you have to connect. >> i would reverse the question a little bit. in texas, we have such a low voting participation. what state in the country that is predominantly -- we are fourth. have we done things that make it more difficult to vote? have we done things that make it more difficult for people to vote? carlos: people want to vote, aside from online -- let's go back. i don't know a lot of folks that have more than two weeks to vote. a different mobile voting site, different locations, whether it is a school, a church, whatever. we are given two weeks. can you get more? absolutely. will that increase put her

participation? i don't know. -- voter participation? i don't know. today, about 50% of all votes cast for an election are done during early voting. the numbers go up significantly. they are about the same. the generational gap i spoke about a few minutes ago, there is a general arsenal -- generational gap between first and second time voters and their parents. i equated to this that if your abouts weren't religious going to church every saturday or sunday, there is a strong likelihood you are going to go to church. if they did not go to church, there is a strong likelihood you are not going to church. you don't grow up in that environment. the same thing goes for voting. up, if igster coming saw my dad and mom going to vote every election, that gives me

the impetus to go develop that voting ethic. if i never saw my parents vote t, ite never talked about i is not important. but we are trying to do is reach out to first and second time voters by going out to come -- college campuses, speaking to students. you take it one vote at a time. " ifking to them, say, anybody wants to get anything done, go to the school system." want to do. if you take it to the kids, they take it home to their parents. this is what i want to do with voting. get these young adults, first-time potential voters, get them excited. but you are right, if you have somebody speaking negative, rhetoric without all the facts or the impact of mexican relations with texas, it is the

economy -- somebody said that. part of our message is to go out and get students engaged, ask them the hard questions. why is it that you are not voting? cynicism, is stress, and you are right, they don't care. rep. villalba: in texas today we have a situation where people vote, and if they don't vote, it is not because of some of these impediments. let's get to that -- i want to touch on that. it is because we don't have candidates that are truly interesting to the voter electorate. he is saying, we have eliminated most of these barriers. we have eliminated the race obligation, property taxes. you can vote in texas. you have two weeks do this.

if you are not going to the polls on election day, it is because you have chosen not to because you are disengaged or not interested in candidates. i think that is a real point he is making. the senator was a just, there are -- would suggest, there are existing impediments. but i don't think that is what is driving a lack of voter participation in texas. i think what is driving that is two things. one is that there is a fundamental issue where we have a very disparate population, very far right and far left. you are either all republican or all democrat in the districts here it in texas, --. in texas, very solidly red state. that if you are a democrat you know your primary vote will not be relevant because it will be determined by republicans. if you are a republican, you know you are going to win and your candidates are safe, so why don't? -- vote? that leaves a distilled

proponent of a republican primary voter. that is where we end up. that polling creates more impetus for people not to vote. candidates that are very conservative, sometimes more than the mainstream, and that alienates people who would otherwise come to the polls. to touch on your argument that we do have a voter identification law that is one of the strongest in the country, i believe as a republican, and most would agree, we did have to balance the need to bring people to the polls with this concern about fraud. the mantra from the other side is there is no fraud. well, i served on the citizens election advisory committee in dallas county. from one polling station, we had two volumes of things that went awry on voting day that were related to fraud. with fraudan issue

in texas. there is a concern about that voter identification is merely meant to make sure that the ballot is delivered in a way that is an adherence to the existing rule of law. voter identification, you need that to rent a car, get on an airplane, why not to exercise the franchise? i don't think it is asking too much. the courts have suggested recently that our law needs to be addressed. they did not say it was unconstitutional, as many would argue. they just said the way it was drawn in needs to be revised to expand the ways the numbers of identification and types. senator ellis: like a student id. but there is no effort. alexa: we are running out of time, i want to get one more question in. it is clearly a modern-day poll tax. i think that opinion is well worth reading. the real issue is, do people

honestly believe it was an texas doy wouldn't things like oregon and california to do automatic registration? why wouldn't we simply put more of it online. ? why wouldn't we just show it online who voted and who did not vote? i would not go as far as south american countries do so that if you don't vote you pay a one dollar penalty. if you honesty -- honestly democracy,a democracies work better when a maximum number of people participate. that might mean some of us won't win, but that's ok. i see it from both sides. when jesse jackson ran, you have who went, that was a high turnout. but that is not the way we ought to do it. we should look at the models that oregon and california have

done, other things that might be unique to texas to encourage more people to participate. thatght to be embarrassed so few people are producing paid in this state. we talked about 2016, but i want to talk about 2018. we know that latinos and minorities turnout in much bigger numbers in a presidential year, and then we have gubernatorial elections, and the turnout is terrible. looking back at 2014, governor bott wanted a big turnout but it was a very low turnout. what will it take to get latinos to vote in 2018 are any nonpresidential year? will it take lillian castro -- julian castro? not in ae get the vote presidential year? rep. israel: i think it takes all hands on deck. bottom line, it is connection to the voters.

hillary shows very well in san antonio -- showed very well in san antonio this week. tu ary, she said, yo soy hillary. she has a history of connecting here. and we also know more than 30% of the latino vote in texas is 13, and 29.ages of it doesn't matter what ethnicity, that segment is always the hardest and leading indicator of whether or not they were vote. are at theether we hillary level or another level. i put the burden on all of us who are on the ballot and putting campaigns and resources together to not overlook the latino vote. i have been involved in so many campaigns, where we bring in so much money. -- only have so much money.

what is our target? 50 and over. everybody else is on their own. it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. latinos have not been voting because we have not been spending resources on them. perhaps we are at a point now that you have to spend resources to reach out, and we will be thoughtful about doing that and connecting with them as personally as possible. senator ellis: i was at an event last night, a comment was made, it is going to take money, it is than to take less hispanics, it is going to take strong candidates, and anger. with all due respect to donald trump, i think he will bring some of the hispanic vote out. [laughter] i don't know if it will be hillary clinton and bush now. this is different from one my brother, 999, was running. [laughter] fly-by-night operations. he did not have the resources.

in california, they did something sort of unique. strong hispanic population. happens to be democratic now, but my initial reaction be at against that because i don't want to run just for the heck of it. the way our districts have been gerrymandered, you have to districts -- democrats in my district, 90% minority now. they say, why are you complaining? i don't want to go on the senate floor and talk to myself. [laughter] if you have two people having a run every time, that might force a greater turnout. you cannot underestimate the significance of money. everynnot go and knock on door with 27 million people in

texas. in houston, harris county, ,allas, the bigger the district the more significant money becomes. with that supreme court ruling, even as a nonpartisan race, get to goh more money in on the process. 2018, we must have passed a comprehensive immigration reform. ask hispanicser to participate when on the one hand some of the republican newidates are insulting americans, insulting family members, and then asking for their votes, or insulting by saying i will pass immigration in my first 100 days and then not putting the political capital into it. both parties have failed.

people say, hispanics are interested, the polls show they and therested in jobs, economy and education. just like the rest of us. nonsense. of course we are interested in those. those are important. milia.e filter is, mi fa the filter is how are you treating those who are new immigrants? democrats get your act together and spend capital instead of telling me you are going to do it. we do remember, the last immigration reform was passed by republicans. or republicans get your act together and let's pass it and we will have all kinds of wonderful relationships for many years. back to your earlier point -- rep. villalba: back to your only a point, i think we are looking at interesting candidates. for one, jeb bush. -- hefies everybody

identifies with hispanics. and also, she is simply the future of the party, that is -- [laughter] guzman, the supreme court justice. she has a fascinating story. she is latina, she comes from the mexicano community. she is articulate and smart. she is very conservative. she identifies with conservative, but she is also a trueblue latina. should say. i think you should put those two at the top of the ticket. if there was openings. i think in that instance, you do galvanize the young hispanic vote, people who had never voted before to say, this person is interesting to me, this person

shares my heritage, my identity. and i'm going to get out there. much like obama did for the african-american communities. they voted very strongly, but when obama came on the scene, my goodness. the numbers expanded. that thee was a person african-american community could identify with and be proud of, and really energize them. we need our obama. i just want to make the point that issues do matter. with all due respect, and your party, you can run somebody that looks like me, but if they don't speak the issues that matter to don't have hispanic candidates that speak to issues that matter to latinos in my judgment, you don't get the vote. at the end of the day, large number of people vote by the issues. your idea of what resonates might be different than my idea. i think that a good economic

ecosystem to create more high-paying jobs, you might say universal health care. i disagree with that. you disagree with what i say. but that is the debate we would have. but we don't have the voice to give a voice to that argument. senator ellis: i think it puts us on the same wavelength. i'm saying regardless of gender,s ethnicity, orientation, at the end of the day, early on in terms of entertainment, i like trump as an example. but at the end of the day when those issues are clear, people tend to vote on the issues that they think matter. my. villalba: but i guess point is, an elderly anglo individual would not have the likely credibility in the latino young latinaa who comes from their community. it gives it more credibility and they listen to the message. once we get to that point, it

does resonate. unless we have the point -- voice, it's a nonstarter. senator ellis: it's a community vote. someone from the community that speaks the issues. rep. villalba: absolutely. we agree. honorary latino. we might be focusing too much on the messenger and not the message. like me running as a republican, it was somewhat unique. it was because there was a message there. as i prefaced earlier, i think disbelieve, what all of you are saying, you have to resonate with the candidate. you don't have to be hispanic or african-american to generate and promote a good message that will resonate with the voter. anit possible for african-american to win in a hispanic neighborhood? if the message resonates with

those voters, i think it is. can a hispanic when in an angle anglo environment? the message is, yes. you have a county that is 75% , thatat, three times election. it resonated. fortunately or unfortunately, the way the politics and partisanship is, that outweighs to me the way i'm seeing it, the ethnicity of a candidate. wish everybody would just run at large. no party affiliation, you kind of run based on principle, message, based on this. what i'm hearing from people is, i don't want to be identified as who i am by who i vote for because it is very fluid. one day you are going to vote

for a democrat, one day republican. you have back and forth on the ballot. dt everything a person on the side may or may not be good, or on the r side. what you see is people are deliberately choosing who they want to vote for. because theis candidate actually resonated and lifected with all walks of in that particular county. youtor ellis: but you -- agree with the money, it makes it difficult? , you are a person they knew. carlos: right, i did not have a lot of money. senator ellis: but you had to credibility. carlos: you kind of do other things. candidates do what they have to win. i would stand on street corners by myself with signs. i got a lot of one finger

howdy's, all kinds of good stuff. you kind of touched on it, it goes back to connecting with the grassroots, the door-to-door. i knocked on a lot of doors early on. unfortunately, money does generate. you cannot knock on 10 million households, or 3 million households if you are running statewide. now with social media that is basically free, but then you have to look at the hispanic community.how many within the hispanic community that are a voting age have access to internet in some of the rural areas? access to facebook, what they call la face in spanish, how many of them have that access? paso, iellis: in el worked on a driver responsibility program. we knocked, i don't know, i

think as close to half a million people. i was walking last night, and i did not have my id. i'm in austin, i don't know if i would do it in dallas. they know me here. usingthings we could do, technology, using the law to make it easier. right? are we all of their is monday stay texas, you are at the bottom on voting. -- are we all a little embarrassed when they say, texas you are at the bottom. carlos: there is a lot of concern, and yes, it is an embarrassment, but i go back to -- and my compliments to the legislature to try to continue the outreach and reach out to the voting constituency to make it somewhat easier and trying to facilitate -- but again, you have second or third world

countries that voter participation is much higher, and they are only voting one day. here, we give folks the opportunity to vote for two weeks, plus election day, all kinds of locations, and yet we can't see to do -- seem to do that. we areend of the day going to agree on one thing. it's up to the candidate to get the message out. they have to appeal to the constituent, they have to be attractive. it's not just the messenger. it's the message. alexa: i think with that we are going to open it for q and a from the audience. we are running out of time. go ahead. on a localitnessed level, our school district is primarily hispanic. we have never had a hispanic school board member. what i have seen repeatedly is wonderful hispanic candidates

running, and being crushed. they got the message out, but they are still crushed, because what we have is this voting machine of caucasians that are holding the power. wondering, what does it take? to me, it is not about the candidate. i have seen it happen locally. excellent candidates, excellent messages, but they are being crushed. i still have the question. to me, the question is, are we ready to share the power? rep. israel: that's an excellent question, and i think you can have an outstanding latino or latina who has a wonderful record in the community, and if they don't have the campaign , tources, i.e. a budget 9ach out and do 6, 7, 8, mailers or tv ads or social

robust, run a aggressive campaign, to reach costs the 50 and over, it money. i have worked to this with my staff. it is hard. when you only have so much money, you go with high propensity voters. it is going to change over time. but you have to have the complete package. you have to have experience, a good candidate, and you have to have the resources to say, i'm not going to go with the baby. i'm going to go with the robust universal that i can get more turnout. in my mind, it comes down to money. my question has to do with early voting. this is something that may be elected officials have learned since they got elected. if you can handle something administratively rather than passing the dull one way or another, it is a lot easier to get something done.

but we are talking about getting people out to vote. is there a way to ensure there are two saturdays or two weekends in that time to where everyone can come out to vote? the issue seems to be that there are -- they are politicizing elections. ofly voting brings in a lot numbers for the other party, you are going to want to mess with that and reduce the amount of time, reduce the amount of losing votes. to the secretary of state that something we can do to ensure other weekends lester mark last time there was a weekend cut off and there was only one saturday. vote early. but if you limit the number of days, you are in fact impacting the election. carlos: if i remember my judge

days, the county commission sets locations and times. there are mandatory times. but i think that would be up to to open itommission, up. but it comes back down to money. there are limited resources. that is one of the departments in county government where there is no romance. it's like having an i.t. department. you don't know what you've got until you turn on the switch and nothing turns on. i think you need to go down to the local counties and emphasize that with them, and have them open it up. at least in cameron, it was always where are you going to have these locations? it has to be in the precinct, the center of the county. au always want to have it catholic school, eastside of brownsville, because that is where the majority of democrats are. even at that level, it becomes very politicized. but i think you reach out to the local county commissioners and

let them know you want to have two weekends, after 5:00. a lot of these locations are open until 7:00. they open up at 9:00 and go until 7:00 p.m. politics is local. these local levels, is what transcends into state and federal. if you want to vote for a state official at the county elections office that is running that election, coupled with county commission races are judge or district court or whatever. if you are asking for guaranteed two saturdays, i would be in favor of that. this year was unique, they cut one off. that adding two saturdays i think makes perfect sense to me. one less limitation. alexa: will you be cosponsoring a bill that session?

we celebrate or commiserate the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act. we would not be having that discussion. under therdan added bilingual amendment, added texas to it and a lot of other places. it's just really sad we have come full circle. and now states can make changes, because they decided to it on the political and. most people don't give up power willingly. enough, beenlong in the game long enough, to look more interested in my legacy than winning the next election. the real tragedy is most of these decisions and of being made by people put in a certain position to protect a certain group. that's a real tragedy. i hope in the next congress they can find a way to do what democrats and republicans have historically done.

realize the significance of lbj and martin luther king, and voting rights. and what language will voter identification be? carlos: english and spanish. you can go to vote texas.gov and it gives you the outline. in terms of unlocking the hispanic vote, that has not seemed to be successful. what other ideas do you think would be more successful? carlos: i'm going to go back, i still think the fundamental responsibility of voter outreach in -- and voter participation is up to the candidates themselves that are running. provide is to information in english and spanish, information that is readily available online. has anybody really done a study on the latino hispanic, how many

have access to online -- juan: facebook is going wild. carlos: right. we really started getting we areive with facebook, posting stuff every day with twitter, instagram, we are doing everything we believe. is there more? >> if we are looking at structural things that secretary theyo has control over, said we can do this on my voter registration. if we look at the latino vote again, they are young. 33% are between 18 and 29. i don't know about you, but i don't know about any person that age who has a book of stamps in their purse [laughter] . [laughter] they are not going to fill out a

paper and mail it in. we go back to structural. if we can do same-day drivers license, why can't we do voter registration? for a young, mobile voter moved here from l.a., or harris county, or south austin, they damn,o up and they say, i did not register. these are small barriers we can overcome. can't overcome them, we are doing a disservice to the american heroes who took the hoses and dogs, and who gave up their life for the right to vote. are running out of time. this is going to be our last question. there might be a little turnaround after, i'm sorry. go ahead. i teach young college

students about american government and texas government. what i find is fundamentally the problem which i think you are not addressing, is they do not trust the system. they are alienated, angry. issuest addressing their like student loan debt and income inequality. most fundamentally, i think a lot of them believe the vote does not matter at all. thethat money controls system. how do you address the issues of young people, mostly young hispanics, that they fundamentally are alienated from publictem #how about financing of elections so they could feel that their vote matters? carlos: i can tell you, you are right. thank you for your public service. when i was speaking at a university, asked who did not vote. i pack did not vote for various

reasons. i said give me a reason. the number one reason was trust. again, i think you go back to the candidate, you have to engage these young adults. is above myce, that pay grade. but i'm thinking that we have to engage. the question i posed to the you don't trust anything and everything, so that means you are going to go for and not 50 or 60 years vote because you don't trust? that is why i indicated to the .tudent, cast a blank ballot at least you actually did vote. in time with enough link ballots -- blank ballots. 69 votes.lection with every vote counts. if i'm there and there are 200 blank ballots, there are 200 people who took the time to go vote, but they were so disenfranchised with all the candidates that they didn't

bother to cast a vote for any particular ended -- individual. you are right. it's going to take people like yourself to convey that message. at the end of the day, it is up to the candidate as an individual to regain that trust. messenger, much the but the message. maybe combination of the two. hank you. -- thank you. alexa: thank you every much -- very much for everyone to come by. >> i want to know, i heard you speak to have low turnout is related to the district, principally because of the way you district according to voting lines.-- delay we draw the lines really only increases minority density.

to're only adding power minority districts, and as a result, the districts are principally uncompetitive. in the general election, we know it will be d or r. the real election is about the primary. because of this issue, would you support repealing the voting rights act to remedy that aspect of the politics? if so, what protections would you put in place for the right to vote? i think this is a principal reason that the voting rights act paradoxically might be the reason for uncompetitive elections. i think you've rented the runway. the voting rights act is the principal reason we have diversity in american politics. [applause] under the whole system, the youmes to run for state, have to run in a congressional district. that would mean but today's 220ers, a district of

dozen, you would run in a congressional seat of 660,000. the system was designed for people to stay in power. in the old days my predecessors, , barbara jordan, african in the -- african-americans in the state senate, they had to fight with democratic counterparts because in the old days, they were trying to crack the latino and african-american vote. you want some but not too many. and in this generation, i have to argue much stronger with my colleagues and it has nothing to do with race but everything to do with party. i would say blacks and hispanics , have a right to decide which party they went to vote into like everybody else. -- want to vote into like everybody else. it really is a distinction. we have gotten to where we are because of the voting rights act. under preclearance, you could not make changes without some independent entity looking at it and saying, does it

disenfranchised a certain group? that is a tough thing to do. the tech -- secretary of state is appointed by the governor, serving at the will of the governor. that is the chief liaison with commerce and members of the legislature. position,re in that you represent the governor. whether it is a democrat or republican. i think we should take some of the partisanship out of the electoral process. voter registrars are the appraisal folks at the local level. i think their responsibility should be more than just handled brits -- and elections. we should make it easy for people to participate. in brazil, you got a parking ticket, you pay a dollar if you don't vote. i think structural things come to us, we can do. even when you have contested

primaries, texas was still at the bottom in terms of voter turnout. [indiscernible] in my district, anglo in% in -- 97% the republican party primary. i'm a hispanic with a hard to pronounce last name, and i was able to win. i do not think race should have an impact on whether or not we have the bipartisanship you are referring to. i don't think it should be scrapped merely because you have the perception because those individuals vote in block for one side of the other -- or the other. i think if you are a good candidate and are anglo, you can win in an african-american district. are a good hispanic candidate you can win in an anglo district. alexa: thank you to our panelists for being here today. [applause]

>> is a very touchy business being the son or daughter of a dictator. you would not wish this kind of life on most people. it's a collection of very interesting, sometimes lurid stories. but there are also pointed out. -- points about. . urity, loyalty. >> his book looks like the lives of dictators. talk to able to knowledgeable people. i could not talk to any family members. was usually the case in preparation for this book. there are only so many around to talk to. and only so many willing to say what they know, or divulge their

feelings or experiences at all. i was digging around for any scrap, any tidbit i could, because these sons and daughters, most of them -- some of them are famous and important, some of them become a dictator. but most of them are footnotes and besides. you have to dig to find out about them. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern and pacific on c-span's "q and a." not --ladylike does being ladylike does not require silence. why should my husband's job, or yours, prevent us from being ourselves? that beinglieve first lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas. [applause] betty ford spoke her mind, was pro-choice and a supporter

of the equal rights amendment. she and president gerald ford openly discussed her battle with cancer. for most of her life she struggled with drug and alcohol dependency. betty ford. tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span's original series, "first ladies: influence an image," examining the public and private lives of the women who fill the position of first lady and her influence on the presidency, from martha washington to michelle obama. tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. vermont senator pat leahy cast his 15,000 vote on the senate floor, he is only the sixth senator to reach that. senator leahy is in his seventh term, and is the ranking member of the judiciary committee. to mark the occasion of this historic vote, leadership and colleagues spoke on the floor.

>> madam president. >> the democratic leader. announce my remarks be under time. >> without objection. today my friend and colleague pat leahy has reached a milestone in an extraordinary career. he just cast assisting thousands 15,000th vote. that is remarkable. it should come as no surprise, because his entire career in public service has in history making. he graduated st. michael's graduated georgetown university law. he was first appointed as the state's attorney. he was 26 years old.

he was reelected in two separate occasions. during that time, pat leahy was a nationally renowned prosecutor. in 1974, his last as state attorney, he was selected as one of the three most outstanding prosecutors in america. age 34, he became the first democrat in u.s. history to beat collected dust to be elected senate from vermont. they wereg elected, they would resigned his seat. here's what senator aiken said. he said, let him be number 100. that people from vermont are wise in selecting him. to president pro

tem. he has spent four decades in the senate fighting for justice and equality. as the chairman of the judicial it -- committee, he has become a national leader for independent judiciary and the protection of our constitution. his main focus has always been vermont. he carries with him a picture of farmhouse.s it his it is beautiful. it does not remind me of the desert, but it is beautiful. over the years, he has done everything he can to protect the state's natural beauty, resources, men and water through conservation efforts. when people visit vermont, they can see beautiful green distance, pristine lakes and rivers and picturesque farms.

senator leahy has worked hard to keep vermont that way. he has done every thing in his power to promote other culture in his eight -- home state. is legend what he has done to protect the dairy industry. we all remember holding up the senate for time until he got what he wanted for dairy. he rode the organic food production act of 1990 that growingoster america's organic food industry. today, organic food is a $40 billion industry. organic -- many of those organic farms are based in vermont. iter tropical storm irene, remember graphically, his fighting for the state of vermont. that started devastated parts of vermont. roads were underwater for weeks. he helped secure $500 million in assistance to overcome a brutal natural disaster.

i'm fortunate to be able to surf with pat leahy in the senate. he's more than a colleague. he really is a dear friend. years, they have helped each other through times of joy and travail. they have three wonderful children and five grandchildren, a minute alone and he will talk about them. 15,000thations on your vote as a united states senator. [applause] >> the majority. senator mcconnell: as the

democratic leader pointed out, 15,000thndeed his vote. it means he has taken the sixth largest number of votes in senate history. it means he has taken more votes than any other senator from his date, and vermont has been sending senators here since the late 1700s. that's not the only thing that sets him apart from every other serve in the senate. he was the first democrat elected to serve from vermont. unfortunately, that is a habit that has continued. [applause] [laughter] i think we can safely assume he is first batman fan going to fanboy to serve, no doubt the first deadhead.

we are happy to recognize his 15,000th vote. >> could i have one minute to speak to that? >> without objection. to commemorate my friend forecasting his 15,000 votes. senator leahy has been a stalwart part of this body since joining the senate. later, he continues to serve the state with great passion and convention. he has been a good friend as we work together and leading the senate judiciary committee. congratulations on this tremendous milestone, i hope we can cast many more votes together as we continue to work in a bipartisan way on the committee. for hisd the senator great commitment to service. i wish him many more votes in the future. [applause]

>> i just want to say a few words in congratulating senator leahy, not just on his 15,000 votes, but on his many years of service. , for the people of the state of vermont, a state that is very proud of all the work he has done. we all know,s: as senator leahy has been a champion on agricultural issues, of protecting family farmers, especially dairy and organics. he has been a champion of fighting for civil liberties in this country. he has been a champion on environmental issues making sure that the planet we live our kids is clean and healthy. he has been a champion on women's issues and so many other issues.

senator leahy, on behalf of the , thank you vermont for your years of service. [applause] >> madam president, i will speak further on this later on, but i do want to thank my dear friends for their comments. i appreciate the opportunity to surf with them. serve with them. the senate offers great opportunities and responsibility. vermont,s senator from as for all senators from vermont and all senators here. we had a chance yesterday to make things better for vermonters and all americans. we can ensure the strength of the country by the future.

we can afford solutions in what has been an unending quest throughout the history of the nation to form a more perfect union. in 1975, airst vote resolution to establish the church committee. the critical issues of the postwar -- era, parallel issues we face today. address we casted today issues we face today, problems will persist. threats will continue. do democracy, all members of the can always be made. i think back to the 15,000 votes i have cast on behalf of vermonters, a lot of them come to mind. some specific to vermont. some national and some global. the organic -- farm bill. a $50 billion industry.

of mercurygulations pollution, combating the effects of global warming, emergency relief for the devastation caused by tropical storm irene, adopting support programs for small dairy farmers. fighting for the privacy of civil liberties of all americans, supporting the reagan o'neill bill for social security. nutrition bills to help americans below the poverty line. strongly bipartisan campaign reform. patent reform. reauthorizing and greatly expanding and strengthening the violence against women act. and having bipartisan support on that. iraq, the trillions of taxpayer's dollars. and should be be

the conscience of the nation. but i have seen when it happens, a novel and the fundamental the senatery time stands up, it is the conscience of our nation. afford to put any part of that on autopilot. it takes constant work and vigilance to keep the system working. we can only do that if we work together. i'm so grateful to my fellow vermonters for the confidence they have shown in me. their trust urges me on. i will never betray it, but i will never take it for granted. the past 15,000 votes, it reminds me of the significance every time we vote. it's why i feel very energized about what is to lie ahead and how we can make a difference. so i thank my friends, my

myleagues, senator sanders, friend senator grassley who had i have served with a long time, i appreciate my friendship with them. well.ther senators as -- lifelongwhile gratitude to my former college -- colleagues in stafford for mentoring and friendship. senator stafford, a republican, took me under his wing and guided me. as i am privileged to serve now, the whole delegation is here. sanders, congressman welch, and myself, not many others can do that and put all

of them in this. honestly, i remember what it thrilled it was to tell my wife i had cast my first vote. later, i canars the 15,000thr on vote, she knows our children and grandchildren are the most important people in my life. i don't want to delay further, i thank you all. i thank you for friendships that have meant more to me in life -- and my family than i can say. i look forward to continuing serving. thank you very much. [applause]

>> as speaker ryan begins his they arel week, considering a number of bills including some on intelligence sharing between state and local officials. tuesday they begin work on long-term transportation and highway funding. defense programs also on the agenda. considering a new defense authorization bill since the president vetoed the last one. but then it is back tuesday for work on water quality protection bill with a procedural vote set for 2:30 p.m. eastern. life coverage on c-span and c-span2. c-span, the best access to congress with live coverage of the house and senate.

one are fewer comments thursdays house speaker election. the best access to congress is on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. go behind -- behind the scenes

by following our producer. >> all persons having business before the honorable, that the cream court of the united states admonished to draw near and give their attention. >> this tweak on landmark cases, we will discuss the historic supreme court case of shank versus the united states. in 1917, the u.s. entered world war i. patriotism was high and some forms of criticism of the government were a federal offense. shank, secretary of the philadelphia socialist party, handed out leaflets against the draft. this is a flyer produced in 1917. 15,000 copies of this were produced and the point was to encourage men for the draft not to register. the language is particularly fiery. it is quite -- equates

--struction with conscription with slavery and called on people to resist. >> he was arrested tried and found guilty, under the espionage act. he appealed and the case went to the supreme court. , doubt how the court ruled weighing the issues of clear and present danger and freedom of speech. our guests include attorney beverlyoldstein and gage, professor of history at yale university. that is coming up in the next landmark cases. at 9 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span3 and c-span radio. ,or background on each case order your copy of the landmark cases companion book. it is available for a dollars $.95 plus shipping at c-span.org/landmark cases. next q & a with jay

with "the national review" on children of dictators. ministerish prime david cameron takes question. members of the obama coveredrps on how they the obama administration. q & a heeek an discusses "children of monsters" stalin, mast linnny hussein.m