and the houston rockets are getting ready to sweep game four and we will win our second back to back championship. i had tickets to the game. and i gave them up to come here. he laughed and said, i think you made the right decision. i'm convinced today the only reason i got the clerkship was that i made the chief justice laugh. he was just an incredible friend and mentor. steve: i had read that you wanted to be a guard for the houston rockets. ted cruz: i'm not sure i could even be a water boy. i have some talents, but athletic talent is not among them.

steve: two daughters. you met your wife during the bush campaign. how did that come about? sen. cruz: i was doing domestic policy and she was doing economic policy and we were both in our late 20's and she came along and she was beautiful, vivacious, a blonde southern california girl. she was in her second year of harvard business school and i was completely smitten from day one. i took her out to dinner to a place called the bitter end. we had a four our dinner. i said, tell me the history of your family starting with the birth of your grandparents. and i listened and got to know her. heidi is an extraordinary woman. she is the daughter of

missionaries. she lived in africa. a couple of different times. her parents were christian missionaries, her dad is a dentist and a dental hygienist. her grandfather had been a missionary in africa for over 30 years. she is exceptionally strong-willed. it is interesting. one of the things that resonated with me -- her family is seventh day adventists. they strictly observe the sabbath. her parents had both gone to adventist schools and they very much -- she wanted to go to claremont and mckenna.

her dad did not want her to and she battled with her father. heidi started her first business when she was six years old. she started her bread baking company and she and her brother would bake bread every day after school. on sunday they would sell them. she sold thousands of loaves of bread. she had saved $15,000 from her bread baking. she said dad, if you won't pay for college, i will pay for it. she used that money to go to claremont mckenna. that story resonated with me. with my mother's background standing up to her father to go to rice, that was something i admired about heidi. her dad is a wonderful man. he is strong-willed.

he climbed mount everest. you want to talk about an intimidating father-in-law, try one who has climbed mount everest. one of the things that led me early on to fall in love with heidi -- she has a steel backbone. like my mother. there are a lot of similarities in terms of their powerful dedication. when they set their mind to something, nothing can dissuade them. steve: when your daughters want something, do they ask you or your wife? sen. cruz: i am the pushover. heidi is a lot tougher. my girls have me wrapped around their finger. they are the loves of my life. caroline is seven. catherine is four.

you have four kids? as you know, every child is different. catherine, the baby, is just sweet. she crawls in your lap and she hugs you and she is a sweet girl. caroline is a rascal. she is fiery and opinionated. they have both grown up with me running for office and especially caroline is not impressed at all. she is like, yeah, whatever. she said, not everyone wants to be on tv. as you know, when i was doing the obamacare filibuster, one of the things i remember from that time is that i read green eggs and ham. the reason for that is it was the girl's bedtime. normally when i am home, i read them bedtime stories. our team told the girls to turn on c-span. they flipped it on, and i was

reading "green eggs and ham" as a bedtime story. i have a picture on my wall of the two in their pajamas utterly amazed at watching their daddy read them "green eggs and ham" on television. when i came home, caroline was five. she is a cynic, tough to please. she had her arms crossed and she said, ok, dad. that was kind of cool. that was a nice personal victory. it is not easy to impress your kindergartner, but i was glad to have done something that earned me brownie points. steve: you said at the beginning about your own ideology. you are a conservative. you talk about ronald reagan one of your heroes.

he was able to get things done. immigration. tax reform. at one point does ted cruz stick to your principles and to compromise with democrats? sen. cruz: my attitude is the same as reagan. what do you do when someone offers you half a loaf? you take it. then you come back for more. i was asked the same question and i say, i am happy to compromise with democrats, libertarians, i will compromise with martians, if they are willing to shrink the power of government, expand constitutional rights, fight for liberty. the problem is far too many republicans, compromise going backwards in a way that makes it worse. it makes the problem deeper.

you don't get an $18 trillion debt without bipartisan compromise. you say, we will spend for your project and your project and your project, another $1 trillion and you are done. the people that lose are the taxpayers. i have been happy to work with democrats and some of the legislation that we have passed. there on the wall was hanging a bill last congress that i introduced. when the nation of iran named as its ambassador a known terrorist who participated in holding americans hostage. in the late 1970's. it was a slap in the face. everyone in washington is saying this is terrible. i introduced that legislation that barred other known

terrorists from being admitted to this country. it passed the senate 100-0. it passed the house 435-0. president obama signed it into law. that is an example, repeatedly i've been able to work with democrats. beneath this is a resolution that i introduced -- when hamas was raining rockets on israel, i joined in a resolution condemning hamas's use of human shields as a war crime. that resolution passed unanimously.

i joined with new jersey democrat bob menendez that the state department would give a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the murderer of a dual israeli-american citizen. that passed the senate 100-0. there have been a number of events were i have sought out and worked with democrats. for 2.5 years i have worked closely with kirsten gillibrand. she and i disagree on a number of issues but she has been heroic in fighting to combat sexual assault and rape in the military. she has introduced reforms to change the decision of whether to prosecute a sexual assault case, from a commanding officer, to an impartial prosecutor outside the chain of command. i have worked closely with her on that. we have an obligation protect the men and women of our military, to ensure that they

are safe. with that we have the majority of the senate. it has not been passed yet. president obama is fighting to stop it. there are a lot of democrats and republicans fighting to stop it, but it is the right reform. it is the reform that we will see enacted because it protects our soldiers but also offers good discipline. if you have a military unit where servicemen and women are afraid of sexual assault, not confident that the military justice system will protect them, that undermines the effectiveness of our military. we have an obligation to protect our soldiers. steve: as you know, you have not been without criticism. sen. cruz: i hadn't noticed. steve: when john mccain referred to you as a wacko bird, what was your reaction?

sen. cruz: i like john mccain and i respect john mccain. my approach has been consistent. if others choose to throw rocks, i will not reciprocate. what we endeavor to do is take the high road. in my time in the senate, to my knowledge, i have not spoken ill of any other congressmen. when john mccain said that i went to the senate floor and rose to give a speech in praise of john mccain. it happened to be the 40th anniversary of his release from the hanoi hilton. i spoke about, what an incredible privilege to serve with a patriot and hero like john mccain. he served his nation. he was imprisoned and tortured. who was tortured -- being in my family, being imprisoned and tortured is something my family

and door, too -- endured, too. not at the level that john mccain did, but most extraordinarily, john mccain was offered early release and turned it down because he believed it would be dishonorable. i said, none of us have face that. i have never been in prison and i have never been tortured. all of us hope we would make the same decision as he did, but not one of us knows for sure. i said, what a privilege to serve with an american hero like john mccain. every word of that was heartfelt, but it was also very conscious. i am not going to respond with an attack. i will note behind you on that bookshelf is a baseball cap, when i came back to texas, grassroots supporters printed up

baseball caps with daffy duck that say "wacko birds." in the grassroots people make t-shirts saying i am a proud wacko bird, and i say if standing for the constitution and liberty make you a wacko bird, then count me of proud wacko bird. steve: why does ted cruz want to be president? sen. cruz: the country is in crisis. this is not an ordinary election. the stakes have never been higher. we are bankrupting our kids and grandkids. our constitutional rights are under assault. america has receded from leadership in the world. we have abandoned our friends and allies. radical, islamic terrorism is on the rise. this is a fork in the road. there are times that elections are major turning points. 1980 was a major turning point. i believe that 2016 is going to

be an election like 1980. reagan said, the way that we win is we paint in bold colors, not pastels. if we continue on this road, we risk doing irreparable damage to the greatest country in the history of the world. i am running for president because we are fighting to get back to the free market principles and the constitutional liberties that made america the greatest country in the history of the world. i want my daughters to inherit the same, exceptional nation the same blessings of liberty that you and i were fortunate to inherit.

we cannot do that if we continue bankrupting this country undermining the constitution and the bill of rights, if we continue receding from the world. this election is about a choice. how do we bring back and reignite the promise of america? how do we get back to that fundamental ideal? steve: let me conclude with a couple of points. ted cruz facts. you are a videogame junkie? sen. cruz: indeed. steve: favorites? sen. cruz: i remember christmas when the first game we got was pong. my parents gave me that for christmas. then we had nintendo. i played computer games. i collected computer games. now, i mostly play on my iphone. i don't have a console, because if i did, i would use it. but i play candy crush, plants vs zombies and a "star wars" game i just downloaded. it drives my wife crazy.

she cannot stand it, but my girls love it. we play plants versus zombies, caroline has it on her ipad. we play together. when we take the girls out, one of the favorite things to do -- we go to the aquarium and play carnival games there, but we. also take them to chucky cheese i tried to get brownie points with heidi. but she says, you have more fun than they do. i don't get brownie points for it, but i enjoy playing nonetheless. steve: the role in sound of music and you cannot sing. sen. cruz: one of the great

banes in my childhood, in high school i was very into acting. in high school i thought i would drop out of school and go to california and become an actor. my parents were not fans of this plan. i'm glad i did not. that was not my calling. but one of the banes of my existence is in high school you do physical theater and i cannot carry a tune to save my life. i guess i came upon it honestly. neither of my parents can sing. my mother, in grade school, the choir teacher asked my mom please don't sing. you are throwing the other children off. i inherited that. in seventh grade i was cast as rolph in "the sound of music." i sang on stage, you are 16, going on 17. my guess is that i did not hit a single note.

it was only very tolerant parents of junior high kids who endured this kid butchering the song. subsequently, i did "the sound of music" again in high school. i played max. he has one line where he says, ♪ one little girl in a pink coat ♪, but the rest of the lines were spoken. my campaign team was horrified a couple years ago. i was speaking at first baptist church in dallas. i was talking about the history of the declaration of independence, and the constitution, and protecting religious liberty and i observed that i am a graduate of second baptist high school. i said, there are things you

discover going to second baptist high school. some good. some not. one of the things i discovered is "amazing grace" and the theme from gilligan's island are interchangeable musically. ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ within minutes the political team was saying he is singing on stage, the political career is over. but i survived. steve: i don't think that i can top that. you went from the who and pink floyd to country music. how did that evolve? sen. cruz: i grew up listening to classic rock. i saw pink floyd in concert. it was an amazing concert.

i saw the police in concert. emerson lake and powell. but my music tastes changed on september 11. it was a strange thing. i mentioned this in another interview and people on the media thought it was a strange political thing -- look, when september 11 happened, heidi and i were living in washington, d.c. south of the pentagon. a good friend of ours was on the plane that crashed into the white house -- pentagon. heidi was in the white house. she is actuated, when the -- evacuated, when the first plane hit, a secret service told everyone to stay where you are. she was working at that u.s. trade representative's office and when the second plane hit,

the secret service began running through the hallways saying, get out. don't walk, run. heidi sprinted out. they would not let her get her car so, she walked home. in her bare feet, across memorial bridge. i remember that next night, we put together a prayer service. it was an interfaith prayer service. christian and jewish friends. we sang hymns. i did not lead the hymns. we came together and prayed together. one of the consequences in the aftermath -- i liked how country music responded.

alan jackson's song, "where were you when the world stopped turning on that september day." that song moved me powerfully. toby keith, the way that he responded. that was powerful. it was an emotional reaction that these are my people. these are people who share my values. intellectually i find it odd that your music taste would change because of 9/11 -- i still enjoy classic rock. i think the who is fabulously talented. i saw pete townsend saying, i hope i die before i get old. it was amusing. he was in his 60's at the time. but now on the radio i listen to country music. every morning when i get dressed, the radio is on country music. it was that emotional reaction that the way country music is bonded resonated.

steve: thank you for your time. sen. cruz: thank you, i have enjoyed it. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> at 8:00, the biggest planetary unveiling in a quarter century. new horizons is doing a flyby of pluto. we will get to see images of that icy planet. at 10:00, a hearing on the power of immigration enforcement. homeland security >> this

weekend on c-span's road to the white house two major political events from iowa and where the only place you can watch these in their entirety. we will be at the iowa hall of fame dinner. all five candidates will share the same stage. we will be live in ames, iowa. this will be on c-span and c-span radio. >> democratic clinton will work

to build an economy that benefits everyone. she spoke for 45 minutes at the new school in new york city. [applause] ms. clinton: thank you so much. thank you very much. and thanks to everyone at the new school for welcoming us today. i'm delighted to be back. over the past few months i have had the opportunity to listen to americans' concerns about an economy that still isn't delivering for them. it's not delivering the way that it should. it still seems to most americans that i have spoken with that it is stacked for those at the top.

but i have also heard about the hopes that people have for their future. going to college without drowning in debt. starting that small business they have always dreamed about. getting a job that pays well enough to support a family. and provide for a secure retirement. previous generations of americans built the greatest economy and strongest middle class the world has ever known. on the promise of a basic bargain. if you work hard and do your part, you should be able to get ahead. and when you get ahead, america gets ahead. but over the past several decades that bargain has eroded. our job is to make it strong again. for 35 years republicans have argued that if we give more wealth to those at the top by cutting their taxes and letting big corporations write their own rules, it will trickle down.

it will trickle down to everyone else. yet every time they have a chance to try that approach, it explodes the national debt concentrates wealth even more, and does practically nothing to help hardworking americans. twice now in the past 20 years a democratic president has had to come in and clean up the mess left behind. [applause] i think the results speak for themselves. under president clinton -- i like the sound of that -- america saw the longest

peacetime expansion in our history. nearly 23 million jobs, a balanced budget and a surplus for the future. and most importantly, incomes rose across the board, not just for those already at the top. eight years later, president obama and the american people's hard work pulled us back from the brink of depression. president obama saved the auto industry, imposed new rules on wall street, and provided health care to 16 million americans. [applause] now today, today as the shadow of crisis recedes and longer-term challenges come into focus, i believe we have to build a growth and fairness economy.

you can't have one without the other. we can't create enough jobs and new businesses without more growth, and we can't build strong families and support our consumer economy without more fairness. we need both. because while america is standing again, we're not yet running the way we should. corporate profits are at near-record highs and americans are working as hard as ever -- but paychecks have barely budged in real terms. families today are stretched in so many directions, and so are their budgets. out-of-pocket costs of health care, childcare, caring for aging parents are rising a lot faster than wages. i hear this everywhere i go.

the single mom who talked to me about juggling a job and classes at community college while raising three kids. she doesn't expect anything to come easy, but if she got a raise, everything wouldn't be quite so hard. the grandmother who works around the clock providing childcare to other people's kids. she's proud of her work but the pay is barely enough to live on, especially with the soaring price of her prescription drugs. the young entrepreneur whose dream of buying the bowling alley where he worked as a teenager was nearly derailed by his student debt. if he can grow his business, he'll be able to pay off his debt and pay his employees including himself, more too. millions of hard-working americans tell similar stories.

wages need to rise to keep up with costs. paychecks need to grow. families who work hard and do their part deserve to get ahead and stay ahead. the defining economic challenge of our time is clear. we must raise incomes for hard-working americans so they can afford a middle-class life. we must drive strong and steady income growth that lifts up families and lifts up our country. [applause] and that will be my mission from the first day i'm president to the last. [applause] i will get up everyday thinking about the families of america,

like the family that i came from with a hardworking dad who started a small business and scrimped and saved and gave us a good middle class life. i'll be thinking about all the people that i represented here in new york and the stories that they told me and that i worked with them to improve. and i will, as your president, take on this challenge against the backdrop of major changes in our economy and the global economy that didn't start with the recession and won't end with the recovery. you know advances in technology and expanding global trade have created whole new areas of commercial activity and opened new markets for our exports, but too often they're also polarizing our economy -- benefiting high-skilled workers but displacing or downgrading blue collar jobs and other midlevel jobs that used to

provide solid incomes for millions of americans. today's marketplace focuses too much on the short term -- like second-to-second financial trading and quarterly earnings reports -- and too little on long-term investments. meanwhile, many americans are making extra money renting out a spare room, designing websites selling products they design themselves at home, or even driving their own car. this on demand or so-called gig economy is creating exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation, but it's also raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future. so all of these trends are real. and none, none is going away. but they don't determine our destiny.

the choices we make as a nation matter. and the choices we make in the years ahead will set the stage for what american life in the middle class in our economy will be like in this century. as president, i will work with every possible partner to turn the tide. to make these currents of change start working for us more than against us. to strengthen -- not hollow out -- the american middle class. because i think at our best, that's what americans do. we're problem solvers, not deniers. we don't hide from change, we harness it. the measure of our success must be how much incomes rise for hardworking families, not just for successful ceos and money managers.

and not just some arbitrary growth target untethered to people's lives and livelihoods. [applause] i want to see our economy work for the struggling, the striving, and the successful. we're not going to find all the answers we need today in the playbooks of the past. we can't go back to the old policies that failed us before. nor can we just replay previous successes. today is not 1993 or 2009. we need solutions for the big challenges we face now. so today i am proposing an agenda to raise incomes for hardworking americans. an agenda for strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth.

let me begin with strong growth. more growth means more jobs and more new businesses. more jobs give people choices about where to work. and employers have to offer higher wages and better benefits in order to compete with each other to hire new workers and keep the productive ones. that's why economists tell us that getting closer to full employment is crucial for raising incomes. small businesses create more than 60 percent of new american jobs on net. so they have to be a top priority. i've said i want to be the small business president, and i mean it. and throughout this campaign i'm going to be talking about how we empower entrepreneurs with less red tape, easier access to capital, tax relief and simplification. i'll also push for broader business tax reform to spur investment in america, closing those loopholes that reward

companies for sending jobs and profits overseas. [applause] and i know it's not always how we think about this, but another engine of strong growth should be comprehensive immigration reform. [applause] i want you to hear this. bringing millions of hardworking people into the formal economy would increase our gross domestic product by an estimated $700 billion over 10 years. [applause] then there are the new public investments that will help

established businesses and entrepreneurs create the next generation of high-paying jobs. you know when we get americans moving, we get our country moving. so let's establish an infrastructure bank that can channel more public and private funds. [applause] channel those funds to finance world-class airports, railways roads, bridges and ports. [applause] and let's build those faster broadband networks and make sure there's a greater diversity of providers so consumers have more choice. [applause] and really, there's no excuse not to make greater investments in cleaner, renewable energy right now. [applause] our economy obviously runs on energy.

and the time has come to make america the world's clean energy superpower. i advocate that because these investments will create millions of jobs, save us money in the long run, and help us meet the threats of climate change. and let's fund the scientific and medical research that spawns innovative companies and creates entire new industries, just as the project to sequence the human genome did in the 1990's, and president obama's initiatives on precision medicine and brain research will do in the coming years. i will set ambitious goals in all of these areas in the months ahead. but today, let me emphasize another key ingredient of strong growth that often goes overlooked and undervalued breaking down barriers so more

americans participate more fully in the workforce, especially women. [applause] we are in a global competition as i'm sure you have noticed, and we can't afford to leave talent on the sidelines. but that's exactly what we're doing today. when we leave people out, or write them off, we not only shortchange them and their dreams, we shortchange our country and our future. the movement of women into the workforce over the past forty years was responsible for more than $3.5 trillion in economic growth. but that progress has stalled. the united states used to rank 7th out of 24 advanced countries

in women's labor force participation. by 2013, we had dropped to 19th. that represents a lot of unused potential for our economy and for american families. studies show that nearly a third of this decline relative to other countries is because they're expanding family-friendly policies like paid leave and we are not. we should be making it easier for americans to be both good workers and good parents and caregivers. women who want to work should be able to do so without worrying every day about how they're going to take care of their children or what will happen if a family member gets sick. [applause]

you know, last year while i was at the hospital here in manhattan waiting for little charlotte to make her grand entrance, one of the nurses said, thank you for fighting for paid leave. and we began to talk about it. she sees firsthand what it means for herself and her colleagues as well as for the working parents that she helps take care of. it's time to recognize that quality, affordable childcare is not a luxury -- it's a growth strategy. and it's way past time to end the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job, and women of color making even less. [applause] you know, all this lost money

adds up. and for some women, it's thousands of dollars every year. now, i am well aware that for far too long, these challenges have been dismissed by some as women's issues. well, those days are over. [applause] fair pay and fair scheduling paid family leave and earned sick days, child care are essential to our competitiveness and growth. and we can do this in a way that doesn't impose unfair burdens on businesses -- especially small businesses. as president, i'll fight to put families first, just like i have my entire career. [applause] now, beyond strong growth, we

also need fair growth. and that will be the second key driver of rising incomes. the evidence is in, inequality is a drag on our entire economy, so this is the problem we need to tackle. you may have heard governor bush say last week that americans just need to work longer hours. well, he must not have met very many american workers. [applause] let him tell that to the nurse who stands on her feet all day or the teacher in the classroom, or the trucker who drives all

night. let him tell that to the fast food workers marching in the streets for better pay. they don't need a lecture -- they need a raise. [applause] the truth is, the current rules for our economy reward some work -- like financial trading, for example -- much more than other work, like actually building and selling things. the work that's always been the backbone of our economy. to get all incomes rising again, we need to strike a better balance. if you work hard, you ought to be paid fairly. so we have to raise the minimum wage and implement president obama's new rules on overtime. and then we have to go further. [applause]

i'll crack down on bosses who exploit employees by misclassifying them as contractors or even steal their wages. [applause] to make paychecks stretch, we need to take on the major strains on family budgets. i'll protect the affordable care act, and build on it to lower out-of-pocket health care costs and to make prescription drugs more affordable. [applause] we'll help families look forward to retirement by defending and enhancing social security and making it easier to save for the future. now, many of these proposals are time-tested and more than a little battle-scarred. we need new ideas as well. and one that i believe in and will fight for is profit sharing.

hardworking americans deserve to benefit from the record corporate earnings they help produce. so i will propose ways to encourage companies to share profits with their employees. that's good for workers and good for business. studies show profit-sharing that gives everyone a stake in a company's success can boost productivity and put money directly into employees' pockets. it's a win-win. later this week in new hampshire, i'll have more to say about how we do this. another priority must be reforming our tax code. now, we hear republican candidates talk a lot about tax reform. but take a good look at their plans. senator rubio's would cut taxes for households making around $3 million a year by almost $240,000 -- which is way more than three times the earnings of

a typical family. well, that's a sure budget-busting giveaway to the super wealthy. and that's the kind of bad economics you're likely to hear from any of the candidates on the other side. i have a different take, guided by some simple principles. first, hardworking families need and deserve tax relief and simplification. second, those at the top have to pay their fair share. that's why i support the buffett rule, which makes sure that millionaires don't pay lower rates than their secretaries. i have also called for closing the carried interest loophole, which lets wealthy financiers pay an artificially low rate. and let's agree that hugely successful companies that benefit from everything america has to offer should not be able

to game the system and avoid paying their fair share, especially while companies who can't afford high-price lawyers and lobbyists end up paying more. [applause] alongside tax reform, it's time to stand up to efforts across our country to undermine worker bargaining power, which has been proven again and again to drive up wages. republican governors like scott walker have made their names stomping on workers' rights. and practically all the republican candidates hope to do the same as president. i will fight back against these mean-spirited, misguided attacks. [applause] evidence shows that the decline of unions may be responsible for

a third of the increase of inequality among men. so if we want to get serious about raising incomes, we have to get serious about supporting workers. [applause] and let me just say a word here about trade. the greek crisis as well as the chinese stock market have reminded us that growth here at home and growth an ocean away are linked in a common global economy. trade has been a major driver of the economy over recent decades but it has also contributed to hollowing out our manufacturing base and many hardworking communities. so we do need to set a high bar for trade agreements. we should support them if they create jobs, raise wages, and

advance our national security. and we should be prepared to walk away if they don't. to create fair growth, we need to create opportunity for more americans. i love the saying by abraham lincoln, who in many ways was not only the president who saved our union, but the president who understood profoundly the importance of the middle class and the importance of the government playing its role in providing opportunities. he talked about giving americans a fair chance in the race of life. i believe that with all my heart. but i also believe it has to start really early, at birth. high quality early learning, especially in the first five years, can set children on the

course for future success and raise lifetime incomes by 25 percent. [applause] i'm committed to seeing every 4-year-old in america have access to high-quality preschool in the next ten years. but i want to do more. i want to call for a great outpouring of support from our faith community, our business community, our academic institutions, from philanthropy and civic groups and concerned citizens to really help parents, particularly parents who are facing a lot of obstacles. to really help prepare their own children in that zero to four age group. 80% of your brain is physically formed by age of three. that's why families like mine read, talk, and sing endlessly

to our granddaughter. i've said that her first words are going to be enough with the reading, and the talking, and the singing. [laughter] but we do it not only because we love doing it, even though i'll admit it's a little embarrassing -- reading a book to a two-week-old, or a six-week-old, a ten-week-old. but we do it because we understand that it's building her capacity for learning. and the research shows that by the time she enters kindergarten she will have heard 30 million more words than i child from a less-advantaged background. think of what we are losing because we are not doing everything we can to reach out to those families and we know again from so much research here in the united states and around the world that the early help, that mentoring, that intervention to help those often-stressed out young moms understand more about what they

can do and avoid the difficulties that stand in the way of their being able to get their child off to the best possible start. we also have to invest in our students and teachers at every level. and in the coming weeks and months, i'll lay out specific steps to improve our schools make college truly affordable, and help americans refinance their student debt. [applause] let's embrace the idea of lifelong learning. in an age of technological change, we need to provide pathways to get skills and credentials for new occupations, and create online platforms to connect workers to jobs. there are exciting efforts underway, and i want to support and scale the ones that show results. as we pursue all these policies, we can't forget our fellow

americans hit so hard and left behind by this changing economy. from the inner cities to coal country to indian country. talent is universal, you find it everywhere, but opportunity is not. there are nearly 6 million young people aged 16 to 24 in america today who are not in school or at work. the numbers for young people of color are particularly staggering. a quarter of young black men and nearly 15% of all latino youth cannot find a job. we've got to do a better way of coming up to match the growing middle class incomes we want to generate with more pathways into the middle class. i firmly believe that the best anti-poverty program is a job, but that's hard to say if there

are not enough jobs for people that we are trying to help lift themselves out of poverty. that's why i've called for reviving the new markets tax credit and empowerment zones to create greater incentives to invest in poor and remote areas. [applause] when all americans have the chance to study hard, work hard, and share in our country's prosperity -- that's fair growth. it's what i've always believed in and it's what i will fight for as president. now, the third key driver of income, alongside strong growth and fair growth, must be long-term growth. too many pressures in our economy today push us toward short-termism. many business leaders see this. they've talked to me about it. one has called it the problem of quarterly capitalism. they say everything's focused on

the next earnings report or the short-term share price. the result is too little attention on the sources of long-term growth, research and development, physical capital, and talent. net business investment -- which includes things like factories machines, and research labs -- has declined as a share of the economy. in recent years, some of our biggest companies have spent more than half their earnings to buy back their own stock, and another third or more to pay dividends. that doesn't leave a lot left to raise pay or invest in the workers who made those profits possible or to make new investments necessary to insure -- to ensure a company's future success. these trends need to change. and i believe that many business leaders are eager to embrace their responsibilities, not just

to today's share price but also to workers, communities, and ultimately to our country and indeed our planet. i'm not talking about charity -- i'm talking about clear-eyed capitalism. many companies have prospered by improving wages and training their workers that then yield higher productivity, better service, and larger profits. now, it's easy to try to cut costs by holding down or decreasing pay and other investments to inflate quarterly stock prices, but i would argue that's bad for business in the long run. and, it's really bad for our country. workers are assets. investing in them pays off. higher wages pay off. and training pays off. to help more companies do that i've proposed a new $1,500 apprenticeship tax credit for

every worker they train and hire. and i will soon be proposing a new plan to reform capital gains taxes to reward longer--term investments that create jobs more than just quick trades. i will also propose reforms to help ceo's and shareholders alike focus on the next decade rather than just the next day. making sure stock buybacks aren't being used only for an immediate boost in share prices. empowering outside investors who want to build companies but discouraging cut and run shareholders who act more like old-school corporate raiders. and nowhere will the shift from short-term to long-term be more important than on wall street. as a former senator from new york, i know first-hand the role

that wall street can and should play in our economy -- helping main street grow and prosper and boosting new companies that make america more competitive globally. but, as we all know, in the years before the crash financial firms piled risk upon risk. and regulators in washington either couldn't or wouldn't keep up. i was alarmed by this gathering storm, and called for addressing the risks of derivatives cracking down on subprime mortgages, and improving financial oversight. under president obama's leadership, we've imposed tough new rules that deal with some of the challenges on wall street. but those rules have been under assault by republicans in congress and those running for president. i will fight back against these attacks and protect the reforms we've made. we can do that and still ease

burdens on community banks to encourage responsible loans to local people and businesses they know and trust. we also have to go beyond dodd-frank. too many of our major financial institutions are still too complex and too risky. and the problems are not limited to the big banks that get all the headlines. serious risks are emerging from institutions in the so-called shadow banking system -- including hedge funds, high frequency traders, non--bank finance companies -- so many new kinds of entities which receive little oversight at all. stories of misconduct by individuals and institutions in the financial industry are shocking. hsbc allowing drug cartels to launder money. five major banks pleading guilty to felony charges for conspiring to manipulate currency exchange

and interest rates. there can be no justification or tolerance for this kind of criminal behavior. and while institutions have paid large fines and in some cases admitted guilt, too often it has seemed that the human beings responsible get off with limited consequences -- or none at all even when they've already pocketed the gains. this is wrong and, on my watch it will change. over the course of this campaign, i will offer plans to rein in excessive risks on wall street and ensure that stock

markets work for everyday investors, not just high frequency traders and those with the best -- or fastest -- connections. i will appoint and empower regulators who understand that too big to fail is still too big a problem. we'll ensure that no firm is too complex to manage or oversee. and we will prosecute individuals as well as firms when they commit fraud or other criminal wrongdoing. and when the government recovers money from corporations or individuals for harming the public, it should go into a separate trust fund to benefit the public. it could for example, help modernize infrastructure or even be returned directly to taxpayers. now reform is never easy.

but we have done it before in our country. but we have to get this right. and we need leadership from the financial industry and across the private sector to join with us. two years ago, the head of the chicago mercantile exchange, terry duffy, published an op--ed in the wall street journal that really caught my attention. he wrote, and i quote-- i'm concerned that those of us in financial services have forgotten who we serve-and that the public knows it, some wall streeters can too easily slip into regarding their work as a kind of money--making game divorced from the concerns of main street. i think we should listen to terry duffy. of course, long-term growth is only possible if the public sector steps up as well. so it's time to end the era of

budget brinksmanship and stop careening from one self-inflicted crisis to another. it's time to stop having debates over the small stuff and focus on how we're going to tackle the big stuff together-- how do we respond to technological change in a way that creates more good jobs than it displaces or destroys? can we sustain a boom in advanced manufacturing? what are the best ways to nurture start-ups outside the successful corridors like silicon valley? questions like these demand thoughtful and mature debate from our policy makers in government, from our leaders in the private sector, and our economists, our academics, and others who can come to the table on behalf of america and perform their patriotic duty to ensure that our economy keeps working and our middle class keeps growing.

so government has to be smarter, simpler, more focused itself on long-term investments than short-term politics -- and be a better partner to cities states, and the private sector. washington has to be a better steward of america' tax-dollars and americans' trust. and please let's get back to making decisions that rely on evidence more than ideology. that's what i'll do as president. i will seek out and welcome any good idea that is actually based on reality.

i want to have principled and pragmatic and progressive policies that really move us forward together and i will propose ways to ensure that our fiscal outlook is sustainable - including by continuing to restrain healthcare costs, which remain one of the key drivers of long-term deficits. i will make sure washington learns from how well local governments, business, and non-profits are working together in successful cities and towns across america. you know passing legislation is not the only way to drive progress. as president, i'll use the power to convene, connect, and collaborate to build partnerships that actually get things done. because above all, we have to break out of the poisonous partisan gridlock and focus on the long-term needs of our country.

i confess maybe it's the grandmother in me, but i believe that part of public service is planting trees under whose shade you'll never sit. and the vision i've laid our here today -- for strong growth, fair growth, and long term growth, all working together - will get incomes rising again, will help working families get ahead and stay ahead. that is the test of our time. and i'm inviting everyone to please join me, to do your part, that's what great countries do. that's what our country always has done. we rise to challenges. it's not about left, right, or center -- it's about the future versus the past. i'm running for president to

build an america for tomorrow, not yesterday. an america built on growth and fairness. an america where if you do your part, you will reap the rewards. where we don't leave anyone out or anyone behind. [applause] thank you all. thank you. i just want to leave you with

one more thought. i want every child, every child in our country, not just the granddaughter of a former president or a former secretary of state, but every child to have the chance to live up to his or her god--given potential. please join me in that mission. let's do it all together. thank you so much. [applause] [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]

♪ >> on today's "washington journal" and look at the iran nuclear negotiates and it update on how the house select committee on benghazi plans to proceed. we will hear from a couple members of congress. first, representative jan schakowsky of illinois, a member of energy and commerce. then later mike pompeo of kansas a member of the select benghazi committee. "washington journal" is live every morning at 7:00 eastern on c-span and you can contribute by phone and on facebook and twitter. at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2 nasa

promises the biggest planetary unveiling and a quarter century. verizon's is doing a close flyby of pluto. again, that is live at 8:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 2. at 10:00 a.m. on c-span 3, you are hearing about the power customs has to influence deportation cases in the process of giving certain groups of illegal immigrants legal status. homeland security secretary jeh johnson testifies. later at 2:00 eastern, a look at the european union's future by a house foreign affairs subcommittee. also on c-span 3. this weekend on c-span's "road to the white house," two major political events from iowa. we are the only place you can watch and listen to these events. friday night at 8:00 eastern live in cedar rapids for the

iowa democratic party hall of fame dinner. it will mark the first time that all five democratic candidates share the stage. all day saturday at 11:00 a.m. we will be live for the family leadership summit where nine leading republican presidential candidates are scheduled to speak. on c-span thomas c-span radio, and c-span .org. "road to the white house 2016." we take you there. wisconsin governor scott walker enter the 2016 presidential race yesterday. he spoke to supporters for about 45 minutes. ♪

mrs. walker: i am so proud of those two. aren't they doing a great job tonight? and thank you all for being here so i can present my husband scott walker to this great country. last time we were here, when we were at the expo center, we had just won the recall election. i'm so proud of scott for winning three elections in four years. so, when he told me he was thinking about a fourth election i said, why not? scott and i would not be standing here today with all the support we have from this room. you have not been simply bystanders. you may the phone calls, you knocked on the doors, and most importantly, you prayed for us. we felt those prayers and we

cannot thank you enough. [applause] most of you here already know scott and have formed an impression. many more people will form the impressions in the days and months to come. my first impression of the man i fell in love with and married was, scott walker is a guy who goes after what he wants. scott and i met at karaoke night 23 years ago. we did not know each other. we did not talk to each other. on his way out, he slipped me a napkin. and he wrote a note for. thank god i did not turn away. he wrote, forgive me for being rude, but i have to get up early tomorrow morning for work. he left his name and number and asked me out to dinner.

typical scott. polite and to the point. we joke about the fact that i called him a week later. he likes to say i called him two days later. in fact, he told my roommate on the second date that he was going to marry me. she and i had a really good laugh about that. by august he had proposed to me at the same restaurant by handing me another napkin. this time it said, forgive me for being rude, but will you marry me? even on our wedding night, we stopped at the restaurant and was again he wrote me a note thank goodness that place has a lot of napkins. scott has never forgotten our anniversary, february 6. which just so happens to be president ronald reagan's birthday. so i'm sure that even if it was

not reagan's birthday, he would remember our anniversary. we have two amazing sons, matt and alex. ufo from them today. -- you haeve heard from them today. from the moment scott became a dad he put his sons first. our sons mean the world to us and our family is excited to start this new adventure. over the last four and half years, the people of wisconsin have formed the impressions of scott. in fact, with three elections in four years, they have a second and third impression, too. our fellow wisconsinites votes him-- voted him to continue leading our great state. [applause] yeah. three elections in four years

can take its toll in any family. and while there have been tough times, when you have a strong supportive, faith-based husband and father like we do, it makes the journey a little easier. it was a difficult time, but no matter how personal the attacks became, i am so proud the way scott handled it. he never made it personal. instead, she worked tirelessly with the state legislature to reform a broken system and together they won. scott and i taught our sunset at any situation when you are under fire, if you are respectful and stay strong, you can survive and get through anything. when scott took on the unions, our family became the target of

vicious and personal attacks. threats of violence were common. and as a mother and a wife, i spent many sleepless nights worrying about my family. during the recall election on any given day there were thousands of people protesting in front of the state capital. and protesting in front of our personal home. [crowd ooh's] but scott stood up for his belief and his track record has proven he wins. he took on the unions and won. taxes have gone down. school districts can keep the best and the brightest teachers in the classrooms, and multiple governments have more power. isn't that the way we want things to be? [applause] it was never easy, but it was worth it, and wisconsin wins with walker. [cheering]

we here in wisconsin are better off today than we were four years ago. families and taxpayers and hard-working wisconsin men and women win with walker. [cheering] our concern now turns to all of america's sons and daughters. our children and our grandchildren deserve in america as great as what we've experienced, or even better. today, we face challenges at home and abroad. meeting those challenges will require conservative leadership and a person with a proven record of winning. someone who will not be intimidated by anyone. starting today, you and the american people will begin to learn more about my husband, his achievements, his service, and his story.

i hope that you will know him as a loving husband, thoughtful father, and fearless leader that i know and love. i have been honored to support my husband's conservative work to build a better wisconsin, and i have no doubt he will build a better america. [cheering] i am so very proud to introduce my husband to the people of this great nation. ladies and gentlemen, the 45th governor of wisconsin, and the person that i hope will be the 45th president of the united states, scott walker. ♪

[cheering] gov. walker: thank you, thank you. >> we want scott! [chanting] gov. walker: thank you. thank you, thank you. i love america. you know, as kids, my brother david and i used to love to go

over and visit one of our neighbors. he was a bit of a legend in our small town. he had served our country in world war i and world war ii. [cheering] gov. walker: then, like so many other veterans, he came back and served his community. over the years, we used to love to see him at the concession stand. he helped out in our church and he was the leader of my boy scout troop. i remember over the years, before memorial day, he would organize me and all the others out to go through and put up flags on the graves of the fallen. [cheering] it was impossible to be around him and not share his love for god and country. i think back 30 years ago -- he helped me attend a program, and it was there that i learned about state and local

government. along the way, it was interesting -- i got the chance to be selected to represent wisconsin in the program and washington, d.c. there, i met another veteran from georgia by the name of bob turner. bob and all the other veterans that ran that program not only taught us about the federal government, the national elections, they share their love for our country, and they inspired within me the importance of public service when it comes to defending our liberties. veterans like that remind me that what makes america great is the fact that america is a new kind of country. -- a can-do country. unfortunately we have a government in washington that can't quite seem to get the job done. washington, or 68 square miles surrounded by reality, the good news is it is not too late. we can turn things around. [cheering]

to do that, we need new, fresh leadership. leadership with big, bold ideas from outside washington, the kind of leadership that knows how to get things done like we have done here in wisconsin. [cheering] since i have been governor, we took on the unions and we won. [cheering] we lowered the taxes by $2 billion. we lowered taxes on individuals, and on employers, on property owners, property taxes today are lower than they were four years ago. how many other governors can say that? [cheering]

since i've been governor, we've passed lawsuit reform, regulatory reform. we defunded planned parenthood and passed pro-life legislation. [cheering] we enacted doctrines for concealed carry so we can protect ourselves, our families, and our property. [cheering] and we now require a photo id to vote in the state. [cheering] if our reforms can work in a blue state like wisconsin, they can work anywhere in america. [cheering]

as i travel this country, i got to tell you -- i hear from people who say they are frustrated with politicians, telling people what they are against and who they are against. america is one of for something and for someone, so let me tell you what i am for. [cheering] i am for reform, growth, safety, i am for transferring power from washington into the hands of hard-working taxpayers in states all across the country -- that is real reform. [cheering] i am for building a better economy that allows everyone to live there piece of the american dream -- that is progrowth. and i am for protecting our children and our grandchildren from radical islamic terrorism in all the threats in the world

-- that is true safety. [cheering] my record shows that i know how to fight and win. now more than ever, america needs a president who will fight and win for america. [cheering] so first, let me tell you why i will reform washington. our big, bold reforms here in wisconsin took the power out of the hands of the big government special interest and put them firmly into the hands of a hard-working taxpayer. today in this state, people who are elected by local property tax payers literally run our schools.

that means we got rid of things like seniority and tenure. that means we can hire and fire based on merit and pay based on performance. [cheering] think about that -- four years later, graduation rates are up. third-grade reading scores are higher. wisconsin's act scores are now second best in the country. [cheering] that goes to show that a government that protects the people is the best. that is why we need to take power and money out of washington and send it back to our states in areas like medicaid in education. [cheering]

sadly, though, washington seems to think that success is measured by how many people are dependent on the government. [booing] gov. walker: we measure success by just the opposite -- by how many people are no longer dependent on the government. [cheering] we understand that true freedom of prosperity does not come from the mighty hand of the government. they come from the power and people that control their own lives, that it is born of work. as a kid, my first job was washing dishes at the country

restaurant. then i moved up to the big time -- i started flipping hamburgers in high school at mcdonald's to save up for college. my dad, who you heard before was a small-town preacher, and my mom was a part-time secretary and bookkeeper. my grandparents were farmers who didn't have indoor plumbing until my mom went to junior high school. my dad's dad was a machinist for 42 years. my brother and i fought throughout the years and we realized we didn't inherit fame or fortune. what we got was the belief that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can do and be anything. [cheering]

that's right. you see, that is the american dream, and that is worth fighting for. when we help people, when we help people, adults are able to work, transition from government dependence to true independence, we help more people live that piece of the american dream. we have a program right here in wisconsin that requires people to sign up for one of our employability programs before they can get a welfare check and now we make that a requirement for people to pass a drug test. [cheering] you can only imagine what the defenders of the status quo thought when i proposed this reform. is that i was making it harder

to get government assistance. my reply? no, i'm making it easier to get a job. isn't that what it's all about? strong families are important in this world. we know children that are raised in a household with both parents involved are more likely to finish school, to get a good job, to live a life free of government dependence. the federal government that will actually stand up and some are strong families by getting rid of the marriage bill, by getting rid of policies, welfare policies, that make it harder for fathers to play an active role in the lives of their children. we need to encourage families. [cheering] i know, thinking about my own family, for me, both my parents were so important for david and

me as we grew up as kids. we try to be good role models, and they turned out pretty well. [cheering] we are so proud of them, and i think about matt and alex and all the others in their generation. for them, i want them to grow up in a more free and prosperous country. that is really about the american dream, there. now, to ensure that prosperity we need to be for a progrowth economic plan that enables our individuals and our families to earn, to save, and to achieve their piece of the american dream. there is a real contrast out there. instead of the top-down government knows the best approach, we need to build the economy from the ground up in a way that is new and fresh, organic and dynamic, that says

as long as you don't violate the health and safety is your neighbor, go out and start euro career, build your own business, [cheering] you see, that is freedom. the kind of freedom that is the cornerstone of the american dream. we have a plan to help more people live that dream -- a plan that will help more people create more jobs and higher wages. you know what it starts with? we need to repeal obamacare once and for all. [cheering] we need to repeal the so-called affordable care act. we need to put patients and families back in charge of their health care decisions, not the federal government.

[cheering] many of you here know when i first became governor i literally allowed in the state to join the federal lawsuit against obamacare. we need a president who on the first day will call on the congress to once and for all repeal obamacare entirely. then we need to rein in the out of control regulations, like a blanket on the nation's economy. let's get rid of the bureaucratic red tape. as governor, i called for a moratorium on new regulation -- we can do the same in washington and then we can repeal all the other bad obama regulations to get this economy going again. [cheering]

next, we need to put in place and all of the above energy policy that says we are going to use the abundance of what god has given us in america and on this continent. that's right. we are an energy rich country, and we can literally start refueling our economic recovery. we need a president who on day one will approve the keystone pipeline. [cheering] that's right. approve that pipeline and put in place a plan to level the playing field for all forms of energy. then we need to help people get the education and the skills that they need to succeed, because we know if we do that,

we can help people find careers that pay far more than the minimum wage. here in wisconsin, we reformed public education, and we provided more quality choices. quality choices for families. you see, i trust families and i trust parents to make the right decision for their children. [cheering] i believe that every child every child, regardless of zip code or background or what their parents do, i believe that every child deserves access to a great education, be it at a public or a charter or a choice or a private or a virtual or a homeschool. every child deserves access to great education. [cheering]

that is why i want to work -- and along with that i want to make sure we have high standards. but those standards should be set at the local level. no common core, no nationwide scoreboard. [cheering] that is why i work so hard to take power and money out of washington and send it back to our states and our schools where it is more effective, more efficient, and more accountable to the american people. [cheering] think about this -- if you would take a dollar out of your purse or wallet, where would you rather spend it? in washington or at your child's school? i'd rather spend it at your child's school, and if you give me the chance, we will send those dollars back to help your child and your school.

and then, and then, we need to lower the burden on our taxpayers, so you can keep more of your hard-earned dollars. [cheering] we need to do that for individuals, we need to do that for individuals as well as job creators, we need to make our job creators competitive again in the world so they can bring more jobs back from overseas to put more of our fellow americans back to work right here in america. and you know what? we can do it. we can do it because we did it in wisconsin and we can do it in washington. some people wonder why i spent so much time focused on lowering the tax burden and why i want to do it in washington. i like to shop at kohl's, so over the years i learned that if

i am going to buy a new shirt i go to that rack at those $29.99 -- now it is $19.99. then we get the little scratch off -- where you may get 30% off. then as the clerk is ringing it up, jeanette pulls out some of that kohl's cash, and next thing you know, you don't even need to buy the shirt. [laughter] [cheering] gov. walker: not really, but it seems like it. so how does a great company like coals make money? -- like kohl's make money? they make up in volume, right? they can charge that higher

price that only a few of you could afford, but they lower the price and broaden the base and make more money off of volume. that is the thing about your money -- the government could charge you a higher rate than some of us could afford, but if you lower the right and broaden the base, we expand the volume of people who can participate in the economy. [cheering] years ago, we used to call that -- a similar plan under ronald reagan, back then we called it the laffer cure. today i call it the kohl's curve because i believe you can spend your money far better than the better of government and when we do the economy will get a whole lot better. [cheering] to prosper, however, we need to live in a safe and stable world. the commander-in-chief has a

sacred duty to protect the american people. in my lifetime, the best president when it comes to national security and foreign policy was the governor from california. [cheering] under his leadership, we rebuilt the military, we stood up for our allies, we stood up to our enemies, and without apology, we stood for american values. [cheering] that led to one of the most peaceful times in modern american history. sadly, today, under the clinton -- or, under the obama-clinton doctrine, america's leading from behind, and is headed toward disaster. think about this -- we have a

president who drew a line in the sand and allowed it to be crossed. a president who called isis the jv squad, called yemen a success story and iran a place we can do business with. iran. [booing] gov. walker: when my brother david and i were kids i can remember us tying ribbons around the tree in front of our house during the 444 days that iran held 52 americans hostage. one of those hostages was a governor who grew up down the way. he was the youngest of the hostages, a marine who had just been assigned to serve the u.s. embassy in tehran. he is here today with us. [cheering]

he knows that iran is not a place to do business with. iran hasn't changed much since he was released. looking ahead, we need to terminate the bad deal with iran on the very first day in office. [cheering] we need to terminate that deal on the very first day in office, put in place rippling economic -- crippling economic sanctions

on iran and convince our allies to do exactly the same thing. [cheering] earlier this year, president obama declared -- he proclaimed -- that the greatest threat to future generations as global warming, climate change. [booing] gov. walker: well, mr. president, i respectfully disagree. the greatest threat to future generations is radical islamic terrorism, and we need to do something about it. [cheering] we can start by listing the political restrictions on our military personnel already in

iraq and empower them to help our kurd and sunni allies reclaim the territory taken by isis, because you know what? on behalf of your children in mind, i'd rather take the fight to them instead of waiting till they bring the fight to us. [cheering] we need to acknowledge that israel is an ally and should start treating israel like an ally. [cheering] there should be no daylight between our two countries. that is why early this year, when i went to israel, i not only met with the prime minister, i met with the opposition leader, to let them know that if i was president there would be no daylight between the united states and

israel going forward. we need to stop the aggression of russia into sovereign nations. putin believes in the old lenin principle. he has found a whole lot of mush over the last four years. the united states needs a foreign policy that will put steel in front of our enemies. [cheering] we need to stop china's cyberattacks, slow their advances and international waters, and speak out about their abysmal human rights record.

and we need to have the capacity to protect our national security interests here and abroad, and those of our allies. that begins by rebuilding the defense budget by going back to the levels proposed by secretary of defense gates. we need to honor our men and women in uniform by giving them the resources that they need to make a safe, and going forward by giving them the quality and timely health care that they deserve when they return home. [cheering]

but most of all, the best way we can honor them is by fighting to win. you see, this is important. our goal should be peace, but there will be times when america must fight. and if we must, americans fight to win. [cheering] going forward, the world must know that there is no greater friend and no worse enemy than the united states of america. [cheering] [chanting] >> u.s.a! u.s.a.! u.s.a.!

u.s.a.! gov. walker: america is a great country. it is a great country. and you know what? we just have to start leading it again. it is not too late. we can do it because we have done it before. veterans remind me that what makes america great -- what makes us exceptional -- what makes us the greatest country in all of the world -- all throughout our history, in times of crisis, be it economic or fiscal, be it military or spiritual, there has been men and women of courage who have been willing to stand up and think more about future generations that they thought about their own political futures. ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those times in american history. [cheering]

and so, after a great deal of thought and a whole lot of prayer, we are so honored to have you join with us today as we officially announce that we are running to serve as your president of the united states of america. [cheering]

tonette and i want our sons and all the other sons and daughters to grow up in a country that is as great as the country we inherited. americans deserve a president who will fight and win for them. [cheering] someone who will stand out for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. [cheering] someone who will stand up for our religious freedoms and all of our other constitutional rights.

someone who will stand up for america. you see, it doesn't matter whether you come from a big city or a suburb or a small town -- i will fight and win for you. [cheering] healthy or sick, born or unborn, i will fight and win for you. [cheering] young or old or anywhere in between, i will fight and win for you. [cheering] over the years, i have met some amazing people, many of whom have come here and other places in the world.

the people i have met tell me that the reason they came here was not to become dependent on the government. the reason i came here was because america is one of the few places left in the world where it doesn't matter what class you were born into or what your parents did for a living. in america, you can do and be anything you want. that is the american spirit. you see, in america, the opportunity should be equal but the outcome is up to each and every one of us here across this great country. that is why we just took a day off to celebrate the fourth of july and not the 15th of april because in april, we celebrate

-- because in america, we celebrate our independence from the government, not our dependence on it. that is why i love america. that is why we, we, we love america. and working together, we can fight and win for america. thank you for coming out. god bless you all for being here. god bless our military. and may god continue to bless the united states of america. [cheering] ♪

>> up next, "washington journal" live with your phone calls. 14 bills on the schedule including a bill that would require the sec to renew their regulations to determine whether they are up-to-date. and in about 45 minutes, the latest of elements in the iran nuclear negotiates and an update on how the house select committee on benghazi plans to proceed with its investigation. we will hear from a couple members of congress. first, representative jan schakowsky of illinois, a member

of the energy and commerce committee. later, republican punishment mike pompeo a member of the benghazi committee. host: at the white house, president obama is expected to make a deep -- speech momentarily about the deal with iran. it reportedly restricts access to equipment for 15 years and in return there would be sanctions relief. but the deal depends on the approval of congress. some republicans and democrats are skeptical. our focus this morning is this deal reached in the overnight hours. if you want to call and ask questions after the president makes his statement.