplishing the goal of destroying isis. so based on the advice i have received from senior military leaders, the peshmerga on the ground armed effectively with overwhelming military force and

perhaps embedded u.s. special forces can at least begin to carry out that path. let me describe an exchange i had with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff last year. i said, if the objective were to destroy isis in 90 days, militarily what would be required? he said, i'm sorry, that's impossible. that cannot be accomplished. i said, ok, general dempsey, but perhaps that timeframe is unrealistic. you tell me now, in what time frame can we destroy isis and what would be required to do so? his answer was, there is no military solution to this problem. the answer is to change the underlying conditions on the ground so people are not susceptible to being radicalized through poverty.

with all respect, there is a word for that, and i will clean it up for c-span and say it is nonsense. [applause] the way to defeat isis is not expanded medicaid through iraq. the way to defeat them is a simple and clear military objective that the soldiers waging war on america, we will destroy them. [applause] last year i introduced legislation called the x patriot terrorist act. roughly 100 americans have traveled to the middle east and taken up arms and joined isis, the legislation either do said

-- i introduced said that any american citizen that does so and takes up arms and declares jihad on america forfeits his or her citizenship. [applause] just this week, we apprehended an ohio man who was traveling to isis. he came back to america to blow up facilities, but thank god we caught him. it is lunacy to allow terrorists waging jihad to come to this country with u.s. passports. we should come together to prevent it. thank you and god bless you. >> join us later today for more from the road to the white house went hillary clinton will be

touring a small family business in keene, new hampshire. live coverage starts at 1:45 eastern today right here on c-span. as we look life at the u.s. capitol today, house and senate are in session. the house gavels in at 2:00 for a brief pro forma session with nothing on the agenda. members will return tomorrow. later this week, they will be discussing consumer protection and cyber security issues. see the house live later when a gavel back in, and the senate on c-span two. people will be gathering today to craft the budget. the senate budget committee will be there. live coverage starts at 3:00 today right here on c-span.

the white house annual correspondent dinner is set this saturday. we are expecting remarks from barack obama. the entertainment is from saturday night live. >> for a while it was music acts, believe or not, there was a juggling act. since the association started to bring entertainers, she is the fourth woman to do that. i don't know why, it is always a late-night white guy. that's ok, they are funny, but it is important to have different perspectives at the podium. i think she is funny, sharp, and cunning.

>> again, live coverage of this year's white house correspondents dinner, happening this saturday, april 25, at 6:30 eastern. >> challenging the new fcc laws, organizations have filed lawsuits against the fcc. tonight on "the communicators" we will talk to one of the leaders of those organizations walter mccormick of telecom, and christopher lewis of public knowledge. >> what we are challenging is the reclassification of internet service to a telecommunication service regulated as a common carrier, pursuant of railroad regulations. it was originally applied to railroads, then trucking companies, and airlines.

it has been repealed from all of those industries going on 30 years ago. it imposes new cost on consumers, delayed employment, and chilled investment. >> people agree that no neutrality regulations are important. we do disagree with a lawsuit. we have been supportive of the rules the sec and acted -- fcc andenacted. we think after a decade of having net neutrality roles that could hold up in court, this is the strongest set of net neutrality protections that we have seen in the three different attempts at the agency to ensure that the internet remains open. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on "the communicators" on c-span 2.

, we have more now from the republican party leadership summit from new hampshire that took place friday and saturday in nashua. up next, comments from mike huckabee. my cutmike huckabee: thank you very much. as jennifer was mentioning, something about my long time relationship with the clinton political machine. every time i ever ran for public office i ran against a clinton political machine. i ran against their money, ran against them. if somebody wants to know what is it like running against their organization, their apparatus, come see me. i will be happy to tell you. i will show you some scars because i got quite a few. my first election to lieutenant governor was in 1993.

bill clinton's first year as president. what most people don't know about arkansas is that it is not that reliably red state. at least, it was not then. in fact, when i was elected lieutenant governor in a special election, i was only the fourth republican elected in 150 years to a statewide office. when i got there they were so , excited to see me that my door was nailed shut from the inside. [laughter] that is not an exaggeration. "the wall street journal" flu someone to little rock to see and he reported back that there are physical, literal nails in the door. it wasn't just because they nailed it shut, it remained nailed shut for my first 59 days as lieutenant governor of arkansas. when the door was finally open, i went into the office, it had been stripped of all the office furniture, the budget had been

zeroed out and that was my welcome. to the clinton political machinery of the state of arkansas. i was reelected the next year with the largest vote of a republican in history of the state because people were tired of the political machine they had seen chew them up and spit them out. after being elected to a four-year term, i was at in of -- at my end of the hall minding my own business when the governor was convicted and was forced to resign. that put me in the office of governor. it was the first of a long string of democratic officials busted for various forms of corruption. we used to say the five most feared words were these -- "will the defendant please rise?" [laughter] it was a tough environment. when i became governor in 1996 the legislature consisted of 89

democrats in the house to 11 republicans. in the senate, 31 democrats to four republicans. you would think being up to her e in new hampshire that the most lopsided, partisan state in america has been massachusetts, but you are wrong. the most partisan state lopsided state is arkansas and i inherited it as governor. but you know what that did for me? i learned to govern. when you go in the capital and people really don't like you and don't want you to succeed, but you're able to get 90% of your legislation passed, it's because you learned how to govern. i hear people say, we are going to have to have someone who knows how to fight. if you have rattled the little -- the political machine i have battled, you know how to fight. but we need somebody who knows

how to win the fight, not just start it. one of the challenges we face is not just to fight the fight, but to fix what the fight has been about. it is so very important because this election will so determine some of the great realities of whether or not our nation is going to be free, whether our nation is going to be safe, and whether or not there's going to be the true american dream going to be able to live out for every single young american. i will be making an announcement on tuesday, may 5 from a -- from my hometown of hope arkansas. bill clinton was born there, but he moved away when he was five. my family did not have enough he money to move away. the little house i grew up in is still there. my dad never finished high school. his dad didn't, his dad before

him didn't his dad before him , didn't. i am the male in my entire first family who finished high school, much less went to college. my dad was like yours. he lifted things, got his hands sturdy, but he believed in this country. when i was eight years old, he took me down to hear the governor of arkansas make a speech. he said, i'm going to take you down to the governor. he's going to make a talk. you may lead your whole life and never meet a governor in person. [laughter] [laughter] nobody would have ever believed that his boy could have become one. becoming a governor and serving in the capacity for 10 and a half years, a learned a lot of things and the most important thing i learned was that when people get into government and they forget why they went and what they went to do, something is tragically wrong with our system of public service. last year i campaigned in 37 states, trying to help us win the majority in the u.s. senate and get harry reid moved to the

back of the room. i guess he was so excited he's going to move back to nevada and that's the best news we've had in america in a long time. [applause] i thought if we can get republicans elected in the majority of the senate and at dd the numbers to the house, at least they will stand up to this lawless president who ignores the constitution and after 22 times saying there's nothing he can do all by himself on the issue of immigration, then he says he's got a pen and a phone and he unconstitutionally and illegally goes ahead and does something that even he admitted 22 times he did not have the authority to do. i would have an expectation that a least people we work so hard to elect would stand up to him not on a political issue, but a constitutional, legal issue and say, mr. president, it is our job under this constitution, this constitution says you can't do it and we stand to tell you that you can't and you won't.

i want the republican party to start acting like the republican party. [applause] one of the ways i believe we will repair this great republic of ours is when we finally begin to realize public service should not be a permanent lifetime career. when do we have term limits in this country, and say when you go to congress, it is not going to be the proverbial roach motel where you go in but you never come out? we should say you go in and after a reasonable period of time, you come out, go home, and find out what it's like to live under the laws he passed for the rest of us. we need term limits for the legislative and judicial branch of our government. the dangers we face in a troubled world are such that we have to have true leadership not apologies, but leadership, driving from the backseat of the

car is a sure way for a tragic accident. the fact that the middle east is in extraordinary trouble, and our president thinks we can sit down and make a deal with the iranians, is nonsense. they never made a deal they kept, never. i grew up in south arkansas. we had snakes in south arkansas. i'm not just talking about the ones that got elected to something either. we had rattlesnakes, cottonmouth snakes, copperhead snakes. three potentially deadly snakes. i learned as an early kid, when dealing with a snake, you don't try to reason with a snake and understand why he would be so upset as to bite you. you don't pet the snake. you don't feed the snake. you don't try to have a conversation with a snake. you get a shotgun or a shovel or

a ho and you take the snake's head off before he bites you. [applause] what we are dealing with in the middle east is no short of a viper that will bite us unless we can and its threat before it becomes an imminent threat to our own children and grandchildren. we must never make an apology for the strength of america. we must never get to the place where we believe we are not vulnerable and be so naive as to think we can sit down with people who are sponsors of state terrorism with a mosque, -- hamas, hezbollah, and believe they will make nice with us if we let them continue their murderous kidnapping and terroristic ways. we've got trouble at home we have to address. i hear people talk about all the time, need to get rid of the irs. i don't hear anyone say the irs

is a wonderful institution and we should add to it. there is one plan in place, and that is the enactment of the fair tax, which would eliminate the irs, repeal the 16th amendment, and it would no longer punish people for their productivity and reward people for their irresponsibility. [applause] i am a supporter because it would change our economy. the fair tax simply says we and all the taxes on that which produces something. we have taxes on income savings, investment, capital gains, inheritance. they become zero. we pay tax at the point of consumption. when we buy something, we pay the tax. drug dealers, prostitutes, pam's -- pimps, and gamblers would be paying the same taxes. they are not reporting that on their 1040, i'm pretty sure.

they don't understand a fair tax because nothing empowers people more effectively who are at the bottom then does having a tax that untaxes their basic necessities but empowers them to work hard and move up the rung to the ladder. i learned how that would work in new hampshire eight years ago. i was touring a machine shop. a guy pulled me aside and said to me, i've got a daughter who is in cornell, in grad school. grad school in cornell is $50,000 a year for her. my first reaction was, thank god my daughter doesn't want to go to cornell grad school. [laughter] he said, i been working at this machine shop, i have a high school education, i want my daughter to do better than me. does this sound familiar? it's what every parent says. he said, i decided i wanted to work a second shift. i would work 16 hours a day, not eight.

the second shift i would work, i dedicate all of that to my daughter so she would not come out of school with a huge debt on top of her. and so i started working 16 hours a day. i got my first paycheck thinking it would be twice what it used to be. i got it and i said, there is a big mistake here. it's not much more than the eight hour paycheck. he went to the accountant for the machine shop and said, there's a mistake. the accountant said no, there's not. here's the problem. because you are now working 16 hours a day and not eight, you are now in a new tax bracket. and so the second shift that he was working wasn't working for his daughter in grad school, he was working so the government could take it out of his pocket. why are we punishing somebody who is trying to move ahead? with the fair tax, if a person works twice as hard, they make twice as much money. the government does not put them in a system that keeps them from

being able to reach the next rung on the ladder. there is something horribly wrong with the tax system where the agency that collects it has information about you they have no business knowing, files that information, demands you cough up receipts from seven years ago . they can't even keep their own e-mails for seven days. they can investigate you. they can find you at fault. they can even assess the penalty. they can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect $10 out of you. and they use your money to do it. i think most americans would agree the irs has become a criminal enterprise, and we need to get rid of it. [applause] the only way to get rid of it is

to enact the fair tax, because it's the only plan that eliminates the need for some government agency to get as deep into our business as the irs gets into. this is why i believe that we need to be bold in our approach, how to fix this country of ours and make it better. as a kid growing up, i grew up in a town called hope, but i wanted more than to have a town named hope. i wanted to believe there really was hope for kids like me. i think about the great opportunities this country has afforded me. it makes me love america a lot. when i think about the way we have squandered our position in the world and we punish people trying to work their way out of the hole of poverty, trying to work their way out of the system that is enslaved into government dependency, i'm reminded i

became a republican as a teenager -- all the republicans in my county, all seven of them -- all had either moved in from somewhere else -- there and been no native republicans to the county. i told people for a long time i wasn't sure if my parents even voted for me. [laughter] i became a republican not because i was rich. i became a republican because i did not want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting on the government to rescue me out of poverty. i still believe that this country ought to be a place where hope is not just some town in southwest arkansas and where hope is not something that a person running for president says he has the audacity off turns out he did not have the audacity of hope. he had sheer audacity to believe he was the law and above the

constitution and there were no sense of equal branches of government and checks and balances. we are a nation of laws, not a nation just a personalities and brute political power. if you want four or eight more years of that, we can sit back and have a big fight among the republicans and do the democrats' dirty work for them. the republicans can get into this, and we will have a lot of folks, and we can have a free-for-all, patricide, demolition derby, and we will have made the democrats' work easy for them. every republican that either is or is potentially going to run all once to be the quarterback of the team. the best way to earn the job is to play the best game, to prove on the practice field that we actually can lead, and we have a history of doing it.

our country is going through some storms and we are headed for tougher ones. i think, most of you, if you get on an airplane, and you look up there in the cockpit knowing you are about to fly through storms, you look up there and who is sitting in the seat? you want it to be somebody who has flown through a lot of thunderstorms, not somebody who just got out of flight school. i hope the decision is made based on who can play the game the best, not who can savage the other people who want the job. if that is what happens to us and we allow it, we will end up seeing our hopes dashed once again. this time, we can't afford it. i know the clintons all too well. they play to win. they play and do anything necessary in order to win. i have faced them time and time again. i lived to even tell about it.

that in itself is remarkable. [laughter] now we have to unite, and do something extraordinary for this great country. a couple of weeks ago i was in los angeles and i was going to be on the "bill maher show." i'm i'm not afraid of him. i was going to be on the show, they sent a driver to pick me up. the driver picks me up. i get in the car and introduce myself, asking his name. he says, my name is dimitri. i said, that does not sound like you are from alabama. he said, no, i'm from the old soviet union. i said, when did you come to america? he said, 1988. i said, why did you leave the soviet union? that was the year before

communism began to collapse and the soviet union fell. i said, why did you leave? he said i spent my whole life , with my government lying to me. the government telling me i lived in a great country and america was a terrible place but i knew that was not true. he said, i have wanted to leave that country because i knew i could not stay there and i had a little daughter and i wanted a better life for her and i wanted to get her out of there. he came to this country with $250 and that's it. he said, i wish i could say to every american what a great country this is. this country has allowed me to own my own business. i own this car and several others. i said, where is your daughter these days? he said, she is in her 30's, she has kids, she's married, she's a college graduate and registered nurse and works in a clinical care unit and she's doing great.

i said, i wish you would tell your story. i wish more people would tell your story. he said, i don't talk so good. i have an accent. i said, dimitri, you make more sense and talk better than 90% of the people we have elected to congress, i assure you. [laughter] [applause] dimitri said, i don't think i will ever have that platform. i told dimitri, you may not. but i hope i can tell your story and the story of someone he like you and remind americans that some people have come to this country to escape tyranny and find liberty. may sound the ability to live their life three and do something great for their kids. whether you were born in hope, arkansas and climbed your way from the whole of poverty in

which you were dug, or whether you come from the soviet union and you defect with nothing but a couple hundred dollars in your pocket and a little girl, let us never be a place where this is a country is not where you start is or you have to and you can dream the dreams and let them. that is what america is all about. we need to have the again. thank you and god bless you. i will take some questions for the next few minutes. [applause] i understand we have some microphones in the crowd. the way this works is you will ask a brief question and i will answer it. i will hear the question i want to answer, no matter what it is. in politics, this is called q&a you think that stands for questions and answers, it

actually stands for questions and avoidance. you ask whatever you want, i try not to have a career ending answer this afternoon. >> governor, thank you for coming. to counter china, radical islam, russia, there probably is no more important alliance by the united states than with that other great world democracy, india. the u.s. likes india. they like indians. america blessed its nuclear status right away. republicans have two governors of indian descent, one spoke to us not long ago. basically the u.s. ignores this natural ally. how will you redefine as president that relation to ensure that democracy in the world survives well into the next century? mike huckabee: india is a country with whom we share a lot. i believe israel is a country with whom we share a lot, that same sense of people who were created in order to escape

tyranny. the alliances we have our alliances we need to recognize their value. after six and a half years of the president obama-hillary clinton policies, let me ask you this, can you name a country on this planet with whom we have a better relationship today than we had when they took office? can you name one? i hear cuba and iran. it's not true. cuba is still a place where people are held political prisoner and iran, they are still working to build a bomb. it's not that we have a better relationship, it is that the iranians think we are chumps is instead of champions. we need to stand with those who are like us and stand firmly against those who are not. wherever that democracy exists -- i've been to india -- it's a remarkable country, it's amazing what is happening there, it's overwhelming to be there, but it is remarkable. one of the reasons we've got to

change policies is because i want to say to you that three things americans have got to be able do -- things americans got to be able to do to maintain liberty -- we need to feed ourselves, produce our own food and fiber, never import our food . we've got to be able to fuel ourselves. we've got to be able to supply our own needs for energy. we've got 600 or 700 years of energy under our own feet. that we would not exploit the energy capacity we have is nonsense to me. we have made the saudi's extremely rich, empowered the russians, and empowered the iranians because we will not take our own energy out from under our feet, and we allow nations, whether it is russia, the iranians, the saudi's, to

supply europe, the middle east africa, and the world. if america would begin to be an exporter of its energy and start making americans wealthy instead of saudi's wealthy and russians wealthy, and iranians wealthy, maybe we would tip the balance of power in an extraordinary way and bankrupt these corrupt governments rather than have ourselves begging for them to do something responsible. the third thing we have to do is fight for ourselves. we've got to manufacture our own weapons of self-defense. the fact that we have lost manufacturing in this country is not just a jobs issue. it is an issue of national security. if we can't build our own arms and bullets, whoever is building that for us holds us by the throat. let's bring those jobs back and that will never happen as long as the chinese continue to

cheapen our trade deals and we don't hold people as trading partners to the same rules we are expected to play by. that's how we treat allies like friends and we treat our enemies like foes. in this administration, our friends don't trust us, our enemies don't respect us. next question. >> hi, tamara fairbanks from canaan. where the legs are still frozen. science has become very politicized. it's important to know your stand on the climate change issue. even the pope has an opinion right now. global warming, fact or fiction? mike huckabee: i was in college when we were told in "time" and "newsweek" said on their covers that if we did not do something very bold and quickly, we would all freeze to death. and we were entering the ice age. now we are entering an age in which we will all burn up and everybody near the coast will drown.

there may in fact be climate change. there has always been climate change. but the earth is an amazing body. let me be blunt. i believe the earth is the lord's creation, and i believe when he created it, he made it to be adaptable, and one of the reasons it stood through all the eons of history is because if there is a change, it is able to adapt. the more urgent thing i believe exists is that we always treat this earth like we would if we were boy scouts at the camp. leave your campsite in as good or better shape than when you found it. but don't be so silly as to not enjoy the campsite. take good care of the earth. be a good steward. but for heaven sakes, enjoy that which has been given to us for our own pleasure, purposes, and prosperity. that ought to be the driving

force of our policies there. >> last question. >> hi, governor. i was recently in israel, tour ed the country from the golan heights south, west bank, etc. it is a very small country. in my opinion, there should be no palestinian state cut out of israel. [applause] i know you are there frequently you are friendly with the prime minister. i wonder what your thoughts are on that. my company: -- my cut canike huckabee: my first trip to israel was in 1973. i was 17 years old. i have been to syria, lebanon, egypt, jordan, india, pakistan afghanistan, iraq, saudi arabia, the emirates, kuwait. i have a special relationship with israel because the first time i went there i fell in love with this country. i felt that that country has not

just an organizational relationship with the united states, but an organic relationship with the united states. who we are and what we are. when i hear people talking about a two state solution, i think it's the nuttiest thing i've ever heard. i am one of the few people to say that no one has the ability to own a piece of real estate when one of those parties believes the other one should not exist. let's quit pretending there is such a thing in that particular country. in the land of judea and samaria, there should not be a question as to whether or not that is going to belong to israel, because it does belong to israel. i was like you in the golan heights. i stood on the valley of tears. 250 yards was the syrian border. chejust about two miles from where i was, there was an isis camp. in the distance we could hear at

least 10 explosions of rockets and shells going off in the civil war of syria. we were safe where we were, and the reason we were is because israel understands what it is to defend its borders and recognizes that it does have a right to defend itself and its people. the amazing thing is that the failed policies of the obama administration are so horrendous is that something has happened in the middle east that 42 years ago when i made my first trip and dozens of troops i have made -- dozens of trips i have made since then, i saw something over the last couple of years i never thought could exist. now the israelis are in a greater alliance with the saudi's, jordanians, and egyptians than they are with the united states because those countries at least have the good sense to know you don't trust the iranians. i pray our next president will have the good sense to know we don't trust the iranians, but we can trust our friends, the israelis, and we can trust the leadership of other countries in

the middle east who recognize that you cannot create peace when you chant death to america in the streets of your cities. thank you folks, and god bless you. enjoyed being with you. thank you. >> former arkansas governor, my company -- mike huckabee. by the way, you can see all the coverage from the summit on c-span.org. by the way, a piece on my cut the bees -- myike huckabee's hints at running for president. the headline, "my cut toike huckabee would be a more important candidate than you might think."

saying, if you goes on to run, he would be an important candidate. that is from "the new york times the ag joinimes." join us for more road to the white house coverage with hillary clinton in keene, new hampshire. the house gaveling in briefly at 2:00 for a pro forma session. there is no business that will take place today. the house is back tomorrow. on the agenda, consumer protection and cyber security measures. you can see the senate gavel in. see the house life here on c-span and the senate on a competitive network, c-span 2.

the house will put together a compromise senate budget. the house passed its budget later today, the carnegie endowment for international peace will be the host for turkey's foreign affairs minister. he will speak about turkey's responsibilities to nato. live coverage starts at 2:30 on c-span3. >> challenging the new sec rules, five organizations have filed lawsuits. will speak the president and ceo of one of those organizations. >>