republican and vice versa. that cans one thing sway things in congress. your practices for voting a split ticket, when was the last time you did that? caller: a split ticket? i voted for our mayor, who promised a lot and didn't deliver. to leave it there. thanks for watching the program today. another one comes your way tomorrow. we go to the state department now. every day s freedom of the year. underscores the fact that no one should ever have to doubt. for religious liberty guides the united states and our single day.cy every

this principle is written into d.n.a. of the united states renewing and strengthening our nation with generation. it is the first freedom enshrined before all others in of rights. it is the centerpiece of global conventions and law. our body commitment is affirmed given toiority we have defending and championing international religious freedom especially where it is under threat. grown the religious freedom office the last several ears and we have created a new religion and global affairs office under the outstanding casey.hip of sean put that together and that makes full-time state department personnel focused entirely on of gious freedom and role religion in foreign affairs. working closely with 199 foreign service officers in our

produce the report we are putting out today. kerry said the purpose of this annual report is not to lecture. to inform, to encourage, and ultimately to persuade. bigotry and intall r tolerance with be found in every part of the world including the united states but has an obligation to respect religious liberty and frequently of conscious. we encourage every country to do so. this report, which is based on a objective research, is life toany ways we give that advocacy. our message is simple. be eties continued to stronger -- tend to be stronger, safer and more stable when their citizens fully enjoy the rights to which they are entitled. when a government denies

religious liberty it turns itizens who have done nothing wrong into criminals igniting ension that breeds contempt, hopelessness, alienation. far from the vulnerability or religious polar inch gives each a tangible reason o contribute to the success of the entire society. that is why no nation can potential if its people are denied the right to reely choose and ultimately practice their faith. ow, it used to be our annual eport focused almost exclusively on the action of states but we have seen nonstate organizations g al qaeda posing a major threat to religious freedom. no more egregious form

discrimination than separating the followers of one religion from another, whether a bus, in a on classroom, with the intent of enslaving the members of a particular group. secretary kerry made clear his judgment that responsible for genocide areas communities in under its control. theykill christian because are christian. sheia muslim because they are sheia. they are responsible for crimes gainst humidity and ethnic cleansing directed at the saw him groups and some against sunni muslims. kurds and other minorities. they have not only killed, they erase the memory of those they have killed destroying centuries old cultural sites.

naming these crimes is important to stop them.s that's why president obama coalition of more than 65 partners from every to combat he world and ultimately defeat dash. cutting off re their financing, destroying flow aries, stemming the of foreign fighters and combat ing social media. citizens to return home and gutting the twisted its ation on which ambitions rest. we have eliminated tens of fighters, hundreds of senior leaders and destroyed thousands of pieces of equipment and weapons and deprived them of syria andontrolled in 50% in iraq. we know that the fight to defeat them on the grounds is far from ov over. noose closes around it we have seen them try to

encouraging indiscriminate attacks in as many places as possible. market in baghdad. a nightclub in orlando. nice.enade in a cafe in dhaka. central istanbul. one of the pwbest ways to deny is ensuring those they have sought to destroy not survive but thrive. as the fight for the liberation draws near we must work to ensure a future in which all ira be they sunni, kurd, or other feel represent and protected by the nation they call home. in the state here department we convened over 30 challenged them to do more to ensure religious ethnic communities can remain in their homelands

onfident in security and economic opportunity. every government has an obligation to protect its responding to threat posed by terrorism this an be and we know it, an immensely challenging task. it requires sharing intelligence, identifying behavior, taking legitimate security precautions, rat ering efforts to calendarize young -- radicalize and since they point to text to justify crimes we plus partner with religious, society and political leaders commit today defeat radica radicalize communities and youth. not acurity concerns with defense i couldn't believe reason to -- defensible reason and apply collective punishment or deny frequently essential to

religious practice. to tress this not solely defend the principle of religious freedom but terrorists exploit evidence of discrimination in trying to rationalize their actions and new members. hatever the intent, repression tends to fuel terrorism, not top t, which means denial of religious liberty is not only misguided rofoundly and self-defeating. report holds up countries in which progress to religious made.om is being i will cite one example, vietnam. reporting requirements and registration limit the ability f registered and unregistered communities to freely practice favorite. that said the government is drafting a law of religion and belief to be fall by the ere

national assembly. they have made efforts to rovide traeufrpbt si of the -- transparency of the drafting encourage ourt to partners in vietnam to continue that will a direction ease restrictions on its religious communities. at its heart, this report seeks that is at te all stake. we believe so strongly in religious freedom for all because it is something we value very deeply for as americans. 50 or r years ago if you asked expert what constitutes the wealth of the nation, you the bly would hear that land mass and size of population and strength of military and abundance of natural resources. all those make a difference and matter and the united states many s to be blessed with

of them. but what we know now in the 21st wealth is that the true of the nation can be found in the human resources of a country and their ability to freely expressnvent, excel and themselves. country that fully unleash there potential that invest in the health, prosperity and security societies will thrive in the 21st century no matter they have or don't have in traditional measures of strength.d religious freedom is a core component of maximizing that for people to express themselves freely to maximize potential. i want to thank ambassador everyone who contributed to this year's report. it is an extraordinary testament their energy and passion and dedication. floor ased to yield the

to ambassador saperstein for his the ks and he will have pleasure of answering any questions you may have. thank you. i want to thank deputy secretary blinken for his listen abiding commitment to religious freedom. the t to acknowledge assistant signature of bureau of rights and labor coore coordinates all these the state department. thank you for coming for the release of the 2015 religious freedom report an event that provides each year with an important to highlight this key issue that continues to be a top prioritior the administration. on that of international religious freedom. congressional plan date we document the status of the religious s and

freedom in 199 countries. through the immense efforts of state department officials in washington, at can sies, consulates i affirm once again that the 2015 a high standard of objectivism and accuracy for known makingort is an important source of information for nongovernmental organizations, civil society and governments alike. i would like to begin by country we ut one are not charged for reporting on the united states. religious freedom was essential to the founding of america as said.cretary we have built a system that allows members of the religious religious embers of minorities and nonbelievers and to live, worship practice and express their beliefs freely. always frequently has been at the center of american values and center of our success as a nation.

as it is a vital kphoepbt of our policy. in the year and a half since my swearing in we have continued to make headway on the priorities i numerated during my confirmati confirmation. the commitment of our government religiousepartment to freedom is affirmed by the priority it has given to this as described by the deputy secretary and since my ppointment we have been given significant increases in staff and resources allowing us to monitoring ountry work and increase visits to countries where religious advocacy can make a difference and increase our programmatic work. in many countries religious according to shes he 2014 annual study on global religious freedom trends, 76% of the world's countries provide

basic conditions for people to freely practice their religion or belief. our work however focuses on hose 24% of the countries with serious restrictions on religious freedom. whether government policy or hostile acts individuals, organizations or societal groups. are countries in which 74% population live. in countries where religious contributedave long to the national society for centuries and millennia violent uphaoefrls being h communities are danger of being driven out of their homeland based on their ethnic identity. the pages of this report are face on this human issue that touches so many lives

value of such concern in the hearts of the american people. all the report touches on manner of restrictions to religious freedom i want to chilling and dead placesct of laws in many as well as laws that purport to sentiments gious from defamation. roughly a quarter of the world's have blasphemy laws and one in 10 have laws or penalizing the existence of them and used by cases tots in too many intimidate, repress religious governments have too often failed it take appropriate steps to prevent sparked by accusation. ben these claims turn out to blatantly false accusations made to pursue other agendas often fail to l hold perpetrators accountable.

weak en trust in the impunity w and create for those that would resort to violence. the commission on international eligious freedom states blasphemy laws inappropriately position government as arbiters truth or religious right and empower officials to enforce articular religious views against individuals, minorities and dissenters. where an authoritarian government supports an creed blasphemy accusations are frequently used or rivals critics under the guise of enforcing religious piety. noted in theialist december 2015 report that the ights council euts abundant experience in a number

f countries demonstrates that blasphemy laws do not contribute to a climate of religious tolerance and nondiscrimination. o the contrary they often fuel stereotype being and discrimination and incitement to violence. laws have a stifling impact on the enjoyment of frequently of belief and healthy dialogue and debate about religion. there are many tragic stories that illustrate the harm posed blasphemy laws and apostasy laws. i will mention a few that no to the effects of such legislation. execute inues to prisoners of conscience for their phraoebeliefs. executed at least 20 challeng charges against god. ccording to the human rights

documentation center at least 250 members of minority eligious groups remain in prison including sunnis, bahais and and others. religious leaders who didn't government policies reportedly continue to face arrest.ation and the government continues to harass them and regulated of gious practices christians to enforce a prohibition. saudi arabia penalizes blasphemy sentences and lashings. often after detention without custody. in january authorities publicly lash ed lashed a person 50 times with a entence from the 2013 conviction calling for 1,000 lashes for violating islamic committing blasphemy symbols.ing religious

in november sources reported the a eral had sentenced palestinian person to death for aposta apostasy. 2015 the court sentenced nine members of a for blasphemy for allegedly elevating the founder prophet mohammed. enforce sia they blasphemy laws that undermine religious freedom. onof june of 2015 four of a s were convicted movement of blasphemy and entenced them to prison terms ranging from three to four years for spreading teaches contrary it islam. in pakistan the government ontinued to enforce blasphemy laws which punishment can be death or a range of charges

the prophet iling mohammed. christians and muslims were blasphemyn charges of in the last year. convert fter a hindu were cused of two hindus shot and one died. we are concerned also over targeting harassment of muslims for blasphemy the laws and other crimes. in germany blasphemy laws were those who defamed in gion this past february the city for having backuper stickers that challenge the catholics. we heard nonstate actors inflict punishment for their own interpretation of blasphemy. may a person was playing in syriath his friends and during the game he said a

bad word out of his frustration. he was detained by dash for god.phemy or curse being in days he was marched out into a public square and murdered by firing squad in front of a crowd of hundreds including his parents. chilling stories like this show how terrorist organizations have far some of the most egregious abuses when laiming individuals have engaged in blasphemy or cursing god including those involving crews -- crucifixes. the lawyers and human rights who stands up for those accused of blasphemy targets.s are often we saw this in mauretania when , who man rights activist defe blogger became the arget much death threats and

another convicted of charges related to work as a human ights lawyer in saudi arabia including the defense of his charges of aw on blasphemy. so, what are we doing in the pages of our annual report? lift up these examples and others to highlight the need of these tion of laws like freedom.trict religious we believe shining lights on them is the best way it address addresses r report that. beyond reporting conditions on the ground leaders at the governmentels of our regularly speak out against and engage with government leaders broad panoply of religious freedom violations and abus abuses. we work with people empowered to practices and publicly use social media advocate nd op ed to for the issues about which we care. 25 wn travels to more than

countries i have specifically aised our concerns about blasphemy laws as well as legislation dealing with efamation of religion in countries such as egypt, pakistan, sudan. burma. iraq. i confirmed our opposition urge laws be o the eliminated or not enforced. i have raised as well in each of countries and others individual cases of prisoners of jail ence who suffer in who much peacefully exercising in r right to live accordance with their belief. we partner with communities and n.g.o.'s to build programming that addresses ntolerance and promotes proceedings. the creation of there office in department of state has devoted tens of millions of dollars to foreign assistance that promote religious freedom. one example is our programming

u.n. human rights council 1618 which focuses on intolerance, negative stereotyping, discrimination and incitement to violence and of religion through nonpenal ways except enforcement statutes involving actions on hate crimes beyond just speech. on experts from the departments state, justice and work with curity, we foreign law enforcement fficials to promote best practices in police training, criminal prosecution, community encourage and legislative reforms to achieve those goals. globe encouraging efforts of governmental and ongovernmental responses and addressing negative impact of such laws. iceland abandoned its 75-year-olds blasphemy law. will be a model for other nations to emulate.

in june an international contact group on religious freedom of more than 25 like minded encompassing countries if six continents with ordan population -- majority populations all seeking to advance frequently of religion at the department of state in washington. we are taking collective action the most urgent religious freedom challenges and n a similar vein as you heard just two weeks ago we convened a ajor international meeting coordinated by our special enjoy the eligious minorities in near east and south central asia that brought together more than agencies to and discuss how to meet the needs of eligious and ethnic minorities victimized by death. there are the inspiring nongovernmental efforts and i not only mention religious freedom. sweden and denmark many groups formed human rings around

to protect them after anti-semitic attacks. after the france beheading of a priest local muslims showed their solidarity a grieving catholic community attending mass with their fellow country men. of 2015, muslim leaders courageously stepped forward placing themselves between a mob and neighbors of blast field goalie to - blast field goalie to -- blasphemy. in sudan in august of 2015 i was the release of two of the country's most prominent religious prisoners of although sadly after they were freed and left the reapplied.rges were a bus intants attacked killingth the report of them they refused to be separated from fellow christian

and said to kill them or leave them all alone. although two passengers were attackers eventually relent and withdrew. more uary of 2016 a group han 300 islamic scholars athered in marakesh where they would issue a declaration for rotecting religious minorities and muslim majority countries leaders ic religious and n.g.o.'s and political leaders are following up with on efforts of the declaration. he pope's visit to the central african republic helped ease tensions between religious on tries but they are again the rise beginning in june after taxi driver rcycle was stabbed to death and six were taken ers hostage. i will be traveling there next

month. in closing, the protection and promotion of religious freedom a key foreign policy priority for the united states. the challenges are that we face across the globe we will not be deterred in did.work we we will continue to partner with other nations and committed n.g.o.'s and courageous individuals and communities on the grounds and across the world to advance these core freedoms. his report is at once vivid testimony for the testimony scant light might get attention and document and blueprint of what must be closer to o bring us the day when religious freedom will thrive for all. we rededicate ourselves anew today. >> thank you, ambassador. while we are familiar with many you, i would ask that you identify yourself by name and

o outlet. reuters. in the executive summary and in remarks, you ng ave emphasized the prevalence anti-blasphemy laws and ways particular eties in can use them to punish people discourage religious freedom or inhibit it and how they can to mob violence against people. three things. is it the case -- you emphasized that by making it the summary.t of your is it the case that there is more prosecutio prosecutions, in the islamic to blasphemy and last year?laws

is it clearly a trend that is increasing or largely the same past?rs seconds, i think that you mentioned that second, i think you mentioned that iceland had abandoned and a blasphemy law. are there significant numbers of non-muslim majority countries that have anti-blasphemy laws? or is this largely a problem confined to the muslim majority world? finally, you spoke of religious freedom with united states but what your assessment call for themp's banning of all muslims, temporarily, from entering the united states? how does that fair with you traditions of religious freedom in this country? ok, first. the blasphemy laws, you can go online and see a list.

andport was issued recently you can see a list of every country in the world that comprise that corner of the world's countries that have them. and there are still five states in the united states that have blasphemy laws on the books. is -- first, your first question. it is about the same as it has been. it is not increasing. every year we lift off one trend in the area of religious freedom -- to tryhave people to ensure that people don't overlook some of the most serious and ongoing abuses that take place. , ashis was not lifted up per example when we focused last year on nonstate actors as a new development. but it is a factor that is often overlooked. and it is in that sense that we have brought this up.

it probably is more prevalent where the laws that exist are ,mplemented but it does happen i cited germany as an example. they are on the book and it does happen in other countries as burma, which has blasphemy laws on the books. we mentioned not too long ago that it was a factor. so we do have examples in other countries that are not part of that. trump, thatdonald is beyond the current view of the administration. they have spoken clearly about the concerns putting aside from who they emanate from about the concerns of singling out any group of different treatment because of their religious identity or peaceful religious practices, and that would apply in the united states as it would elsewhere.

universal life that are enshrined in our constitution. based on the model of the nostitution and it is establishment from religion. concept of theis international covenant that no citizen's right, as a citizen, a political human right should should everired, it be different because of the religious identity and practices. that is one of america's great gifts from the world. do remarks like this make it harder for you to do your job? >> i truly think that countries across the globe, and i travel not too many countries of very different religious majority populations, they see clearly the basic constitutional and institutional constraints

against violations of freedom in the united states and i think they believe deeply in america's promise to be a model about treating all people equally, without regard to religion. isi think that is clear and not punished by the statement here. elected, the is institutions of the united states, constitutional restraints, will ensure that we continue along the line that we have. washington post. are you expecting to be accused of him as a -- accused of hypocrisy by governments given the statements that have been made by donald trump? and also, a few months ago, when the --retary declared had committed genocide, can you point to a single thing that has changed?

>> let me deal with the first question. the united states, in terms of the statements that are made. the policies of united states, the laws and constitutional structure of the united states, in terms of its promise on religious freedoms, remains intact. it doesn't mean we don't have problems internally within the united states. there are debates over religious freedom. those are serious debates. how do we balance out the fundamental first amendment promises of religious freedom with other poor constitutional civil rights and protections that other groups have? we have a major debate in america about that. can be critical of the way that we may handle some of those. questionsbates over

where corporations have religious freedom. day that the kind of debates and concerns that we are addressing the global community are debates about how robustlye out protected religious freedom rights and civil rights, we are dealing with repressed communities. communities subject to societal violence. people who are in jail, tortured and killed, richard and raped, in slaved, forced to marry or convert in countries across below. soy really hope that the kind of problems we have in america become the kind of problems that other people have to deal with. but right now, i am proud of the has a historicca commitment to religious freedom to help mobilize on the international community to address it robustly.

genocide,about the and i am extremely proud of the genocide determination that has made. the secretary has insisted that we very carefully document and gather evidence that will allow for the ability to make a fact-based determination as to whether or not genocide happened. from the moment he did that, he called us and asked. that, i will point out regardless of whether he had made that determination, from the beginning, robustly putting together the coalition. so now, over 65 countries who a significant step to prevent genocide. that is what the president said. we have to stop it and we moved to do that.

support all of the and havens of refugees led the world in mobilizing, including at the recent pledging conference here that initiated that resulted in over 2 billion dollars in commitments to help these populations. since that time, we have begun to do with the crisis. people have to choose, do they want to go with refugees or do they want to return home? we have over a million people in the turkestan region, who are toting in iraq who want return home, and we have been active in responding to the genocide determinations to create conditions that would allow them to return home. leading the efforts on behalf of of the effort of cultural heritage. now beginning to arm and train local defense forces. who areinority groups

going to be integrated with the government of the -- military forces. ofare making plans in terms what kind of transitional justice. -- people need to return home to former neighbors or others who have taken over homes or businesses to prevent them. what kind of way are we going to be leading the infrastructure? so that people have security that they can depend on so that there will be schools and medical care for their kids? there is planning going on all the time in this area. so all of that was on the foundation and it is our determination at the instruction of the secretary and we have been very proud to have played a role in helping to bring that about in the conference at we

, also anweeks ago explicit outcome of the genocide determination. [indiscernible] if you could share with us some practical steps that you are taking to mitigate -- christian , 2003 in the occupation and the consequences and syria, also attacked by an overwhelming group that is aided by the u.s. or its allies, and the continued unintended occupation. >> i have already answered the question in terms of iraq, in

terms of the robust effort we have taken to create conditions to protect the religious minority. i will point out that if you 127,000 refugees who have come to the united states from iraq in the last decade, 40% of them are minorities and mostly christians to have come to the united states. but what are our efforts to allow people to return home and do it safely and inshore protective benefits for minorities. but it certainly benefits christian minorities as well. we work very closely with the communities here to gather what using ourn we can diplomatic sources and intelligence sources about what the needs of these communities are and to be responsive to them. in addition, we remain the

largest owner in terms of supporting -- including the christian populations in iraq. , many of the areas that minorities are most likely concentrated on were not areas that were in the early stages of the civil war for protected, as you know. and so now, more and more, we are seeing those areas and i in the --t out that area when the syrian christian communities were attacked again, our intervention and military invention -- military intervention work support with and kurdishalicious militias were indispensable in them out ofowing the areas that they had taken. so again, moving militarily and trying to plan ahead to the time

when people will have the option to return home. many of the lessons we are learning out of our work and i rock in this area are fully applicable to this area as well. so the coalition of the groups andywe are dealing with conference we have held at the un security council and at the office of the foreign minister of france and paris last summer, and there will be another conference gathering the same countries in a large number number of them in spain hopefully before the end of the at evoking commitment from the countries to decide what they will do to allow minorities to return safely to their areas. in terms of the palestinian christian community. on my trip to israel and palestine, i met with a broad range of all religious minorities there.

the patriarchs of many of the groups of the leaders. particularly it was the focus on the challenge of the evangelical because they are not recognized under the traditional construct of religious groups that are recognized. their state is to divorce people of the pastors of their churches, the ability to travel -- we are working very hard to try and ease some of those restrictions. issuess of the broader and political efforts of the united states, there will be some kind of peace work remains indispensable in terms of fully allowing us -- fully allowing the rights of all involved to be able to thrive and be protected. and we continue on that front as well. -- does theon is

-- consider that nations [indiscernible] helping to advance religious freedoms in egypt? president sec has any number of things regarding religious freedom. to give a broader context on the egypt situation -- still facing significant challenges. however, the president has made a very public and taken a very public position that the community needs to be protected. they were talking about muslims and egyptians or christian egyptians -- these are all egyptians.

helped to rebuild many of the churches that were destroyed in the violence a couple of years ago. so they still face enormous challenges to get to the more rural areas but there has been a change there. he has also called on muslim leaders to be more assertive and robust about putting forward a more traditional view of islam as he understands it. to contest the extremist thinksetations that their violence is justified, buys the islamic tradition. it is justified based on their difference of religious views -- that has led to some there he important changes that we have seen. textbooks that are being changed in order to mitigate the extremist pro-violence messages in the textbooks.

so there have been some improvement on that as well. we believe that whatever entity people belong to, if they are prepared to express their religious life peacefully, they ought to be allowed to do that. and across the world, we have connections and influence to make a difference. it in response to legitimate security threats, don't repress peaceful expression of religion that may be unpopular with you. because it drives it underground. it fills those people with frustration and anger. it leads groups to give up on believing they can live out their lives in observance to the law of the land. and it is simply a strategy that divide society along secretary and and religious lines and

undercuts the stability of a society. the question is, whether they are peaceful or advocating violence in their life. so that will apply as much to the members of the government as to any other group. >> we have time for two more. [indiscernible] what ishave to repeat very well put in the executed summary. i have two questions. thing,-- it is a new muslims being attacked in india, cow slaughter and most of the cases, it is some other kind of meat. and the second one is the -- expressing what has been going and if theyming in

catering to the directives of the government. if you go through those in india, -- coming up repeatedly. and what will happen happened during when -- was the chief minister. today, the prime minister and it that indialay man has been converted. not a week passes without my inbox showing something of someone being attacked or having a problem in india. when you took about -- when you talk about isis, these are people who are doing genocide,

they are not governmental. and you have invited the prime minister here in two years, four times. -- theyy, you come out are sitting in delhi and laughing in your report if there is no follow-up action to do something about this. >> president obama traveled to india and he gave a major public speech in which he was very clear about the need for religious freedom in india that could be exercised without people being subject to violence. urging the government to ensure that all people were able to safely live out their religious lives. we have been clear in our ourgement with india about concerns about the times the government has been slow to react when violence has taken place.

and some of the controversies over the cows are an example of that. the have been other times when the president has spoken out forcefully. about the need to protect religious freedom for all and the security for all. and i think we have been clear -- about our view of what is needed. and our willingness to be supportive in confronting the challenges of religious freedom that needs to be addressed there. and when the government has been slow to react, of urging them to be more assertive on that. , you know, when he has promised to ensure that everyone -- i'm quoting him now -- the undeniable right to retain or adopt religion of his or her without influence -- as

responding to some of the attacks on christians, seen as proselytizing and encouraging we haveo convert -- been clear and consistent in our messages about the things that we think are most helpful to the ability of the region and the stability of the country. and we will continue to be supportive of the efforts where india is acting in accordance with the international obligation of india in these regards. >> i'm sorry, we are going to wrap up. >> you have mentioned earlier that there is an "major debate about religious freedom in this country." ask you abouto evangelical preachers and this folks in this country who promote anti-lgbt efforts, i think of jamaica overseas, and

some countries in africa, uganda. onyou have any position that? i know the administration has spoken out but do you have a position on these folks who are promoting anti-lgbt efforts overseas? views are not relevant to this. i'm here to speak on behalf of the united states government. it has been quite clear on the issue of protecting the lgbt community across the globe and that people are not to be discriminated against. simply because of a characteristic or religious that they hold. we have robustly protected that right. the right of the lgbt community to organize religiously and participate in their own religious life.

long-helds a tradition that we have had. ofequally defend the rights freedom ofspeech, expression, freedom of association, freedom of religion of those whose views differ. rights, so those long as they do so peacefully. we believe in the free marketplace of ideas that holds the tradition about fundamental civil rights for all communities including the lgbt community. ofprotect the right religious groups and counter views within the united states and outside. the construct of our rights, the fundamental rights here, it is that the rights are not absolute.

there can be a compelling interest in which the united states government has the right --say that compelling the limited lee curtailed the free exercise -- fundamental freedom -- can be justified. they are rare. a compelling interest, we have to pursue it in a way to at least infringes on the fundamental rights. but just in the case of another late evangelical groups of other countries it details the right of women, children, -- we believenity we have taken the position that takes a compelling interest under international law and in our own legal system here to protect the fundamental civil rights of people. include allowing the

right of people who get hurt to speak out on their rights. we will continue to pursue that. let me just say one other word. this will be the last time that i will take the podium under the obama administration. indicated, secretary this administration has been so robust, look at the structure here, our office has significantly increased, we have created the religion in mobile affairs as well. over 50 full-time people working on religion and religious freedoms here at the state department. working with dedicated staff, at every one of our embassies, whose task is to focus on religious freedom and reach out to religious communities who may be subject to prejudice or limitation on religious freedom.

has had an excellent impact on our being effective. our fundamental values and goals to support the world and to do so with thriving senses of religious freedom and protection of religious freedom and belief. i have been immensely proud of what this administration has done. because ionvinced have seen firsthand, how it has made a real difference in the lives of very real people all across the globe. and we will continue to push as vigorously as we can until, as i said, religious freedom becomes a reality for every person in every nation across the globe. thank you, all. >> thank you. have a great day, everyone.

>> our live coverage continues at noon eastern when the atlantic council hosts a cyber security conference featuring academics and government representatives produce a paid in. at 2:00 eastern, we take you live to the pentagon. the air force chief of staff are expected to announce new rules that would eliminate some extra duties now done by airmen. obamanight, with the administration, clinton and trump campaigns engaged in transition planning, c-span presents a discussion of the former white house chief of staff as to what is going on behind the scenes. here is josh bolton who served under george w. bush. >> when other thing i will mention that we did -- that is that we asked the homeland security secretary, mike turnoff

, who had planned a vacation with his wife, beginning at 1:00 p.m. on january 20 -- we asked him to stick around for a day inauguration day, he was in an off site with the incoming security of homeland security in a control center where they could monitor all the threat information and so on. thoughasked him, even his authority would be eliminated as of noon on january 20, we asked him to stick around and be there, be there for advice for secretary napolitano as she took the reins. it turned out to be important because there was a threat on inauguration day. a credible threat. it turned out not to be an actual threat, an actual incident, but there was credible

intelligence suggesting an attack at the inauguration it self. >> jostled him was chief of staff to president george w. bush. he was joined by the mclarty, president bill clinton's chief of staff. that is tonight on c-span. q&a,nday night on christian rayfield talks about his student award-winning documentary. some of which have been grand prize winners at our annual student competition. he teaches in kings, oklahoma. >> i'm not the kind of teacher who will look at something that is not very good and just go, that is nice. you did a nice job of that. i will say that is not working. eventually every single one of my kids makes it better piece than they did in the beginning.

eventually the kids who do really well internalized all this stuff so i no longer have to say it. their own brain is saying this things. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span q&a. ryanuse speaker paul easily won his party's nomination to maintain his house seat in the first district of wisconsin. after the results were in, the speaker held a press conference. it is just under 10 minutes. >> welcome to the armory, everybody. first of all, i want to say thank you and say welcome to wisconsin. i want to recognize all the candidates who sought federal, state and local offices today. it is hard work and i'm grateful

had so many capable candidates take part in the democratic process. i want to highlight one candidate in particular on the ballot in wisconsin tonight, mike gallagher. he just one the eighth congressional district republican primary. he is a marine veteran with an impressive background and national security. the eighth district is a secret needs to stay republican. it will be a hard-fought race and i am very much looking forward to campaigning with mike during this fall. i want to speak to the residents.of southern wisconsin on behalf of jenna, myself and our kids thank you. thank you for your trust. thank you for your confidence. thank you for your support and my efforts. i'm a fifth-generation janesville native and i even honored to serve this first congressional district since 1998. it has been one of the best experiences of my lifetime and i'm humbled that so many want to

see me continue to work on their behalf. people know me well. they know i believe that to serve is to work to become part of the solution, not be part of the problem. they share my desire for political leadership that is inclusive, not divisive. they look at the horizon and they look for hope, not fear. they want someone who works to effectively advance our finding prince -- founding principles. there is a lot of real frustration in this country. there is a lot of anger at washington just is not working and it seems to revocably broken. the people want to see congress and their elected leaders tackle uck tough problems, not d tough problems. all too often washington fails to provide those results. in times as uncertain as these it is easy to resort to division. it is simple to prey on people's fears.

and that stuff sells, but it doesn't stick. it doesn't last. most of all it doesn't work. around here we look beyond the noise and the static. our strength comes in the principles on which our country was founded. self-government and liberty. our inspiration comes from the notion that a condition of your birth is not determine the outcome of your life. our desires to see everyone get ahead and make sure our children are left that are off. because we want to ring people together, not divide them, because we want to break the gridlock, not perpetuate it, because we want fresh ideas, not outdated ideas, republicans are offering a better way to fix this country's big, pressing problems. by taking a better way we can reignite our nation's economic engine. we can left -- lift people out of poverty. we can restore our constitution. we can have real patient-centered health care and

we can keep our country safe and free. this is how we turn this passion of the moment into a hard-won teacher. through ideas, through inspiration, through inclusiveness. through an agenda we can be proud of. through an agenda that can unite people. we will take this agenda to voters across this country this fall and i'm confident they will reward our efforts. between now and november i'm committed to doing everything i can to make sure the status quo, which isn't good enough, is not continued because we can do better. we are going to make the case that house republicans are offering new ideas for a new day. let it be known we can't afford another four years like the obama years. let's be very, very clear. that is exactly what hillary clinton and her already are off -- her party are offering. we can get this country back on track.

we can tackle our country's biggest problems before they tackle us. we can restore the optimism that is there in the small business owner from janesville. we can restore the optimism in the heart of that farmer from elkhorn. that is in the worker that gets up at 6:00 a.m. to work. that is in that college kid in kenosha. find in reachto their version of their american dream. i will do everything i can as their representative of the first congressional district and as speaker of the house to make that possible. i want to end with this. i want to thank my employers, the people i work for here in the first congressional district. for hiring me to fight on their behalf. i want to say thank you very much for your confidence. i appreciate it. questions? charles, i think a see you. i thought i heard your voice.

>> [indiscernible] n: iker right: -- rya think it means people wisconsin know me well. they know i mean what i say and i save any and i don't do it in a mean way. i think this the kind of politics and policies that wisconsinite and republicans reward. eyewitness cried anything other to it than that. i just get some local folks. yeah? [indiscernible] ryan: that is not a

question of about entertaining. there is no point having that conversation. >> [indiscernible] speaker ryan: i heard about the second amendment quote. it sounds like just a joke on bad. i hope he clears it up quickly. you should never joke about something like that. i only heard about those comments. >> [indiscernible] speaker ryan: i think it's very clear that the trump-pence take it will be one that puts good judges on the supreme court. and we will find far better receptivity of our agenda we are trying to get on track to fix this country's problem in the hillary clinton administration. frank, then kelly.

>> [indiscernible] ryan: i don't see any point of it. you get to the end zone and i think you have been there before. i don't -- i haven't thought about that. we knew we were going to do well. we received the vote we were hoping and expecting to get all along. that's thet how outcome is what we were hoping for and expecting. desperate candidates do desperate things for attention. i think that is what you saw here. kelly? yeah, welcome back. >> [indiscernible] speaker ryan: i haven't even

heard -- i will not make a comment more than adjusted other than what i heard. i haven't even read it. i've been busy today. anyoney endorsement of there are never blank checks. let me say it this way. i believe here in wisconsin we have unified republican party. we have a unified republican party because we tell people who we are, what we believe, what our principles are, what we will do when we get elected. and we get it. t.at is -- and we did i andave taken our principles applied them to the principles of the day and offered a better way, offered an agenda so that the country, which does not like the path we are on, has a better path to choose. that's the kind of path we are offering the country. that is what we believe people are hungry for in this nation. and that i think is invalidated

this evening in the first congressional district. thank you very much. appreciate it. >> live coverage continues at noon eastern on the atlantic council jose cyber security conference. hackers, academics, government representatives will be participating. at 10:00 this afternoon we are at the pentagon were air force and airebra lee james force chief of staff danny gold fields are expected to announce new rules that would eliminate some extra duties now done by airman. tonight with the obama administration, clinton and trump campaigns now officially engaged in transition planning, we will present a discussion with former white house chiefs of staff on what is going on behind the scenes.

here is josh bolten who served under president george w. bush. one thing i will mention we did is we asked the homeland security secretary, michael chertoff, who had planned a vacation with his wife beginning at 1:00 p.m. on january 20, we asked him to stick around for a day. day heing inauguration was in an off-site with the incoming secretary of homeland security. in a control center for they could monitor all the threat information and so on. we asked him, even though his authority would be eliminated as of noon on january 20, we asked him to stick around, be there for advice and someone for secretary napolitano as she takes the reins.

it turned out to be important because there was a threat on inauguration day. it turned out -- a credible threat. it turned out not to be an actual threat, an actual incident. but there was credible intelligence suggesting an attack at the inauguration itself on the mall. josh bolten in that conversation joined by matt mclarty, president bill clinton's chief of staff. all of that tonight at 8:00 on c-span. sunday night on q&a, kristin rayfield, a documentary film instructor talks about his students award-winning documentaries, some of which a grand prize winners and our annual student competition. he teaches at jenks high school in jenks, oklahoma. >> i will not look at something not very good and say, that is nice. you did a nice job of that.

i will say what is not working? eventually every single one of my kids makes it better peace than they did in the beginning. and eventually the kids who do really well internalize all this stuff so i no longer have to say it to them. their own brain is saying these things to them. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on the span's q&a. >> the republican primary, house speaker defeated tea party endorsed challenger paul nealon, 84% to 16% in wisconsin's first congressional district. here is mr. nehlen's comments. mr. nehlen: i am so glad to see will hear and especially glad to see all the reporters. i have a profoundly important message for our district and for our nation that i need to share with you. before that, i have a few brief comments.

first, we defied everyone's expectations for this campaign. just the fact you are all here tonight demonstrates our message played across the district and the country. despite the desires of our opponent and their corporate buddies efforts to silence us, our success was a testament to each and every one of you. i believe a little perspective is in order. we took on the leader of the world's globalist movement. when you take on paul ryan, you are not just taking on paul ryan, you are taking on the chamber of commerce, the koch brothers, wall street, you are taking on all the transnational elites who will do anything to keep their speaker in congress. [boos] -- howonsider have others have feared before others -- us.

paul ryan has never faced a real primary challenge. he is run nearly unopposed for 20 years. historically, u.s. representatives from wisconsin are rarely challenged. observed that from 1950 to 2014, less than one in five wisconsin u.s. representatives faced primary challengers. one wisconsinly u.s. representative has ever lost his primary. but we took on the challenge because we knew that despite the odds we could not continue to be aset and sit down and watch we were led by a man who does not only look down upon our desires, but actively fights against them at every turn. we know how the people of our district and state feel. we have seen the polls. we know seven out of 10 republicans in wisconsin favor a pause in muslim migration.

we know a majority of wisconsin republican voters reject ryan's trade agenda. nine in 10 republican voters oppose ryan's plan to increase immigration. leader whoe led by a stance against us and against our interests. [applause] if nancy pelosi stood opposed to over 90% of her electorate on an issue of great importance to them, she would not be a leader in her party. we cannot be led by someone who does not represent our values and our principles. paul ryan is able to buy his elections, get political cover from corporate media. corporate media wants ryan in power because they know he will do their bidding. isn't it interesting that the national media, which attacks ryan mercilessly in the general election for wanting to cut medicare and social security is

suddenly his greatest friend in the primary? why might that be? because paul ryan is the republican they need to a compass their agenda. they need paul ryan to keep the borders open. they need paul ryan the past multinational trade deals. they need paul ryan to be a useful foil for covert carnies -- corporate cronies they can use the caricature all republicans and win in the end. they get all the benefits of soulless globalism. republicans as a result of paul ryan get all the blame for human suffering and misery that accompanies it. how many times has paul ryan never the chamber of commerce? how many times has he met with ease that is a facebook, microsoft, and google? how many times of the lobbyists for global outsourcing firm or a large international corporation? consider how many times he has met with the victims of illegal immigrant violence. or the border agents or the ice

officers. or the sheriffs or their deputies. forced to train their foreign replacements brought in on guestworker visas. ask yourself this question. when disney workers were laid off enforced to be silent as they had a train foreign replacements did paul ryan race to the house floor to condemn disney's actions? did he bring forth legislation to fix it? did he command the new cycle every day until we got justice for our american workers? his routinentinue of being the republican caricature of the left -- that the left so badly wants, saying the same things you've heard a million times before about medicare and social security reform and tax reform. while real flesh and blood human beings watched their dreams die and disappear not merely in spite of their american

citizenship, but because of their american citizenship. a direct discrimination against american citizens. how has it reached this point we let americans be killed by open borders that we have let factories be ship wholesale overseas because we refused to enforce the most basic terms of our trade agreements? or have refused to protect ourselves against illicit trading practices which are and economic warfare against us? leaders, led by brian himself, don't just do nothing. they aid and abet our economic destruction. how many arms has ryan twisted behind the scenes to push his donors agenda? ton twisted every last arm pass the omnibus bill to bring in more foreign workers to slave as grantee here's best ground keepers and hotel maids to bring down the rise of labor a little bit for his corporate friends. he poured his sweat into passing

the bill to make labor a little bit less pensive for corporations. -- expensive for corporations. yet he couldn't lift a finger to save one american job. he couldn't with the same energy or passion into demanding construction of a border wall for protection for american labor, or demanding rules to demand foreign workers can't be exploited to protect american standards of living for the american people. no. we are all helpless and paul ryan's race to the bottom sucking of a glorious new crowning achievement to his donors. are you not, entitled to a leader that represents your views? [applause] you want less immigration. i do not entitled to leaders that want the same? you want a security wall across the border. i do not entitled to leaders that want the same? do you want people who

overstated visas to be deported? are you not entitled to leaders of the same? he went trade deals that create jobs in manufacturing at home. are you not entitled to leaders who want the same? [applause] why should you be resigned to this permanent servitude to ryan's special interest desires? why should you have to beg and plead by the child to a parent, to your congressman or speaker to help you? when he should be lifting his voice to the heavens every day on your behalf. that is what you deserve as your sacred birthright as an american. you deserve a leader who is as loyalty you as you are to your children, your country and your god in heaven. now look -- [applause] what we have accomplished here

tonight is historically on words and measure because we have let the spark of a raging fire of righteous populism that will lift up the spirit of this nation. a movement that will put the hopes and fears and aspirations of american citizens first before any consideration. as a result of our campaign people know where ryan stands. off,ask has been pulled the charade is over. the sentiment behind a smirk has been revealed. the con is up. [applause] we know he cares about. we know who he fights for. and it has never, and it will never be all of you. ryan's agendaat means. did means our border will never be secure. it means immigration will never

be reduced. it means the rights of american citizens will never be protected. ryan is not merely allow the immigration crisis to take place, he is not simply socialized lavish dinners in your time of need. he has not simply hid behind his personal border wall while denying you yours. he has created a crisis. he has spurred your need and your want and he has done every thing and has power to deny you the security that is your absolute right. [applause] 20 years ago ryan began his campaign against the american worker. 20 years ago he five to keep the border open. and he has done so everyday sense. --since. any time that is a fork in the road where ryan can choose between security or amnesty,

prosperity or poverty, country or corporations, he has chosen the latter every single time. market down and remember it now. as long as all ryan is house speaker immigration will never be cut, dangerous migration from the islamic world will never be reduced, trade deals will never be fixed, and the onslaught of globalism will never, ever stop until it has been wiped out, every last shred of independence in this land. until we are nothing more than just another location in the global marketplace in which your culture, values, heritage and your brotherhood and sisterhood means nothing. in which black americans, white americans, latino and asian americans are also in class americans because they are not corporations and because they -- not a foreign corporation

because the are not a foreign worker and because they are not a lobbyist for politicians. fighting until every american, whether they be black or white or latino, what have you, can be first-class citizens in their country again. [applause] and my closing speech to the voters of wisconsin ahead of the election, i talked about a girl, a daughter just like the millions of dollars -- daughters to parents across america. the daughters entitled a growth in safety and. just like every son and child in this country. we have to give that american girl from becoming the next kate steinle. from becomingson the next joshua wilkerson.

the next innocent life lost because all additions like paul ryan will not fight with every breath to keep the child safe from the ravages of open borders and criminal cartels that don't belong in our cities in our district, in our country. we will say that life. not as many as we would like and not as many as we could have saved if we had run this race. but we will save thousands of lives and restore millions of dreams. that is because we will ultimately succeed. [applause] we will succeed because we know the truth is the one thing in this world that can never be destroyed. there is no amount of money and paul ryan's bank that can cause alive to kill a truth, the

falsity kill a fax, a smear to kill an honest statement of principle. the truth once set free as it has been in this campaign only grows each day like a righteous avalanche as it becomes faster and stronger and ultimately unstoppable. until the people of this country have been liberated from leadership unworthy of the name and new leadership emerges composed exclusively of the people and working exclusively for the people. [applause] it begins, my friends, with the people in this room tonight. i ask you this question. are you prepared to carry on with me tomorrow and next week, and two years from now to liberate this district from paul ryan? [cheers]

[chanting] >> nehlen, nehlen! >> thank you. and to free this country roads failed leaders and to replace the soulless globalism with a new americanism. a new americanism that respects the inherent worth and dignity of each and every person in this land. i am with you. i will be with you if you join me every step of the way. [applause]

thank you for your friendship. friendship, thank you for your devotion, and thank you for joining me on this great american journey. god bless you all, and have a good night. [applause]

mr. nehlen: this is just the beginning. tonight is just the beginning.

the c-span radio app makes it easy to follow the 2016 election wherever you are. it is free to download from the apple app store or google play.

get up to the minute schedule information for c-span radio or c-span television, plus broadcast times for all popular public affairs, books, and history programs. means youadio app always have c-span on the go. >> the clinton global initiative recently convened leaders to discuss pressing global challenges and public policy issues from the june meeting in atlanta. a discussion about the american labor movement and the future of jobs. this is about half an hour. latest and gentlemen, please welcome your moderator, president and ceo of the hitachi foundation, barbara dyer. tom kartsotiscome and the secretary of the department of labor, thomas e.

perez. ms. dyer: first let me say that there is a storm brewing oneide, and unfortunately, of our panelists got caught in the storm, and her flight got delayed, so we are short a panelist, but we have a fabulous group still. [laughter] ms. dyer: so we are going to have to fill in. i know you are all here just to hear her. kartsotis: i was! [laughter] ms. dyer: i know! away, butseems so far yesterday, president clinton encouraged us to see alternate views, and i had never been to a

cgi, and i have learned so much. i wrote a story that is a weave of many things that i heard an kind of my own imagination, and i want to start taking you through the future, imagine if somewhere 20, 2025, somewhere in the future, and here is to make a brown, who works at -- tamik brown, who works at detroit fire and steel, and she works for companies like harley davidson, toyota, delta -- she never entered that she would advanced manufacturing when she was actually a high school dropout, but she managed to get her diploma online and some good career counseling, and she started out at detroit wire and steel, and she immediately entered their training program and learned manufacturing third

in then carlos rodriguez was at mercy hospital, pretty lower-level frontline worker, but he became very concerned about the patients that were not getting nutritious foods, not getting their meals at times that made most sense for the clinicians, so he came up with the i.t. department at mercy hospital, he had the courage and ingenuity to do that, and they created an app for the hospital for patients to get food on demand, and that became a business that grew to hundreds of hospitals across the united states. and then there is dana hawkins, who lives in eastern kentucky, and dana had an idea, and she became part of a coworkers hub. she hatched this idea, suitable, and it is a platform that she developed that teamed up with the national diaper bank. she built a national customer base, those who were kind of as very hard to serve,

high-barrier employees, and created an online, on-demand attire for business coaching and job matching that is now all over the country. idea ofused the platforms in this rural eastern kentucky community that is now connecting people to jobs all over the country. they all in 2020+, they all love their jobs. moreover, they feel really in the jobs of a habit they can put food on the table, that they can put a roof over their head, that they can provide health care, not just now in the job that they have now, but for th throughout the trajectory -- but throughout the trajectory that will have

twists, stops, starts, onramp's -- they love their jobs, they feel confident in their jobs, they feel competent to navigate the twists, turns, and b ends, they have the confidence to navigate that career, and they are not alone. the tide turned somewhere around 2018 where the conference board reported for the first time in job satisfaction survey that the majority of americans like their jobs, are satisfied with their jobs, and that was a big around 2018. the labor market participation really started to skyrocket, people felt great about what they were doing. this happened, a new generational shift, they had a new view, a refreshing idea of what business is and what business could calm push.

it made all sorts of things possible that were not possible before. mounting in america could not continue. we had to do something about it. thousands of innovations, business operations, strategy innovation for companies like shinola showing us that good business and good jobs really equate, and , theymarket organizations created a very different and very powerful approaches to andide more of a voice consumer choice, really aggregating that and moving the whole structure of incentives that drive a lot of business practices, and finally -- not finally, but another piece is ouric policy, where 20th-century industrial policies were retrofitted to fit a 21st century environment where that core compact of ensuring fair

labor, worker safety, worker health, was not only secured but was strengthened in the context. it was framed by flexibility, mobility, very different framing. and finally, fundamental shifts in capital markets where investors, lenders, bank of california -- are you still out looking atere businesses, looking at the level of risk and the level of potential for businesses by virtue of the kinds of labor force practices that they maintained and were investing in companies to create good jobs because that was good for business and good for their bottom line. thatese were the changes happen, this is where we were, this is where we will be. i am going to dial it back now to the present. that is a little story about the future. and it back to the present

look at one of the companies that in my little story about the future was influential in tom future, and ask you, kartsotis, tell us now about shy shinola, why you created the company, give us a sense of the company, and then i will ask you another question after that. mr. kartsotis: when i was in my early 20's in the 1980's, i started another company and took it public in 1993, and i continued to work there for a total of 26 years, and i had not really thought about what i was going to do when i left that job. my kids were teenagers, and i and we really-- want to leave all of this money to these kids? [applause] [laughter] mr. kartsotis: the answer is no. sec. perez: your kids are

watching, tom. don't forget. [laughter] mr. kartsotis: one of the things we thought was if we could build a watch factory in detroit and train 100 workers, it would create 100 jobs, and it would be a wonderful thing. we started to train be workers. we had to actually build the factory before we had the concept that we could make a competitive product. march of 2013, proven concepts, watch movement that we were making by quality. we needed to make watches to show our customers, the quality of what we could make. ofwe bought parts for 2500 our original watch that would becoming in four months, and we run an ad in the newspaper

asking customers to pay $550, four months in advance, for a watch nobody has ever seen before. and we put shinola on it. so we did not really feel like we were going to sell a lot of watches. what we thought is that the parts would come income of the factory would go live, the workers would start working, and we would have something to show people the kind of quality we could make. we were surprised when the watches sold out in a matter of a few days, and we abandoned the idea of making watches for other people and just started making for other products categories that has some small, defined market where we could capital on innovation and perhaps expand and create more jobs. ms. dyer: so this was a big risk for you, tom. you had no idea where it was going to end up, but here you work, creating these watches with a bigger vision, which was to bring manufacturing to detroit and create good quality jobs. can you tell us a little bit

about, would you describe a worker that is in your company, to give us a more concrete picture? i made up these workers, but a concrete picture of what a good worker looks like. mr. kartsotis: the security guard in the building were our factory is is one of our line leaders. there is a pizza delivery guy that you met. the interesting story -- there is a girl and crystal who joined us in may of 2012 when we opened workedtory, and she night spirit she was the janitor, and she cleaned the floors. president clinton was going to visit the factory, and we asked the president's handlers if we could get him a watch, and the marketing person told us yes, we could give him a watch. so which if we could we be honored to give the watch, and everybody was like crystal. i did not know her. evidently, she took the test to see if she could make the watches, a test that measures

vision, patients, deck 30. she did well and became a line later. they said -- you really do not know this story? "no, i don't." at that time, there were 14 employees, and all these people now report to crystal, so in a matter of a few years, three years to be exact, she went from cleaning the floors at night to now she has 26 employees and is a really big part of the company. so with the tour of resident clinton, at the end of it, i was like crystal, tell him your story. story,goes through her and it was just the president and myself, and i could see that he was moved by the story, and it hit me that this brand is being built by the inside. there are 20 stories like this. ms. dyer: the brand is being built from the inside with this incredible talent you were being able to unleash. otherwise, people might have written crystal off, right?

but here you are building this brand, and you recognized something in crystal that really made this all possible. you have beenz, traveling across the country. you are active in all sorts of ways. you are active in the conscious capitalism movement. you have been looking at companies that have been doing the kinds of things that we see at shinola. can you give us your picture of what you've seen in your travels of good companies, good jobs, what they look like, and why they do what they do? sec. perez: barbara, here is the bottom line -- you talked about a futuristic world, and other was listening to you, the future is now. i see this in my travels all across america. i have been in kentucky, coal met 15: are so had lost their jobs and probably were not getting them back, and calledre at a company

bedsores. it is a startup. we helped fund -- called bitsource. it is a startup. we helped fund it. neverpeople there who had this, onecompany like was offered another coal mining position, and he said no. said, "daddy, i cannot do this," and i said, "yes you can, because now i am a coder." another was one into poverty, grew up in foster care, went through the foster care system into the criminal justice system. she had a stick to it of miss -- iveness a stick-to-it about her. she kicked butt.

in a man's world, she got a job as an apprentice, and she is building a light rail and crenshaw. when she went there, there is a photo of all the local labor building this light rail, and her son, and she sat in a box with the first lady a couple of years ago with the state of the union, and she took her kids to the site of where she works and saw her picture, and her three-year-old said, "wow, mommy, you must be important," and the answer is hell yea she s important. is important. what was the most important thing, i asked her, and she said , "my kid just turned 15, and i was able to get him a present." manufacturing systems. this is a place founded by a woman, a single mom, native

zerocan, she went from employees to 1200 employees, and she is now the largest provider. they make the consuls for the ford f1 50 -150's, the best-selling truck in america -- this is not an ad for ford, just a statement of fact. [laughter] some of her workers are veterans, some have a criminal history -- all of them have talent. it really embodies the value of sick to address -- stick -to-itiveness. there was a project called the equitable form initiative, and i met with farmers, growers, i met with folks from costco and whole foods. it is a partnership between folks who understand the stakeholder model of governance. stakeholders are best served --

shareholders are best served when all stakeholders are well served, so when i go to costco, and my costco card is so old -- i had hair when i had that card! [laughter] buy johnson: and when i strawberries at costco, i am excited about the fact that the person who picked those strawberries was treated fairly, can feed his or her family, is not breathing pesticides -- that is the stakeholder model of governance. [applause] sec. perez: so we need to scale it, barbara because while i see this, like the woman i met in the five 415 movement in detroit, when i met her, she had three kids in her car because her apartment was declared uninhabitable. so i see america and its -- at its best and its worst, but the wind is that our back.

we need to make sure that results in shared prosperity for everyone. the commitment that i see from businesses, from emerging people like rock and the domestic worker's reliance and labor unions, like the uaw working in partnership with the big three automakers, so when they were at ,he existential crisis in 2008 they came together around shared sacrifice, and they has led to shared prosperity. i see it all around america, so that is why i am relentlessly optimistic it i have met the workers that tom has talked about. ms. dyer: how do we lock it in, scale it up? what is in our way? in a little bit, tom. [laughter] ms. dyer: i know he would not have any problems. sec. perez: first, i think our public policy has to keep up with the changing times.

i think there are so many people rent or mortgage is less than their childcare bill. i think there are so many women remarkablying unconscionable choices between the child that they love and the job that they need. i met a woman who is a bus driver in connecticut. i was with a congresswoman one day, and we met her brother, a wonderful person, a force of nature. to her just given birth daughter, and two weeks after she gave birth to her daughter, because there is no federal this country,n she had to go back to work, so she got on her school bus with her two week old, structure in, -- all the other little kids their moms and dads had to go to work. better than that.

our public policy has to catch-up. we are doing every thing we can to make sure the people who work overtime get paid overtime, to make sure that people get a minimum wage because you know what, nobody who works a full-time job in this country should have to live in poverty. [applause] sec. perez: and what we are , and the conscious capitalism movement, barbara, i spent a lot of time in business school. i spent time with the ceo of the container store, a publicly traded company, who understands the stakeholder model of government, because i meet company after company, leaders like tom who understand that when my workers do well, i do well. and you can have shared prosperity. in fact, when you look at the best places to work in america, the fortune best 100, you look at the publicly traded companies that are there, they outperform 3-1ir competitors by 2-1 and because they understand that when you take care of your workers, you take care of your bottom line as well.

we are building a movement. i may civil rights lawyer and a labor advocacy person, and this is about building movements. we build movements one community at a time. we marshal -- the collective power of we -- and i have seen this growing across this country, the conscious capitalism movement, and the understanding that we can do better. ms. dyer: what are the real forces and the incentives that are going to drive the movement? we have seen a decline in labor unions, for example. they have been a major source in the last century for quality jobs. what is replacing that? you mentioned outperformance. though, theets, noise that we hear, it really ,as not grown to a scale level investing for the triple bottom line, but ultimately capital markets need to shift. how do you see that happening, and what are the forces that are going to drive this movement? the collective power

of we. i have not given up on the labor movement. thisabor movement gave us class and america, and we are fighting undeniable headwinds because places like wisconsin, they go after public sector labor unions. governor walker, his parents told him if you blow out your neighbors' candle, it makes yours shine brighter, so if i take way the teacher's pension, i have created an equal playing field. you know what i say? if your neighbor does not have a pension, let's work to get them one, let's not take away my neighbor's pension. so we need to work hard at that. in addition, we need to shine a light on people like tom, on companies like the container store, on companies like costco. if i had bought $1000 in costco stoxx 20 years ago, i

would be far wealthier than i am now because they understand the stakeholder model of governance. and our missing panelists, i feel obligated to speak to her, -- shes remarkable organizes the restaurant opportunity center, and what they are doing is shining a light on employers who understand that the high road is the smart road. they are also marshaling the millennials so that people can make informed choices. i know where i live if i know restaurant a is mistreating its workers, and restaurant b is treating workers fairly, that is a data point that would inform my decision. as a result, they are marshaling that collective power of wisdom and empowering consumers to be conscious consumers.

everywhere, and the fight for 15 movement, people laughed at that. $15, that is pioneer skype your we now have 20% of the nation's -- that is high in the sky. we now have 20% of the nation's workers now living below minimum wage. it is more than a number. it is about the fight for dignity, it is about the fight for workers' voice, it is about making sure they have a seat at the table because if you are not at the table, you will be on the menu, and you have got to understand that. ms. dyer: i will have to remember to ask you a question about something you actually care about. [laughter] ms. dyer: i want to broaden the picture a little bit, and we have been in a number of

settings together where the topic was the digital economy thethe big economy and independent worker economy, and i do not want to exclude you because i would love to hear what you have to say. but i think we would not have completed this conversation unless we brought that into the picture. what are the quality jobs? so much of the context still is about the singular relationship likeeen the employer an shinola. give us a perspective, which i try to paint in my picture. had a three-day conversation called "the future of work," last december, and we have been doing a lot of work, senator mark warner has been doing a lot of thinking about this. the one thing about this is it is important to understand the current so-called gig economy is about the 1%, 1.5% of the economy.

it is a conspicuous 1% to 1.5%. keep in mind that gig work did not just began three years ago. anyone who was in the construction industry, it has been kind of a gig economy for a long time. it seems to me that the question presented is -- how do we accommodate the desire -- and it is an understandable desire -- for people to have flex ability and control over their own destiny? what is the need for the social safety net because it is great andave flexibility independence until you get in a car wreck, and then if you do not have workers comp or health care, you are kind of in a world of hurt. and that is why i have always been before told at republican opposition to the aca, because the formal care act is a linchpin of the gig economy because you can have portability.