monarchy or something like that might be better for you, but not respect anybody's opinion and be condescending of even those within your own party to the tune of using language like what was it -- mr. sesno: rogue agent. ms. pelosi: you said it. mr. sesno: i didn't say t i just quoted it. let me ask you about -- you have what you just talked about, the dynamic in john boehner leaving. and all the tumult over the next house speaker that followed. we have donald trump and ben carson on the campaign trail galloping away with the party. bernie sanders who is definitely an uncandidate in many ways, democratic socialist with serious numbers on the democratic side. you have been in politics for -- what the heck is happening here? is america mad? confused? alienated? are you guys just getting terribly mucked up?

ms. pelosi: i think elections are always about the future. so whatever it is that somebody might be unhappy about, they want to see what is -- there is absolutely no question that as we look to the future we have to see a path to take this to ending a lot of the inequality in our system. mr. sesno: is that what this is about? anger over inequality? ms. pelosi: i think it's anger over the fact that paychecks have not increased for decades. the purchasing power of middle class paychecks has not increased. the aspirations, hopes people have for their children, their education, their families, the pension security of parents so they are freer to invest in their children, the security of retirement security of seniors so that parents can look to their kids rather than having to

take care -- all connected. let me just say this. in 2008 america's middle class was deeply scarred by what happened then. what happened because of the greed -- don't paint all on wall street with this brush, but what happened there severely, severely hurt the economic stability of america's working families. their homes in some cases were under water. their pensions were in doubt. they are were living off their savings. their jobs were uncertainty. the ability to send their children to school was in doubt. and it was terrible. and it was wall street hurting main street. that's just the way it is. i'll go more if you wish, but just to fast forward to now, all of these good things happened when president obama took office to correct that. so much happened. when president obama stood on the steps and took that oath of office, so many things were worse than they are now. the deficit was $1.4 trillion. it's now like almost $1 trillion. that's a $1 trillion reduction in it. a 70% reduction in the deficit.

unemployment was around 10%. it's now around 5%. stock market was flirting with six, seven, now it's flirting with 17. 10,000 points more. the auto industry was on its heels with the investments that the democratic congress and president made. and opposed by many on the other side, if i may be allowed a partisan moment, now the auto industry is blossoming because of that and other engines. enthusiasm and entrepreneurship in the private sector. this is almost the 70th straight month of private sector job creation. some of it springing from public initiatives, incentives. some of it just the private sector which is a strong engine in our economy. but what is -- and the list goes on. 17 million more americans having access to quality, affordable health care. and, one more thing. what hasn't happened is the middle income paycheck has not

increased. and the consumer lack of confidence still prevails. we are consumer economy. we have to have consumer confidence for people to spend, to inject demand into the economy, to create jobs. the lack of that has, in my view, contributed to some of the, shall we say -- unrest. mr. sesno: the list is -- those numbers speak for themselves. if things are so great, you're saying people feel so lousy simply because paychecks haven't changed? ms. pelosi: yeah. mr. sesno: but there is another historic tradition this country has that george washington knew about, too, which is distrust of government. ms. pelosi: that's a healthy thing. mr. sesno: ok. but a lot of the distrust of government that we hear around the country and on the campaign trail also reflects distrust of

big government and regulation and interference. so it's not all and only about paychecks. some of the anger that's directed at washington is directed at what people view fairly or unfairly, but certainly view as interference. isn't that right? ms. pelosi: if i just may you sound like the ideological talking points of the heritage foundation. mr. sesno: no, no. i was in colorado once and i introduced myself. where are you from? washington, washington d.c. they looked at me -- don't blame me. i just live there. ms. pelosi: the fact is that is what are we talking about when we talk about regulation? clean air? clean water? what are we talking about? mr. sesno: businesses having to do more paperwork. ms. pelosi: you know what? a lot of that is state. in other words, we should subject everything we do, whether it's an investment in terms of dollars, whether it's a tax initiative. whether it's a regulation -- subject it to the harshest scrutiny, have common sense prevail. this whole thing of

anti-government, the debate about the amount of government is as old as our country. older. and that's a legitimate debate. that's where people come down on the spectrum. more or less government, how much national, how much state, how much local. i think you read this new book on madison where he -- it's very interesting how he thought that the central government was really important to keeping our country together. so there is a role for all of it. and there is also a role for having suspicion. is it working? are we getting our money's worth? is it doing what it needs to do for us? you can capture that and say it's all about government regulation and that's why the people are out there for trump and for bernie, but it really, most of the time, relates to how it affects them. as tip o'neill said, all politics is local. it's all personal.

how does this affect me? my family? my financial stability and the rest? other people hijack that with something about regulations. if we have regulations we shouldn't have, get rid of them. that includes a lot of things that other people think almost every day when we are getting doing away with regulations that relate to the air you breathe, water you drink, what's in the food that you eat, and i don't think that that's really what the uprising is out there about clean air, clean water, and food safety. mr. sesno: let's talk about the uprising. when we were playing word association game and said trump, you said performer. interesting thing to see in the polls now ben carson has exceed the trump the last two polls. you called him dangerous. first, is trump fading? what do you think is happening? ms. pelosi: i don't know. i come to talk about the democrats. you know what? [laughter]

mr. sesno: i won't let you off that easy. ms. pelosi: i don't usually get involved in democratic presidential politics. let it play out. but as far as the republicans are concerned, let them figure it out for themselves and then when something happens, we'll be prepared and i'll be happy to relinquish my title of highest ranking woman in politics in america. [applause] mr. sesno: are you making a prediction? ms. pelosi: i suspect that that will happen. [applause] mr. sesno: i see. ms. pelosi: don't you? mr. sesno: i think there's a good chance that we will see a woman candidate from the democratic party. how is that? let's talk about her for a minute. at the time when america seems to want a nonpolitician, right? clintons have been around in national politics since the 1990's, what's new about hillary clinton? ms. pelosi: first of all do i

not buy into your stipulation that america want as nonpolitician for president of the united states. i think it's really important to say that americans are open to whoever comes forward who can be the best person to lead our country. there are sizable numbers of americans who know that you can have your fun in the nominating process, but at the end of the day somebody has to get the job done. and hillary clinton when she walks into the oval office, let's assume just for a moment, that she walks into the oval office, she will be one of the best prepared people to walk into that office in terms of her service, leadership in the senate of the united states, secretary of state. being involved in the white house in the years that she was there. she's extraordinarily talented. she knows the issues. you always make a judgment, say this to the young people here who are future presidents of the united states, what is your vision?

what is your purpose? why would you want to be president? or speaker or anything else? what is your vision? what do you know about it? so if you decide you want to go into politics, what drives your engine? is it about climate change? is it about equality? what is your -- what drives your engine? what do you know about it? so that people can trust your judgment. you're making speeches about what do you know and do they trust your judgment? do you have a plan to try to get some of this done? do you think strategically? do you have a vision? do you have judgment and knowledge? do you think strategically? when you articulate that, you will attract support. and so many times we have excellent people who are of the intelligent they have the vision, knowledge, judgment, strategically, and they don't make the emotional connection. i think she does all of the above.

mr. sesno: you spend time with her. what's her vision? ms. pelosi: you know what? you can invite her here and she'll talk to you about it. mr. sesno: you can help us with that. ms. pelosi: myself, my purpose is that i have five children and nine grandchildren, but when i was raising my five children, it just -- i couldn't handle the idea that they had so much opportunity, so much attention -- i'm not even talking about economic, i'm talking about everything, and that one in five children in america goes to sleep hungry at night. lives in poverty in america. the greatest country ever on the face of the earth. when people say why do you do this? it's the one in five. it's the one in five because this is such a under utilization of humanity not to invest in our children. how do you explain that? then if you put that around the whole world, the whole world, children around the world, so

that's what -- i pray for them at night. the next morning i get up. i don the suit of armor, eat nails for breakfast and get ready. one in five. so sometimes when people say, why is this so important and that so important just looking at the particular issue or the particular or congresswoman? it all comes back to the one in five. mr. sesno: leader pelosi, we are a school of media and public affairs. we are looking at our 25th anniversary. if we think about what's changed in media in 25 years, it's pretty breathtaking. just in the last 10 with iphones and social media and twitter and facebook and google and all that. ms. pelosi: talking about my district. mr. sesno: good. from your perspective and from governance, from trying to get the job done, how have these changes in media, this greater role for citizens, this much

more rapid transmittal of -- instantaneous, right? 11:37, you had a budget deal. at 11:37:10, the world knew about it. how has that changed? complicated? messed up? eased your job? ms. pelosi: i think it's -- you may not agree with what i have to say i think it harkens right back to our founders. in those days people knew what was going on. they really did. mr. sesno: even though it took a letter three months? ms. pelosi: they got it out there. and the democracy. imagine what they d imagine what they did. this group of people, this band of brothers, they decided they were going to declare their independence from the biggest

military force in the world. the biggest navy, the british. they would declare their independence and their declaration would be founded on the -- that all people are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. this had never happened in the history of the world. word got out. mr. sesno: they didn't have twitter. ms. pelosi: the word got out because people were paying attention. and they put it out there. and then they wrote the founding documents. thank god they made them amendable so that they could be amended to having a more perfect union. this was remarkable. you think of common sense, thomas paine, you go up to lincoln's speeches. lincoln's speeches, his fabulous speeches. the word got out because people paid attention. they wanted to know.

they were interested. look at teddy roosevelt and all that he did. although he used muckrakers as a negative term, it was a positive term as it turns out. all that he did because people paid attention. and then after world war ii, all kinds of things, people weren't paying much attention. civics used to be a mandated subject and it became an elective. nobody even knew -- most people didn't take it. and it became just some people who were paying attention to all this. so it takes us back to the same alertness that the people had at the beginning of our country. they wanted to know what was happening because they knew it affected them. so i'm thrilled with the real time communication. sometimes it isn't, shall we say, vetted for truth or fact or something like that, but that's ok. so then you have to deal with that. but you wouldn't throw it away because of that.

mr. sesno: it's -- we talk about this a lot here. it's a much more democratic media now. citizens have access to one another. citizens have access to you in ways that they haven't had before. ms. pelosi: it's all positive i think. mr. sesno: you think that's a positive thing. ms. pelosi: even his holiness, pope francis, when he came, in his speech in congress he talked about transparent -- he didn't say transparency, he said openness. transparency and openness are so vital to a thriving democracy. now, there will be differences of opinion and there will be misrepresentations either because of lack of knowledge or because of intent to misrepresent, but the fact is you just -- the public -- our bosses, they have access to the information, they follow the things that they are interested in.

and i just find it to be so exhilarating, so wonderful. i think our founders would be very proud of the democratizing. in some way it leapfrogs over the traditional press. mr. sesno: totally leapfrogs over the traditional press. that's the point. maybe ben franklin would have been tweeting from the constitutional convention. that would have been interesting. ms. pelosi: i think you need the investigative reporting. you need the substance of -- that you provide because that's what's -- mr. sesno: that's the challenge in some of the displacement because we have lost some of that. the new models for getting that back to. ms. pelosi: that's why you're media and public affairs -- mr. sesno: this is why we are doing what we are doing. exactly. let's go to some issues here. i'd like to talk to you about climate change. you mentioned the pope when he

came to congress he called for action. he called for courageous and responsible efforts to take action. the paris climate talks coming up next month. you led the way with cap and trade which passed the house but failed in the senate. what's next? ms. pelosi: the next is paris. today i don't know that you saw the catholic bishops, cardinals, put out a call to action for paris to produce real decisions that have the force of law. not just nice things to say. it was a very, very strong statement. i guess connect that to you're mentioning, we passed a bill, when we passed our bill it was a wonderful thing. we had hoped the senate could do something, but 60 votes is a little difference of opinion on the science between the democrats and republicans on climate change. but here's the thing. we had at the table groups of people who really weren't used to sitting across the table, scientists and evangelicals, labor and the environmentalists, and the business community. every different side of issues.

and evangelical, some very conservative, but not all evangelicals were at the table, those who were, they had their own papers that were written up about this that this planet is god's creation, and i agree with them, and we have a moral responsibility to be good stewards of god's creation. and in doing so we must be careful not to hurt the poor. that's exactly what the catholic bishops said today. the poor bear the biggest part of climate change affects them. there is environmental injustice. and they have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis. they are talking about worldwide. it is -- it's so urgent. if you travel the world, if you go to the north pole and you see the melting of the polar cap and you see the acidification of the ocean and you see what's happening to the flora and fauna

there, you go to china you see the encroachment of the gobi desert. you know they don't share any part of the polar cap. they affect it and it affects them. whether it's the air people breathe. everybody is affected. this is so urgent. when we passed our bill in 2009, we had been told by the -- secretary-general of the u.n. at that time, if you don't do this now, by 2012 some of this will be too late. mr. sesno: what do you hope comes out of paris? ms. pelosi: here's the change. i was -- i went my first one in rio in 1992. the earth summit there.

get my amendment into that. when i became speaker i established a select committee on climate and energy independence. we did fabulous things for two terms, including making the capitol an example to the world of green technologies. and it was all reversed when we lost the majority. not to go there. over a period of time say 1992, i was in copenhagen the last summit, but those meetings you talked about developed countries and developing countries. the developed countries should be doing this, this, this and this. and developing countries not shall could be expected from them because they are developing countries. that whole attitude is changed now for paris. every country should do what it can to save the planet.

mr. sesno: these are some of the things we have been hearing from china and india for example. ms. pelosi: china has come a long way. and they have really -- they have done remarkable things. you know, frank, as well as anyone, my opposition to china and tibet, hong kong democracy, autonomy, i fight with them all the time on that subject. but i work with them on the climate issue. and i had a speaker of climate visit to china. they have done remarkable things. their development is such they are still a net emitter. they had to take more action. and now they have the president, i give president obama such credit for the patience and the attention that he gave this with the president of china, who was just here a couple weeks ago, i congratulated him on china's commitment not only for what they were doing but the contribution to the fund to help developing countries do theirs. it's no longer developing, you use so much -- each one of your americans produce so much carbon 100 years ago, that's much more than our poor people do today.

there's no use going there. we have a situation. we have to deal with it. we have to -- we have to do much more by way of conservation, by the way, in our own country, and we have to help developing countries to reach their potential. one of the bishops was from new guinea, but representing both countries, but the rising sea levels are detrimental. if you study this issue for a long time, first of all, in alaska, decades ago, the elders were saying, like 40 years ago, the elders were saying we see changes in the flora and the fauna of our area. and they would report it to the scientists and the scientists at the time said -- there was resistance. as you know there's always resistance right now.

said it was anecdotally interesting but not scientifically significant. then of course it just accelerated. mr. sesno: the one thing that pretty much everybody agrees on wherever they are on the side of the debate is, if you were to have a carbon tax, that would actually substantially change behavior emissions and all the rest. that's apart from whether you approve of the carbon tax or not. is there any chance that a carbon tax would happen in this country? ms. pelosi: you have to put a price on carbon. what we did in our bill, we did the cap and trade. mr. sesno: could you go back to that now? ms. pelosi: i don't know we could go back. i think the carbon tax is more understandable to people. mr. sesno: is that down the line? ms. pelosi: you have to look -- mr. sesno: or not even a good idea. ms. pelosi: many of the multinational corporations in europe, because europe was way ahead of us on all of this in the early part of the century,

and they basically said the businesses, the multinational, they basically said just give us a figure and we'll work with it. just don't keep changing it. that would have been for the cap and trade. you have to somehow or other -- pope in the pope's encyclical on climate, god's creation, talks about respecting the needs of the poor in there. he's not a big fan of cap and trade. he thinks you have to go another root. you have to go the route that is sustainable policy wise as well as sustainable global, planet wise. there are different schools of thought on it but we are going to have to come under way to price carbon. mr. sesno: i want to turn to the audience now and invite some folks, if you have a question for the leader there is a mike

in the middle. i'd ask you to not give a speech. make your questions succinct, while you're working your way up, tell us who you are. ready for questions? ms. pelosi: i am. if you wish, in order to facilitate, maybe put three questions up and then respond. otherwise we are not going to get -- mr. sesno: i'll jot that done as best i can. keep your questions straightforward and off we go. >> my name is reed from sacramento, california. near you. and my question's about california politics specifically. there is going to be a lot of change upcoming in our congressional delegation. barbara boxer is stepping down and many suspect senator feinstein will do the same. so what do you see in store for the future of california politics on the state level and also our congressional delegation? mr. sesno: question one is future of california politics. i know you.

>> i'm nicki, a professor here at the school. great to have you here. i have a question, there's been a lot of discussion and marie slaughter has written on this how women can't have it all. but you have kind of had it all. you have five kids. eight grandkids. ms. pelosi: nine. >> nine grandkids. and you are the -- you have been speaker of the house. so can you share some of your secrets with us? mr. sesno: she asks as a new young parent i should say. there's a little self-interest here. go ahead. >> hi, i'm name's dante, actually from san francisco. i wanted to thank you for all your service. big fan of your daughter, alexandria's work. you spoke about in the beginning about the duty of america to provide funding for education and also for defense. and seeing as we spend more

collectively on defense than the next nine countries combined, and also we have been lagging behind in test scores in high school graduation rates recently, do you think we found the right balance in the budget for that funding? if not, what would you suggest to improve it? thank you? mr. sesno: three good ones. future of california politics. start with that. ms. pelosi: first of all, do not assume that dianne feinstein is not running. put that aside. last week we honored senator boxer in san francisco. it was the best ever event that anybody ever went to because she is so spectacular. hard act to follow. great legislator. i had the privilege of serving with her in the house and then to enjoy and benefit our state benefit from her, indeed the whole country from her leadership in the senate. that's what elections are about. you never really know. look at this presidential. who would have thunk it? this collection.

right? mr. sesno: that's huge. ms. pelosi: it's always about -- let me just say this and applies to the other states as well. if we want more women, more minorities, more young people to take the risk of running -- this is a tough thing. we have to reduce the role of money in politics. we have to increase the level of civility. and we just have to do it. and when we do, many more people will come forward with their ideas. you run, you could win or not, but you want to win personally, that is to say you want your ideas -- you want to advance your beliefs and your ideas. you want that to work. you don't want to sign up to run where some outside group of dark monethat nobody ever heard of comes in and describes you as something from i would say outer space, but that might not be so bad. so people say to me, i don't know how you can take the criticism and the -- it's worth

it. it's what goes with the public service. i hope that many of you will continue -- we have many new members in our california delegation as it is. mr. sesno: do you see a rising name? a rising star? ms. pelosi: do you think i would tell you that? i will say this, we have the head of our future forum, which is a group of young members, all older than in their 30's, going around to the campuses and that's headed by eric swalwell from california. we are very proud of him. the whole delegation brings a lot to the table. as my constituents may say, having some seniority brings a lot to the district. mr. sesno: nicki asked about can women have it all? i might throw into that question, by the way, paul ryan's thoughts that he's a dad, he's got a family, he's not going to work on weekends. he's going to spend it with his kids and his wife. good luck. i hope he succeeds with that.

ms. pelosi: i do, too. that's important. i would hope that some of us who have our beautiful values about our families would translate that to public policy that enables other people to be able to have time with their families. for example somebody in their family is sick, be it a child, spouse, or parent. so we hope that this will be an omen of change from voting against sick leave to enabling families to have sick leave. and this takes us to your question. if we want to unleash the power of women and family oriented people in the political arena, any place, though, in the workplace, in the academic world, in the military, corporate america, any place, small businesses and the rest, if that's someone's interest, that's an important interest, what you have to do is you have to, for women, you have to value their work. equal pay for equal work. mr. sesno: do you have any

secrets to share with nicki? how did you it? ms. pelosi: howdy it, i had absolutely no intention of running for political office. very shy. and i was chair of the california democratic party. i was always promoting other people and i loved doing that because i really cared. again the one in five driving my engine. and then this opportunity came along to run for congress. and so i went -- four of my kids were in college. see my issue was sequential. it's a whole different world now. i'm from another era. it was sequential. i raised my kids. i had five children the day i had my fifth child, our oldest turned six. that week. oldest turned six. so five and six years. i didn't go out the door.

except to take them to the park as soon as possible in the morning. but the -- so i never had this on my mind or anything like that except then i volunteered in and r in politics and became the chair of the party. my advice to you is, i never thought this would happen, but just be ready. and as you go along, whatever it is you are doing, take inventory. and get recognition for what you do. because there may be something that just happened that there's an opportunity, people come to you, or you'll be motivated yourself, to do something, don't let anybody say, well, you did less because you were also being a mom. put that as a gold star next to your -- that you had -- it's the hardest work in the world. right? to be a mom and balance work and home. to be a dad. i don't mean to say mom. but for women especially who are the primary caregivers, we have

to have public policy that recognizes the value of work. that recognizes the caregiver role that we largely play. and have sick leave and have quality affordable childcare. mr. sesno: dante asked you about the balance between education and the military. ms. pelosi: it's the same. some of the scholarship programs that emerged after world war ii were about -- they were national security -- national defense scholarships because the direct relationship between the education of our people and the talent of our military. so i think that it's important to have education of itself. it's essential to our democracy. our founders wanted an informed electorate.

so education is so essential. but it's also essential to our national security. and, by the way, nothing reduces the deficit more, nothing than the education of the american people. there is no initiative, no tax credit, tax this, tax that, tax cut, nothing brings more money, early childhood education, k through 12 higher education, postgraduate, lifetime learning brings more money to the treasury and reduces the deficit. so when they say to you we have to cut pell grants or can't do this or that because we need to reduce the deficit, no. it's a false dichotomy. mr. sesno: we only have a few minutes so let's take a few quick questions. >> hi, i'm a student here. i just wanted to say thank you so much for coming and the work that you do. i've noticed that the sentiment -- prevailing sentiment from the democratic party seems to be that hillary clinton is the nominee is a foregone conclusion. even though sanders has risen in the polls and has gained more donations. do you think that this anti-establishment sentiment may stem from the very fact that bernie sanders seems to not be taken as seriously as any other

candidate would be? also do you wonder if electing such a -- extremely qualified but very, very establishment candidate as hillary clinton would do more to exacerbate the unrest in the electorate right now than it would to solve it? mr. sesno: thanks. let's have another one. >> my name is edward, i'm from sacramento, california. thank you for your service. so many people have commended. my question is pretty short. when it comes to politics, what is your greatest disappointment and what is your proudest accomplishment? mr. sesno: nice. ok. >> my name is peter, from davis, california. i have a quick question.

the freedom caucus says that -- among their principal goals for the implementation of more ground-op input in the party. they say they want a democratizing asian -- d of the republican party. do you think is the right balance between organization and order and ground-up input? mr. sesno: great questions. ms. pelosi: believe me, i am -- mr. sesno: the first one was about hillary clinton. ms. pelosi: a very appropriate question. where is she? i have a lot of enthusiasm for the fact, it would be fabulous to have a woman president. you can't ask somebody to vote for somebody because of their gender, but i think this is a very qualified person who

happens to be a woman. i haven't endorsed in the race. bernie sanders was my colleague in the house. we voted against doma, against all those things that people are subjected to scrutiny now. he's fabulous, and he is a very important tonic for the country and democratic party. he has ideas. it's not just, let me criticize immigrants. [laughter] he has ideas. he's a thoughtful person, and he has done a terrific, terrific job of drawing people out. he might win the nomination. i don't know that. in terms of the demographics of how popular she is in the minority communities -- mr. sesno: is it possible bernie sanders could win? ms. pelosi: you never know. i'm a big fan of martin o'malley's as well. out there, what

he accomplished as governor of maryland, whether it was the dreamers, what he did for marriage equality, guns, the agenda we all want to have nationally, he did there. mr. sesno: does hillary clinton exacerbate the antiestablishment mood? ms. pelosi: you have to balance it out. is the person worth -- i don't -- i'm not "trouble" crazy about this or that aspect, but as it balances out, i see the reason to go to that place. me, being a woman, believe being in office, there will be -- there nothing establishment about being a woman in politics. [applause] but i appreciate what you said. bernie, he's fabulous. mr. sesno: your greatest disappointment, greatest

accomplishment. ms. pelosi: my greatest accomplishment without question is the affordable care act. [applause] there's no question the biggest disappointment was not to be able to pass, once again, background checks as far as gun safety. the public wants it. [applause] the votes are there. mr. sesno: the votes are there? ms. pelosi: in the house. there was a majority in the senate. if we would pass it in the house, that would take away the argument in the senate. that is something that we all have to get around, and that is to extend the background checks to gun shows and the internet sales and that kind of thing. mr. sesno: peter's question on balancing the organizational --

ms. pelosi: i don't know how it works in their caucus. i would be the last person to ask, don't you think? from what i hear them say, it's quite different. i've always considered myself as leader, and especially as speaker, to be a lever -- weaver. say you were my caucus. every one of you is an important thread in the fabric we are going to weave. it's with total respect for any difference of opinion. somehow out of that, we have to build a strong fabric recognizing the value of every an consensus.e we are not always going to have unanimity. there will be some people here or there, but we always respect. it's like a kaleidoscope. sometimes, all of us are in one school -- mr. sesno: what is your advice to paul ryan? ms. pelosi: my advice to him is to be speaker of the house. sometimes, you have to bring

bills to the floor that maybe your caucus doesn't want to vote for. some of them may know it has to pass. they just want to vote for it. -- don't want to vote for it. just be speaker of the house, and don't let anybody take your gavel. mr. sesno: we are going to have to ramp down in the next couple minutes. i'm afraid we are out of time for questions from the floor. ms. pelosi: over here, we can talk. [laughter] where in california are you from? mr. sesno: are you from california? >> no. [laughter] mr. sesno: i was talking to my friend and colleague who used to be a colleague of yours in the house. i said, what should i ask nancy pelosi tomorrow? he had a bunch of great questions. one of them was, what is your path back to the majority?

ms. pelosi: you want to talk politics. i was trying to avoid the subject. i do think the republicans have .een helpful they are showing the unease they have with each other. it's like you are going past two homes, and do are thinking, where should you stop? fighting andey are tearing each other down. the other side has some level of harmony. not total, because we are the democratic party, but people would rather gravitate to a place where we have respect for what we are here to do. mr. sesno: do you have a strategy? ms. pelosi: we have a great chairman. we have the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act. we have to make sure people see what martin luther king told us, the ballot, the ballot, the ballot. legislation, legislation, legislation. your life.your life, the connection between what happens in elections and laws that can be passed to help people.

mr. clyburn is taking the lead on this. the political piece of it, the inspirational piece of it, and the quality of candidates coming forward are superb. mr. sesno: when do you become the majority again? ms. pelosi: in 2005, when we won in 2006, nobody thought we were going to win the majority in 2006. you just don't know. it's a question of making the contrast. ryan -- as of paul i said earlier, he knows the issues, he knows the rules. not everybody does. he also offers us the clearest contrast. the ryan budget will be a polarizing thing in terms of taking $800 billion out of medicare and giving tax cuts to the riches as people, in terms medicare, block

granting medicaid. there will be a contrast. it's always about the issues. what does this mean to the people? my hope would be, whoever wins the elections, they will hear from the public, social media helping a lot, they will hear from the public what is important to them, not just a cacophony of some who are anti, anti, anti, who have not a full as a of what the future is country, that we are a nation of immigrants and women have a role to play. optimistic. how many mr. sesno: students do we have in the room? how many students in the room have some idea of going into some kind of public service in your future? ms. pelosi: beautiful. what a beautiful site. [applause] mr. sesno: you were at john kennedy's inaugural in 1961 when

he talked about passing the torch to the next generation. here is the next generation. what is their challenge? what is there calling? what should be their mission? ms. pelosi: the more time passes, the more the value still dominate. john kennedy was such an inspiration to my generation. i was a student at his speech, and i was leader when we have the 50th anniversary and play the speech in the capitol rotunda. he often hearkened back to our founders and what to their purpose was for our country, a democracy. i might add, they sacrificed their lives, liberty, sacred honor, in their own words, for a government of the many, not the government of the money. that's really an important point to make. when john f. kennedy passed the torch and said, ask not what

your country to do -- you know all of that -- it was so inspirational. he was such a great leader, but also because he tied us to our founding of this incredibly great country. he still remains an inspiration to many of us even though it was more than 50 years ago that we lost him. our country -- this is the greatest country that has ever existed on the face of the earth. god gave us the opportunity -- i always say when i'm visiting poor kids in darfur, all over the place, how did god decide we live in america and they would live in a refugee camp? i would say, his inspiration was america.

our inspiration continues to be our great country, and it's not that a new work, fresher approach to it -- although i think president obama is a beautiful inspiration -- the strength he draws is from what this country is about. have faith in our country. have faith in yourself. have faith in yourself, because your unique contribution is unique. spoke and said, ask not what your country can do for you, for me, the sentence i heard was the next sentence, where he said, the citizens of the world ask not what america can do for you, but what we can do working together for the freedom of mankind. the freedom of mankind is really a purpose, and it all harkens

back to these people who came up with the idea of freedom and equality. i think america continues to be an inspiration. founders, e, these pluribus unam. they couldn't have imagined how diverse we would be and how broad our country would become geographically. from many, one. an oath.out o -- take "one nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all." flag, "one to the nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all," is really the inspiration of john f. kennedy, of president eisenhower, one of my favorite presidents. going all the way back to our founders.

there's plenty of inspiration in what our country is. we cannot let it be sidetracked by xenophobia, people ignoring the fact that we are by and large a nation of immigrants. mr. sesno: your call is to believe in our cause -- ms. pelosi: have faith in america, faith in god. faith in god means you respect the dignity and worth of every person. "all created equal." there's a spark of divinity in every one of us, including yourself. you have that spark of divinity. how do you expend that spark? how do you make the difference you can make? make it by knowing your purpose, what you like to do, what part of the future you want to take a part in. how do you think strategically about it?

how do you show people what is in your heart? ever gotadvice i running -- this isn't about inspiration, but this is about the best advice i ever got , the most be yourself authentic person you can be. authenticity is what the american people seek, and when they find it, they respond to it. i'm so excited to see so many of you raise your hands. if you come to this meeting, i guess it would follow you might be interested in public service, but i didn't realize so very many. i'm very inspired by all of you. mr. sesno: you have a job to do. they have classes. you speak of authenticity. i have an authentic gift for you. ms. pelosi: we will see. i'll let you know. [laughter] chocolate? mr. sesno: maybe. i understand your something of a chocoholic. only dark chocolate.

we have filled a gw vase with dark chocolate for you to take. you can eat the chocolate, but the gw part is the part that has to show up to the office. we are not from california, but we are the best university in america. [laughter] [applause] thank you. thank you, frank. i will display this with great pride in my office is a constant you are.on that all of please come see us on capitol hill. maybe i will be seeing you there officially sometime soon. you are pretty young. maybe i won't. [laughter] come, we say,rs

here they come, the fresh recruits. who among them will lead this body? who among them will be president of the united states? maybe in this room. thank you for coming today. [applause] thanks to all of you. a very special shout out to alice and all who pulled this event together. ms. pelosi: let's hear it for frank. [applause] mr. sesno: thank you so much. thanks, everybody. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> tomorrow, house republicans will meet behind closed doors to choose their nominee for speaker. thatwidely expected congressman paul ryan will win that vote. the leadership change will

become official thursday when the whole house votes. watch c-span and c-span.org for updates. >> it's a very touchy business being the son or daughter of a dictator. you wouldn't wish this kind of life on most people. it's a collection of very interesting, sometimes lurid stories, but there are also points about tyranny, sonship, daughtership, loyalty, nature versus nurture, politics, and even about democracy >>. this sunday night, j nordlinger on his book, "children of monsters," which looks at the lives of the children of multiple dictators. >> i was able to talk to some knowledgeable people. i couldn't talk to any family members, which was usually the case. there are only so many around to

talk to and so many willing to say what they know or to diebold their feelings or experiences. i was digging around for any scrap i possibly could. --se sons and daughters some of them are famous and important -- most of them are footnotes and asides. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span's "q and a." ♪ >> c-span presents "landmark book, a guide to our landmark cases series, which courtes 12 supreme decisions, including marbury versus madison, brown versus the maranda education, versus arizona, and roe versus wade. "landmark cases," the book, features highlights and the

impact of each case, written by tony mauro and published by c-span in cooperation with cq press, an imprint of sage publications incorporated. $8.95, plusle for shipping. get your copy today at c-span.org/landmarkcases. tonight, members of the house of representatives came to the floor to pay tribute to outgoing speaker john boehner. first elected to congress in 1990, congressman weiner became speaker in 2011. its expected friday will be his last day in congress. this is hour. the gentleman from ohio. mr. chabot: having represented a neighboring district to john boehner, i have come to know john pretty well and not consider him not just a colleague but a friend. not just this, but we have had a

lot in common. we both lived in the cincinnati area our entire lives. we were born and grew up in a small blue-collar neighborhood just to the north of the city of cincinnati although my family ved to cincinnati when i was six years old. john was the second of 12 children. we are raised catholic and i know having pope francis speaking to us. rivalh played football in high schools. and incredibly. we both played defense. in fact, we both have ties to former head coaches at notre dame. john played at moore high school

and i was recruited to william ap marry. we both worked to put ourselves through schools as january tors. later, we ran small businesses. john with a packaging and a plastics business and i with a very small law practice and we served in local politics. in many ways, i understand the challenges that john has overcome. and make no mistake, john boehner's story is incredible. it is the american dream. and we have a couple of my colleagues who would like to speak this evening. i would like to yield to the gentleman from ohio, mr. gibbs, such time as he might consume.

i would like to recognize speaker boehner. so many of us are here today serving -- had difficult races that year and it was a big morale boost. i remember the last days in the 2010 election. we had two standing-room only rallies in ohio. on the eve of the historic victories, i stood with speaker wayner and lay out the vision for the republican house. i have a picture of the rally. i hope you will continue to look back on those fondly as i do back in 2010. thank you, mr. speaker, for the years of service for the people of western ohio and your confidence in me. i congratulate you in your retirement and wish you and your

family nothing but the best, god speed. mr. chabot: i would now like to yield to the gentlelady from ohio, ms. kaptur, who will be handling the democrats' time this evening. and i might note that she is the most senior member now of the 16 members from ohio and the longest-serving woman in the house of representatives. i would like to yield to the gentlelady. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman for organizing this important hour of recognition and i thank all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have been here to thank speaker john boehner for his service to america. john has served the people of ohio for well more than two decades having begun his career in the ohio legislature but has served here in the congress now for more than two decades and if we think about that period of

time, we think about the various situations that he has faced as a member and then later as speaker. certainly in the late 1990's, being part of the broad coalition to balance the budget when president clinton was president and we were able to balance the budget by the end of the 1990's and begin paying back the nation's debt. the 9/11 attack on our our country and subsequent military conflict and the 2008, 2009 economic crash which we are digging our way out of it. well look at the sad invasion by russia of ukraine and the ensuing conflict in the middle east that has spilled over into syria. this period of speaker boehner's service have been a very

difficult time for america. and if i think about some of my favorite memories of the speaker, it would have been one of our more recent experiences handkerchief 's ery wet and his utter joy to invite the pope to address us for the first time in american history a pope addressing the congress as a head of state. another memory i have of the speaker and congressman chabot shared this was with ohio state and the victors in the speaker's lobby in the rayburn room, all of us posing, very proud of our hio buckeyes and some of our colleagues and handing them out. there were moments of joy as

well. and the speaker's many accomplishments as speaker requiring bills to be posted three days online before we voted on them. he had many accomplishments and built a legacy in his own right as a reasonable right despite presiding over a frack issues membership. he worked to find a way forward in a period. even when compromise seemed out of reach. i would have to say without question, speaker boehner's departure is a huge loss to our buckeye state. the house is a place for seniority and the ability to balance demands that matter and we are very, very grateful for his service. as the most senior member of ohio's delegation, i thank the speaker for his service to the

people of the united states and this house for 25 years. his respectful and moderating presence often with a smile in this house will be missed. and may he and his family enjoy the years ahead as he returns get o other locations to deserved r and r. we have several speakers on this side. congressman chabot, and we await you yielding us time. and i thank you so much. mr. chabot: i thank the gentlelady. reclaiming my time. i yield to the gentleman from mr. ren asy. mr. renacci: i didn't know we were going to talk about that. tonight, i join my colleagues in rising to voice my appreciation.

speaker boehner has been a strong leader to some very difficult and unique times. he has faced many challenging situations and decisions and also celebrated many great accomplishments. he ranged to hear from great leaders such as israel's prime minister and ukranian president. most recently, he orchestrated the head of the roman catholic church, pope fran list. he has improved our education system and the lives of all children. it has been an honor and privilege to serve along side him in this chamber and with the ohio delegation. mr. speaker, one fun fact about speaker boehner and i, we both love to play golf. and i played a lot of courses together with him but never in

the same foursome. i look forward to joining you with a friendly round of 18. i thank speaker boehner and his family for his service and dedication to our country. thank you and i yield back. mr. chabot: i yield to the gentlelady from ohio. ms. kaptur: i would like to yield time to the gentleman from illinois, mr.ly pins ki of chicago. mr. lipinski: thank you for yielding. i want to rise to commend the public service and commitment of speaker john boehner. the speaker has much to be proud of. and and we should be proud of his commitment. but we find issues that we didn't agree with him. i appreciate that he did his

utmost to keep the house functioning in a vital branch of government yes in some very, very difficult times. history will show that john boehner did a fantastic job in getting us through these times. speaker boehner has a big heart. it's not demonstrated in his profane way that he likes to address his friends, but demonstrated well by all the time and effort he has put into a scholarship program for children. ed he knew the advantages he had going to catholic school. he wanted to give that advantage to others and that says much more about john boehner than anything else. thank you, mr. boehner, for your service, your wife debey and

your entire family have made. i would like to acknowledge the speaker's staff who are a great reflection of the speaker, and i want to acknowledge mike summers staff, former chief of barry, katherine, tommy andrews and so many others who really helped this place to run. so thank you for all of your service and i wish all of you the very best. mr. chabot: i yield to the gentleman from ohio, mr. latta. mr. latta: i thank you for yielding and for the special order tonight to honor speaker boehner. this is a reflection and remember the first time you meet people and met people and this is one of the things that i remembered about john boehner. i was in the ohio general

assembly and a couple of our colleagues and some of my fellow members will remember, we were walking across the street in columbus and said, why don't you come over with us we are having a meeting with john boehner. and that's the first time i met the speaker and i can remember how impassioned he was about the youth of america. next time i got to know the speaker is during my special election back in 2007 and after it was all over, my wife and i, which got a call from the clerk's office at 11:00 on election night and said when are you going to get sworn in and i said don't we need to worry about the secretary of state? we started talking about that and make sure my daughters were here to see me get sworn in.

i pulled into the parking garage about 9:00 and i was a member of the state germ assembly and had a vote that day and just as i'm pulling in, my phone rings and i say hello. and he said latta, when are you coming down here. and i said that's funny. he said you will be here tomorrow. leader, we'll see you tomorrow. but he has been accessible to the members here in the house. and have been appreciative of that and never been a time an opportunity to sit down with him in his office to go over the issues that are important to me and the people in my district. and also important as the chairman said earlier about coming from the same area, the speaker and i share a county in northwest ohio which is mercer

county. with all these years going by, i want to wish the speaker and debey and his whole family all the best and a great retirement and i yield back to the gentleman. . . ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman very much. i would like to say that one of the features i like best about john boehner is that he wanted to be speaker of the house. he didn't want to be president. he didn't want to head over to the other body. he didn't want to -- a supreme court nomination. that he really loved this house. and that matters. that matters to all of us who continue to serve and that matters to the historical record and we appreciate all of his substance that he has given, whether you agreed with him on issues or not. he definitely was a man of the house. i would like to yield time to the very able member from cleveland, down to akron now, congresswoman marcia fudge, my dear colleague from northeastern ohio.

ms. fudge: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, i am proud to stand with the ohio delegation this evening to thank you, mr. speaker, for 24 years in the u.s. house of representatives and your lifetime of public service. i'm just trying to get his atext. -- attention. ok. you have served this nation and the people of ohio with distinction. for 24 years, you have honored and respected this institution. you have worked arduously to get things done. as speaker, you have been a leader willing to listen to all sides and address the complex issues of our time. we applaud your commitment and dedication to the house and we'll be forever grateful for your statesmanship and courtesy. while we may not have always agreed, your door was always open. i could always come to you and discuss problems and issues. i respect your opinion and consider you a friend.

i speak for everyone when i say you will be missed in this house. you are a gentleman and a scholar -- scholar and it has been a pleasure and a privilege to have served with you. i wish you well in your retirement. >> thank you. i thank the gentlelady for her kind words. reclaiming my time, i mentioned before in my opening statement that there are a number of rival g.c.l., greater cincinnati league, high schools. there are rivals in all sports and academics and everything, especially in football. mr. chabot: as i mentioned, speaker boehner went to moore and one of those schools, i went to la salle, elder is another school. and the fourth school, not necessarily in order, because they beat la salle this year, for the last five years, is st. xavier high school. and the next gentleman who will e share in this tribute to our speaker is a graduate of st. xavier high school, and that's brad wenstrup.

i now yield to the gentleman. mr. wenstrup: i thank you, mr. chairman, for yielding. mr. speaker, i'm here to recognize the gentleman from redding, ohio. it's a town in my district full of hardworking people and committed families. this man from redding grew up in a big and very faithful family. he learned the value of hard work, sweeping the floors of his father's bar. and worked his walk through xavier university in cincinnati. when it came to -- when he came to washington, he was a reformer from day one of the -- one. the last man standing from the gang of seven. he worked to clean up corruption from the house bank in the 1990's into banning earmarks today. for the first time in a half century, the house of representatives decreased discretionary spending for two years in a row. mr. speaker, with all of your service in mind, i'm reminded of a teddy roosevelt quote, it says, it's not the critic who counts and not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doctor of deeds could have done -- or whether the door of deeds could

have done better, the credit goes to the man who is in the arena and that is you. john boehner attended molar high school as representative chabot mentioned. school in cincinnati that i'm proud to say is a rival to my high school, st. xavier. we beat molar this year and, mr. chabot, we beat la salle this year. through that catholic schooling, john boehner committed himself to thousands of children that seek a real education and value in their lives. his support for educational choice has opened pathways of opportunity for thousands of children locked in poverty. fighting to give all students a chance to choose their own future. for over a decade, john boehner's held fundraisers for scholarships for d.c. children seeking a chance in life through education at d.c. catholic schools that otherwise they could not get. and hope that these acts of kindness will be permanently engraved in the legacy of speaker john boehner.

so thank you, mr. speaker, on behalf of not only -- not only on behalf of the largest republican majority since 1928, but on behalf of my family, and for your and debby's personal kindness and guidance to us. good luck, mr. speaker. thank you. i yield back. mr. chabot: thank you. i thank the gentleman for his kind words and i'd like to now yield to the gentlelady from, ms. kaptur. ms. kaptur: thank you, i'd like to yield time to charles rangel. mr. rangel: ask to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: while i'm not only going to miss speaker john boehner, but i'm going to miss when he leave next year the congress that john boehner loved and i have loved so much. if republicans think that they had a problem with john boehner, they should have known

jack kemp. because it was jack kemp that introduced -- introduced me to boehner. at that time we acknowledged that there were democrats and republicans, but the whole idea that you could be vindictive enough to attempt to destroy someone politically or not work together as john did with george miller in bringing the leave no child behind, the work that i've done on ways and ans with trade, and was so open in dealing with john, who represented not an ideology but represented what he thought was best for the country, to me john boehner was, as so many people have said, just a regular guy. first one in his family, like so many of us, that went to college. entered public service. and through a variety of things

became the speaker of the house that has to be just one of the greatest senses of pride that any american could ever have. the whole idea that there were people in this partisan time that would believe that they would want him to leave even more than democrats would want him to leave is something that would have to be explained by history. but of course things are strange today. black doctor brain surgeon is now leading for president the republican party. and don trump, right behind him, running for president. a big battle as to who will replace john. these are things that are just so unusual, so that while i miss john, i'm just missing the days when we used to come to

this floor and decide how many votes we need to get something passed and we hope that we would be in the majority. but the most exciting thing would be being able to work with the other side and being able to sit with the president or stand with the president and to truly feel that you were not a democrat or republican, but you got legislation passed. we never called it compromise. i guess we called it just working together. and enjoying working together. and that's gone. i don't know whether it would come back. but it would seem to me that john is always going to be remembered as somebody that cared more about his country, his family, and this congress than he did about being speaker and that's the way i want to remember him.

thank you, congressman, for giving me this opportunity. mr. chabot: thank you. we very much appreciate the gentleman's words, who has been around here, a very distinguished gentleman, korean war veteran, and we respect you greatly. the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi, is recognized. mr. tiberi: thank you. mr. speaker, what a journey, what a journey. a journey that i got to join after i was elected to the house in november of 2000. my first real interaction with you, mr. speaker, you might remember, you were the incoming chairman of the education and work force committee. as freshmen, we were putting together our requests to decide what our top committee assignments would be. education and work force wasn't one of mine. but it was apparently one of yours.

not just for you as chairman, but for me as freshman. because you came by and saw my list and said, i don't know why you're doing, that you're going to be on the education and work force committee. i said, no i'm not. yes, i was. and yes i did. and it was an unbelievable experience. it was one in which i did not expect and, as chairman rangel said, one that made history, with george miller and the late senator ted kennedy and president george w. bush. and it wouldn't have happened without the leadership of then chairman boehner. boy, could he run a committee. it was really his forte, that most americans don't even know. what a great committee chairman he was. he was a committee chairman's

chairman, quite frankly. and he, as leader, as speaker, will go down in history as one ho cherished that process, that process was not always what he liked or what he wanted, but he sure understood it, he sure respected it, he sure loved it. as mr. rangel knows, he was sure good at it. in a bipartisan way. in november or excuse me in early 2006, we had an opening for majority leader. and i harkin back to a dinner that i was able to attend, back in like 2002, when i heard then chairman boehner said, you know, someday i'd like to be back in leadership. i looked at him like he was crazy. are you kidding me? how can you do that?

you know what he did? he just worked hard, he did the right things, he played the long game. he helped people. and when the opening that he won aw came in 2006, an upset race on the second ballot. to become our majority leader. the dye was already cast and we lost that election in november of 2006. and the democrats took the majority. and john was our minority leader. worked hard, many thought that we'd never see that majority again. and on november, the day before the election, in 2010, i had lunch with then leader boehner and he said, we're going to take the majority back and it's going to happen tomorrow. ladies and gentlemen, history

all changed when pope francis came. it changed because pope francis was here, but it changed the history of john boehner's speakership. but i'm confident history will show that john boehner was one of the best speakers in the history of our country. mr. speaker, god speed, we'll miss you. mr. chabot: i thank the gentleman very much. very inspiring. the gentlelady's recognized again. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i'd like to yield time to congresswoman joyce beatty, who had served as the minority leader of the ohio senate prior arriving here, and has just arrived with such capacity and i know she has served with john boehner and knows him very well. thank you for being here this evening, congresswoman beatty. mrs. beatty: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you to my friend, congresswoman kaptur, and

congressman chabot, for managing tonight's special order. i am proud to join my colleagues as we absolute speaker john -- salute speaker john andrew boehner, for his almost 25 years of service, and being elected this january to his had third term as speaker of the house. tonight my remarks are personal. i have had the pleasure of knowing john boehner for more than three decades. although at different times we both served in the ohio house of representatives. he and my spouse, otto, served and worked on many things together. when i came to congress, he invited me into his office for a cup of coffee. it's not bad to have a speaker, the third most powerful person in the country, to call you by your first name and when we're back home to say to others in my district that i'm his

friend. as a freshman, as most of you know, mr. speaker, seniority is very important in this house. i was a freshman, that equals no seniority. nelson mandela died and i learned that there was going to be an opportunity for members to go to south africa to nelson mandela's funeral. wow. yes, i wanted to go. all my colleagues said, there's one problem, congresswoman beatty. and that word again appeared, seniority. well i'll always be so grateful for speaker boehner approving the reck menation from leader pelosi, and yes, i went to nelson mandela's funeral. tonight, i am proud to join my other colleagues and others in saying that speaker boehner

served as a great statesman for ohio and the nation. the great state of ohio has benefited greatly through his leadership. while there are things certainly that we have not agreed on, we've always managed to not be disagreeable. in a way that was negative -- disagreeable in a way that was negative for ohio or the nation. but there were some things we did agree on. and there's one quote that was a very proud moment for me as a member of this united states congress. when speaker boehner said, it was beginning to become a political football, and just as i thought it was time to stop, i thought, let's have a discussion with responsible members of congress to try to bring some resolution to this. but in his own views, there should be no debate because he said, mr. speaker, in my view,

the issue is settled. the flag should be gone. and mr. speaker, that flag was the confederate flag. so i say thank you, mr. boehner, for that. thank you, congresswoman kaptur, for recent article that i read that you wrote about speaker boehner and i think you said it all when you talked about his life here in congress. and you said, we all have benefited in our state from the great work he's done. i agree with you. thank you, mr. speaker, for always taking my calls, thank you for always having an open door, and i leave you with these words, the words of nelson mandela. it always seems impossible until it's done. thank you, mr. speaker. job well done.

mr. chabot: reclaiming my time, the gentlelady refered to being able to attend the funeral of nelson mandela. the speaker made it possible for me to also go on a bipartisan delegation to the funeral of pope john paul ii. it's one of those experiences a once in a lifetime thing. 5 sad occasion but one that was inspirational to me and a lot of other members who when as well. i'd now like to yield to my colleague, the gentleman from ohio, mr. scifres. mr. scifres: today i rise to honor a fellow ohioan who has for -- much mr. stivers: today i rise to

honor a fellow ohioan who has done so much for the country. i didn't really know john boehner, but he convinced me to run for congress to make america better. he was very honest in that recruiting process. i said, i'd like to be on the energy and commerce committee, he took a big drag of his cigarette an said, not going to happen. so he never misled me, he never said anything that he didn't back up, and i will always respect that about him and the way he's acted his entire time for 25 years in this house. i know he'll be happy to spend more time with his -- with the things and people that are important to him. he's going to spend more time with his wife debbie, his children, his brand new grandson. and of course he'll spend more time with his golf clubs and probably a bottle of wine. i think it goes without saying that we'll miss john boehner more than he'll miss us. he's always been the responsible adult in the room. he's always done what's right

for america, regardless of the personal costs. he has a lasting legacy in this institution from simple traditions like the boehner birthday song that we'll sing in this institution for a very long time to policy matters like looking after at-risk kids both here in washington and all around this country. enacting meaningful entitlement reform and banning earmarks. he also had political accomplishments, winning become a republican majority in the house and growing that majority. his legacy will be lasting indeed. and i'm a better representative for having worked with john boehner. they say washington changes you, but after 25 years in washington -- in washington, d.c., john boehner has never forgotten where he came from. his roots are that big catholic family, running a local bar in a blue collar part of cincinnati that background grounded him and gave him the right perspective

on both life and public service. losing john boehner's bad for ohio and i believe it's bad for america but it's probably gd for john boehner. speaker boehner, on behalf of my constituents, let me say thank you for your selfless service to this country and good luck in the future, and please don't be a stranger. i yield back the balance of my time, mr. chairman. mr. chabot: reclaiming my time, does the gentlewoman from ohio have further speakers? ms. kaptur: i have no further speakers but i would like to add this, if i might. that is that the circumstances that have led to speaker boehner's decision to depart this chamber trouble me a great deal. and history will report on everything that happened that has led to this point, but how sad is it that someone with that experience, from our part of the country, the great lakes region, doesn't have all that much here

in terms of leadership positions, would do this for what he views as the good of the country because certain individuals seem not to be able to work as a team. and if we can't work as a team, team america, then i think that really harm ours entire republic and speaking as the dean of our delegation, ohio will lose a great deal by this speaker's departure and many times aye said in my career, how is it that the state that produce -- that produced john glenn and to go to the moon, why do we have the smallest nasa center in the kun re? john boehner put his sword in the ground for the glakes region. i worry a lot about what this means for us as other parts of the country weigh in more

heavily. as an ohioan, understanding that there are so many things we don't have from this froth, we don't have a major research center from the national energy lab if you -- we don't, other than wright patterson air force base we don't have bases as other parts of the country do to the same extent when you look at the federal establishment in ohio. if you look at the national park service and what it does west of the mississippi, versus what it does east of the mississippi, we actually had a voice for our part of the country. i take his leaving very personally in terms of what it means to us as a state. i want to thank him for allowing ukraine freedom support act to move to the floor late last year. it was one of the last agenda items of that congress. and that session of congress. and i know without his intervention, we wouldn't be where we are today in terms of trying to be relevant at

liberty's edge. so i thank him for his service, third in line to the presidency of the country, most americans will never know some of the burden that he bore with knowledge that most of us in this chamber does not have but for certain he did. and he held that close to himself and i thank him for all those quiet moments when perhaps the burden seemed almost overwhelming. i thank him for his service. i assume he'll continue to be involved in some ways in the days and years ahead, he loves politics too much to just walk away from it. i thank him on behalf of the people of ohio for representing our state, our region, in his dutiful service to the united states of america. thank you, speaker, john boehner, from ohio. from the heartland. thank the gentleman for yielding me this timele mr. chabot: thank you very much. reclaiming my time.

i want to thank the gentlelady for participating this evening. we really do appreciate making this a bipartisan event. our next speaker is not from ohio. she's the next best thing, the gentlelady from indiana, ms. brooks, and that's, no offense to our next door neighbors in kentucky or pennsylvania. ms. brooks: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from ohio for spearheading this special order tonight and giving us the opportunity to honor speaker boehner. part of his legacy and what i was told about speaker boehner before i arrived here was his incredible honesty, honesty to all of us who he worked with and honesty to the american people. his humility, his sense of humor and his incredible patience. i remember first coming into congress in the 113th congress and in fact, it was the speaker's wife, debbie boehner, who became the mentor to my husband as a new congressional spouse. i was quite frankly a bit terrified of the thought of my husband being assigned to the

speaker's wife. however, they were perfect, they both enjoy an incredible sense of humor but they also ground us and remind us what's important in life. i'd like to thank debbie boehner for sharing her husband and sharing the father of their children with the country all these many years. and what the speaker shared with all of us is he shared and taught all of us about the importance of this institution. its rich history and how to serve the people of our districts with distinction and honor. although i'm a miami of ohio grad, i have to admit i enjoyed a common bond with the speaker in that my daughter played soccer with xavier university. it was fun to share the love of xavier university with him as well. i'd like to mention probably his last codell or last congressional tip. i was honored to be asked to be part of it, it was this summer a co-dell to eastern europe to -- a codell to eastern europe, to

lithuania and poland and we ended in ireland. while we were in eastern europe it was because of speaker boehner that he showed the eastern european countries how vitally important it was that we stand with our allies against russian aggression. and it was an honor to be part of that trip because he demonstrated america's leadership and commitment to freedom and ensuring that we would stand with our friends and allies and it was an incredible learning experience for me and the others on the trip. when i think about the speaker, he probably has worked harder than anyone i will ever know to protect this institution and although it's not for much longer that we will call him mr. speaker, i will always admire his steadfast commitment to protecting the american public and serving our country. i must share that one of the unique aspects of his leadership and that of his terrific team, which has surrounded him is that they have done an incredible job sharing his experience as leader with the american public. whether we have watched on

youtube or other ways a morning trip to the diner for breakfast, fixing his lawn mower at home, carving the turkey or most importantly to him the historic visit to pope francis, he and his staff have done an excellent job of giving the american public an the american people an inside look at the life of john boehner, the speaker of the house. he embodies the qualities of an american patriot and it's truly been an honor to serve with him in the united states congress. i'm now i'm now being a new grandfather and enjoy -- enjoy his children, lindsay and tricia, and of course his wife debbie and he will very much be missed. thank you, mr. speaker, for your commitment to our country. thank you. mr. chabot: i thank the gentlelady for her words. she mentioned she's a miami of ohio, and i mention that my son is a graduate and i almost went there myself.

i would like to yield to the gentleman from florida. mr. curbelo: i thank the ohio delegation for giving us this special opportunity to honor a man we all admire and appreciate. i'm not from ohio, i'm from the state of florida and i have been known -- i haven't known john boehner nearly as long as many of my friends who have spoken here tonight. however, i can say this, mr. speaker. for many of us, who are still relatively new here in congress, for many of us that represent younger generation of leaders who have come here to serve, john bayner is a great example, n example of decency, of sincerity, of integrity, an of profound caring for every single american an for all of us. a. moved by john -- i am moved by john boehner's work in education which is clearly one of his

great passions. as a school board member in miami-david county, i saw firsthand -- miami-dade county i saw firsthand the difference john boehner's work in education made in the lives of children. . oftentimes poor children, low income children, who would not be counted had john boehner not done such wonderful work in the committee on education and the work force. when he was chairman. the legislation that john boehner and those who served with him advanced made sure that every child counted and that no child would be counted out, no matter where they lived , the color of their skin, or where their parents came from. so today i just say thank you to john boehner. i say thank you to his family. like the speaker, i'm the father of two girls. i know exactly how much they

have sacrificed for him, for his colleagues and for our country. mr. speaker, i'm a better man for having served with john boehner. this institution is a better institution for his service. and tonight we and the american people thank him. i yield back. mr. chabot: i thank the gentleman very much and i'd now like to yield to the gentlelady from american samoa. mrs. radewagen: i thank the gentleman from ohio. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the unwavering dedication and years of exemplary service of house speaker john boehner to our great nation. as the delegate to the united states house of representatives from american samoa, i'm always honored to address the chamber and even more so today, so that i can acknowledge the sincerity, kindness and years

of hard work of a man that i have known for over 20 years. as a man who has gone from the humble beginnings of a night janitor to the speaker of the house, the united states house of representatives, mr. boehner is the perfect example of the american dream fulfilled. it demonstrates that with hard work, dedication and a strong moral compass, one can achieve great things in our great nation. from the humble beginnings of a child of 12 who used to sweep floors, to second in line to he presidency, not too shabby. i believe that the fact that he rose from very humble beginnings to the speakership has made him the man and leader he is today. one who always made even the lowest ranking freshman feel at ease and included.

and thank him for that -- and i thank him for that. while we all know of the many achievements that this man of the people has accomplished during his career, and recognize his inquestionable dedication to our nation, many do not realize just how kind, modest and caring he truly is as a person. during a recent g.o.p. retreat, i was able to spend a few minutes with the speaker, or should i say, my granddaughter, ella, did. i had brought ella, who was two years -- 2 years old, with me to the retreat so that i could spend some time with her during the breaks in between the activities. well, let me tell you, ella was mesmerized by the speaker and i'm pretty sure he felt the same. they had a conversation that only of two of them seemed to understand. and ella was just fascinated with this very funny man who as so kindly entertaining her.

this short but memorable interaction is one that i noela will be proud to -- that i know ella will be proud to recount when she's older. mr. speaker, i ask that the house rise and join me in saluting the 53rd speaker of the united states house of representatives, john boehner, and also thank him for his unwavering dedication and outstanding service to our greatful -- grateful nation. thank you, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. mr. chabot: i thank the gentlelady for her very kind and inspiring remarks. d i'd now like to yield to the gentlelady from virginia. mrs. comstock: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today to honor speaker john boehner, a hardworking, dedicated gentleman who has served this institution with dignity and diligence. his perseverance in this role has been a true service to the nation. he's a class act whose respect

for the institution and his love of country are extraordinary. i've been privileged to work with speaker boehner first when i was a congressional staffer on capitol hill back in the 1990's, when i worked for my predecessor, and at that time republicans took a historic majority in 1994. at that time speaker boehner then was in the leadership. and then this year i was able to join as a member of congress myself with the largest republican majority since the 1920's, and serve with speaker boehner once again. i know from that experience both as a staffer as well as a member the incredible great treatment he always gave his staff and how we all know the legendary boehnerland and how he's always been so wonderful to work with. speaker boehner has taken on each of these tasks when he was a member, when he was a gang of seven member, when he was a chairman, when he was a leader and now as speaker, with an energy and willingness

regardless of the headwinds. he's an honorable man of faith and conviction who has always served his constituents and the american people, particularly children, and the most vulnerable in a faithful andistent way. i particularly appreciate -- and consistent way. i particularly appreciate the speaker bringing this year the prime minister of israel, mr. netanyahu, and pope francis to this body to make historic addresses to congress, addresses that we will always remember and were just inspiring this year and so appreciate his leadership in insisting on having us here for those wonderful leaders of the world. he's always served as a patriot committed to our founding principles and he will be missed by many on both sides of the aisle, although i know he welcomes this new chapter in his life and he will be happy -- and i am very happy that he will be able to spend more time with his beloved new grandson and his family. i thank speaker boehner for his service to this country and i

wish him well, again, as he begins this new chapter in his life, and with that i yield back the balance of my time. mr. chabot: i thank the gentlelady very, very much for her remarks this evening. and i thank all the members who came here on both sides of the aisle to speak. i want to particularly thank ms. kaptur for participating in this tribute to speaker boehner so it was truly bipartisan this evening. i have some concluding remarks and i don't think there are any more speakers following that. i think we have just about enough time. i already said a few things about john, but let me continue. john boehner, he was born in 1949, he was the second of 12 children. nine boys and three girls. his parents, mary andrew: and earl henry boehner, ran the family bills. andy's bar in carthage, which is a neighborhood in my district, and john's grandfather opened that bar back in 1938. john grew up in a two-bedroom house in redding, with john sharing one bedroom with three

brothers, while his sister had the other. his parents slept on the pull-out couch. although his father would later build a three bedroom addition to the house, john still had to share a single bathroom with his 11 brothers and sisters. so he learn how'd to manage conflict early in his life. also, as the second oldest, he had to help his parents out, not only around the house, with his younger brothers and sisters, but also with the family business. at age 8, john began to work at andy's bar, starting by mopping floors. later he would wait on tables. in doing so, john learned the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work. john attended molar high school and he played lak for future notre dame head coach john foust at molar. he learned that you can achieve any goal in life if you're willing to work hard. and to make the necessary sacrifices. as hard as it is for la salle like myself to praise a molar

crusader, it's clear to me that john learned that lesson well and his life and career are a testament to that message. after graduating from high school in 1968, john enlisted in the navy. while america as we heavily involved in vietnam. he was later honorably discharged due to a bad back, an injury he suffered as a teenager working at the family bar. after holding several entry level jobs, john then set his sights on college degree, with the encouragement of william smith, a profess art xavier university, and high school football referee who was mentoring him about refereeing local sports, john decided to attend xavier. throughout his time at xavier university, john juggled numerous jobs, although his primary job was as aoner to. his hard work paid off and he graduated from stavier in 1977, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. but his work as a janitor had another more important reward, he met his wife of 42 years,

debby, who worked in the accounting department at the same company. they would marry in 1973, the same year my wife and i were married, and raise two daughters, lindsey and trisha, and now a grandson, alster. my wife and i also have two children, a daughter and a season, -- son, and one grandson, so far. after gragg from xavier, john was hired as a salesman for a small packaging and plastics company. through hard work and determination he steadily worked his walk up the company ladder, ultimately serving as president of the company. he resigned from that position when he was elected to congress in 1990. in that job john learned what it takes to survive at a small business and he learned all too well how difficult it is for small businesses to deal with the regulatory and tax burdens imposed by the government. and he brought that understanding to washington, where he has fought for smaller, less intrusive government. john got his start in politics by getting involved in his local homeowners association. that experience led him to run or township trustee.

to distinguish it from other townships in ohio, including one in my district, are we served from 1981 to 1984. in 1984 he was elected hot ohio house of representatives where republicans were hevenly outnumbered by democrats at the time. in 1990 he won a four-person republican primary for ohio's eighth congressional district. although his victory was somewhat surprising in local political circles at the time, looking back now, it's more surprising that he wasn't the favorite. upon his election to congress, john became a member of the so-called gang of seven. a group of republicans who regularly battled with congressional leadership. sounds like something around here in modern times. the gang of seven played a pivotal role in exposing the house bank and post office scandals. early on in his congressional career, john also worked closely with newt gingrich and helped to draft a contract with america. a set of principles to which republican candidates from all over the country agreed, including myself. and it was those principles

that propelled the republican wave in 1994. and led to the first republican majority in the house of representatives in 40 years. throughout his time in congress, john has advocated commonsense reforms in the house and in the broader government. in addition to fighting to close the house bank as part of the contract with america, he also pushed for the requirement that congress live by the same rules it imposes on the rest of the american people. later to help promote transparency in the appropriations process, john enacted the first ban on earmarks in the house. although he'll be remembered for many things, these reforms may have the most enduring impact on the credibility and integrity of this institution. the house of representatives. the people's house. however, knowing john like i know him, i would guess that his fondest memory will be pope francis' visit to washington and his address to congress right here in this very room. it was truly a historic and monumental event, as pope francis became the first

sitting pontiff to address a joint session of congress. ever. millions of americans, myself included, were moved by the pope's message about a spiritual path to a better future. particularly his call on all of us to strengthen our families, protect the sanctity of life and help the less fortunate among us. it was an amazing moment for this house and this country and it wouldn't have been possible without speaker john boehner. i know it has been one of his top goals since he was in the republican leadership back in the 1990's, and i think it's a fitting finale to a very distinguished career. john tely i hope that boehner is remembered like he would say, a regular guy. who rose from umhm -- humble beginnings to become the leader of the people's house. as a leader who never stopped believing that the american people can overcome any obstacle, and as a crusade who are fought for a smaller, less intrusive and more accountable government.

of course i will always remember him as a friend. thank you, john. for your servi >> house leaders meet behind closed doors today to choose their new speaker. it is love widely thought that paul ryan will be the nominee. >> on the next washington journal, we will talk to a congressman about the house select benghazi committee, and the recent testimony of hillary clinton. and congressman john larson on budgetposed two year agreement to raise the debt ceiling. and the editor of "popular mechanics" talks about the inner workings of the koch industries,

the fund of the koch brothers. >> a signature feature of book tv is our all-day coverage of book fairs and festivals from across the country with top nonfiction authors. here is our schedule -- we will be in nashville for the southern festival of books. then we're back on the east coast. in the middle of the month, it was the louisiana book festival. the end of november, we're live for the 18th year in a row for the miami book international. just some of the festivals this book tv.-span 2's >> c-span has your coverage of

the road to the white house 2016, where you will find the candidates, the speeches come of the debates, and most importantly your questions. our year, they're taking coverage into classrooms across the country with our student cam contest giving students the opportunity to discuss what important issues they want to hear the most from the candidates. follow the student cam contest and road to the white house coverage on tv, the radio, and online at c-span.org. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] >> defense secretary ashton carter in the joint chiefs of staff discuss u.s. military strategy in the middle east at a hearing of the senate armed services committee. the document u.s. operations in iraq and syria, and russia's involvement will stop.

john mccain chairs this hearing. it is three hours.

mr. mccain: good morning. the committee meets today to receive testimony on the middle east. i want to thank our witnesses for appearing this morning and for their service to our nation. before i proceed i want to remind our witnesses, they require written testimony be submitted 24 hours in advance. i would like to try to adhere to that.

the loss of joshua walker reminds us of the high-stakes of our mission in the middle east. and how grateful we are to americans serving there. we need a strategy and unfortunately we don't have that. what's worse, it appears the administration is not even define the problem correctly. a policy that fails to understand that isil is actually just a symptom of a deeper problem, the struggle for power raging across the middle east, the epicenter that is iraq and syria. that is my isil exists today with the strength that it does. we hear it said all the