portfolio and what you are doing, the question of on thement of the law castro regime, i have a serious concern as to how the interpretedon have a general license. i want you to give me what is your interpretation of a general license. mr. szubin: a general license is a standing authorization that is ofued that allows for a set activities that would otherwise be prohibited to go on so long as it meets all of the specified conditions it does not do anything but a specific license would do other than it is a efficiency. rather than the company's applications by one by one, it transaction,tarian

the for policy was supportive of every company when they want to do it -- >> a general license this when you got the same request and you up with the same result for purposes of expediency and efficiency. when a general license ultimately swallows up the congressional attempt as in the case of cuba where you are giving a general license for the purposes of travel, and where travel under the administration hosel's are supposed to help purposeful elements, and a aneral license is basically good honor system, where you do not actually go ahead and enforce whether or not the person is following the criteria

under the purported purposes of that license, then there is no way to know. you have created a huge truck for unlimited travel, not purposeful travel because you are not enforcing purposeful travel. this creates a real concern for me. i would suggest, because if a general license in this case can be interpreted to this way, that basically subverts the congressional intent and law. what is to say we will not see general license is as a relates to a wrong or any other place in which an administration is going to interpret the general license in such a way that allows them to run a mack truck right through it and undermine the very purposes of the legislative intent of the law itself?

, based upon the experience i have seen here, will not be supporting any legislation that creates general licenses for this or any other administration because it basically -- as the author of the law, it totally undermines what was the personal intent -- congressional intent. there is no ability to do what we cannot do with a specific license print in each of the instances that she reference, but i have to adhere to the 12 categories that are set out. they settled conditions to restrict that which is purposeful. you go, you come back, you never know if they actually went as an office of

700 people, our ability to check on specific licenses is somewhat limited in we are not a burden to do the checks and actions they are doing what we have authorized to do. >> able to get an itinerary to determine that it was possible travel as delineated. let us also that you are doing now is fundamentally different. to suggest that a general license is for efficiency purposes is fine. but as the axis the only requirement and you need to for general license. when you have 12 different criteria of what possible travel and do not know what the person is doing to achieve purposeful travel will wish you were doing it has specific

limitations to it. they found individuals who were outside of that deal. they would therefore have an enforced all action against them. if it can happen here, i am concerned about rss will happen in other sanctionable entities in places in the world because that basically is a green light to do what you want to do and circumvent the will of congress. i think a lot of your question goes to enforcement and making sure that we're going to take the sanctions seriously. whether it is the terms of the general license or the specific license was that they will face real consequences in that has been a big focus of mine, and the enforcement of sanctions has never been asked of in terms of the size and volume of penalties. i also grew you that going forward it will be critically

important in all of our sections programs to make sure that people understand that was prohibited is truly prohibited. we will not take violations lately. thank you mr. chairman. to be inbeen nominated charge of sanction enforcement community have been serving in lateral since last february. he recently traveled to israel to discuss limiting the deal to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. given the critical employment ports of connecting the deal, allting their financing and the other important functions of your office, i think they should confirm you to this job as soon as possible. you made testimony clear that if we back out of this deal the international coalition would fracture.

alonethe u.s. could go it with his other sanctions, we know they are not nearly as effective. you stated most of the billions of dollars that could be released iran complies with the nuclear deal are held in the eu, in china, japan and india, south korea and other foreign countries. the u.s. alone cannot prevent iran from getting access to the money to i just have one question. i want to highlight this again. if we walk with from this deal, is a more likely or less likely that our international partners will continue to have sanctions, refuse to trade with iran, or block axis two frozen assets? >> i think it is less likely we will see aggressive leasing of sanctions if we walk away from

the deal that we spent two years with our partners negotiating trade. mr. szubin: it seems a better path forward is maintaining unity with our national national partners that way, if they cheats, we can risk on to strengthen support of the world behind this, which is critical for effective sanctions were i appreciate your work on this. there is one other topic i would like to address. use of theickers international banking system. human trafficking is modern day slavery. hearda global business profits are estimated to be as high as $150 billion a year paid they have to use credit cards as money transfers ever single day fallsmoney transmitted

under existing anti-money laundering laws. these rules require financial institutions to determine a laundering report suspected illegal activity to law enforcement. i know we are taking steps in this area, but i am concerned that money laundering related to human trafficking is not received as much attention by financial institutions or the regulators as drug trafficking money or terrorist financing. i have legislation to ensure that the treasury department and other regulators work more closely with financial institutions to stop human traffickers use of the safety system. add theant to anti-money laundering expertise that you have at treasury to the

presidents interagency task force to monitor and combat human trafficking. is theasury responsible key agency for any money laundering programs. so i will now if you'll commit to working with me to make sure that both regulators and the financial industry are doing everything possible to shut down financing for human trafficking. mr. szubin: senator, i'm pleased to make that commitment. i couldn't agree more about the severity, i think the escalating severity of the threat. i think you'll be pleased to hear that i was being briefed earlier this week by the

director of fnsa about their efforts and they've seen a tremendous jump in reporting from financial institutions after finsn put out an advisory alerting financial institutions to sort of the red flags or hallmarks of human trafficking in terms of the financial transactions, they've gotten thousands of suspicious activity reports that are then accessible to and harnessed by law enforcement, state, local, around the country. so i think there's a lot there, but there's so much more to do.

and it all starts with intelligence or law enforcement work to be able to lead us to the bad actors. we have a lot still ahead of us. senator warner: well, i appreciate that very much. human traffickers need the banking system, and stronger financial regulations give us the tools to shut them down. so this is something that i want to make sure that we make a priority. it matters to people all around the world. so thank you very much, mr. szubin. >> senator donnelly. senator donnelly: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. szubin, thank you and your whole family. going to take your boys out afterwards and turn them into

notre dame football fans before the day is over. mr. szubin: well-behaved notre dame football fans. proud to see you do it. mr. donnelly: and to your family. i know how much you've traveled. to your family, thanks. it's really, really important and it's helped make our country a stronger place. and helped save lives. mr. szubin, with the agreement that was just voted on, a big portion of this is not just a nuclear piece, as you know, but what's going on in the ground in the middle east every single

day, and much of that success we will will have is going to rest on what you and your colleagues do. and so i just want to make sure what creates confidence in israel for saudi arabia, for jordan, for those gulf states is when they look and see iran has not moved one more inch on the ground. when they see that missiles being interdicted. i'd like to know, for instance, for hezbollah, what are the -- to interdict missile and weapons systems to make sure their inventory goes down and we hope to zero. mr. szubin: i have been personally -- my office has been personal low focused on the threats you're referencing. sadly, i don't think we're going to bring their inventory down to sdemrour, but we still need to do everything we can to

interdict any shipments we see or learn about and to be able to curb, not just the volumes of shipments they get but the sophistication. when i was in israel recently, i was hearing about some very troubling advances in terms of hezbollah's missile capabilities or rocket capabilities and we have to keep them from making those advances because it means deaths. the more precise their rockets are, the more people will die and we know that for certainty. we have to be very focused on this. obviously the bulk of the intelligence and interdiction effort is going to be outside of my lane, outside of the sanctions lane but we can be helpful in this effort in this a secondary capacity and that's exposing the procurement companies because they don't get these parts indigenously. they need to order technology and some of the sophisticated equipment from abroad. sometimes from places like china, southeast asia. well, that means they're doing financial transactions, that means they're engaging in shipping or airplane cargo shipments, all of those are vulnerabilities that we can

target and you've seen my office in the past year go after procurement fronts for hezbollah, including for their unmanned aerial vehicle program. and it's an area we're going to continue to be very focused on in the months ahead. senator donnelly: we cannot leave any stone unturned. if we find a procurement company that's providing equipment, we need to let everybody know who they are. we need to go after them. we need to create more and more additional confidence with our allies. we need to make sure that the actual instruments of death and danger are cut off and you have a full mission from all of us that we need you to be one of the point people on this effort. additionally, president rouhani was talking about iran's intentions in regard to certain

weapons. and that they would not ask for permission or abide by resolutions. how are you going to enforce the arms export and ballistic missile restrictions outlined under u.n. security council resolution 2231? mr. szubin: so those provisions remain in place. notwithstanding president rouhani's words, we're going to hold iran to those commitments in the sense we are going to do everything we can to try to cut off any intended shipments and try to prevent that technology from coming into iran's possession. senator donnelly: some general questions i want to make sure you answered. if you answered them already i apologize. under the deal, will the irgc still be subject to u.s. counterterrorism sanctions and human rights? mr. szubin: yes. senator donnelly: if you fully enforce sanctions on the irgc? mr. szubin: yes. senator donnelly: will you not hesitate any sanction that engages in sanctionable activity, including entities that's receiving relief from nuclear-related sanctions? mr. szubin: yes. senator donnelly: i know how much time, heart, effort you've put into this but the additional component in this whole agreement is how we do on the ground. the confidence of our friends and our allies is going to be directly related to how successful we are in pushing back and in giving them space to have success, our friends. and so your nonstop efforts in that are crucial as we look forward to and are something that we absolutely have to have. mr. szubin: thank you, senator. >> mr. szubin, we appreciate your appearance today. you and your family and i believe you're imminently qualified for the job. we'll go from here. thank you. mr. szubin: thank you very much, mr. chairman. , thext washington journal

possibility of a government shut theater,t editor-in-chief of essence magazine will join us. washington journal, live every c-span.on >> was his first feature weekends: politics and american history. today we are live from manchester for the new hampshire democratic party convention. speakers include foreign -- fiveic candidates democratic candidates. withnday, a conversation

jimmy and ruslan tsarni on current events in the carter center's piece on initiatives around the world. on book tv, supreme court justice stephen breyer talks , includingecent book the application of american law. former vice president dick cheney and his daughter on their book exceptional, which looks at america's foreign-policy a national security. today, starting at noon eastern we're alive from georgia for a commemoration of the 13,000 union soldiers who died during the civil war confederate military prison camp. speakers include author's story and leslie gordon. afternoon, on real america, archival video pope all the six, and pope john paul the

second is the address the united nations. get our lead schedule at c-span.org. attorney general led loretta community. to the her remarks are 40 minutes. loretta lynch: well, thank you all so much. thank you so much for that warm welcome, thank you for your patience. i'm not usually running this late. but i understand that you have had some excellent presentations before me. i see a number of old friends, and hopefully new friends on this panel. great voices all, in our common

struggle. and so i think you have had excellent presentations and i'm just sorry that i had to miss so many of them. i am so looking forward to hearing the recap of this because there are so many important issues here. dr. gough, such a pleasure to meet you, your leadership at ucla on the center for policing equity is something that is not only vital, in terms of what we need today, it really is the key to a lot of the issues that we face. when i'm looking at the agenda for the entire cbc foundation events, i see so many different panels on so many different issues, but they all come together in regards to the central issue of our community's relationships with law enforcement and with our government writ large. so many of the issues that you all are tackling all this week come back to that essential issue. and so i thank you so much for giving me a few minutes to talk to you this afternoon about what the department of justice is doing in this important area because i will tell you that i view it as one of my main priorities as attorney general of the united states.

i know that congressman conyers had to go and vote. he is also pulled in many different directions, but i want to thank him and his staff for their invitation to this event as well as for setting up this particular panel and of course the congressman's lifetime of service to these issues. he has been in this fight for a long time. a long time. [applause] as have many of you. not just here on the panel and on the podium next to me but out here in the audience. i see a lot of fighters. i see a lot of people who have walked a lot of lines, and walked across a lot of bridges, and so i thank you for that as well. [applause] whether you have been in the struggle for years, or whether you are new to it and part of the new and exciting and dynamic young voices that we need to tell us the truth, i commend you and i am so so glad to hear from you.

your commitment is important, your ideas are important, your energy and your passion. and now is the time that we have to all come together around these important issues. because while we have made just extraordinary progress since the cbc was founded over 40 years ago, it is clear that we have so much more work to do. in the recent weeks and months we've seen these reminders, you know there's not just the overall philosophy that we always say "there's more work to do, we have to keep marching.â we've seen it. we've seen it played out in a very, very stark and very painful reality captured for the world to see.

we have experienced tragedies that make it clear that this fight for our common welfare goes on. and i will tell you that what hurts me so much in my current role, is that we have seen the mistrust between our law enforcement officers and our communities also deepen at a time when, not that it hasn't always been the case, but at a time when our communities need, perhaps more than at any other time, the protection and the resources that law enforcement is committed and sworn to bring to bear. it has always been my view that the essential role, not just of government, but of law enforcement in particular is the protection of people who don't have anyone else to call on. you know those times in the middle of the night when people are cold and afraid and they know that someone is out there who means them harm, we have to have someone on whom to call. and we have to be able to trust and rely upon those individuals

to come when we call and to also look out for us when they do arrive. now this is an issue that i know you're talking about today, not just on this panel but so many others, but on this panel in particular you've got the voices to do it. you've got the experience and you've got the people who also provide you the perspective of what it feels like to be left out of that dynamic of protection, to be left out of that umbrella and that circle of guardianship that every american is entitled to. and that is such an important voice today. now it's also not a new issue, although it's an issue that's very deep and very personal for me. as some of you may know, i'm fortunate enough to have my father here with me this week. [applause] but this issue is generations old and when i was a young girl

i remember, the things i remember my father telling me about, you know you all talk about your grandparents and your aunts and your uncle, and the family lore that's what makes you who you are. that's how you know what the lynches are like and you know what the harrises are like, and they're both stubborn just so you know. [laughter] but i remember my father telling me about his father, about my grandfather. a minister, third grade education, no money, eight children, dirt poor, living in rural north carolina in the 1930's when my father was born. and even with all those things stacked against him, built his own church beside his house, called in lynch's chapel. that's what you can do when you build a church yourself. [laughter] and one of the things that my father remembers is that there were times when he was a young boy in the 1930's, when people

in the community, black people in the community were in trouble. as my grandfather used to say, "caught up in the clutches of the law," and didn't have anywhere to go. and they would come to my grandfather and he would actually help hide them until they could leave the community. and sometimes the sheriff would come by the house and ask my grandfather, you know, "gus, have you seen so-and-so? " my grandfather would say "well, not lately." [laughter] so-and-so is hiding in the closet or hiding under the floorboards because in those days, 1930's north carolina, there was no justice in the dark of night on a rural road. no miranda warnings, no procedural protections, none of the things that we take for granted today. and so despite what had happened

with these individuals, my grandfather knew that sometimes in order to preserve the fight for justice into the future, you had to take action in the moment. you had to take action in the moment. [applause] now of course, things are much better now, and we all get reminded of that whenever we bring up these issues, you notice that when you talk about these issues, whether they are of race in general or police issues in particular, when you talk about the current pain that the minority community is feeling and it is, we are feeling it very, very deeply, people say, "well you know things are actually much better now. and they are. they are.

you know, in addition for giving you my apologies for being late today, i can tell you that i was late today because i had a meeting with the president that ran over. i would never have been able to say that even five years ago. the fact that my grandfather who fought so hard for justice in his own way would never have conceived. that his granddaughter, the little girl he used to take out in the fields and you know, show what tobacco looked like, you know would actually be sitting in a meeting with the president of the united states. we have come so far, but we still have so far to go and these issues of fundamental fairness and the relationship that the minority community has with government writ large, and with those of us in law enforcement in particular are still with us.

they are still important today. and we all understand on a personal level the frustration that comes up when we are treated unfairly because of race. but this is really about more than just that. this is really about being treated unfairly because of race by those who are sworn to protect you. by those who wear the uniform of protection. this is really a deeper issue than just the individual discrimination many of us have seen in whether or not we didn't get the job, or get an opportunity or someone didn't speak to us. we are talking about the pain that comes up when these deeply rooted injustices get shrugged off, and they get ignored. now we are in a different time and things are much better, even if they may not seem that way. even if this seems like a very painful time because we are seeing these issues so much more clearly, i have to tell you that this takes me back to the early days of the civil rights movement. and you all remember those days when people were marching and

protesting and talking about conditions. you couldn't vote, couldn't get a job, couldn't sit into a store and just have a break and have a cup of coffee. and no one wanted to believe that that was the case until the advent of television. remember the televise marches -- televised marches and the protests, and when the world saw what was happening, that police dogs were put on little children, that fire hoses were used against young men and women, that galvanized the conscience of the world and gave the movement a momentum to make changes. to give us a civil rights act, to give us a voting rights act, to give us desegregation, to help us craft those strategies

that our lawyers use before the supreme court. and now we are in a similar moment, when so many of the images that we see are so painful. but they are being used to show the world what people in the minority community have known for years about the different levels of interaction and the different levels of both respect and participation in the system that african-americans have and that african-americans feel. and as painful as it is to watch someone suffering or possibly even dying, the result has been an opening of the discussion in ways that we have not had in significant years.

and so the onus is on us to seize this moment. the onus is on us to continue this discussion, to continue this debate. because now the world knows what we always knew. that people in ferguson were being taxed for walking down the street and being the wrong color. the world knows what we always knew, that young men of color's interactions with the police are fundamentally different than other children's. and that as parents, and as siblings, and as family members that we have a responsibility to point this out and talk about it as well as educate our children. but we also have to acknowledge more than just the actions, because there's something that goes on as well, something that's deeper when we have these situations. we have to acknowledge the anger and the despair, the feelings that develop. you know people they always talk about wanting us to handle things in a certain way, and that's true and and this country was built on peaceful protest. it is a fundamental right of ours and it can achieve a great deal of change. -- it has achieved a great deal of change. but we also have to acknowledge the anger and the despair that develops when these concerns that we now see on tape are

still pushed aside by so many people as if they don't exist. you have to acknowledge the kind of pain that develops. you have to acknowledge that feeling -- and you know that people say, "well i don't think it was that bad.â "well i don't think they meant it that way.â or even, "that just didn't happen.â you know, it just didn't even happen. and so when that happens to people, to a people, to our people time and time again, you have to have within our community a sense of disconnection and despair that is as dangerous as any bullet or any billy club. it absolutely is. [applause] but of course i'm not the first to note that, and honestly i would refer you back to that work of art by ralph ellison, invisible man. invisible man. and you will see all of that there. and you will see the consequences of it as well.

and of course the reason why we have to face this and deal with these issues is of course because as always, as with the movement 50 years ago and the issues now, it's our children who are bearing the brunt of these issues. it's our children who are growing up without that sense of connection, without the sense of protection and security that they are entitled to have. and that we want them to have. now one of the things i am doing is i'm doing a six-city community policing tour. i'm going to jurisdictions that have had very very troubled and very challenging relationships between the police and the community between five and 10 years ago. either a lawsuit, a shooting incident, a consent decree, where the department of justice has had to come in and concert a certain amount of either actual persuasion or actual litigation in order to manage unconstitutional policing practices. but there are jurisdictions that have turned that corner, and i'm

talking to people about how and why that is the case. and of course things are still not perfect, there are still people who feel on the fringes of what we are trying to achieve for them, and those are the voices that i want to hear the most, because those are the voices i have to address. and when i was in pittsburgh i was talking to a group of young people, high school students, because they will tell you what is happening in their daily lives and they'll tell you what they see, and they'll tell you, more importantly, how it makes them feel. and i was talking with a young man who told me he was afraid to walk in this particular pittsburgh neighborhood, he described it as a fairly rough neighborhood. and so he felt threatened by forces around him who had other

agendas, who were trying to draw him into gang life or try to draw him into violence or possibly put him in the way of being accidentally caught in crossfire. but what he told me that was the most painful thing was that it wasn't just the other residents who frightened him who clearly were not on the past that he was -- path that he was on. he was excelling in school and moving ahead with a bright future, he was also afraid to call the police when he felt that way. because he didn't know if he could tell the difference between him and the people who were trying to do him harm.

and what i say is, what we have to acknowledge is is that no one should feel that way. not in america. not today. not our children. and for those of us who've spent a career in law enforcement and the people i know on this panel and the people in this room, anyone in law enforcement who hears that should say "i do not want that feeling in a child of mine. because they're all our children. they all have to be. and this has to be the starting point for our work. do our children feel safe? and if they do not, what are we doing to change that dynamic for them? what are we doing, not only to make them safe, but to make them feel that there are people and forces that look out for them, that are supporting them, and that are coming into the community to protect them. now, not only does the department of

justice recognize this issue, we are determined to do our part to prevent the unequal application of the law and to end violence and conflict and to heal these divisions in our neighborhood that have resulted in stolen lives and broken communities. i very much view our role as working to invite the voices that are here in this room. -- working to amplify the voices that are here in this room. we are working to cultivate the opportunity to let people come together. to do the real work, the hard work that results in safer communities anymore just society. and a more just society. we have to do more. one thing that i mentioned we are working on -- one of my top priorities as attorney general is dealing with the breakdown in trust between law enforcement and the communities we are sworn to serve. i spend a lot of time talking to

both sides. i spent time talking to people who have had these experiences with law enforcement, who share them with me. it's a gift when some one shares their pain with you. you have to understand that it is a gift they are giving you, the ability to understand what has happened to them. i've also talked to a lot of force with officers who say to me, what i want to do is protect people. i became a cop because someone helped me. or i saw people in my community going the wrong way, and i want to prevent that. increasingly, i became a cop because i see the way things are going and i want to make it better. bringing those voices together, letting them find a place in which to talk and to interact is a key part of what the doj is looking to do. at the end of the day, we are all part of the community. our responsibility to it grows, and should blossom. there are things we are doing by way of initiative. just last year, we launched the national initiative for building community trust and justice. this is a country has of approach to training and policy and research, intended to advance procedural justice and to promote racial conciliation and eliminate complicit biases. our civil rights division continues to work with police departments across the country to ensure constitutional policing in their jurisdictions. i have been so heartened by the fact that none of the police department's have told us they are making the ferguson report required reading for the retirement -- that they are making it required reading for the entire department. because they know that in order to prevent the problems of ferguson, you have to not only acknowledge them, but look at the root causes of them. our office of justice programs is partnering with law-enforcement a brief -- at the state and local level. through them and training and technical assistance, through our office of media oriented policing services, ron davis, the outstanding director of that office is here.

we are hoping to hire and train officers to promote officer safety and wellness and to support state and local and tribal law enforcement agencies as they implement recommendations of the president obama's task force on 20th-century policing. they carried the maxims of community policing that we have seen been effective over the years. those of us who are from new york know about noble organizations, the president is here as well. but also the impact of a country of devoted -- of a cadre of dedicated officers. providing real service and real protection. through this task force, we are seeking to extend these principles across the country. we have been hearing from extraordinary individuals and exceptional organizations like the ones presented on this panel. the key, the biggest leeson i have seen in my own community policing tour, is that the real solutions come from the places that are seeing the problem. it's not a problem that will be solved by washington imposing some policy from on high. it will be solved by us it will be solved by us empowering people living in these areas to work through these issues.

by us providing resources and assistance for people to come to the solution that leads to better days. i was talking with my father this morning, i was us again how the conference was going, how the panels were going. and what was the best part. and what he said to me did not surprise me. he said, the best part is that on every panel he had seen -- and i'm sure it was true of today's -- people are talking about their real lives and the real issues. not just a study being brought to bear. the real problems and finding real solutions for them. that's why our community policing roundtables are so important. i've been to a number of cities already. i'm looking forward to going out to the west coast next week, and also extending this tour to look at the best practices, the ways people have found a way out of these challenging situations. not to a perfect solution, but to a working solution.

we look forward to being able to share with all communities. we do more than that the justice department. we also have to bolster trust in the institutions that make up our criminal justice system. we are doing that in part under the "smart on crime" initiative. it was launched to a years ago -- two years ago by attorney general eric holder. [applause] he took a visionary approach across the criminal justice system and look ed at ways in which we had a well-meaning program 20 years ago, but looked at the consequences on our communities then and now. i talk about over incarceration

of mostly minority young men of color for nonviolent drug offenses. that has so decimated our communities. not just the problems of the drugs themselves, but the removal of these young men communities and from families. this has been a hole that is created. the issue for the the departed of justice under eric holder, under myself, how can we go about filling that hole? frankly, we feel that we do that in a way that protects public safety, but also takes into account these important issues. the "smart on crime" initiative has been one of those rare points of bipartisan accord. as you talk about over incarceration rates, whether from my financial perspective or a human capital and cost perspective. federal prosecutors are using resources to bring the most

serious wrongdoers to justice, but using their discretion to find more effective ways -- drug courts, focusing on incarceration. for those for whom other methods will provide personal accountability without the devastating consequences we have seen in the past. of course the benefit has been, as the overall crime rate has declined for the first time in four decades, this policy continues forward and will continue. we are focusing on reentry. as we work out ways-- [applause] gen. lynch: as we work out ways for the zone people to return home -- for these young people to return home, and some may not be so young when they get out -- we also have to work out ways for them to rebuild a home. we have to work out ways for

them to return to not just their families and communities, but to society. whether that is to education programs in prison. just a month ago i stood with secretary of education arne duncan as he announced the pilot program to allow colleges to use programs for those currently incarcerated. -- to use pell grants for those currently incarcerated. we have to provide them with a education while incarcerated and opportunities once they are released. [applause] but of course, it's not just purchase a beating in your family -- not just participating in your family, community, or society, the ultimate participation in the american spirit called democracy is the right to vote. that is why the department of justice continues-- [applause]

-- continues to call for all states to revisit the issue of felon disenfranchisement. let them vote. let them vote. [applause] we are talking about our country's most sacred right. the protection of the voting rights calls for most sacred engagement. in voting cases in particular, the justice department has participated in more than 100 voting cases over the course of the obama administration. we are all aware of the supreme court's 20 cute teen decision in shelby county that took away -- key decision in shelby county that took away a key part that allowed organizations to determine their impact on minority's voting rights, whether it is a dilution or demolition therof. we were able to vent of the

rollback of this important right. this court has spoken. we lost part, but only part, of the voting rights act. we have kept up the charge. and we have not been idle. just recently, we successfully challenged texas'strict voter id law. [applause] in a separate action, we sued to block two of texas' redistricting plans. and in my home state of north carolina, we are challenging several provisions of a state law that curves early voting and restricts same-day registration. as the president has said, why do we want to restrict the right to vote? the right that makes us free and independent? it gives us the envy of other countries. when they talk about the

benefits and the values of america, one of the things you will hear it when you travel outside this country, is franky their awe at the fact that we can have a peaceful transition of power that we have every 4-8 years. that is because we invest in this democracy. why do we want to do anything to curtail anyone's participation in what has been an example to the world, and has to be the beacon that we use to ensure freedom in this country? the message from the department of justice is clear. we will not stop in these efforts. we will not be deterred. we will not rest until we have secured the right to vote for every eligible american. [applause] and of course, that extends beyond the courtroom and the actions that we bring. working with many of the members who are sponsoring this wonderful weekend, and other

members of congress as well. we have promoted legislative proposals to restore the voting rights act to its full and proper and intended purpose. [applause] we have also proposed legislation that would expand access to polling places for those living on indian reservations. and alaska native villages and other tribal lands. we cannot have a situation in this country where the original americans are kept out of the participation in the bounty of this land. [applause] we cannot have that. we do this also through our monitoring program, monitoring federal elections, and have actively enforced the national voter registration act to protect those registering to vote. as well as the rights of our uniformed members of the military and overseas citizens who seek to vote as well.

keeping on to what makes them essentially american. we will always protect their rights as well. of course, the right to vote follows from one of our nation's most fundamental promises, that no one should have to endure discrimination based on unfair treatment on what they look like. the justice department is practicing on the frontlines against hatred and intolerance and are fighting against bias motivated violence. signed into law by president obama in 2009. [applause] this law will enhance our ability to hold accountable those who victimized their fellow americans because of who they are. we have worked with our state and local partners to make sure that hate crimes are identified

and investigated. and we have continued to bring, and will continue to bring, federal hate crime charges. including our current prosecution of dylann roof for the murders of 9 people of faith. 9 people who died at mother emanuel church in south carolina just a few months ago. for many of us, as we sat and watched that event, that took us back to a time that we thought was over. this is a new day. look who is in the white house. look who is in the department of justice. we thought we passed those stark reminders that we live in a world of hate. we thought we moved past this history of bigotry and brutality. we thought we had left behind the pure intimidation and cruelty of the night writers. those who come in the night and try and keep you. we thought we had moved away

from that. for many of us, it took us back to another time when we thought we had erased it away forever. a time, when just 52 years ago this week, four little girls went to church one morning. they went to sunday school one weekend. and they were there attending a sermon called "the love that forgives." they didn't come home that day. four families live on with the loss of their children who suffered the bomb in the baptist church in birmingham. in the days after the bombing, 52 years ago -- i was four years old -- and my father, michael parents, looked at me and my two brothers, how can i keep my children safe from the world that wants to tell them that

they are different and less than, that they don't matter? and that they are simply cannon fodder? he decided he had to keep working, keep marching, keep pushing, keep advancing. there are no guarantees, 52 years ago, when four little bodies do not come home. we did not know that we would get a voting rights act. did not know we would get the civil rights act. nothing was guaranteed. but with a deep faith and commitment, people pushed forward. we are at that same again. in the days just after that bombing, more than 8000 people, people of all colors and creeds and backgrounds, races and religions, attended a memorial service for those young victims. one of those individuals who gave many stirring eulogies was the reverend dr. martin luther king jr. of course, he was familiar not just with the town, but with the

church, not just with the church, but with the families, not just the families, but the four little girls themselves. in his address, at a time of great tragedy and great challenge, he urged his fellow citizens to channel their grief, to harness their energy. he said "we have to work passionately and on relentlessly for the realization of the american dream." the people sitting in the pews of that dark day 52 years ago, as my father looked at his children and wondered how he would keep us safe, could hardly have imagined the progress we have made thanks to their efforts. they could hardly have imagined this group, the congressional black caucus itself gaining strength. they could not have imagined the philosophy and teaching. they could not have seen who would be sitting in the white

house today, sitting in a meeting with then attorney general, who was that little girl whose father said i have to protect. they knew there were better days coming. they knew that if they pushed forward, they could move past the pain of a bomb that were a part of church. they knew that their work was not over, just as ours is not also. we have more work to do. we are here today to get started. by that, many people here working or going to continue. those people who are younger, new to the cause, will join in. we will keep pushing ahead. every american has the right to grow up in a community and world that offers not just responsibility to uphold, but also opportunities to succeed. because every american has the right to live in a country that will support them and that will protect them, no matter where

they live, what they look like, or who they are. every american, every american has the right to a justice system that gives them a fair opportunity to grow, to learn, to improve. [applause] and to contribute. and every american has the right to make his or her voice heard. this is just what i believe, or what you believe, it is what this country believes. it is what this country needs. it is what this society believes. it is what america has always promised to every man, woman, and child in every community across this nation. i'm here to pledge to you today that neither i nor the department that i am so proud to lead will ever abandon our work to make that promise real. but we need your help and your partnership. just as we have in decades past

to bring our country closer to its highest ideals. and we do look out and we see dark days of the times. as people did 52 years ago. but just as they did then, they looked around and saw strength. they saw support, they saw fellowship, commitment. they saw what i see when i look out over this extraordinary gathering today. and they saw what i see, which is a people that will not be stopd. a people that will not be silenced. [applause] a people that will not be held back. and a people that will always, always reach back and lend a hand and pull someone alone with them. that is what we do. that is how we have made america great today. that is how we make america look to these promises to all of us. and that is how we will go forward in all the challenges that we have to face. thank you for your time, thank you for your attention, thank you for your commitment to this important work. [applause]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, wiich is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org][captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] there is nothing that should follow that on this panel. i am glad we had a woman to lead us out. to make aglad transition. he was so much. >> today on c-span, washington journal's life, next. the democratic convention in new hampshire. minutes, adam brandon of freedom works on his groups call for the easement of john boehner as house speaker.

then a discussion about lack women voters and we to melanie campbell with the black women from table policy network. and the chief editor of ethics magazine. ♪ host: does by a marine corps report highlighting issues of , theng women in combat obama administration has asked all armed forces to integrate women into armed roles by 2016, unless they seek specific exemptions from doing so. ashton carter talked with his russian counterpart over the phone yesterday to talk about the move of equipment and personnel to syria. and, the u.s. has lifted restrictions on travel, commerce, an