technician. from ended up graduating this class, working for a private health firm and then by the time he was sitting next to me three or four years later, he's not working for the county as an e.m.t. fully trained saving lives. but [applause] but the point is it required intensive intervention and support and help, but what a smart investment that was. because if we spent whatever it two, uring those one, three years of transition to help that person get their life straight, we might have just saved ourselves another 10 years or 15 years or 20 years of

incarcerating him on taxpayer expense. if wemade me realize that really want to be smart on crime , you've got, let's say, a maximum-minimum -- mandatory minimum sentences, 20 years for some drug related charge. if we reduce the amount of time that they are incarcerated, took all those saumbings and took -- savings and took some of that for one, two, three year re-entry programs that are highly supervised, then we are going to get better results. safer streets, better citizens. because he's now paying taxes instead of taking taxes as a ward of the state. less violence. more hope. he's got an opportunity now to be a father as opposed to an

absent presence in a child's life. that's how we rebuild communities. that's why this is such a promising area. i want to make sure to acknowledge, this is an area where there's been some really powerful bipartisan interesting coalitions. i think evangelical community, because they have a lot of strong prison ministries, they care about this. they believe in redemption and second chances. they got involved. you have libertarians who just don't like the idea of the state spending that much money on prisons. they've got -- gotten involved. we got to see if we can make this happen. but my people get with your eople. that redhead.

it's good having hair like that. ou stand out in a crowd. >> my name is martin brown. i'm from baton rouge, louisiana. my question is about education. education is one of the most important things in achieving equal opportunity, and the past decade we have seen desegregation orders listed and we have seen a resegregation in the south. furthermore, there's huge disparities and resources for different students and different school districts and parishes. i was wondering what can the federal government do, what have you done, and what do you think should happen in the future to resolve these issues that we have been fighting for decades? president obama: are you a teacher by the way? >> i'm not, a student. president obama: where are you going to school? >> l.s.u. president obama: what are you

studying? >> math and economics. president obama: all right. maybe you'll solve this problem. thanks for the question. it's a great question. i talked about this at the town hall. in this -- in the state of the union. this economy will become more and more knowledge-based during the course of our lifetimes, our children's lifetimes, our grandchildren's lifetimes. there's no denying it. to change. going so when people talk about how howeconomy is changing, and come we can't have it the way it was back in the 1950's and 1960's, it used to be that if you were willing to work hard, you could drop out of high school, walk into the factory, say i'm ready to work, and if you showed yourself to be a hard worker, you could actually build

a middle class life on the factory floor. that's great. but if you go into a factory today, it's full of computers and robots. and if you don't know math, and you don't know science, you can't get that job on the factory floor. and by the play -- way, because of automation and technology, when i go to a car plant and -- we sold more cars, u.s. auto makers sold more cars last year than any time in history. it has come all the way back. it has re-hired hundreds of thousands of hoax. we created 900,000 manufacturing jobs. it'sou go into a plant and just quiet and clean and probably where -- if you used to have 1,000 people in that plant,

now you've got 100. just because it's so automated. and the point is you are not going to be able to build a middle class life in this ciety unless you have some education and skills that you can continually enhance and retool throughout your career. -- s just -- young people i'm going to be honest, i'm not going to call them out. if you're ben simmons, maybe you'll do fine not hitting the books. but -- although he's a very fine student, i'm sure. but my point is, unless you are ne in a million, you better be working hard. you better be studying.

[applause] president obama: and it's not going to stop. now, the point you made is exactly right. now do we make sure everybody gets that opportunity? we know what the ingredients are. we know that early childhood education makes a huge difference, the kind of start young people get. we know that poor kids oftentimes are not starting off in school with the same vocabulary because they haven't heard as many words, which means that we've got to train parents not just early -- not just teachers to help get kids rolling. we know that schools that have great teachers and high standards and are creative and have the best technologies that are used the right way make a difference. that high expectations make a difference.

so we know all these things, but the way that education in america has been organized is local school districts, local control, and local property funding as the primary way of supporting schools. and that has led to big disparities. in every state in the country. so the federal government can't get at that. what the federal government has done and can do is through programs like title 1 funding, we provide additional money to school districts that have a high proportion of low-income kids to try to give them more resources. the federal government, what i have done during my administration, is worked with states and local school districts to give them incentives to adopt best practices, to help develop and

train teachers to more effectively teach kids, to make sure that we've got high expectations and high standards. we just -- i just signed last year a reform of no child left behind that had led to a lot of overtesting and stress among teachers, but had not necessarily improved learning. but ultimately it's going to be up to states and local school districts to make a decision about how much do we care about equities in funding within states. that's not something the federal government can force states to do. there was a case way back in the 1970's that was brought before the u.s. supreme court making the argument it was unconstitutional to have this property tax based system on funding education. and the supreme court said, it's not unconstitutional.

it's up to states to make a decision on what they want to do. some state supreme courts have said it's unconstitutional to fund education that way. but if you don't have states making those decisions, the federal government can't force them to. we can help, we can give incentives, but federal funding for education accounts for only about 7% of total education funding. the main thing we can do is hold up best practices, show people this is what works, this is what doesn't, and then the people of those communities have to determine this is what we want to do to make a real serious change. now, one last point i'm going to make on education, making sure lks like shea can afford college is critical. if i had my wish about what i could get congress to do, i mentioned a whole bunch of issues, one of them also would be the proposal i put forward

community college at no cost for responsible students. [applause] president obama: tennessee has already adopted this. tennessee has already adopted this proposal. the city of chicago's working to adopt it. so you've got democrats and republicans who have seen the wisdom of this. if young people can go to a community college for two years at no cost, that means they can get a lot of credits out of the way. they can transfer to a four-year institution, but they've got their cost in half. and this is an affordable proposal. we proposed paying for it engsly by closing some corporate tax loopholes and some tax breaks for hedge funds. it's enough money to actually make sure that every young person has at least that base

line. that's part of the reason why america became an economic superpower was because earlier than anybody else we said we are going to give everybody universal high school education. now the next step is everybody in addition to high school education should be able to get that two years of post secondary education as well. [applause] president obama: how much time do i have? i got to check with my people. one or two more questions? ok. this young lady right there. ou can stop jumping. it you do actually have a question or were you just jumping? where is the mike? right here. yes, you. i don't know why you are surprised. you raised your hand. >> thank you so much for taking my question. first off, my name is andranae

turner i'm at tulane in the big easy. i'm here with my sister and other two friends who also went to columbia for undergrad. first of i want to say we are very inspired by you and the first lady. you are our biggest inspirations. we want to be just like you guys. can you help us? give us some tips? president obama: what was the question? >> the question is can you help us be more like you and the first lady and give us some tips -- president obama: some tips? well, look, i will say this. michelle and i, we've been through an extraordinary journey . when we think about where we've me from, michelle grew up on the south side of chicago. her mom was a secretary.

her dad worked at the water filtration plant. neither of them ever went to college. ey lived on the second floor of her mom's sister's house. a little bungalow. we were talking the other day, she was watching hdtv. she likes watching hdtv. and for those of you who don't know home and garden tv. guess there was a show about this so-called movement or trend towards tiny houses. all right. so people get these little tiny -- some of them they put on -- hitch on the back of their car. some they are already there. she said, i didn't know this was a movement because we lived in a tiny house. we just thought that's how you

lived. we didn't know this was -- we were cutting edge. so her -- michelle, her brother, her dad, her mom -- her dad, by sclerosis,d multiple he's going to work every day. had he to wake up an hour early to get to work. it took him a long time to just button his shirt and get in the car and then get out of the car and then get to his job. in that second floor -- i know, because michelle and i right after we got married we stayed in that same place before we were able to save up enough to buy our place. these two folks were able to raise these incredible young people, michelle and her brother, who both ended up going to college and both had these stroor careers. i say all that -- extraordinary

careers. i say all that because michelle would be the first to say and i would be the first to say, the only reason this happened is because there were people who nvested in us. there were park programs in chicago, public park programs where she could be part of dance classes and her brother could be in little league. and there were accelerated programs at her public elementary school where she had teachers who really took extra time. and then there was a magnet school that she was able to attend. and that was able to get her prepared for college. and then she got student loans and support in order to be able to go to college and go to law school. although she tells the story about how her dad, he couldn't really contribute much, but he

insisted on writing something, a check to help support that college education for her and her brother because he knew what it was worth. and -- when you ask the main tip i have, look, we benefited because somebody invested in us. the most important tip i would have is make sure not only are deserve thatard to investment, but that you're also investing in the next generation coming up behind you. [applause] ,resident obama: if you do that you're goingt then to do great things. your sister will do great things. and the one -- one other thing i

tell young people all the time, don't worry so much about what you want to be. worry about what you want to do. worry about the kind of person you want to be and what you want to accomplish. the reason i say that is because a lot of times people ask me, i'm interested in politics. how can i get -- i say, well, let me tell you. the people who are most successful in politics and business and whatever, they don't start off saying, i want to be president or governor. they start off by saying, i want to give people a better education. or i want to make sure that folks have jobs. or i believe in justice under the law. and they pursue a goal. they are trying to get something done. a byproduct of that is that they may find themselves in positions

of authority or power or influence, but even if you never get elected to something, if you're interested in the environment, you don't have to be the head of the e.p.a. to make a difference. you might organize in a local community to clean up a site and plant gardens and make sure that the water's clean. and you can look back and say, wow, what an amazing life i've had. look at all the difference i made. i'll tell you, the same is true in business. the most successful businesspeople, you talk to somebody like bill gates, they don't start off saying i want to be the second richest man in the world. they start off saying, i really want to figure out this computer thing. i want to make this thing work better. i'm excited or interested in how we can solve this problem. and then because they are so passionate about it and worked so hard at it, turns out they

make something really good and everybody else says, i want to be part of that. that, i think, is a good tip as well. all right. i've only got time for one more question. it's a young man's turn and he's right in front and he looks very sharp. he's got a tie on and everything. >> how you doing, mr. president. president obama: how you doing. >> my name is anthony, an 18-year-old math communication major and i go to the southern university college. [applause] mr. president, first i want to say thanks for being an inspiration because i was inspire to be where you are in the next 30 years even now i will be there. one of my main questions for u, sir, mr. president, going

to the hbc institute such as university, most of the high school students say i don't want to go -- if i go to hbcu i won't get as many opportunities as a student at a university at l.s.u. or tulane. what is your take or advice to students like me, thousands of students like me who go to hcbu's to be great in this society [applause] you dent obama: you got -- got some folks voting for you already. first of all the rule of the historically black colleges and universities and producing our leadership and expanding opportunity, training doctors d teachers and lawyers and

ministers who changed the landscape of america, i hope most people know that story and if not you better learn. because it has been powerful. and continues to be a powerful tradition. and i will tell you that if you have done well at an hbcu and graduated and you go to an employer and making the kind of presentation you make or morehouse man makes or spelman young lady makes, you will do just fine. i don't think it's true that actually people don't take -- or tradition.at you will be credentialed. you'll succeed. i do think that there is a range

face, enges that hbcus some are doing great. some are having more difficulty. some of that's good. some is a result of good things. we don't live in a society where african-americans are restricted in what colleges they can go to. i want them to be able to go to an l.s.u. or tulane as well as a southern, morehouse, howard, or spelman. so more opportunities open up. that's good. we have been very supportive of hbcus over the last several years, and to their credit the previous administration had supported them as well.

there are some hbcus that are having trouble with graduation rates. and that is a source of concern. what we have said to those hbcus, we want to work with you, but we don't want a situation in which young people are taking ut loans, getting in debt, thinking that they are going to get a great education and halfway through they are dropping out. some of it is those hbcus may be taking chances on kids other schools might not. that's a positive thing, and that has to be taken into account. but we also have to make sure colleges -- any college, hbcu or non-hbcu take seriously the need to graduate that student and not load them up with debt. everybody needs a college education or a secondary -- an

education beyond high school if it's a community college, technical school, training program, you're going to need more training as your career goes on. but i don't want you taking out a pell grant or a bunch of -- not a pell grant like a federal loan or a private loan and you walk out with $50,000, $60,000, $100,000 worth of debt and didn't get your degree. so we are working very hard with every school, all colleges and universities, not just to reduce costs but increase graduation rates, give students a better sense as they come in. here's what it's going to take for you to finish. here's why you've got to not lollygag and not take enough credits and say going to college is about partying because it's actually about getting your degree. [applause] president obama: and we want

students and parents to be better informed about that process ahead of time. all right. listen, you guys have been wonderful. [applause] president obama: michelle, sasha, malia, bo, sunny they all send their love. but i want -- before we go, i want to remind you of what i said. our system of government only works when you are involved not just by voting but by being informed and staying involved . roughout the process , your vernor, your mayor congressman they all ought to be right by you, but there are going to be challenges. there are going to be folks who want to stop progress. there are going to be people who

like the status quo. there's always going to be in this democracy countervailing pressures. and if you want to see change, you've got to help make it happen. when i ran for office in 2007-2008, i did not say yes, i can. i said -- >> yes we can. president obama: yes we can, people. god bless you. love you. thank you, new orleans. god bless america. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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>> prom returns to washington, d.c., this afternoon. meanwhile, 45 minutes north of the nation's capital republicans, house and senate republicans, holding their annual policy retreat. our own capitol hill producer craig caplan is there, tweeting steve scalise, the whip, saying

no decision yet on obamacare alternative. members will be discussing ideas here in baltimore. reporting asking intelligence chair devin nunes questions. g.o.p. retreat he says i think there should be a vote on the authorization of military force. the aumf, if we can get bipartisan agreement, the day started in baltimore with news conference from the policy chairs in the house and senate. here's a look. >> good morning, everyone. thanks for joining us here in baltimore. this is our second annual joint house-senate republican retreat sponsored by the congressional institute. we are here as the people's representatives to engage in a competition of ideas. as we think about the future of 2016 and beyond. so on tuesday for the state of the union we heard one future based upon president obama's legacy, really based upon a

top-down government knows best approach. nd we are here to put together a different choice for america s we head into this year and beyond. a future that's built upon solutions really from the bottom up. trust people to make the best decisions for themselves. families, students, small businesses, seniors. having the ability to pursue their own dreams. and where people are not defined by where they come from but empowered by what they can become. we'd like to think of the house and the senate and this time as really being the think tank for conservative policy. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: that's how this retreat has been set up to foster that discussion among the people's representatives. throughout the day the members are going to be participating in thought provoking discussions on various policy initiatives. whether it's jobs and commit, national security, health care,

rethinking outdated poverty programs. and the reforation of the actual in article 1. it's our opportunity to rally around a common vision for moveca and the best way to that forward. thank you. senator thune: thank you, kathy. i want to welcome all of you to baltimore. it's a vex siting day. you get to hang with us now and cover a presidential debate tonight. we are excited to be with our house colleagues again this year. when we met last year we had a new majority. we were in the process of trying to get the senate functioning again so we could work with our house colleagues to actually get some things done for the american people. i think that we have at least, if you look at the record of this last year, done that in a pretty effective way. first balanced budget since 2001. first meaningful education reform since 2002. first significant social security reform since really

1983. and first multiyear highway bill since 2005. not to mention cybersecurity and a number of other things that we were able to transact through the senate this year. keystone pipeline which ultimately was vetoed. repeal of obamacare. there were a whole serious of things -- series of things that the senate was able to get done this year. we think that we have at least restored the senate to where it's functioning again. we hope that this year will build upon that foundation, build upon that success and lead to more accomplishments. this session this week is really all about getting our members together, talking about our ideas. as cathy mentioned, it is a competition of ideas. we believe we are a party of ideas. we are the party of innovation. the party of economic growth and opportunity. and we are the party of compassion. so the sessions today are really focused on that. we've got a panel of people we are going to hear from this morning to talk about economic growth and innovation. we've got a panel that's going

to talk about the future of health care. we have a panel that's going to talk about how to keep the country safe and fight terrorism. and we've got a panel that's going to talk about how to update outdated poverty programs that have been ineffective and aren't working. that's really what the sessions are about today. very much focused on policy. very much focused on the agenda for this next year, knowing it's an even numbered year, it's an election year which makes it more challenging because people tend to go to their respective corners. of course there is a presidential campaign going on at the same time. but as a congress, as a republican majority, we want to be driving forward, putting ideas out there, creating an agenda that we think is good for the american people, that will lead to greater prosperity and greater security for our contry. that's -- country. that's what we are here to do these couple of days. i'm pleased that we have a good representation of our members in

the united states senate to join our colleagues in the house of representatives. questions. comments. accusations. >> nicki haley got a lot of attention this week by her speech. the state of the union response. clearly comments directed at donald trump. she said to avoid sort of the temptation to follow the angriest foist voists. some people in the room think they have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. that's not true. do you agree with what she's saying? senator thune: well, i think that she did a really good job. i thought she was very impressive in her remarks and delivered very, very well. i think delivered a face and voice for our party that really is what we are all about, and that is growing our majority, obviously. reaching out to more people across this country. presenting ideas we think are compelling and will attract people to join our vision.

we have different people have different ideas and different ways of communicating and different style and tone. i thought that she did a nice job, i think, at least of reflecting what many of us here are talking about this week. and that is pro-growth agenda for the american people. one that reaches out and tries to attract more people to our cause. >> clearly talking about what we are hearing on the campaign trail, do you share the concerns that the rhetoric on the campaign trail and will that impact your ability to keep the majority, to win back the white house? senator thune: i think in a presidential campaign the rhetoric gets hot. that's just inevitable. we can't control what presidential candidates are going to say or do. the only thing we can do is control what we do here. what we do as individual members of congress. what we want to do is make sure both house members and senators are well positioned going into this election year, can talk

about a positive agenda for the future of this country. talk about a record of accomplishment which i think is, as i said, pretty self-evident from last year and run their own campaigns. what happens above us on the presidential ballot you don't control. the overwhelm thing you can do is control what you can control. what we want to do is articulate a clear, positive vision agenda for the future of this country. and the presidential campaign at some point when we have a nominee, hopefully we'll be able to sync up with them and their agenda, but we want to make sure that our members have something that thee they can be talking about when they go out and try to encourage their voters to give them another opportunity to represent them. i don't know if you want to add anything. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: there is a loft frustration across the country. and we have -- that is reflective among the members, too. part of the reason we have dedicate the time while we are together to look at the question of article 1, power of the

purse, how we restore the of elective representatives of the people and the decisionmaking processes is on the forefront of our minds. i think it goes to. so fears and frustration that is we see from people across the country when decisions, more and more decisions are being made either the president, the executive branch, or the judicial branch that don't reflect the will of the people are not voted on by the people. so that is -- we want to be focusing on, we think it is fundamental to who we are as representatives and as a reflection of the people through representative government. >> to follow up on your point, you said hopefully we'll be able to sync up with their agenda whoever the nominee is. is there a concern because of the frontrunner that republicans might not be able to sync up

with whoever the republican in a momentee is if it is donald trump? a number of people including the speaker have repudiated some of the things he said. we can talk upstairs on these different issues, but if that doesn't sync up with who the republican frontrunner is isn't that a problem for the g.o.p.? senator thune: we are a big and diverse party, very entrepreneurial party. lots of ideas out there. people are different in terms of the style and tone which they convey their message. i assume at some point, don't know how soon it's going to happen, but we are going to have -- people are going to start voting here in the next three weeks or month. the primaries are going to start ticking off. we'll get closer and closer. the debate will engage and be joined even more. people are going to start looking very, very seriously at these candidates. and i think the candidate that's ultimately going to be successful is going to have to tap into as kathy said some of the frustration that's being

experienced by the american people. but ultimately i think people want those who are -- that they vote for and elect to office to appeal to their hopes. i think that articulating a hopeful vision, a clear agenda for the future of this country will be critically important. that candidate, whoever that nominee ultimately is, has an agenda they want to talk about, i think there will be areas where we'll find common ground with that agenda. what we want to be prepared to do, to see that our members, both house and senate, are positioned well going into this election year to make their case to their voters about why we need to retain a republican majority in the united states -- in congress. and i think, again, the record of this last year, the things that we want to do this next year, the ideas we are going to put forward, i hope are going to provide the necessary wherewithal for our candidates to do that. irrespective what's happening on

top. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: i agree. that's part of why we are here. part of why we are here today is because we are a broad diverse group of people. we welcome the competition of ideas. we also believe that it is very important as we head into 2016 that we are articulating as representatives in the house and senate what are those specific policy solutions. so that people in this country know what we as republicans believe are the specific policy solutions that will help grow our economy, get people back to work. for those that have been out of work, get them the training, skills, so we can get this economy growing at a faster pace. what is the future of health care? the republicans believe that there's a better future than what is currently offered to america, that has resulted in less choices, higher costs. so we want to present that as a choice to the country. we believe it is very important that the safety and security of

this country is first and foremost. and that that also is going to be a focus today and moving forward. and we are thinking these outdated poverty programs. we think as the members of congress it is important that we are presenting that choice as we head into this election so people can know what we would like to accomplish. >> senator, pursuing your agenda, do you anticipate any kind of change in the senate rules? do you think you'll pursue a change in the filibuster rules so that you can pass any of these things on your agenda? do you support that idea? do you think that's something you would pursue? senator thune: i have my own personal views about that, but i think as a conference we have people who have been studying, giving a great deal of attention to how we might make the senate work more efficiently. as this leader always says in the senate, floor time is the coin of the rell. we have a liment amount of it and how do we build more

capacity in so we can get more things done so we can move individual appropriation bills. we have some folks looking at some of the rules, some of the procedures that we use in the senate. how can we get on appropriations bills? this last year we had democrats blocking every appropriation bill on the motion to proceed because they want more money. if you can't get on the bill, you can't move, can't debate it, can't amend t we are looking at those things. but if we were, in the end if there were any recommendations that came out of this from the rules committee, this is basically -- we had some people study it, report to the rules committee, the rules committee would ultimately have to put something forward, the question, i think, is can we get 67 votes to do it the traditional way? to change the rules in the senate if you do it the traditional way gets 67 votes. we have to have something a lot of big majority of our members would support as well as a number of democrats. and i don't want to handicap

that process at this point because right now it's very preliminary. i do think it's fair to say -- one of our goals is, instead of getting where we -- at the end of the year are doing these massive omnibus bills, that everybody hates, if you do appropriation bills individually, it's much cleaner, much more transparent, much more accountability there. we have to get back to that. how do you facilitate and make that happen within the parameters we have to deal with. our rules and procedures are very limiting as you know in the senate. taking a look at those things and seeing how we can find additional capacity to do more is one of the issues we are interested in. i'm open to that. i think on a -- just again, this does not reflect the views of the conference, i think that if on a motions to proceed, there's a lot of redundancy built in. we have multiple cloture votes in most cases on bills, to get on bills in limited

circumstances, particularly appropriations bills which i think are critical to our article 1 responsibility, the power of the purse, i'm open to that. again no decisions have been made and no recommendations have been made. it's very preliminary in terms of the discussion. inaudible] >> what are your thoughts on hat? calling the majority leader a liar. senator thune: i'm personally offended to be called the

establishment. we understand that politics is politics. it's very popular right now, there's a good amount of the american electorate, which i totally get, that's frustrated with washington generally. that's what's fueled the rise of some of our presidential candidates on our side as well as on the democrat side. you look at the asendance of bernie sanders, there are people out there who are genuinely frustrated. many of us who serve in the senate and cathy can speak for the house, you do your best to reflect the will of the people you represent. in my first run for political office, i was running as the insurgent. outsider. i was running as the person that was the anti-establishment candidate. we all -- i understand that. i get that. i think that's a part of the political process. when we have a nominee and we are trying to figure out how to win that general leaks electorate, that's -- electorate -- general election electorate, that's going to be our hope we

can get our team teem together and focus in a unified way a goal. articulate a clear, positive vision for the future of this country with clear solutions and that present a contrast, alternative, to what's been offered up by the president for the last several years. and what's been offered up by democrats in congress, which i think is just generally more of the same. which is more expanded government. our vision is much more about expansion of liberty. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: thanks, everyone. we'll be back. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> congressional republicans holding their annual policy retreat. they are meeting in baltimore over the next two days. coming up this afternoon, house speaker paul ryan and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell will hold a news conference. we'll have that live for you coming up in about 40 minutes, at 1:30 eastern on c-span. the british house of commons is set to debate a proposal to bble republican presidential candidate donald trump from the

united kingdom. we'll have live coverage of that debate next monday from the house of commons. monday morning at 11:30 a.m. eastern. ireland is also considering a similar ban against mr. trump in their country. >> this weekend the c-span cities tour, hosted by our comcast cable partners, explores the history and literary culture of hartford, contract account. on book tv, author anne farrow discuss the logs boogs. learn about slave trade. and the significance these books had in tepping the story of new england's role in the slave trade. >> in these log books we have this extraordinary opportunity to see day buy day how life was lived aboard new england slave ships. two of which were from connecticut. i came to the realization that these log books were not maintained as i had earlier thought by the son of an obscure connecticut farmer but from the

son of an aterrorist could he contract from new england. >> in his book "singing for freedom." >> throughout this mom of 1842, seeing frederick douglass and perhaps hearing, hearing him speak, the hutchisons decide to take that step. they will actually perform at the american anti-slavery society meeting in 1843. they'll perform in boston a little before that, kind of their first forays into anti-slavery singing. they do this in very formal meeting settings. they do it brilliantly. >> on american history tv we'll visit the home of harriette beacher stow and learn about her time spent in hartford where she published more than 30 books. >> she moved in with her husband, calvin stow, whom she married in 1836, he was about 10 years older than her and

professor of theology and he was retired. she moved in with her oldest children, twin girls, her adult daughters. they were in their 30's. stowe was in her secretaries and her husband was in his 70's. stowe would was still writing. she was world famous. she had reached that pinnacle of fame in her 40's. and now she's in her 60's. and she's still writing to support the family. a final lirks we'll tour the mark twain house and museum and learn about mr. train twane's professional successes and private life with his he wife and children while they lived in this home from 18p 4 to 1891. >> mark twain began looking into hartford as a place to settle with his young wife and their new family and he came to the city, fell in love with it, and just tickled to death. wrote letters back to his own family. mother and brother and said this place is beautiful. the family would come in to the library here after dinner in the

evenings. this was a very special spot. for instance, the paintings across the top on the walls here and the knickknacks on the mantle they would ask for a story. and the rule was he had to begin with the cat in the rough painting on the end. he had to start there. there were these certain rules. from there he had to continue across the mantle. incorporate each and every knickknack. he could not go out of order. could he not repeat himself. and then would he have to end with the painting of emiline. that would satisfy the girls. >> watch c-span cities tour, saturday at noon eastern on c-span2's book tv and sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span3. working with our cable affiliates and visiting cities cross the country. >> next, virginia governor tarrif mcauliffe delivers the annual state of the commonwealth

address in the statehouse chamber in richmond. he called on the general assembly to work together on employment. the economy, education. and several other issues. >> come to order. sergeant at arms. >> mr. president, his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of virginia. >> members will receive the governor of the commonwealth of irginia. [applause]

governor mcauliffe: thank you. thank you.

[applause] --ernor mcauliffe: >> as speaker of the house of delegates and president of the joint assembly, it is my pleasure to present to you his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth of virginia, the honorable terence r. mcauliffe. [applause]

governor mcauliffe: thank you. all right. thank you. thank you. is virginia not the greatest tate in america? lieutenant governor northham, attorney general herring, speaker howl, leader norman, men and women of the general assembly, distinguished guests, citizens of virginia, thank you for inviting me here tonight. a special thanks to my wife, dorothy, for all that she is doing every day for virginia's children and their families. [applause]

governor mcauliffe: i married well. i also want to take a moment to thank the 575 brave virginians in the national guard who tonight are away from their families, deployed in the u.a.e., cuba, and kuwait and elsewhere around the globe and thank them for everything they do to keep us safe. tonight they are represented by our tag major general jim williams who is with us here tonight. applause]

and finally, i welcome the new members of the general assembly as you begin your legislative session. i look forward to working with all of you. when i stood before you one year ago, as you know, we were preparing to close a $2.4 billion budget shortfall. we were coping with the drag that federal cuts were placing on our economy and bracing for the potential of tougher, more sequestration cuts. and as you know, i was speaking to the pain of seven broken

ribs and a punctured lung. this evening, i'm happy to tell you that things are looking up. our work to build a new virginia economy is paying off. we can breathe more freely thanks to a period of relative calm in washington, and i'm happy to say that five of my ribs are now healed and i am certainly breathing easier than i did last year. [applause] secretary rick brown often says that virginia's leaders are on their best behavior in a budget crisis, and he has seen a few. e proved his point last year when our finances turned ugly, we went to work. we touched it out protecting our schools from cuts and keeping our economic development plans on track. as you know, we did not agree on everything, but we put

partisan battles aside to get the job done. since then, i have seen many of you at groundbreaking ceremonies for new businesses and factories all across the commonwealth. each time i handed you a shovel and said let's get to work. this evening let us get those shovels out again and continue working together so that our futures can improve for every virginia resident. last year we worked to protect and expand our investments in priorities that contribute directly to our goal of a stronger economy. we also agreed on the need to reform programs that were failing. those principles should continue to guide our work through this year. i have introduced a budget that is structurally and fiscally sound. we must maintain that balance budget while making strategic investments. even as our economy improves and our revenue increases, our

responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars remains the same. and so does the significant power that we in this room had to make a real difference in the lives of the people who sent us here to represent them. we can change lives by giving the high school student who is uncertain about his future the training that he needs to get a great job in cybersecurity. we can change lives by helping the small business owner make the connections that she needs to sell customers in china, india and cuba. and speaking of cuba, mr. president -- mr. speaker, i ave a present for you.

[applause] now, there is a few more where those came from, if you know what i'm saying. we'll negotiate it later in the session. we can change lives by giving a mom with diabetes the medical care she needs to be healthy and to be there for her children. those positive changes is at the very heart of the work to build a new virginia economy so all citizens have the opportunity to maximize their god-given potential. henry ford once said, it has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste. i know from my own career in business you cannot take opportunities for granted. if you pass one up, you may not get another chance. the same is true for leading this great commonwealth. the reprieve that we have received from sequestration cuts is our chance to lay a solid foundation for the type

of economy that we will need when those cuts return in full force in two short years. if we work together over the next 60 days, we can expand economic opportunity to virginians in every corner of the commonwealth, from every walk of life and we can show the world yet again that here in virginia we do not back down from a challenge, we do not let petty partisan squabble stand in the way of progress that our amilies deserve. [applause] tonight i am here to tell you that the state of our commonwealth is strong. and by working together for the next 60 days, we can make it even stronger. and so this evening that is the

vision that defines my message to you. let us work together to get things done. let's work together to create jobs and build a new virginia economy. let's work together to transform our education and work force development systems to meet the demands of our future. let's work together to make virginia more attractive to businesses and trading partners all over the globe. let's work together to make a real difference in the lives of the friends and neighbors that we came here to serve. just look back at what we've accomplished together as a commonwealth over the last two years and reflect on the lives that we have changed along the way. one virginian at a time day after day. 88,400 new jobs created. 1,523 veterans with a safe, warm place to call home.

100,000 students -- [applause] 100,000 students now attending schools that offer free meals to all their children. and more than 37,000 individuals receiving work force credentials last year alone. [applause] i started this job convinced that all of the commonwealth's challenges trace back to one essential solution -- building a new virginia economy, one that is diverse, sustainable and offers new opportunities for everyone. and the progress that we are making together is a clear indication that we are on the right path to meeting those challenges in the beginning of a new chapter of opportunity

and prosperity. think about our accomplishments over the last two years. just think for a second. 561 new economic development projects, a record $9.27 billion in new capital investment. [applause] the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the southeast of the united states of america. [applause] an increase in the average $941, age from $878 to and now more than 3,848,000 largest irginia, the largest number in the history of the commonwealth of virginia. [applause]

our state revenues are revenues everything from personal income tax, sales tax to housing sales. and i want you to know that i did buy a powerball ticket. so when i win later tonight, we're going to see a $40 million increase into our general fund. [applause] as we've grown our economy overall, we've also sharpened our competitive edge in high-growth industries like cybersecurity and biological sciences. last month, virginia beat out 46 other states for a new air force cyberoperations squadron to be located at langley air force base. and tomorrow i will be in northern virginia to cut the ribbon on the state-of-the-art cyberfusion center.

this will lead the country in threat detection and command and control operations for the world's largest payment network, and i'm proud to say that virginia beat out colorado and texas for that honor. [applause] here in virginia, we've also steadily accelerated our push to increase exports of all virginia products and services to global markets everywhere. why? because 95% of the world's customers live outside the united states of america. 81% of all global economic growth will occur outside the u.s. between now and 2020. we have visited those markets personally, opening up india to virginia-grown apples for the first time in our history, and we've worked to lift the bans on poultry in oman and kuwait.

just in week we received our first order ever for two containers of poultry that will be shipped to oman. and last week we traveled to cuba, and i'm proud that we were able to forge a deal between virginia's pork and the new billion-dollar port of marial. we've also assisted 692 virginia companies eager to tap into markets in our trade programs. 182 of those businesses have traveled overseas to make personal connections with new customers and new opportunities. with us tonight is vanessa christie, vice president of the virginia-based company prevailans, with more than 100 employees. have a neta is a united states navy combat veteran who spent the majority of her actsive duty flying and instructing the f-14 tom cat.

her company has provided flight training to the pentagon and nato. but now she's moving in to international markets. in the first year of participation in our valet program, vanessa has joined our trade missions to the u.k., anada and mexico and she has already six return business trips scheduled to these international markets this year. this is a defense contractor who is diversifying and creating jobs for virginiaans. i want to thank vanessa for being here tonight. thank her for what she's doing to grow jobs here in virginia. and most importantly, thank her for her service to our great country.

we've also worked together to strengthen virginia's agriculture exports. last year we exported a record $3.35 billion in ag products, which moved us up to the number two spot on the east coast, leapfrogging north carolina and putting georgia squarely in our sights. to move ahead to meet my goal of making virginia the number one exporting ag in the east coast. our export is at the center of the important work we're doing to build the new economy, and they are a clear example of the benefits of what happens when we all work together. i want to thank the support of delegate landis and senator hanger for all the great work they have done on economic development funding -- such as

-- [applause] steve, i hope i didn't hurt you in the caucus. [laughter] there's another career gone. [laughter] but the great work that we've done together working on grants gives us the opportunity and tools we need to open up new markets and businesses to make sure we can reach producers all over the commonwealth. i'm pleased to see that there a bipartisan backing of the $38.9 million in our budget to partner with go, virginia, as it fosters regional collaboration among businesses, government and education leaders to help us achieve our shared economic goals. these are not partisan successes. these are virginia's successes, and i believe, folks, that we

are just warming up. as we ship virginia products to trade partners all over the globe, we are also making great progress in strengthening our energy economy and diversifying our fuel mix here at home. as you know, we recently announced a historic 80 megawatt solar facility that will power amazon web services data services in northern virginia. this will be the largest solar facility in the mid-atlantic, and the second largest in the entire east coast. it will more than quadruple the amount of solar currently installed in the commonwealth. we are also doing our part to power up the solar industry in virginia with our goal to purchase 8% of the electricity needed to run state government from solar generation within the next three years. friends, that is a 100-fold increase in solar capacity here in virginia. [applause]

we will make virginia more energy independent and stimulate economic growth by expanding our use of renewable energy. recently, we met with the leaders of microsoft, google and amazon, and they made it perfectly clear to me that they will only do business and create jobs in states that can provide them with renewable power to generate their operations. renewable also offers an opportunity in many of our rural communities to rebuild our manufacturing sector so that every single solar panel or wind turbine that we install has a big stamp on it, made in virginia. [applause] i'm proud of what we've achieved working together in the past two years to build our economy, and the budget that i

presented to you in december takes even more aggressive steps to build on our momentum. according to an analysis by chamorra economics and an lissics are $2.3 billion bond package alone will be a major boost to our economy. $3.5 billion in impact impact -- economic impact in 2021 from construction expenditures. more than 19,000 new construction jobs and related industries and the largest capital in research in history with emphasis on bioscience. nearly $850 million in bonds are designated for our four-year universities and $214 million for our community colleges to strengthen and expand stem and work force programs. in addition to significant capital investments in research and development, the two-year budget before you provides more than $1 billion in new funds

all across all levels of education. [applause] we have proposed a significant infusion of resources into our public schools, including $139 million to fund 2,500 additional instructional positions. we will take virginia's investment in public education to $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2018, the largest level in the ommonwealth's history. now, this does not mine that we

should invest tax dollars in education just for the sake of it. we should invest in smart, innovative programs that get results from the students, the communities and the businesses that we serve. we have already made a great start. lieutenant governor and his team worked closely with us to win a $17.5 million annual grant from the united states department of education to provide high-quality prekindergarten classes for 13,000 children. we began reforming our standards of learning by eliminating five s.o.l. tests. we made the testing process better without watering down the high standards that we set for our schools and we set for our students. my team worked closely with leaders in this room like senator john miller and delegateriesen to oversee these important reforms and the results speak for themselves. listen to this. five-point gains in reading and

math pass rates. improvement in writing in history. a seven-point increase in math-passed rates among african-american students and a six-point gain in reading. and today 1,414 of our public schools are now fully accredited, a 10-point increase from the prior year. is now is not the time to let up. let us use the 60 days to strengthen our investment in education, further our reforms of our standard of learning and make every single virginia classroom a place where students are being prepared to lead in the 21st century.

[applause] i can usually count on lionel. we can start by using new technologies to evaluate student learning without subjecting them to six-hour s.o.l. tests. i know every member of the general assembly has heard from parents about third graders having to take six-hour tests. if we work together to provide the necessary resources, by the spring of 2017, we can reduce the time most virginia students spend taking s.o.l. tests to less than two hours through computer, adaptive testing. as important as it is to reduce and to shorten tests, it is just a small piece of the work we must do to build the education system that we need to lead in a global economy.

virginia students hold the key to combrureship, economic growth. what we put into our schools today will be what we get out of our economy 10 years, 20 years, 50 years from today. you cannot build an economy for 2050 with a 1950's approach to education. so this year i proposed legislation that will begin a fundamental change to virginia's approach to high school education. we will put greater emphasis on hands on learning, internships, early college courses, industry credentials rather than classroom seat time. our high schools were designed during the industrial revolution to prepare workers with the basic information and skills needed for the jobs of that day and time.

this is a problem for two million virginians living in rural regions. as jerry worked on the horseshoe initiative, 21% or residents 00,000 have less than a high school diploma. our educators are eager to create the schools of the future and they are already starting. here in the richmond area, a new code r.v.a. school is opening up next fall that will prepare students to learn code brighting. students will obtain a high school diploma in two years and get a community college two-year degree while working in real computer science jobs. the students who graduate from this school, let me be very clear, will not have any trouble finding a job. and to all the parents who are we ing tonight, right now have 17,000 cyberjobs open, and

the average starting pay is $88,000. for those of you old enough to movie "the graduate," the key word was plastics. well, folks today it's cyber. these new high schools that we are designing will benefit students like james delosche, an eighth grader who is already a skilled coder and has even designed award-winning app already. so folks, our future. let us welcome james who is here to represent all the future code writers here in the commonwealth of virginia. we thank james for being with s tonight.

if we're going to prepare students for the jobs of today and create the jobs of tomorrow, we must fundamentally change the way we think about education. that innovative approach even extends to the services that we offer to students who face unique challenges like military dependent children. transitioning to new lives here in the commonwealth. we passed legislation last year to ensure that our schools are doing everything they can to support the concerns of children of our active duty military families as they transition in and out of our public school system. i do want to thank for the first lady for her leadership

nce again on this issue. and as we take a new approach to public education,e cannot ignore the fundamental problem that far too many students, one in six in fact, lack the basic nutrition they need to fulfill their potential. i am proud of the progress we have made on this important issue. i want to thank the first lady, once again, for her tremendous outreach and advocacy because today 100,000 virginia students in 26 school divisions are now benefiting from the community eligibility provision which allows schools to provide meals at no cost to the students or their families. across the nation, school participation in this new federal program expanded by 20%. here in virginia, we knocked it out of the park. we expanded by 139%.

we worked together last year to include funding in the budget to support school breakfast programs across virginia, ensuring that all children start the day ready to learn. those dollars today are helping 244 schools expand their breakfast programs. but we had an additional 310 schools seek funding that we were not able to support. i want to recognize a special guest who is also with us tonight. amanda warren is the supervisor of school nutrition programs at stanton city public schools. out of four schools that applied that she was working with, two were approved to receive additional support for school breakfast. at bessey weller elementary school, amanda has been able to increase breakfast participation among her

students from 33% to 91%. could you imagine what she could have done if we had funding for all four schools? that's why the budget before you doubles the funding to $2 million so we can continue our work getting every student the basic nutrition that he or she needs to succeed in the classroom. i want to thank you, amanda, for being here tonight and taking the leadership on this issue. [applause] a strong k-12 system in which every student has access to a world-class education is essential to building a new virginia economy, but we cannot stop there.

the budget that we will work on together also contains funding to make our higher education system more accessible to all students and to better prepare those students for the economy of the future. in this budget that you have in front of you, we invest more than $48 million new for financial aid for higher education over the next two years. more than $50 million in incentives for colleges and universities to increase the number of suents receiving degrees. and almost $25 million for virginia's community colleges to produce more industry certifications and occupational licenses. i believe -- thank you. [applause] i believe that education is a prime example of the opportunity that we have this session to work together to strengthen our economy and to make our state a better place to live. we all agree that is what virginians sent us here to do. that is why i remain

optimistic. if we can sit down at the table together in good will we can find a way forward on the important issue of medicaid expansion. [applause] let's just look at the numbers. each day that we do not close the coverage gap, each day we forfeit $6.6 million in federal money. every single month, we waste $15 million in costs to state taxpayers that could be covered entirely with federal funds. just yesterday, as you know,

louisiana became the 3 st state to expand coverage along with he district of columbia. must have some relatives in louisiana. they are now reaping economic, budgetary and quality of life benefits that we continue to leave on the table. just this past week, i met with governor herbert, the chairman of the national governors association. he is pushing to expand coverage in the conservative state of utah. he is at least the third conservative republican governor who has asked me with surprise, why is it that you wouldn't bring your own money back home to get health care for your citizens? i am truly convinced that we can find a bipartisan virginia solution that totally protects our commonwealth's finances while taking advantage of this historic opportunity to make our state a better place to live. i ask you, please review the

details of our plan with an open mind. and please work with me to reach a solution that will benefit our constituents, our hospitals and our communities. as i have always said, my door is always open and history is on our side. we have come together over and over again on many important issues, including support for our veterans. our virginia values veterans program has helped connect more than 13,000 veterans with ompanies eager to hire them. by 2018 we will reach our goal to help 20,000 veterans find jobs and keep them and their skills here in the commonwealth. [applause] in addition, in partnership with senator louise lucas and leader kirk cox, we have also secured funding for two new

veteran care centers in northern virginia and hampton roads. this is not a funny issue. this is a serious issue because the v.a. is not doing their job for the veterans, and if the federal government is not going to do it, we're going to do it here in virginia. [applause] and let me say something else we should be very proud of, virginia was the first and the only state so far to be certified in the nation to functionally end veteran homelessness in our state. [applause]

anthony harris is here with us this evening on behalf of the hundreds of vols and professionals -- volunteers and professionals who worked so hard to achieve this goal. anthony is a portsmouth native who served with distinction in the u.s. army and now works at the virginia supportive housing. he spent months working with one particular veteran who was living in a tent in virginia beach. i am happy to tell you that anthony was able to find this man a home by thanksgiving. this is not a one-time accomplishment. virginia is committed to making sure that veteran homelessness is rare, brief and a nonrecurring experience from this day forward.

[applause] we have put in place a community-based response and service system for identifying these individuals and quickly meeting their needs. i feel good knowing that whenever a veteran faces a crisis in the future, that he or she can be assured that people like anthony will be there to help them. these folks served our nation, and it's up to us now to serve them. let us give a great round of applause to thank anthony and the entire team for the great work they have done. [applause]

together we can be expand on these accomplishments -- together we can expand these accomplishments and make meaningful investments that strengthen virginia's position as the most veteran-friendly state in the united states of america. when we came into office promising to transform government and to put our taxpayers first, our transportation team had a good idea that they were going to be busy. and they were right. we've turned around the port, generating $13.6 million in profits last year. the first time in seven years that this vital economic asset wasn't floundering in a sea of red. on the midtown-downtown tunnel project, we eased the toll burden for low-income motorists and eliminated tolls entirely for the martin luther king

expressway. thank you, louise. on 460, we cancelled that project and we negotiated a settlement that saved our taxpayers $149 million. we have also made great progress in unlocking northern virginia from the congestion that keeps this dynamic region from reaching its full potential. we're adding new lanes to interstate 66, which will allow 70,000 more people to move through that corridor each and every day. and we are finally putting an end to the wheel-spinning that has kept this much-needed project from moving forward. now, i know there's been a lot of misleading information about this issue, but the facts are ear -- after years of -- years and years of inaction, commuters will now have options that will ease congestion without imposing new tolls on drivers for getting to work the same way that they always have. [applause]

and it's just one of the steps we've taken to unlock the northern virginia region. we're making life better for commuters by extending the 395 hot lanes north all the way to the district line, extending the southbound lanes two miles to clear up backups in stafford county and continuing to support the silver line all the loudoun les to county. together, these projects will strengthen the economy of this key region and our entire commonwealth. we have partnered to strengthen our pension funds for the long terp. thanks to bipartisan cooperation, thousands of public servants can rest assured that their retirement benefits are on firm footing. i know that this issue is always on the minds of speaker howell and chairman chris jones. indeed, the speaker has proposed the creation of a commission to explore the future of the virginia retirement system, and i hope that the funds that i have in my budget can be a starting

point moving us toward a stable and sustainable program. as a first step, i hope that we will work together to fully fund our pension contribution tes by the end of the coming biennium, which will be two years ahead of schedule. [applause] we are all equally committed to supporting our current state workers. i am proud to be their boss, and i was proud to include pay raises in my budget for our state employees, our troopers, college faculty and staff, teachers and school personnel, deputies and other state-supported workers. these men and women work hard to make virginia the best place to live on earth, and best place to start a business. and you know what, they deserve a raise. [applause] >> we'll leave the last few minutes of the state of the

commonwealth address and take you live now to baltimore. republicans are meeting in baltimore for their policy conference. house speaker paul ryan and mitch mcconnell, the senate majority leader. spoke i want to speak -- speaker ryan: i want to speak on behalf of the leader. first, the house republican conference and the house senate conference are here together talking about ideas and what we're here today is come together as republican conferences talking but how do we take our principles, apply them to the problems of the day and apply them to the american people. the problem we have is barack obama's president. so the kind of agenda we're discussing, the kind of agenda we're talking about forming is what can we do if we had a republican president? what does 2017 look like if the election goes the way we hope it goes and that is why we think it's important for us to offer a positive solution s-oriented approach, an agenda to the american people so they can choose, they can choose in 2016 what kind of country they want to have.

we think the country's on the wrong track. we think we're headed in the wrong direction, upward mobility, poverty, national security. so that's why we're here today to talk among ourselves about how we go forward. what's the better way, what's our agenda and that's why we're having a fantastic retreat. senator mcconnell: let me echo what the speaker said. our presidential candidates are out there beating each other up at the moment. that's going to solve itself at some point here during the process. and what paul pointed out is something i agree with totally which is we're going to do everything to try to get ready for 2017. an example of that [inaudible] republican candidate picked up ideas that were developed in congress and made them the centerpiece of their fall campaigns. in the meantime, let me also make the point that we weren't

sent here to do nothing and we're going to be looking for opportunities to make some progress for the american people this year even though the person in the white house is not somebody that we can do the broad reforms that we like to achieve. there are steps in the right direction we can take. one obvious step i would mention is not going to -- one obvious step is for the first time in 1994 do all the appropriations bills. and the democrats in the senate who blocked that possibility this year are at least saying the right things and we'll give them an opportunity to step up and help us do that. >> the party is -- [indiscernible] about donald trump. do you agree with that statement? speaker ryan: we thought we did a great job selecting her. we believe she's a great future of our party.

i did the speech myself in 2011 myself and wrote it myself. she wrote her speech. we think she gave a great speech. i think what she's ultimately trying to do is talk about how do we have a message that is inspiring, that's inclusive, hopeful, optimistic and that unites the country. we don't want to have another president elected -- we want to unite and that means listening to all voices. those who are inspiring. all of the above. >> leader mcconnell? senator mcconnell: what people remember about ronald reagan, he wasn't a solid conservative. he was optimistic and upbeat about the future of america. he believed in this country and its potential and expressed it better than anyone ever has and that needs to be our message going into the fall of 2016. >> what about the discussion on appropriations and possible reforming some of the [indiscernible] there are comments from the democrats here -- [indiscernible] there's always some snake in the grass

that is in the appropriations bills. speaker ryan wants an open amendment process on some of these bills. that's going to take an awful lot of time. i know what you want to do. but this is really a task to get done. senator mcconnell: it is. nothing is done easily in the senate, but it is -- at the beginning of my time as majority leader, an open amendment process was going to be the rule rather than exception. we've done that. when you have a bill open for amendment, it presents the opportunity for troublesome proposals from both sides, but we saw what the senate looked like when nothing happened. 15 roll call votes in all of 2014. no budget four of the last five years. we're not going to have that kind of senate this year and we'll just take our chances. we're big men and women. we're prepared to vote on proposals that are offered on both sides.

speaker ryan: let me pick on you. chad, i would say we're doing our budget early this year in the house. at least a month early is our plan so we can get this appropriations process moving. as you know with the conventions we lose half of july. so we got some compression on the schedule that we're dealing with. we're going to have an open rules system in the house. that's how it -- the system ought to be, especially in the house. so that i think is what the founders intended. like i said at the first press conference i had, we're not going to predetermine the outcome of everything. you know, i don't know where these -- the appropriation bills ultimately go on the floor because we're going to let members have their amendments, have the votes. that's ok. and that's the system we think we ought to have. back there. >> close to actually being implemented, what kind of a contract is going to be drawn between the parties given the unanimous republican opposition to it?

[indiscernible] senator mcconnell: let me just say as far as the senate is concerned, there are a number of democrats who are scrambling to try to convince their constituents that they really weren't for this deal. and so i've said with regard to iran proposals, any proposal that looks like it can get 67 or more votes i'm open to. in other words, we're not going to run the senate floor to allow democrats to get well from a bad mistake they made on iran. if they want to make law, bring me 67 votes and we'll get the floor time. >> senator mcconnell, -- >> speaker ryan, down in south carolina at the winter g.o.p. meeting, there's been chatter, again, about a broken convention. can you say -- can you say with 100% certainty there will not be a brokered convention? [indiscernible]

>> senator mcconnell, you talk about broken amendments process. one said he would like a vote on donald trump's proposal to bar muslims from entering the country. is that something that you would allow? senator mcconnell: generally speaking i tried to avoid turning the senate into a studio for the presidential campaign. but it's worth noting that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. and so you could expect amendments that they might not lock related to the sanders or clinton campaign. as a general rule, what i tried to ask the senate to do is let the presidential candidates run their race and let's try to do the people's business. >> presidential candidates, if donald trump or cruz turned out to be the nominee of the party, are you confident you and your colleagues and the republican

apparatus will get behind -- speaker ryan: we're going to support whoever nominee is. you know why? it's the republican -- point one, point two, what we are working on today and what we will be working together all year is take an agenda to put to the country. we think the country is headed in the wrong direction. therefore, we believe we have an obligation, a duty to offer another way forward, to offer an alternative and that's exactly what we're going to do. take our conservative principles, apply them to the problems of the day, present the country with solutions so they can make a choice and whoever our nominee is going to be we think will carry that forward. >> leader mcconnell, you told the meeting that you intend to pass a budget this year but spoke to mike enzi, chairman enzi on wednesday, he's not committed to moving a budget yet. is it set in stone there will be a budget it this year? senator mcconnell: we're certainly committed to passing a budget this year. i want to remind you four of the last five years under the

democratic majority they didn't do it. and the only time they did do is when the budget say no budget no pay. so it's pretty clear they don't think that's an important exercise. even though it's required by law. and so we're going to make a major effort to pass a budget. speaker ryan: thanks, everybody. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. isit ncicap.org] >> two-day republican retreat is in baltimore, and our capitol hill producer is covering. tweeting this out earlier. rrp whip steve scalise saying no decision yet on obamacare alternative. it's one of the issues republicans are discussing during their two-day retreat. also, president obama was in louisiana today for a town hall that we covered earlier on issues related to tuesday's state of the union address. this tweet shows the president after that meeting doing high-fives with a little boy in

the arms of louisiana congressman cedric richmond. the president is on his way back to washington this afternoon. british house of commons, meanwhile, is going to debate next week a proposal to ban republican presidential candidate donald trump from the united kingdom. we're going to have live coverage of that monday ginning at 1:30 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m. eastern. and ireland is considering a similar ban. >> booker t. said to him, you know, we have college-age kids covered in alabama, but it's really the kids in the elementary schools that are suffering. the african-american kids are getting poor education, horrible buildings. it's just not anything, you know, separate and not equal. sunday night on q&a aviva kempner has a book called "rosenwald," about the

african-american communities in the south to build scols and bring elementary education to children in rural area. >> so first he said, you know, puts together these kid houses, why don't we use the kid houses? and the best thing booker t. washington ever said was, no, i just want like we did at tuskegee, i want the communities to build it. first these six schools were built and it was amazing. from that it morphed into 5,000 schools all over the south, including maryland. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a." >> former intelligence and diplomatic officials testified before the house armed services committee this week on combating the islamic state in iraq and syria. other witnesses included former u.s. ambassador to sear yarks robert ford, and former defense undersecretary, michael vickers, who urged the administration to step up air strikes without increasing

collateral damage. this is 2 1/2 hours. >> the committee will come to order. the committee is very pleased today to welcome three distinguished public servants to help offer us some insights on isis and the general direction of radical islamist terrorism. thorn thorn each of these -- these rnberry: each of general have served not only in the obama administration but in previous administrations in a variety of agencies -- and i am certainly very grateful that they'd be willing to come gether to help share their insights on this threat that we face on what we can and should do about it and the direction hat this ideology, this threat

that we have dealt with, especially since 9/11, should be. there is we know that some success in reclaiming towns in iraq but at the same time they deepen their hold in sections of libya all the way across to afghanistan. so this broader direction is something that i think we need to understand and try to get our arms around. in addition, this threat extends to us here at home as we have seen in recent days and beeks. -- weeks. we are not exempt from its reach. so we need the expertise that these gentlemen can provide and the guidance that they can provide us in carrying out our responsibilities and we are glad to have them today. mr. smith is not here today so i'd yield to the gentlelady from california, ms. sanchez,

for economy comments she'd like to make. -- for any comments she'd like to make. ms. sanchez: thank you. i'd read a few comments because i want to make sure we provide some of mr. smith's voice as he's gone. thank you, gentlemen, for being before us today. and i welcome you and i hope that you can in fact shed light on what is a very complicated situation. no longer is this just about whether we send in ground troops to isil or to counter isil or not. we see isil's influence permeating into so many different countries. permeating through the internet and the dark spaces of the internet that none of us really can understand. we see it in the violence that we have in europe and the middle east. of course, we saw its influence in my home state just 20 miles away from where i live in san

bernardino. so the influence of isil is spreading. i think we have to -- we have to get our heads around that, and we also see other extremist groups that are beginning to align or coordinate with isil from north africa. and this is a problem. in general i would say that the international community, the u.s., democrats, republicans were trying to really grabble with how we de-- grapple how we define, how we handle the best way in which we defeat this evolving situation of isil and aligned groups. and although we've seen progress on isil, for example, reclaiming of ramadi. the situation seems to be growing more complex, and i'm worried that it may get even more difficult given the situation between saudi arabia and iran, for example.

think o concerned -- i we need a clearer strategy. and i don't know that that strategy is one we want to make public, mr. chairman, because i'm always one of those people that says if you want to battle someone you ought to have an upper hand. we as representatives of the people need to understand what the strategy is. and we need to -- because if we can understand how we go about this, then we can agree as democrats and as republicans, as americans, really, to put the resources that are required to get the job done. as i said before, defeating isil will require a broad commitment that will take many years to take the effect that we want. but we cannot allow ourselves to be pulled into the same types of mistakes that we saw in the iraq war.

isil is out to get us, and we need to understand that. it is not just about over there. this has now come here. so we have to figure out how to expose the dark and the hopeless nature of isil's vicious and morally bankrupt agenda. and we have to do everything to delegit ties isil's twist -- delegit ma tiesed isil's twisted appeal. and it is beyond my comprehension -- let me end with this, mr. chairman -- beyond my comprehension how in today's world we can have such a massive humanitarian crisis occurring in syria and where we in have 40,000 civilians starving to daya death as a result of isil and assad and the conflicts that

the conflict -- the confluence of what is happening there. so i'm interested in your views today. trying to find some answers. trying to find that negative what is a real strategy that we and our allies, because it will take more than just the u.s. to resolve this issue. i yield back and i look forward to your testimony. gentlemen. mr. thornberry: the committee is pleased to welcome with us today mr. the former director of the central intelligence agency, dr. michael vickers, former undersecretary of defense for intelligence and mr. robert ford, former ambassador to syria. committee members have their complete background information. those were only the last jobs these guys had. again, thank you, all, for being here. without objection, your complete written statement will be made part of the record.

we'd like to hear any oral comments that you would like to make at this time. mr. morrell. mr. morrell, mr. chairman, ms. sanchez, members of the committee, good morning and thank you for the invitation to be here today to talk about an extremely important national security challenge facing our nation. it's an honor to be here. indeed, i'm humbled that you've asked me here to hear my thoughts. it's good to see so many old friends, both on the committee and here at the table with me. i plan on keeping my opening remarks short. over the years i've come to understand that questions and answers are a much more effective way to get to understanding than hearing somebody read a long testimony. let me start with the bottom line. i believe isis poses a significant, strategic and

lethal threat to the united states of america. it's a very strong statement. let me walk you through why i believe that. the nature and the significance of the threat posed by isis flows from the fact that isis is at the same time a terrorist oup, a quasi-state and a revolutionary political movement. we have not faced the likes of it before. as a terrorist group, isis poses a threat to the u.s. homeland. in mid 2015, just six months ago, that threat was largely indirect. isis' ability to radicalize young american men and women to conduct lone wolf attacks here. that indirect threat remains today.