penalties are there to try to go after anybody who would deliberately mislead the public. it's not very -- mrs. mcmorris rodgers: is it possible that one of your employees could be charged with a criminal charge? ms. raskopf: that's not our understanding. incorrect. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: who would receive the citation or criminal charge? ms. raskopf: we're still waiting for more guidance on that. what we understand is that that information would be given to us and would give us time to correct that. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: ok, then wanted to ask ms. liddle and mr. o'quinn, i would say that the two of you are quite different and also different from others on the panel, such as dunkin donuts. do you think this regulation tries to treat entities which are actually quite different, you know cookie cutter fashion which doesn't make sense, maybe you can just say yes or no because i'm out of time? mr. o'quinn: yes.

>> we have less than three minutes to get the -- to get to the floor and vote. mr. griffith: thank you, mr. chairman. great to see you, delegate o'quinn. appreciate you coming to capitol hill to bring some wisdom from southwest virginia. up here. is there anything that you wanted to talk about that you haven't had an opportunity to talk about? mr. o'quinn: thank you, congressman griffith. i would just say that this has been a very frustrating process. we meet with -- our industry meets with f.d.a. on a regular basis. mr. griffith: you're not talking about the hearing. mr. o'quinn: no, the hearing has been as smooth as silk. but the process throughout the fleshing out of this has been difficult because we meet with f.d.a. on a regular basis on a wide variety of topics. this has been one particular topic in which they have been absolutely unwilling to meet or communicate. so here we are discussing a delay versus some clarity and

reasonable flexibility but it has been a frustrate prague sess but we appreciate the opportunity to be here today to air our side of the story. mr. griffith: thank you very much for being here. i'll ask both you and ms. liddle the concerns about -- we've heard both today the concerns about somebody being charged with a felony, i guess ms. hubbard as well. one of the things you said, ms. liddle, was that as currently written, now, intent is a good thing. but as a lawmaker for a number of years only a few years here, but a long time in the virginia legislature, if you don't make it clear somebody will misinterpret the intent and while the intent may be not to charge your worker with a felony because they get a little excited with the cheese on the pizza or something where they don't follow the exact recipe, you've said the way it's currently written, they could be charged. is it a problem of the different between the -- difference between the actual wording of the statute and the

intent or do you all just disagree completely on -- ms. liddle: it's my understanding that this falls under the food and drug cosmetic act and under this there's sort of a presumption of guilty ahead of time. -- guilt ahead of time. there are criminal penalties that could be put on folks and i -- mr. griffith: so you might like to see words like intentionally and repetively or a pattern of intentional behavior. ms. liddle: correct. i agree with mr. o'quinn. it has been a frustrating experience waiting for rules from f.d.a. i frankly don't trust that the ultimate outcome of their rules will be correct and so i really believe that we need this fix. mr. griffith: i appreciate that and i would probably have some more questions for you but the votes are on the floor and i know the chairman's been very patient to let me have this time. thank each and every one of you for testifying. i hope we can straighten this out. i yield back. >> the chair thanks the gentleman. the time has expired on the floor. we have additional questions.

i'm sure members will submit those to you in writing, if you'd please respond. this has been very, very interesting and informtific hearing. mr. pitts: i remind members that they have 10 business days to submit questions for the record. i ask witnesses to respond promptly. members should submit their questions by the close of business on thursday, june 18. so thank you for your patience, your testimony and it's time for lunch, i think. with that without objection, the subcommittee is adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015]

>> house minority leader nancy pelosi spoke at the u.s. capitol today with reporters on pending trade legislation in the house. the senate passed the trade promotion authority bill before the memorial day vess. this briefing runs about 20 minutes. ms. pelosi: good morning everyone. today is the 25th anniversary of the tiananmenen square massacre and they were advocating for their rights and dignity and respect that they deserve. such a very, very sad day and the miracle of communication, we were sadly see what was happening. students and workers from all

backgrounds who marched on the square and still live in our promotion of rights and freedom throughout the world. here in congress, we have the continuing saga of trickle-down economics versus middle class economics. republicans continue to bring bad bills to the floor, based on a bad budget, bills in a budget based on trickle down for the special interests paid for by hallowing out, hallowing out the future of hard-working american families. commerce, justice, state a bill that was finished yesterday slashes state and local enforcement assistance by $325 million, below the 2015 level.

$325 million below the 2015 level. by eliminating funding for hiring programs for cops, the community-oriented policing services. this hiring program would have helped hire 1,300 more new law enforcement professionals. it underfunds the violence against women prevention and prosecution by nearly $20 million beneath the president's request and slashes vital juvenile programs by almost 30%. the 30% below the 2015 level. again trickle down, tax cuts for the rich and now how do we offset that by making cuts ap initiatives that help people. today, we are continuing consideration of the transportation and housing and urban development bill. for years, democrats and republicans have worked

together to invest in safe modern, job-creating infrastructure and that's what america needs to succeed in the 21st century. we have always worked together. has not been partisan until recent years. this week, republicans are advancing the transportation-hud bill that otherwise known as thud and that's what it hits the floor with, cuts funding for amtrak, $250 million below f.y. 2015 and $1.3 billion and slashes the tiger grants which funds highways, transit, passenger rail and important investments by 80% below the 2015 level. these are all investments in the infrastructure of america.

let us work together on a long-term plan to avert the expiration of the highway trust fund, which has shifted into the summer season, endangering thousands of vital instruction programs throughout the country, threatening nearly 700,000 good-paying construction jobs and republicans -- how long have we been talking about this highway bill? since 2011 when the republicans came into the majority. they had not held a single ways and means committee hearing on financing a highway bill. and now, we are weeks away -- well, we kick the can down the road to july 31 and we still haven't had -- with all the good intentions and hopefully we can work together for a highway bill, but it has to be a funding mechanism and the

republicans haven't held a single hearing in that regard. infrastructure and investing in infrastructure and highway legislation is really important for commerce. it's important for safety. it's important for quality of life, getting people out of their cars by having mass transit and having roads, bridges and highways that facilitate mobility and it's about clean air. it's about competitiveness for our country. and immediately creates jobs and continues to create jobs well into the future. it's really unfortunate, but i'm hopeful, i'm hopeful that the speaker and i can work together recognizing the urgency is there, understanding the tradition of bipartisanship. and this bipartisanship extends beyond congress, governors mayors, coirnt superviseors are asking for us to get this done and we can do it and we have to do it soon.

another deadline that is fast approaching is the exim bank charter which expires june 30, 12 legislative days from now. this exim bank has sustained more than 160,000 export-related american jobs. it created or sustained 1.5 million private sector jobs since 2007 and does this at no cost to the taxpayer. this pays for itself, if not makes money. so i hope we can work in a bipartisan way again. i know there are members of the republican party who share our view or we share theirs. we join together in that and the frustration of why can't we move this bill. so support for renewing it is bipartisan. we just want a vote. we hope that that will be soon. these are two opportunities,

highway infrastructure, et cetera, and exim that are job creating where we can work together to create jobs and strengthen the economy. working families are tired of the endless manufactured crises that the republicans come up with threatening national security and weakening our economy and costing our country jobs. long time passed for congress to act in a responsible way on these initiatives. this afternoon, we'll go to the white house and wearing orange because we have the world champion -- world champions san francisco giants being honored by the united states -- the president of the united states. some will be boarding planes to go to see the warriors compete for the trophy.

any questions? reporter: the house is quickly approaching votes on trade and the president does not want changes to the senate bill. can you support that t.p.a. bill as it came from the senate. ms. pelosi: the house is fast approaching -- do you know when this is going to happen? i suppose when they have the votes and we'll see when that is. we have really had a very, i believe, internally respectful process going forward where we have invited the administration on a regular basis to address different categories in the bill in some cases different countries in the partnership the p.t.t. the vote -- there will be two votes, one eventually when the bill is negotiated and people see what the final product is, and that's months away.

but a vote that is closer in time that i don't know how near is the p.t.a. and we have -- we are in the process of finishing our drilling down on certain issues and countries to see how we can do better. there are other issues too that trade adjustment act that we need to pass in a better way than passed the senate. so there's some -- they sent over two bills joined would you say at the hip or shoulder or joined, and we are saying that we have many objections to the t.p.a., but the t.a. bill is a nonstarter in terms of how it is paid for.

questioner: the former general said, we are losing the war in iraq, talk about old issues that have been going on forever. how do you see it? ms. pelosi: general petraeus had the responsibility of training troops in iraq. and i remember hearing from him he trained 175,000 iraqi troops and personnel so that they can take over their own efforts. so i would ask him about that. i think that the number is far smaller than he has represented to us. reporter: how many votes have you told speaker boehner he is going to have to deliver from his side of the aisle to get t.p.a. across the finish line? ms. pelosi: 200. reporter: 17 declared democrats are the only ones? ms. pelosi: 200 is what he should come up with. they have 245, whatever the number is.

they have over 245 votes. was that person sworn in yet? they have 245 votes. they need 218. they probably have as you said dozen and a half on the democratic side. i don't know where everybody is. and the speaker should be able to get 200 votes. the awesome power of the speaker. i know of what i speak. but maybe -- i don't know. i don't think -- i don't know why they want this so much. they have the majority, why there's even any question that they can deliver their vote. but you have to speak to him. 200 would be a good round number, safe number, in case somebody doesn't show up that

day, ok? reporter: you mentioned the provisions of t.a.a. dollar amount for a small issue, can you go into detail about what your objections are for the pay-fors? ms. pelosi: it came out of medicare and i have an objection to that. the money that is set aside for the trade adjustment act to help those workers in those communities that have been hurt by trade, it is under a billion dollars, $700 million. a small price to pay. really, we should be doing much more, but nonetheless it must be paid for and don't like where they are taking the pay-for. i'm hoping that we can come up with a better pay-for so we can have that bill pass and move onto the taking up of the t.p.a. and i don't know where the

votes are on that. but put this in perspective. we're asking for a better pay-for so the same communities that we're trying to help in terms of trade adjustment are not hurt by taking the money out of medicare. i think that's really a bad choice. at the same time, this congress in recent time has weeks ago -- has passed legislation -- you have heard me say this before and i think it bears repeating -- over $260 billion in tax cuts. that's over a quarter of a trillion dollars in tax cuts for the 5,400 wealthiest families in america. unpaid for. 5,400 wealthiest families get a tax cut of over a trillion

dollars unpaid for. certainly, we can afford a few hundred million dollars to help communities or workers who are affected by the trade adjustment. it has to be paid for. let's find the pay-for and let's not take it at a place that hurts the very people that it is trying to help. reporter: the president's trade bill, do you feel you have responsibility for capping the president's trade bill? ms. pelosi: it's the speaker's responsibility. it's where the support exists in his caucus. he has the majority and it's his responsibility. and he said it was a test of my leadership and i have confidence in him and i think he can deliver 200 of his members, but it's not my responsibility.

reporter: just follow up on that, 14 senate democrats reported this and 32% of senate democrats, why can't 32% of the house democrats get behind something the president wants so badly? ms. pelosi: we do not set our agenda, senate as a standard for where we are on a bill. members are taking this very, very seriously. we have many members who are not supporting this who have over time always supported trade initiatives. i just don't think that this reaches the standard that we need to go forward with 11 different kinds of countries. but you have to ask them individually, because these are individual votes. and i can't tell you why some are in one place and some in another. but i can tell you this is a very large number in our caucus

that is not supportive of it and if we were to use the senate standard, i would hope they would use our standard from time to time. but we are two separate bodies and that's the beauty of it and we respect those differences and respect each person's vote. but you have to go back to the origins of our country when they decided that each state would have two votes in the senate and that the house would be divided by population. and maybe you could compare those numbers to population rather than house to senate, because it doesn't have any parity. in any event, it'sal lively debate and refreshing debate it's substantive and it's an opportunity to do something great in terms of our presence in the global economy. it doesn't meet the standard we have all put forth which is to increase the paycheck of

american workers and that means lifting the working conditions and wages of workers in other countries, otherwise we're driving down the paychecks of american workers. but putting that aside and going back to what is on the floor now which are these bills, which is cutting into initiatives that help america's working families protect the american people, grow the economy, instead we are giving tax breaks at the high end and to special interests rather than addressing the needs of the people's interests, all of which will bring a return to the treasury and to our economy. thank you all very much. go giants. go giants. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] we all go by the name on the

front of the jersey. >> our road to the white house coverage continues tonight with former governor rick perry's campaign announcement. he joined the race for president earlier today at an event near dallas. we'll have that for you at 8:00 eastern, followed by your calls on the 2016 presidential race. after that another look at hillary clinton's speech from today on voting rights and registration. she was honored for her advocacy on the issue at an event in houston and called out republican challengers for making it difficult for people to vote. >> this sunday on c-span's road to the white house, a conversation with former virginia senator and likely democratic presidential candidate, jim webb. he discusses growing up in a military family and his service asthma are inin vietnam. american foreign policy, politics, congress and why he wants to be president.

>> this country needs leadership. i think if you look anywhere in the country and ask people what they believe is missing up here at the federal level, it's leadership that they can trust, people who have the experience, that they can show they have a record, they can work across the aisle and get things done. i've had -- it's sort of a blessing in my professional life in that i've been able to spend about half of my time in public service and then half of my time doing other things, working for myself, basically as a sole proprietor, and i just believe very strongly that we need to create a new environment in washington where we have leaders who can talk across the aisle and actually solve our problems. >> jim webb this sunday at 6:35 p.m. eastern on road to the white house 2016 on c-span. >> this summer, book tv will cover book festivals from

around the country and top non-fiction altogetherers in books. this weekend we're live for the chicago tribune printers fest, including our three-hour live in depth program with pulitzer prize winner author and your phone calls. near the end of june, watch for the annual roosevelt reading festival from the franklin d. roosevelt presidential library. in the middle of july, we're live at the harlem book fair, the nation's flag ship african-american literary event, with author interviews and panel discussions. and at the beginning of september, for live from the nation's capitol for the national book festival celebrating its 15th year. that's a few of the events this summer on c-span2's book tv. >> the international monetary fund released its annual assessment of the u.s. economy today. it's a checkup of the health of the world's largest economy and focuses on economic growth, strength of the u.s. dollar and current federal reserve policy. managing director of the i.m.f. highlighted many of the reports' findings an also

commented on the ongoing economic crisis in greece. at this event, hosted by the i.m.f. it. runs about 35 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. thank you for coming to this press conference on behalf of the international monetary fund . today the topic is the united states 2015 article four consultation. mr. rice: as well as the financial sector assessment program and the press conferences on both topics. i am very pleased to introduce to you this morning the managing director of the i.m.f., christine lagarde. immediately to her left is our

director for the western hemisphere department, alejandro werner. to her right is the mission chief for the united states, nigel chalk, and immediately to nigel's right is aditya narain who has been intimately involved in the financial sector assessment. ms. lagarde: thank you very much. welcome to this briefing on the united states. by now i spoke you -- i suppose you will have seen our concluding statement and i will briefly summarize our findings and then take your questions. but first of all let me note that this year we have focused a lot of the findings on the financial sector assessment. we do a financial section

assessment every five years and all -- in all countries. it's a comprehensive exercise and the overall report what have we call the fsoc will be published on the eighth of july. the concluding statement includes some of the key findings but all the details work, the underlying assumption, the policy recommendations in the full extent, to the full extent will be found in that paper which is due to be published on july 7. that i highly recommend to you. we have also obviously commented upon the status of the dollar as a currency and we have also commented quite extensively on the timing of the interest rate hike expected at some stage in the future. i'll come back to that later. but before we get to policies,

let me say a few words about how we see the u.s. economic outlook. again we meet against a background of a shaky first quarter of the u.s. economy. and will you have seen that we have revised our growth forecast down to 2.5% in 2015. this is largely due to those factors that affected the first quarter. but this is not our main message, because we believe that this is -- does not actually indicate sub stantive material trends in the u.s. economy. our main point is that we still believe that the underpinnings for continued expansion are in place. the labor market has steadily improved over the last year, job growth has averaged 260,000 per month, and financial

conditions remain very accommodative. moreover we expect cheaper oil prices to continue taking -- to continue boosting growth while at the same time taking a bite out of the oil-related investment as we saw in the first quarter. as always, there are risks and uncertainties to this outlook. for example, further delay of the housing recovery and the strong dollar could be a drag on future growth. nevertheless, when we look at the whole picture, we believe that growth in the coming quarters will be at an annualized rate of 3% or even higher. we see inflation pressures as muted, long-term unemployment and high levels of part time work both point to remaining employment slack wage indicators on the whole have shown only tepid growth and when combined with dollar appreciation and cheaper energy costs, we expect inflation to

start rising later in the year. but only slowly, reaching the federal reserve's 2% medium term objective by mid 2017. so over the medium term, as we highlighted last year there's still much work to be done. our forecast of potential growth are now around 2%, far away from the 3% average growth rate that we saw before the great recession. given this outlook, i would highlight our policy recommendations in three areas. and i would start, of course, with monetary policy. as we have noted before, the fed's first rate increase in almost nine years has been carefully prepared and telegraphed. nonetheless, regardless of the timing, higher u.s. policy rates could still result in

significant market volatility with financial stability consequences that go well beyond the u.s. borders. in weighing these risks we think that there is a case for waiting to raise rates until there are more tangible signs of wage or price inflation than are currently evident. so in other words, we believe that a rate hike would be better off in early 2016. even after this first rate increase a gradual rise in the federal funds rates will likely be appropriate. such a path may create a modest rise of inflation above the fed's medium term goal, perhaps up towards 2.5%. we believe that that would be manageable. however, pursuing a cautious and gradual approach to interest rate normalization

will provide valuable insurance against the risk of disinflation and needing to cut rates back to zero. in the coming months, continued clear and effective communication by the fed will be more important than ever. last year we made some recommendations on the communication tool kit such as scheduling press conferences after each fymc meeting and publishing a quarterly monetary report. we recognize the difficulties with adding more communication, but we continue to believe that it merits consideration. turning to financial stability. our team has taken a detailed and comprehensive look at the health of the financial sector and our financial stability assessment program. much has been done over the past several years to strengthen the u.s. financial system. it will be important to ensure that that progress, including the legislative advances under the dodd-frank act, is not

rolled back. diluting the important progress made would clearly be undesirable. it also seems clear that risks have built up during the long period of exceptionally low interest rates. nevertheless, today the data points toward a system with pockets of vulnerabilities pockets of vulnerabilities, rather than with broad-based classes across the whole sector. but those pockets of vulnerabilities should not be minimized. they could create serious macrorelevant sources of financial instability both here and abroad. some of our concerns include the migration of intermediateation to so-called shadow banks or nonbank financial institutions. and the potential for insufficient liquidity in a range of fixed income market

particularly as these markets come under stress. i know that u.s. authorities are investing heavily in understanding and assessing these issues. some key policy recommendations to reduce financial stability risks that i would highlight include first of all, giving all members of the financial stability oversight committee, the fsoc, an explicit financial stability mandate so as to further strengthen the effectiveness of the fsoc. second, undertaking a concerted effort to provide the fsoc and the office of financial research with all the data they need to build a comprehensive view and analysis of systemic risk. third, of dating the regulatory regime in the insurance sector to create an independent and well resourced body that has

nationwide remiss. there are further details in the concluding statement and as i have said it is explained in great details in the document that will be released on july 7. let me now turn to fiscal policies. we've said that before, given a forecast of the steady rise in public debt to g.d.p. ratio, it remains critically important to adopt and implement a credible medium term fiscal plan. this requires action on tax reform social security reform and steps to contain health care costs. if these fiscal challenges, medium term challenges that i'm referring to, were tackled, it would provide scope to expand the near term budget nfl for measures to support -- envelope for measures to support future growth, job creation and productivity. and here i would prioritize infrastructure spending, better education spending and policies

that raise labor participation, including steps like subsidized child care facilities. so in conclusion, we believe that near term u.s. growth prospects are good, notwithstanding the very bad first quarter that we saw yet again. muted inflation pressures suggest that interest rate hike can wait a little and that such interest rate hike will be better off in 2016. even after the initial step is taken, we believe that a gradual rise in the federal funds rate will likely be appropriate. and although we recognize that very important progress has been made to strengthen the u.s. financial system, there is more to be done to address the pockets of vulnerabilities that i have just mentioned.

so with that, i'm very happy to take your questions, preferably on the u.s. economy. thank you. mr. rice: thank you. if could you keep your questions as brief as possible, we'll try to take as many as possible. questioner: "wall street journal." i assume you spoke with your friend about your proposed plan. i'm wondering whether this will solidify your friendship or put -- cause -- does she agree? secondly, i cannot help but ask about the topic of greece. can a bailout of greece really credibly go forward without any sort of serious debt relief and should that be part of the current proposal? ms. lagarde: thank you.

you know we essentially agree with the president of the fed in that the interest rate hike must be data-dependent and based on sound and as detailed and granualer data and analysis that is possible, which is clearly the line that has been articulated by chairman yellen. over and over. so we totally agree with that. what we are seeing in the data that the team has analyzed, is analyzing is that the inflation rate is not progressing at a rate that would warrant without risk i'll come back to that in a second, a rate hike in the next few months. which is why, to make the

point, we are saying that the economy would be better off with a rate hike in early 2016 when hopefully the inflation data and numbers will have consolidated. and even if it is to a risk of a slight overinflation relative to the 2% rate that is mandated under the fed's rules, because we believe that the tradeoff between start too early -- starting too early and risking disinflation and having to return to lower rate is higher than the risk of slightly above 2% inflation going forward. that's the position. on greece. first of all we certainly welcome the constructive meeting which has taken place

yesterday between the greek prime minister and the president of the european commission and the president of the euro group. it clearly opens a window of time during which we can hear details from the authorities. they respond they comment -- their response their comment, their views on the joint proposal that was proposed to them yesterday. that joint proposal agreed between the european commission, the i.m.f. and the european central bank has clearly demonstrated significant flexibility on the part of the institutions relative to the previous program, in order to take into account the political situation and the social situation, in order to mitigate and soften the consequences of the

necessary measures that have to be taken to allow greece to return to stability and to sustainable growth and economy. so, we welcome all that. the flexibility that i have just mentioned touches on all sorts of issues, including the labor market including the pace of fiscal consolidation, including the time frame over which that fiscal son sol -- consolidation takes place and it's really very much intended to ease the adjustment and to facilitate this implementation for the people of greece. so, we look forward to the position of the greek authorities and we stand ready to do now technical work, look at potential alternatives in

order to reach the targets that have been set, as long as all that is consistent with likely solid implementation. and i would totally endorse the three points made by the president yesterday which is that that recovery process must be conducive to growth, to economic and financial sustainability, as well as to social acceptability in the country. mr. rice: thank you. yes, the lady in the second row. questioner: thank you. i want to ask a little bit more about international context, given the recent global economy. what impact does the i.m.f. see of the weaker demand from japan and europe and also slowing chinese economies on the u.s. economic recovery? so how much do those factors

play in slowing maybe the progress of fed's normalization of the monetary policy? and also, does the -- because there's a federal reserve official set yesterday sorry, one day before, that the federal reserve might place a little bit too much importance on the boost from the falling oil prices on consumption, so does the i.m.f. share the same view? thank you. ms. lagarde: given that your question is so heavily technical, i'm going to turn to the mission chief of the -- so he can take you through the details of the assessment of the various parameters so that you have fully technical information response. mr. rice: certainly -- mr. chalk: certainly the slower growth in the global economy is weighing on the u.s. it's very hard right now to disentangle that from the effects of the stronger dollar and the effects of the west coast port strike on the trade data. i think we were quite encouraged that the trade data

released yesterday was relatively positive. but it's just one data point. i think we are likely to see some weight -- some headwind on the u.s. economy from both weaker growth in the global economy and the trading partners, and also from a stronger dollar. so it is a factor that's feeding into our forecast. i can't tell you how much of our change in forecast is due to that. there's a lot of moves in oil, in the currency and global growth. we don't -- in terms of the boost to oil prices, i think we have been somewhat disappointed by the increase in household consumption that we have expected from a lower oil price. that's still a puzzle, i think that's a puzzle, one that we discuss with our counterpart notice u.s. government, that's also a puzzle for them. then at the same time the decline in oil sector investment has been much stronger and much faster than i think we had anticipated a few months ago. so oil is definitely having a big effect on the u.s. we're expecting in the latter part of this year or the

remainder part of this year that we will see more consumption effects from lower oil prices but it's definitely a risk to the u.s. economy if that oil windfall is saved and we we will ceeloer growth than we're currently expecting -- see lower growth than we're currently expecting. mr. rice: yes, sir. in the second row. questioner: hi. bloomberg news. i also have a double barrel question. one on u.s. and one on greece. first of all in the u.s. in your report you note that the u.s. dollar is i believe moderately overvalued. what is your expectation over the coming months of where the u.s. dollar will head, do you anticipate it remaining overvalue, do you anticipate it returning to equilibrium in some kind of way? secondly, in greece, in the near term, how confident are you that greece will make its

scheduled payment to the i.m.f. tomorrow? ms. lagarde: on the -- your question about the u.s. dollar and its positioning, we do conclude that the u.s. dollar is moderately overvalued. which is a change compared with our previous assessment. and that is clearly as a result of the constant appreciation of the u.s. dollar by about 13% over the last 12 months, relative to other currencies. continued overappreciation is a potential risk and should not be discounted. but we do not believe that it has so far affected negatively the growth of the u.s. economy considering the oil price decline, which has been a bit

of a tradeoff to that circumstance of appreciation of the dollar. incidentally, not that it matters so much, but it matters for the overall economy, this movement has also benefited economies that were suffering of very low inflation and currencies that have taken the benefit of underappreciation, which hopefully would facilitate their growth and therefore would be good for the global economy. i'm thinking here particularly of the eurozone and countries like japan. on the issue of the repayment, i can only listen to what the membership tells us. greece is a member of the institution and as indicated, including as late as last night from the prime minister himself, payment had been honored and would be honored. i think his words were, do not worry.

so, i'm confident that that will continue to be the case. mr. rice: swinging back around. the gentleman from in the front row. questioner: financial times. just following up on greece a little bit. has therein about a discussion about bundling this month's payments, have you had any discussion with the greek authorities about that, has therein been a request from greek authorities? and back to the issue of debt relief do you think that debt relief is needed in order to have a sustainable or a practical bailout or a working bailout? ms. lagarde: on your first point, it is not a matter that we discuss publicly. when a state requests a particular set of conditions, i'm not aware of such a thing, but it's not something that we

debate and discuss. and asked about payment on friday, the prime minister said do not worry. so you can deduct easily that the unbundling is not in the cards. second, i don't want to isolate one component because everything, as has been mentioned by us at the ism, everything has to add up -- i.m.f., everything has to add up at the end of the day. which is why we, as far as we're concerned we have demonstrated flexibility and we continue to be flexible in assessing the measures that contribute to the fiscal targets that have been proposed. but clearly if there was to be slippages from those targets for the whole program to add up, then financing has to be considered. and financing is a factor of the level of debt, which itself is a factor of the maturity and

interest rates at which debt has been accumulating. mr. rice: thank you. yes, lady in the second row. questioner: thank you. i'm a reporter from china. recently our string of data have shown that personal consumption has shown signs of weakening in the u.s. as we see, the lower oil prices have failed to, so far has failed to translate into bigger purchasing powers and people are talking about the financial crisis have a lasting imprint on u.s. consumer behavior. so i want to know, from the point -- from your points of view, do you expect weakening consumer consumption will become a long-term trend? the future? how should we consider growing the u.s. economy if the u.s. consumers tend to spend less?

thank you. ms. lagarde: i would like to commend you on the analysis of the situation. that's what we conclude as well. but i don't know whether we draw sort of medium to long-term consequences from that short-term analysis, as to what will be the behavior of consumers going forward. nigel, do you want to address that? mr. chalk: we've seen structural changes in household behavior in the u.s. since the crisis. you now have a demographic that's aging, you have a young population that has a high level of student debt, you have lower household formations, so people aren't building wealth as they used to do by owning houses. i think all of these things are going to feed into long-term consumption behavior and don't think we believe we're going to go back to the kind of consumption and saving behavior which we saw precrisis which proved to be unsustainable. however, i think with what we've seen in previous periods when we've had oil price declines is the initial impact is -- the save willing go up and the people wait to see, one, if those oil gains are

permanent, or temporary, and, two, they want to actually see it affect their sort of daily household income, credit card bills. and then they adjust consumption behavior. so we should expect consumption behavior to adjust later this year. we should expect saving rates to come down. but certainly they're not going to go back to the level of consumption was prefinancial cry sills. -- crisis. mr. rice: i see a number of colleagues from the greek press so i'm going to call upon one colleague from the greek press. questioner: thank you for that. we do have a question on greece and one on the u.s. economy. on the u.s. economy, how much do you consider the external factors of risks like a greek default or greek exit influencing the u.s. economy, and specifically the financial sector given that you analyzed the financial sector

extensively in this review? and are you in contact with the u.s. secretary of the treasury about greece? has he conveyed any message to you about how he views the situation? are you in contact with the secretary of the treasury on greece? thank you. ms. lagarde: on the impact of the greek crisis on the u.s. economy, we don't believe that it is a significant risk. but having said that, there's so much uncertainty around this risk realization and the extent to which it would affect nationally regionally, internationally the financial markets, i sort of phrase that fiscal assessment with a strong caveat. however, given the various

tools available to the europeans, we don't grade that risk on the u.s. economy as very high. i'm in contact with many treasury secretaries around the world, including obviously the u.s. treasury secretary. we had a very good session yeds on the article four on the u.s. economy and we talked about international stability around the world, which includes, of course, a discussion on the current proposals and discussions taking place between the institutions and the country.

questioner: when you spoke at the atlantic council when you talked about the united states, you again underscored your disappointment with congress not acting on the rules change that you want for the governance of the i.m.f. and you said you continue to speak to members of congress in this country. could you give us an update on that and do you have anything different or positive to report on your dealings with the lawmakers? ms. lagarde: i think the i.m.f. membership continues to be disappointed with the five years' delay in implementing the governance reform that was actually decided back in 2010 and largely advocated by the united states of america. where the only critical step lagging or missing rather, is

ratification by the u.s. congress of such ratification. i continue to have discussions with various members of congress on that particular matter. i very much hope that this ratification will take place in due course. i think that in many instances we have demonstrated our ability to mobilize resources, to provide technical assistance to give support as well as the case, for instance, in the three ebola-stricken countries recently. as well as the case in relation to ukraine recently as well. as well as napal. so i very much hope that by demonstrating day after day, country after country, program

after program that we actually produce public good helpful for the economy of the united states, congress members will be convinced that it will be ratification. questioner: i need to know your answer on this. for the last five years i asked the same question, if greece can make it five years i think is too long of a time and i wanted to know what went wrong and who is responsible for this human disaster in greece? ms. lagarde: my hope is that by combining all the reforms and not just fiscal consolidation

based on a narrow base of people who suffer much -- a much higher burden than on a more equal basis, by enforcing the structural reforms, by really embracing all the objectives of the program the country can pull itself out of a situation that has lasted for too long. and we are available to help in that process. we have demonstrated flexibility. but it's also a question of putting the economy on a sustainable path where jobs can be createsed where the unemployment rate will go down, wrand ultimately the country will be able to finance itself

using normal investors and not necessarily the i.m.f. and other institutions. >> coming up tonight on c-span, rick perry announcing his run for the republican presidential nomination. after that, your calls and comments. then, hillary clinton houston talking about voting rights. later, an interview with jim webb. >> former texas governor rick perry announced his candidacy for the 2016 republican presidential nomination today in addison, texas. it is his second run for the presidency.

he talked about his record and criticized president obama's domestic and foreign-policy record. this is 35 minutes. [applause] >> oh, my goodness. i bet every woman in here would give a kiss to every man behind me. welcome, and thank you and welcome to a hot hangar. it is heartwarming for me to see so many friends and family who traveled to be with us today. rick and i are excited to be here. we're excited to be joined by our children, griffin, and his wife meredith and sidney and our granddaughters, ella and piper. we have been on quite a journey,

this man that i'm married to. it start good 55 years ago yeah. i know, he looks, it i don't. 55 years ago i sat by him at a piano recital. six years after that, he asked me to our first date to his football game. he rode on the team bus. i rode in the car with his parents and his sister. i figure that's what about every dreams about for their first date. 16 years later with the blessing of my father finally, i decided to marry him and say yes and go on a journey where i had no idea where it would take me. back then, he was trying to farm, fix airplanes, fly airplanes, we were living in haskell, texas. halfway between abilene and the end of the earth.

he decide he'd run for state representative, he ran and won. we welcomed griffin and sidney. it's not just about blood lines with us, it's about the family you adopt over time. friends that come into your life force you to live differently because of the mere fact that you met them. one such friend is with us today. martha zittrell. martha has been very kind in discussing how we were there for him, but in reality, we learned as much from marcus as he could have ever learned from us. he taught us the important of

perseverance, of never giving up. [applause] never quit. we learned this after being broken from having worn the brunt of battle. the other thing that marcus continuously reminds us of is it's not about us, it's not about us. there are causes greater than any of us here today. causes for which we should all be willing to sacrifice our lives and our future. one such cause is the presidency of the united states. [cheers and applause]

my friends, that office is not about the individual who occupies it, but it's about the optimism and the dreams of the people who work and elect that person. we need a president now perhaps more than ever that puts the american people first. [applause] we put you and you and you and you and my grandchildren ahead. who puts every one of these veterans behinds us first. [applause] we need that person who transcends the petty politics of washington, who brings people together for the common good. [applause] and i think i might know a man who has all the right qualifications to make america great again! [applause] please welcome my husband, rick perry! [cheers and applause] ♪

[applause]

>> thank you. [applause] thank you very much. i love you, honey. i was born five years after the end of a global war that killed more than 60 million people. i'm the son of a veteran of that war who flew 35 missions over war-torn europe as a tailgunner on a b17. [applause] when dad returned home, he married mom. they started life together. they were tenant farmers. they were raised during a time of great hardship and had little expectation beyond living in peace, putting a roof over our heads, and putting food on our table. home was a place called paint creek too.

small to be called a town, but it was the center of my universe. for years we had an outhouse. mom bathed us on the back porch in a number two washtub. she also hand sewed my clothes until i went to college. i attended paint creek rules school grades 1 through 12 played six-man football, was a member of the boy scout troop 48, became an eagle scout -- [cheers and applause] i went to texas a&m where i was a member of the corps of cadets. [cheers and applause] i got my degree in animal science. i was proud to wear the uniform of our country as an air force officer, an aircraft commander. [applause] after serving, i returned home

i returned home to those rolling plains and being old sky of west texas, and i returned to farming. you know, there is no person on earth more optimistic than a dry land cotton farmer. [laughter] we always know that a good rain is just around the corner. no matter how long you've been waiting, the values learned on my family's cotton farm are timeless. the dignity of work, the integrity of your word, responsibility to community. the unbreakable bonds of family and duty to country. these are enduring values, not the product some idyllic past, but a touchstone of american life in our small towns, in our

largest cities, our booming suburbs. i've seen american life. i've seen it from the red dirt of a west texas cotton field from a campus in college station, texas, from the elevated view of a c-130 cockpit, and the governor's office from the texas capitol. [applause] i had the great privilege to serve a rural community in the texas legislature, and i led the world's 12th largest economy. [applause] i know america has experienced great change, but what it means to be an american has never changed.

we are the only nation in the world founded on the power of an idea that all, that all are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. instead government is subject to the people. it's always been the case that there's been this social compact between one generation of americans and the next. to pass along the inheritance of

a greater country. it's been protected in great sacrifice. it's never more clear to me than when i took my father to the american cemetery that overlooks the bluffs at omaha beach. on that peaceful setting there lies graves. a father and a son. two sons of a president. they all traded their future for ours in a final act of loving sacrifice. [applause] that american cemetery is no accident that each headstone

faces west. west over the atlantic towards the nation they defended. the nation they loved. the nation they would never come home to. it struck me as i stood in the midst of those heroes that they look upon us in silent judgment and we must ask ourselves are we worthy of their sacrifice. [applause] we have been led by the slice and dice, pitting americans against americans. six years into this recovery. our economy is barely growing.

this winter it actually got smaller. our economic slowdown is not inevitable. it's the result of bad economic policy. the president's tax and regulatory policy have slammed the door shut for the opportunity of the average american who is trying to climb the economic ladder. resigning the middle class to stagnant wages and personal debt and deferred dreams. weakness at home has led to weakness abroad. the world has descended into a chaos of this president's own making. the nature of the enemy can't be

acknowledged for fear of causing a fence. the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism can be trusted to live up to a nuclear agreement. let no one be mistaken. leaders of both parties have made grave mistakes in iraq but in january of 2009, when barack obama became commander in chief iraq had been largely pacified. american had won the war but our president failed to secure the peace. how callous it seems now.

cities once secured with american blood are now being taken by america's enemies all because of a campaign slogan. i saw during vietnam a war where politicians didn't keep faith with the sacrifices and courage of america's fighting men and women. men were ordered into combat without the support. to see it happen again 40 years later is a national disgrace. we've been through a great depression.

we even made it through jimmy carter. we'll make it through the obama years. [applause] we will do this. the fundamental nature of this country is our people never stay knocked down. we get back up. we dust ourselves off. we move forward. we will do it again. we don't have to settle for a world in chaos in a america that shrinks from its responsibilities. we don't have to apologize for american exceptionalism of american values. we don't have to accept slow growth that leaves behind the middle class and leaves millions

of americans out of work. we don't have to resign ourselves to debt, decay and slow growth. we have the power to make things new again. i'm running for president of the united states of america. [applause]

thank you. it's time. it's time to create real jobs and raise wages to create opportunity for all. to give every citizen a stake in this country, to restore hope, real hope. real hope to forgotten americans. there are millions of middle class family who is have just given up hope of getting ahead. millions of workers out there who have given up hope of finding a job. yeah, it's time for a reset. time to reset the relationship between government and citizen. [applause] think of the arrogance of washington, d.c. representing itself with some

beacon of wisdom with policies smothering this vast land. no regard to what makes each state and community unique. that's wrong wp we need to return power to the states and freedom to the individual. [applause] today our citizens and entrepreneurs are burdened by overregulation and this unspeakable debt. it's not just this physical nightmare. it's a moral failure. i want to speak to the millenials just a moment. this massive debt that's passed on from our generation to yours. this is breaking of a social compact. you deserve better. i'm going to offer a responsible plan to fix the entitlement system and to stop this step from your generation.

[applause] those americans drowning in personal doubt, working for wages that don't keep up with the cost of living, i came here today to say i hear you. i know you face rising health care cost, skyrocketing tuition cost, mounting student loan debt. i hear you and i'm going to do something about it. to the one in five children to families on food stamps and the one in seven children living in poverty and the one in ten workers unemployed underemployed or just given up hope of finding a job, i hear you. you are not forgotten.

i'm running to be your president. [applause] small businesses on main street, those struggling to get by. they're targeted by dodd-frank. i hear you. you're not forgotten. your time is coming. the insiders get rich. the middle class pays the tab. there's something wrong when the dough is near record highs and businesses on main street can't even get a loan. capitalism is not corporatism. it's not a guarantee of reward

without risk. it's not about wall street at the expense of main street. there is nothing wrong in america today than a change in leadership will not make happen . we're just a few good decisions away from unleashing economic growth. we need to fix the tax code riddled with loopholes and sends jobs overseas and punishes for success. we have the highest corporate tax rate in the western world. it's time to reduce it. by the time this administration has finished with his experiment

they will have added 600,000 pages to the federal register. on my first day of office i will issue an immediate freeze on pending regulations from the obama administration. [applause] agencies will have to live under strict budgets. health insurers will have to earn the right to your money. on day one i'll also sign an executive order approving the construction of the keystone pipeline.

energy is vital to our economy and to our national security. on day one i'll sign an executive order authorizing the export of american natural gas and freeing our allies from the dependence of russia's energy supplies. putin uses enemies to hold our allies hostage. america will have the largest arsenal. we will unleash an error of economic growth and limitless opportunity. we will rebuild america industry. we will lift wages for american workers.

it can be done because it has been done in texas. in the last seven years of my tenure, texas created 1.5 million new jobs. without texas, america would have lost 400,000 jobs. we were the engine of growth. you implement smart regulations. you invest in an educated work force and stop frivolous lawsuits.

texas has the second highest high school graduation rate in the country. it has the highest rate for african-american and hispanic students. we passed historic tax relief. i'm proud to have signed balance budgets for 14 years. we not only created opportunity, we stood for it law and order. when there was a crisis at our border last year and the president refused my invitation to see that challenge that we faced, i told him, mr. president, if you do not secure this border, texas will.

because of the threat posed by the drug cartel and the national gangs, i deployed the texas national guard. the policy worked. apprehensions declined by 74%. if you elect me your president i will secure that border. [applause] homeland security begins with border security. the most basic compact between a president and the people is to keep the country safe. the great lesson of history is strengthen resolve bring peace and order and weakness invite chaos and conflict. my very first act as president will be to rescind any agreement with iran that legitimizes their request to get a nuclear weapon.

now is the time. now is the time for proven leadership. we have seen what happens when we elect a president based on media acclaim rather than a record of accomplishment. in will be a show me, don't tell me election. leadership is not what you say. it's what you have done. [applause]

i've been tested. i've led the most successful state in america. [applause] i have dealt with crisis after crisis from the space shuttle to hurricanes katrina, rita, ike, crisis at the border and the first diagnosis of ebola in america. i have brought together first responders. the spirit of cam passion demonstrated by texans is alive all across america today. while we have experienced a

-- >> we are having technical problems. you can watch the full event online. we are just outside of dallas, texas, but we will take your phone calls now and see what you think about the republican field as a whole.

let us know your thoughts about the entire presidential field. let's take a look at an article. as the republican debates near, candidates of i to make cut. you can see bobby jindal, chris christie -- carly the arena. that is when the first republican debate of the 2016 election happens and if she does not get her name and she will not make the cut. let's take a look further down -- rick santorum might find himself excluded. if you are a united states senator, governor, woman who ran a fortune 500 company, then you should have a right to be on stage.

the first debate will be held by fox news, august 6. let's take your calls -- first is from texas. republican line. guest: i think rick perry will do a hell of a job. he read our stay pretty good. i like santorum also, and i like rubio. i think it will be a tough election. host: as you were looking at such a large field, does that make it more difficult for you to think about who you might be voting for? caller: no, i liked them in the last election. there were just some issues -- all these politicians have issues. i believe -- i just believe in the guy. he has done a good job for the people and access, no doubt about it.

i don't see what he can do it for the country. he keeps the community organized. host: where hisis teague? caller: it's about 60 miles east of waco. host: i'll move on to missouri -- democrat. caller: hi. i think this man if i can believe him, he has got my vote. i have been a democrat all my life and all i have been is screwed over. i just want the older people, the elderly people, give us a little bit of special consideration. don't cut us out every time there is something to do in

washington. they need to leave us alone. host: do you think rick perry would do that? caller: i have not listened to him before and i am originally from texas but i live in misery now -- in misery now and he has my vote. host: another texas caller -- this is bobby democrat. caller: hi. host: what do you think about what you heard from rick perry? caller: generally, rick perry -- i didn't see him address his indictment here in texas. what is he going to do about that? host: who else are you eyeing on either side? caller: the democrat -- bernie sanders, of course.

i think he is a strong candidate. host: and you in texas -- do you think he will get many votes in texas? caller: i think over time, with support, i really do. host: all right. let's take a look -- rick perry running for president. "shrugging off 2012." he says he appreciated it, but he says it turned into a political disaster that left him humbled and weekend announcing that he will run again, exuding confidence while making no specific reference to his unsuccessful bid. after he appeared, he was going to be going on for a number of events in iowa, a lot of them dealing with veterans issues.

also meeting up with joni ernst in iowa. let us know what you think about the presidential field that is starting to shape up. jamie is on the line in monahan texas, democrat. are you there? caller: hello. host: go ahead. caller: i wanted to comment about how rick perry doesn't look good as a public figure. sure, he has people coming up to his elections and i comment -- he is a great figure. social lives, we haven't seen much about him taking bribes from halliburton. the whole education process in texas -- they have been cutting down on many language programs, cutting down a lot of kids.

a lot of bilingual programs from elementary up to high school have been cut down. that is a huge factor to our generation. it would increase their knowledge and their careers. host: especially in texas. let's get another call on the republican line. darrell from indiana. caller: yeah, i was going to vote for him back in 2008 and i will vote for him again. i think all of indiana going to vote for him. host: what did you hear that you liked? from his speech or what you know about him. caller: from his speech and what i know, he is a down-to-earth guy and he speaks like a regular

american, not this high-class, haifaigh faluting bunch. host: we have a caller from honolulu, gordon. republican. what are your opinions about the field? caller: i like rick perry a lot actually. he sounds genuine and he does have a good track record. host: ok. on the line in iowa -- yolanda. independent line. caller: i just listened -- i think he is a wonderful person. i divided my living time between iowa and the rio grande valley in texas. when that man says he sent the troops to the valley, he means it. every day you can drive up and

down that valley and see people there. he stepped up to protect our country, and that man has got my vote and i hope all baby boomers -- when he made the -- he was suffering from a back surgery and he ought to be forgiven for it and given a fair run this time. host: you talked about the troops -- is that border patrol? caller: there was a state border -- the military, the texas military. this guy is to be believed and i love that. host: thanks. a call from mike in new york democrat.

what are your thoughts about the gop field? caller: hi. the whole field in general -- the republicans are going to need a lot more firepower to beat hillary clinton. they are going to need a lot more firepower. my vote is for hillary clinton that if i had to vote for a republican i would go for chris christie. they will need a lot more firepower to beat this. host: what do you think hillary clinton's weak spots will be? caller: i personally don't think she has any. that benghazi deal they keep talking about -- it is getting near election time or otherwise they wouldn't care. that may be the only thing, but i think that will go away. if barack obama didn't run last time, she would have one. i think she is going to win it

this time unless they get more firepower. host: thanks. another look at this "new york times" article talking about how the field needs to whittle down. announcements by fox news and cnn say they will limit the debates to candidates who rank in the top 10% in national growth. it has given it a hunger games type feel. that they will be deprived of the event can generate. some candidates are under tremendous pressure to raise visibility. we saw a rick perry and lincoln chafee earlier this week. give me your thoughts on the field. we have chris on the line from dover, new hampshire. independent. caller: i am an independent the

only candidate i can see myself supporting is rand paul. anybody who cannot admit frankly that invading iraq was one of the greatest blunders ever does not deserve to be president. i do not like that rick perry and all these other candidates are up there ranting about how tough they will be on iran, and they can't even knowledge that it was the republican party that led to the current rise of ira. -- iran. they lead the charge on removing their regional competitor. anyone who doesn't understand the historical context i can't support. host: what do you think the challenges will be? caller: the challenge will be keeping hold of his base of motivated libertarian supporters and broadening his message.

i think he is doing a good job with that so far. host: calling from georgia, democrat. caller: hi. host: what do you think of the presidential field so far? caller: well, i am a diehard democrat from a majority county and the state of georgia so i am not real fond of most of the republicans. i'm not real fond of rick perry. unfortunately, i'm not sure that i want hillary clinton. i'm sort of in a rock and a hard spot. rick perry -- i just can't bring myself to believe that he is what he says he is. i'm not sure he's real. host: ok.

chuck is on the line from florida republican. what you think? caller: i think it is great. i think the candidates are all good conservatives with strong american values, tremendous principles, leadership qualities. i think they ought to be put in a cabinet, and places of leadership. rick perry has all the qualities of leadership, very important in my mind. he is an air force captain -- that takes a lot of leadership. what he has done in that state is phenomenal, success after success after success, all those jobs created tremendous positiveness and americanism. bring all the people in the gop with you because they are fabulous and they believe in the

principles that we believe in and they believe in our constitution and in god. host: will it be to have for him to stand out? caller: i don't know. he has all the building blocks right there. he came out of poverty. they will elevate him to this position and he has proven himself. call the people that are running -- many of them are governors. obama had nothing, hillary has nothing. we know what they are. we don't want them. we want americans in there. host: thanks. republican line -- a caller from california. caller: hi. host: go ahead. caller: i got to hand it to rick perry for going against our blank blank president for not

securing the border during that horrible stampede. he refused to go there and see what was going on. and said he went to colorado to shoot pool with his buddies. rick perry security as much as he could and i really appreciate his going against that poor decision. host: all right. let's take a look -- hillary clinton has been attending a number of events. she will be holding an official event in new york on the 13th. we will have coverage here on c-span. today, she spoke about voter access and also appeared in texas on the same day rick perry did. jeb bush is expected to announce his plans for the white house june 15.

douglas might be our last caller from cambridge maryland democrat. caller: good evening. thank you for putting me on. there is no doubt in my mind that we have to get somebody in the white house that has a real track record. we have constantly put people in their because you guys in the media pick them. but this fellow from texas has a next on registered, edging -- has an excellent record, education, and i just think it is time to put qualified people in. until we have somebody in there and we can surround them with other qualified people, we are going to be in serious trouble. that is why, security wise. i think rick perry is a candidate, and i think there are other candidates, but hillary clinton is not the next president of the united states

and she is not qualified. she has not done anything. thank you very much, c-span. host: thanks. we will open the phone lines every morning. you can join us on "washington journal." we will have some information about the nsa data collection program and a discussion about how radical islam recruits its followers, and a discussion with the executive director of the national center for transgender equality about tra you can join us on "washington journal" for that. right now, hillary clinton and what she had to say about voting rights. >> wow, thank you. i cannot tell you how personally

honored im am to be with all of you at this historic institution . i want to start by thanking everyone at texas southern university. it was a great -- it is a great treat to be here. to have heard just briefly from dr. rudly and others about the incredible programs and progress and the fact that you graduated more than 1,000 young people into the world not so many days ago. this institution is the living legacy, the absolute embodiment of the long struggle for civil rights. and for me, to be surrounded by so many here in houston, texas and indeed from across our country, who were part of that movement is especially touching. i am delighted to be here with my friend, sheila jackson lee, she has been -- [applause]

she's been a tireless champion for the people of the 18th district and the state and the country. i have to say, though, i expected her to tell you the most important news coming out of the congress, and that is she is finally a member of the grandmothers' club. [applause] and a member of now a little over eight months, it is the best club you'll ever be a member of, sheila. i also have to confess, i was excited about coming here and to talk about an issue that was important to barbara jordan and should be important to all of us, but to do so in front of dr. friedman is a little daunting.

i mean, anyone who knows what this man has meant, not just to barbara jordan but to so many who have studied here, who have been in any way affected by his brilliant teaching of elocution and delivery would be a little daunted too. i notice that both dr. rudly and sheila got off before dr. freedman came up. i also want to say my thoughts and prayers are with the families in houston and across texas who have been affected by the recent terrible flooding. and i am confident that this community will embrace them. i remember very well coming here after katrina with my husband and in fact we invited to come along a young senator from illinois by the name of barack obama.

[applause] and with sheila and other leaders in the community, we toured the facilities that houston had provided to those who were fleeing that horrific storm. i saw how people opened their hearts and their homes. this is a city that knows how to pull together and i'm confident you will do so again on behalf of those who are suffering from this latest terrible disaster. and it is also a special moment to be here, knowing that barbara jordan was succeeded by niki leland and the 18th district was so well represented for so long and i'm delighted to be here with allison and to remember the pioneering work he did on behalf of children and the poor and hunger so many issues that he was champion of.

i want to thank -- i want to thank rosemary mcgowan and all the friends and loved ones of barbara jordan here today. [applause] this is such a particular honor for me because the award is in memory of one of my true personal heroes. a woman who taught me and so many others the meaning of courage and determination in the pursuit of justice. i first met barbara jordan when i was a young attorney and had been given a position working for the house of representatives judiciary committee, investigating richard nixon.

and it was such a profound moment in american history, and there wasn't anyone who was a more effective, eloquent inquisitor than barbara jordan. as a 26-year-old fresh out of law school, as some of you are perhaps now, having graduated from the thurgood marshall school here at t.s.u., i was riveted and not a little intimidated, to tell you the truth, by this unstoppable congresswoman from texas. i got to talk with her, which was thrilling. i got to hand her papers, which was equally exciting. but mostly i got to watch and listen to her. at a time of shaken confidence she stirred the entire nation

with her words. remember what she said. my faith in the constitution is whole, it is complete, it is the total. it was that passion and moral clarity that took barbara jordan from t.s.u. and the halls of the texas legislature all the way to congress. the first woman, the first african-american ever elected to represent texas in the house of representatives. [applause] and she defended and continued the civil rights legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. and her friend and mentor, president lyndon johnson. and in particular, she was a staunch advocate for the voting rights act, which had helped

make it possible for her to be elected. in 1975, in the face of fierce opposition, barbara jordan led the fight to extend the special protection of the voting rights act to many more americans including hispanic americans native americans, and asian americans as well. and like every woman who has run for national office in this country in the last four decades, i stand here on the shoulders of barbara jordan and so does our entire country. [applause] and boy, do we miss her. we miss her courage, we also miss her humor. she was funny.

i remember talking to her and ann richards one time and between the two of them, forget trying to get a word in at all. and they were telling me about how they loved to go to the university of texas women's basketball games. and barbara would be there, by that time, in her wheelchair on the sidelines, ann would be holding court right next to her and barbara would be yelling directions like she was, you know, the coach. why are you doing that? jump higher! that's not a pass! all of those kinds of sideline comments. and so ann was telling me this with barbara right there and ann said, i finally turned to her and i said, barbara, encourage these young women. don't just criticize them. barbara turned around and said when they deserve it, i will. [laughter]

we sure could use her irresistible voice. i wish we could hear that voice one more time, hear her express the outrage we feel about the fact that 40 years after barbara jordan fought to extend the voting rights act, its heart has been ripped out. [applause] and i wish we could hear her speak up for the student who has to wait hours for his or her right to vote. for the grandmother whose turn -- who is turned away from the polls because her driver's license expired. for the father who has done his time and paid his debt to society but still hasn't gotten his right back.