our coverage, then men. [booing] sen. clinton: and we sure can't let them take us back to the wild west on wall street. "repeal dodd-frank. destroy the consumer financial protection board." we are going to stand firm. that is why i propose tough action to end the abuses by the big banks, and the excessive risk in the so-called shadow banking system. we are going to stop wall street hurting mainstreet. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: and here we are, everyone here is here because you know what is at stake in this election. no matter who you are for, and that is pretty clear standing up here, and seeing who is sitting where, but we all agree on this

-- we cannot let republicans keep rigging our elections with secret unaccountable, dark money. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: we need a supreme court that protects the right of every citizen to vote, not the right of every corporation to buy elections. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: and i said from the very beginning of my campaign, even if it takes a constitutional amendment, we will overturn citizens united once and for all. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: and i sometimes wonder whether you sign up to be

a republican candidate for president -- they put you into some kind of time machine. [laughter] clinton: and they take you back 50 or 70 or 100 years, because they keep saying the same out of date, out of touch things. we will never let the republicans cut or privatize social security or and medicare end medicare, as somehow -- some are now promising. [cheers and applause] sen. clinton: i will tell you something else. i am going to back and support what president obama has done to protect dreamers and their families, to use executive action to prevent deportation.

and i have said that if we cannot get comprehensive immigration reform as we need and as we should, with a real path to citizenship that will actually grow our economy -- then i will go as far as i can, even beyond president obama, to make sure law-abiding, decent, hard-working people in this country are not ripped away from their families. [cheers and applause] withence chanting "i'm her"] clinton: and don't you

wonder -- don't you wonder, for bigle who claim they hate government, republicans sure love using government to step in and make decisions for women about our bodies and our right. -- our rights. [applause] --. clinton: i will tell you i will tell you, i will do everything i can to protects a woman's right to choose and to .efend planned parenthood

[audience chanting "i'm with her"] i know when i talk about these things republicans say i am playing the gender card. i know. about equalking pay, paid family leave, affordable childcare, and women's health is laying the -- playing the gender card, deal me in. [applause] in"]ence chanting "deal me and ilinton: but you know know it's not enough to rail against the republicans or the

billionaires. we have to win this election to andild the middle class make a positive difference in people's lives. we have to build america again. measured i how many people work their way into the middle class, not how many ceo's get bonuses. how many families can afford health care, how many young people can afford to go to college without taking on years of debt. that is how we should measure success in this country. as i said at the debate in las vegas, i am a progressive who likes to get things done. [cheering]

sen. clinton: and i still believe, as a smart man once said, there is nothing wrong with america that cannot be fixed by what is right with america. so i hear donald trump when he says we have to make america great again. here is what i said. america is great. we just have to make it fair and just. we have to make america work for everyone, not just those at the top. [cheering] sen. clinton: because i know that when americans come together, come up with smart solutions, and fight to get results, there is no challenge we cannot meet. and at the top of my list of fights we have to wage and win, it is this. americans need a raise. that is why we must raise the minimum wage for it.

no one who works full-time should live in poverty. and i want companies to have incentives to share more profits with employees who help to make the profits in the first place. and companies that ship jobs and profits overseas should not get tax breaks. you should get tax breaks again. [cheering] sen. clinton: i said i want to be the small business president and i mean it. because small businesses will create most of the good new jobs of the future and should have less red tape, easier access to credit, and tax relief. to create those jobs, we have to get back to investing in science and medical research. we should establish an infrastructure bank to put americans to work building our roads and bridges and airports and rails and broadband networks. [cheering]

sen. clinton: and i believe we can make america the world's clean energy superpower by setting and reaching goals again. [cheering] sen. clinton: how about this? half a billion solar panels in four years and enough renewable energy to power every home in america in 10 years. [cheering] sen. clinton: i know that we can do this because iowa is leading the way. you are producing half of your -- roughly a third of your total electricity from wind and other renewables. i want the rest of the country to follow your lead. [cheering] sen. clinton: and if we want our economy to grow like it should, we have to make sure that women who still earn less than men on the job and women of color who

earn the least of all finally get equal pay for equal work. [cheering] sen. clinton: because when you shortchange women, you shortchange families and you shortchange america. and my new college compact will help students and graduates refinance debts, just like you can with a mortgage or a car loan. and nobody will have to borrow a cent to attend a public college or university. [cheering] sen. clinton: but let me say this. while we fight for a growth

unfairness economy that fights for everyone, we cannot forget the quieter problems that often do not make the headlines. i am also fighting for the grandmother who told me she is raising her grandchild because of her daughter's struggle with drug addiction, for the mom who asked me what she is going to do when her child with autism gets older, for every family trying to cope with untreated mental illness. i am fighting for the man i met whose mother has alzheimer's. he can't afford a full-time caretaker. so do you know what he does? he is a teacher. he takes his mother to work with him. for lgbt americans who despite all of our progress, can get married on saturday and fired on monday in a lot of states just because of who they are and who they love. for our veterans of all ages who served our country with honor and courage and deserve the benefits that they have earned without delays and abuses.

[applause] sen. clinton: i am fighting to reform criminal justice for every mother and father who worry every day that their child will be stopped by the police just for being african-american, because yes, black lives matter. [cheering] sen. clinton: and i am fighting to protect our kids in communities from the plague of gun violence. you should be safe when you go to school, when you go to the movies, when you go to church. that is why i am proposing common sense gun safety measures like universal background checks, closing loopholes, and repairing the law that shields

gunmakers and sellers from accountability. [cheering] sen. clinton: now, i have been told to stop shouting about ending gun violence. well, i have not been shouting but sometimes when a woman speaks out some people think it is shouting. [cheering] sen. clinton: but -- [cheering] sen. clinton: i will not be silenced and i hope you will not be either. how many more people have to die before we take action? folks, i have been at this effort to change and reform our country for a long time, and i have not won every battle. but i have learned from each one. i know how to stand my ground and how to find common ground. [cheering] sen. clinton: that is how i worked with a republican congress to help create the children's health insurance

around which covers a million -- program which covers eight million kids. that is why as a senator i worked with the republicans to expand health benefits for the national guard and reserve and -- and reserves and for the firefighters and police fighters who rushed towards danger on 9/11 and later grew sick after their time at ground zero. and as your secretary of state, i fought for human rights, women's rights, lgbt rights, internet freedom, american jobs, and security. but i also find common ground, persuading russia to join in the imposing the toughest sanctions against iran in history. and working with democrats to get the 67 votes we needed to ratify a landmark nuclear arms control treaty.

i have spent my life working for children, women, families, and the country, from the kitchen table to the peace table, trying to even the odds for people who have the odds stacked against them and i am just getting warmed up. [cheering] sen. clinton: so i want you to know, i am listening to you. i am fighting for you. and with your support, iowa, i am going to deliver. and i did not learn about fairness, justice, and the american dream from politics. i learned about it from my own family. my father who ran a small business printing drapery fabrics taught me that anything good in life is worth fighting for. and my mom, who had a hard life, abandoned, mistreated, working

as a maid at the age of 14, told me that at crucial moments, people showed her kindness, with that first grade teacher who made sure she had enough to eat when her parents did not even care enough to make sure of that. it is one of the many reasons i am grateful for educators. instead of becoming bitter or broken, she became resilient. she taught me everybody gets knocked it down in life, but that does not mean you stay down. get back up, face your challenges, solve your problems. do not just complain about them. [cheering] sen. clinton: so, let me tell you, i am the granddaughter of a factory worker and the grandmother of the most wonderful little girl in the world. and bill and i will do everything that we can to ensure that she has every opportunity to succeed in life. but i do not think you should have to be the granddaughter of a former president to share in the promise of america.

the granddaughters and grandsons of factory workers and truck drivers and nurses and farmers should have the same chance, too. [cheering] sen. clinton: everyone of america's children and grandchildren should have the opportunity to live up to their god-given potential. that is what i am fighting for, struggling, the striving, and be successful. -- and the successful. i am fighting for everyone who has ever been knocked down but refused to be knocked out. and together, we're going to build an america where there are no ceilings for anyone. where no one gets left behind or left out. and yes, where a father can tell his daughter you can be anything you want to be, including president of the united states of america. thank you and god bless you. [cheering]

withence chanting "i'm her"] >> thank you, secretary clinton. you know, what a night. and what an amazing group of democrats we have running for president. are you fired up, iowa? [cheering] >> iowa democrats, let's welcome back all of our amazing presidential candidates to the stage, and their families. [cheering] ♪

>> ♪ i've been knocking on the door that holds the throne i've been looking for the map that leads me home i've been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone the road of good intentions has gone dry as bone we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever the flag is flown

we take care of our own from chicago to new orleans from the muscle to the bone from the shotgun shack to the superdome there ain't no help, the calvary stayed home there ain't nobody hearing the bugle blowning we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag's flown we take care of our own where're the eyes, the eyes with the will to see where's the hearts, that run

over with mercy where's the love that has not forsaken me ♪ >> it all starts with the iowa on february 1, so make sure you drop off your caucus cards on the boxes on the way out. we are going to turn iowa blue next november. get out safely, and good night. >> ♪ wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag's flown

we take care of our own ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] -- [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]

[inaudible conversations] [cheering] ♪ won't you stand up stand up stand up

will you stand up and use your voice? won't you stand up [indiscernible] >> thank you. [laughter] [indiscernible]

>> thank you. [indiscernible] [laughter] >> i really want to thank you. [indiscernible]

>> i really appreciate it. we have been fans for a long time. sen. clinton: look at you. how are you? [indiscernible]

sen. clinton: where is huma? -- you have huma be sure >> yeah, yeah. [indiscernible] >> hillary, i am the owner of the hotel --

we love to have you. on: hello. >> i love the red. it is beautiful on you. sen. clinton: are you together, you guys are together? [indiscernible] >> long time, no see. i know.nton: yeah, [indiscernible]

>> i'm wearing the wrong shirt, but can i take a selfie? clinton: you bet. we're all on the same team. >> first-time caucus goer. >> first-time caucus-goers. >> all right. here we go.

sen. clinton: how would you do an internship? >> [indiscernible] clinton: be sure to follow up with her. we are going to need a lot of help. first-time caucus goer. clinton: what did you vote on? oh, here it is. >> [indiscernible] thank you.n: thank you. >> we will be in touch. >> [indiscernible]

>> [indiscernible] excited to have you as president. >> [indiscernible] yes, yes. >> i thought it would be. i think of you. >> good going. [indiscernible]

[indiscernible]

[indiscernible] [inaudible]

[inaudible]

>> two democratic candidates

dropped out of the race this week. former senator jim webb and lincoln chafee. and vice president biden declared he will not be entering the race. he made that announcement wednesday from the white house rose garden alongside his wife jill and president obama. v.p. biden: good morning, folks. please, please, sit down. mr. president, thank you for lending me the rose garden for a minute. pres. obama: it's a pretty nice place. [laughter] v.p. biden: as my family and i have worked through the grieving process, i've said all along what i've said time and again to others, that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president, that it

might close. i've concluded it has closed. i know from previous experience that there is no timetable for this process. the process doesn't respect or much care about things like filing deadlines or debates and primaries and caucuses. but i also know that i could do this if -- i couldn't do this if the family wasn't ready. the good news is the family has reached that point. but as i've said many times, my family has suffered a loss and i hope there would come a time -- and i've said this to many other families -- that sooner rather than later, when you think of your loved one it brings a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.

well, that's where the bidens are today -- thank god. beau is our inspiration. unfortunately, i believe we're out of time -- the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. but while i will not be a candidate, i will not be silent. i intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as i can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation. and this is what i believe. i believe that president obama has led this nation from crisis to recovery, and we're now on the cusp of resurgence. i'm proud to have played a part in that. this party, our nation will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the obama legacy.

the american people have worked too hard and we've come too far for that. democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record. we've got a lot of work to get done over the next 15 months, and there's a lot that the president will have to get done. but let me be clear that we'll be building on a really solid foundation. but it all starts with giving the middle class a fighting chance. i know you in the press love to call me "middle-class joe" and i know in washington that's not usually meant as a compliment -- it means you're not that sophisticated. but it is about the middle class. it isn't just a matter of

fairness or economic growth. it's a matter of social stability for this nation. we cannot sustain the current levels of inequality that exist in this country. i believe the huge sums of unlimited and often secret money pouring into our politics is a fundamental threat to our democracy. and i really mean that. i think it's a fundamental threat. because the middle class will never have a fighting chance in this country as long as just several hundred families, the wealthiest families, control the process. it's just that simple. and i believe we have to level the playing field for the american people. and that's going to take access

to education and opportunity to work. we need to commit -- we're fighting for 14 years -- we need to commit to 16 years of free public education for all our children. we all know that 12 years of public education is not enough. as a nation, let's make the same commitment to a college education today that we made to a high school education a hundred years ago. children and child care is the one, biggest barrier for working families. we need, as the president proposed, to triple the child care tax credit. that alone will lead to a dramatic increase in the number

of women able to be in the workforce and will raise our economic standards. there are many equitable ways to pay for this. often you hear, well, how do you pay for this? there are many equitable ways to pay for this. we could pay for all of this with one simple step -- by limiting the deductions in the tax code to 28 percent of income. wealthy folks will end up paying a little bit more. but it's my guess -- and i mean this sincerely -- it's my guess they'll be happy to help build a stronger economy and a better educated america. i believe we need to lead more by the power of our example, as the president has, than merely by the example of our power. we've learned some very hard lessons from more than a decade of large-scale, open-ended military invasions. we have to accept the fact that we can't solve all the world's problems -- we can't solve many of them -- alone. the argument that we just have to do something when bad people do bad things isn't good enough. it's not a good enough reason for american intervention and to put our sons' and daughters' lives on the line, put them at risk. i believe we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart. and i think we can. it's mean-spirited. it's petty. and it's gone on for much too long. i don't believe, like some do, that it's naive to talk to republicans. i don't think we should look at republicans as our enemies. they are our opposition; they're not our enemies.

and for the sake of the country, we have to work together. as the president said many times, compromise is not a dirty word. look at it this way, folks -- how does this country function without consensus? how can we move forward without being able to arrive at consensus? four more years of this kind of pitched battle may be more than this country can take. we have to change it. we have to change it. and i believe we need a moonshot in this country to cure cancer. it's personal. but i know we can do this. the president and i have already been working hard on increasing funding for research and development -- because there are so many breakthroughs just on the horizon in science and medicine. the things that are just about to happen, we can make them real with an absolute national commitment to end cancer as we know it today.

and i'm going to spend the next 15 months in this office pushing as hard as i can to accomplish this. because i know there are democrats and republicans on the hill who share our passion -- our passion to silence this deadly disease. if i could be anything, i would want it to be the president that ended cancer, because it's possible. i also believe we need to keep moving forward in the arc of this nation toward justice -- the rights of the lgbt community, immigration reform, equal pay for women and protecting their safety from violence, rooting out institutional racism. at their core, every one of these things -- every one of these things is about the same thing. it's about equality. it's about fairness. it's about respect. as my dad used to say, it's about affording every single person dignity.

it's not complicated. every single one of these issues is about dignity. and the ugly forces of hate and division, they won't let up, but they do not represent the american people. they do not represent the heart of this country. they represent a small fraction of the political elite. and the next president is going to have to take it on. most of all, i believe there's unlimited possibilities for this country. i don't know how many of the white house staff and personnel have heard me say repeatedly that we are so much better positioned than any country in the world. i've been doing this for a long time. when i got elected as a 29-year-old kid, i was called the optimist. i am more optimistic about the

possibilities, the incredible possibilities to leap forward than i have been at any time in my career. and i believe in my core that there's not country on the face of the earth better positioned to lead the world in the 21st century than the united states of america. washington just has to begin to function again. instead of being the problem, it has to become part of the solution -- again. we have to be one america -- again. and at our core, i've always believed that what sets america apart from every other nation is that we, ordinary americans,

believe in possibilities -- unlimited possibilities. possibilities for a kid growing up in a poor inner-city neighborhood, or a spanish-speaking home, or a kid from mayfield in delaware, or willow grove in pennsylvania -- like jill and i. to be able to be anything we want it to be; to do anything -- anything -- that we want, that's what we were both taught. that's what the president was taught. it was real. that's what i grew up believing. and, you know, it's always been true in this country. and if we ever lose that, we've lost something very special. we'll have lost the very soul of this country. when i was growing up, my parents, in tough times, looked at me and would say to me and my brothers and sister, "honey,

it's going to be okay." and they meant it. they meant it. it was going to be okay. but some of you who cover me, i say go back to your old neighborhoods. talk to your contemporaries who aren't as successful as you've been. there are too many people in america today, too many parents who don't believe they can look their kid in the eye and say with certitude, "honey, it's going to be okay." that's what we need to change. it's not complicated. that will be the true measure of our success. and we'll not have met it until every parent out there can look

at their kid in tough times and say, "honey, it's going to be okay" -- and mean it. that's our responsibility. and i believe it's totally within our power. the nation has done it before in difficult times. i've had the very great, good fortune and privilege of being in public service most of my adult life, since i've been 25 years old. and through personal triumphs and tragedies, my entire family -- my son beau, my son hunter, my daughter ashley, jill -- our whole family -- and this sounds corny -- but we found purpose in public life. we found purpose in public life. so we intend, the whole family -- not just me -- we intend to spend the next 15 months fighting for what we've always cared about, what my family has always care about, with every ounce of our being. and working alongside the president and members of congress and our future nominee, i am absolutely certain we are fully capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. we can do this. and when we do, america won't just win the future, we will own the finish line. thank you for all being so gracious to jill and me for the last six or eight months -- and for our whole career, for that matter. but i'm telling you, we can do so much more. and i'm looking forward to continuing to work with this man to get it done. thank you all very much. [applause.]

>> c-span as your road to the

white house coverage. we are taking our road to the white house coverage across the country with our student can contest, giving students the opportunity to discuss what they want to hear the most from the candidates. follow the contest and road to ,he white house 2016 on tv the radio, and online at c-span.org. look at the next, a fate of funding for highway and transportation projects with congressman peter defazio. he is the top democrat on the infrastructure committee and our guest on newsmakers. and a recent campaign event with carly fiorina in south carolina. , amy chose it on -- amy chozick on "q&a."

>> ms. swain: our guest on "newsmakers" this week is congressman peter defazio. the committee this week successfully passed out a bipartisan piece of legislation, a six-year highway funding bill. he is here to tell us more about it. let me introduce our to reporters. heather caygle covers transportation for "politico," and billy house is with "bloomberg." ms. caygle: yesterday you guys did something you haven't done in a long time, and that is passed a long-term bipartisan highway and transit bill, but no one has said how is it going to be funded yet. where do you go from here? rep. defazio: well, that is not the jurisdiction of our committee, and that is something the republican leadership is