there was the potential of expense. as i got into this, and discovered that it would have potential morale impacts and the fact that people would probably not take their families to that airbase. in light of the facilities that they knew were not there. >> are you aware that the azores islands are a popular vacation spot and have daily flights? >> no, i'm not. >> do we have trouble getting people to move to hawaii? >> actually, we do, because there are issues there with compensation for the very high cost of living, so that's problematic as well. >> both are vacation spots.

>> well, you're talking about hawaii? >> yeah. last i checked, hawaii was a popular vacation spot. >> oh, it s. it's a very popular vacation spot. so you spend a lot of money for a week or two, but living there permanently, supporting a family, that sort of thing, i've spent two tours in hawaii and it's quite expensive. >> the azorse is also a vacation spot, and it has the cheapest cost of living in western europe. why would that not be a place? >> well, in hawaii, there are high schools and medical facilities, and there are p.x.'s and commissaries. and that's kind of lacking right now. >> last i checked, i don't think there's anything lacking there through anything we've done on this committee. i don't think if mr. shift is going back or not. have we heard, on his way back? ji, i want to thank you for

appearing here today. the committee remains deeply concerned about these issues. we look forward to the cent com eport and the i.g.'s report on false and misleading information gin to congress. hopefully the i. employment can get to the bottom of these problems and help the committee uncover what exactly has happened here. our robust oversight will continue the remainder of this scombreer into the next congress. but i want to thank you all of you for your service and for your attend abc here today. the hearing is adjourned.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]

>> president obama is in lima, peru, where he's will to meet with students of the young initiative. it's one of several stops the president is making on his final overseas trip before eaving office. we hope to bring it to you live shortly here on c-span. while president obama is overseas, president-elect trump continues to work with his team to ensure a smooth transition of power ahead of inauguration day. earlier this afternoon, the president-elect met with 2012 republican presidential nominee mitt romney at a golf resort in new jersey. that meeting also included vice president-he protect mike pence. here's a look at the three greeting one another earlier.

>> how are you, sir? >> again, we're hoping to bring you live coverage of president obama in lima, peru, speaking to students at the young leaders of americas initiative. hopefully we'll have that for you shortly. while we wait, we'll hear some

of your thoughts on the student-led protest taking place here in the u.s. and reaction to the 2016 presidential election. this is from today's "washington journal." host: here is an overview of the protest from "usa today," said that students in multiple high schools across the u.s.a., most too young to vote in the presidential election, staged walkouts wednesday in protest of the president-elect, chant qugget let's dump donald trump" and other more colorful phrases, teams linked high school in des moines' roosevelt high school and chanted in spanish at hoover high. in addition, some students walked out in west des moines, iowa. the student-organized protest lasted 15 to 45 minutes. they gave participants inexcused absences. here's a story in education week by madeleine will. it says that in a handful of schools, including in berkeley, california, phoenix, and in des moines, iowa, students and even

in some cases teachers staged walkouts in protest of the republican nominee's win. educators even reported physical outbursts and confrontations as emotions ran high. now teachers must ease divisions in their classrooms. they must soothe the fears of their students of color, while giving all students space to process their feelings about the election's outcome. joining us this morning to talk about her story in education week is madeleine will, assistant editor at education week teacher. mat lynn, good morning to you. guest: good morning. thank you for having me. host: give us a sense of how widespread some of these protests were and the number of students that were participating. guest: i think they had walkouts in major cities across the country. as you mentioned, los angeles, phoenix, iowa, omaha, seattle, miami, denver, washington, d.c. and it's fire say that thousands of students have walked out of class since the

protest started after the day after the election. they vary the location, but in some cases there will be a handful of cases and other students in multiple schools across the district or city. host: these are protests of people who are unhappy with donald trump's election. are you seeing demonstrations of those who were cheering his victory? guest: there are a handful of students who do support donald trump and who are joining the protests to be their voices be heard as well. host: you mentioned that emotions have been running high at schools. have these protests largely been peaceful, and have there been reported instances of violence in any cases? guest: for the most part, these protests happened peaceful. they happened at a couple of isolated instances of violence. for example, in montgomery county, a suburb of washington, d.c., a 15-year-old student who

was wearing a make america great again hat was beaten by four students when a political argument turned violent during a walkout. so i think administrators are concerned about student safety and are warning students to -- that they cannot guarantee their safety if they leave class. host: we have seen protests from adults across the country. is there something unique about these students protesting or a special way that we should think about them, because, you know, number one, they may to be young to vote, and number two, they might be doing this during school time. guest: yeah, i think these students are too young to vote, as you said, but they feel that they deserve a chance to have their voices be heard. they want to tell donald trump that they are watching and they're listening and they care. and as teachers have talked to student about the election, there are more ways to be an active citizen than just voting, and i think some students are doing the protests

as one way. host: how are schools and administrators dealing with this? you mentioned that a district in iowa gave the students unexcused absences, but is that -- is that the case for schools across the country? guest: yes, i think most schools are giving students unexcused absences if they leave class. scommoip what about teachers? how should they approach talking with their students about this in the classroom? guest: teachers are trying to heal some of the divisions that trickle down into the classroom. teachers have to give students both ties of the political section space, and an ability to talk about their feelings and process feelings in a constructive way. ane lot of teachers are using this as an opportunity to educate their students about the foundations of democracy. a lot of students are scared, so teachers are talking about

checks and balances and the limits of presidential powers and rooting us all back in education. host: all right. that's madeline will from education week teacher. thank you for joining us by phone this morning. guest: thank you. host: we are taking your calls this morning. our topic is your view of student walkouts in protest of donald trump's election. we'll turn now to our first aller, who is chris from maryland. chris, go ahead. did i get the name of your town correct? caller: actually, i live in olney. host: sorry. couldn't quite see it. go ahead, chris. what's your thought? caller: well, my thoughts are that, you know, i sat there and watched this event happen on the news the fist time, and then as soon as the fist school sparked, you know, protests with these students, i felt and still feel like, after i witnessed it yesterday firsthand, the majority of

these students now are, you know, most of them, not all of them, but most of them have no idea what really is going on, and what i witnessed yesterday was the majority of them were just there to be entertained by the event, and they weren't -- they weren't interested in what was really employing on. they weren't even protesting about trump. they were just having fun with the police that were following them. they were all jumping around, making a bunch of noise. in fact, in front of my work is where they began to protest, and they literally stand -- they stood in the road for five, 10 minutes and stopped traffic. , and said nothing, then just sat there in a crowd and just mumbled things, but nothing -- i heard nothing about trump, nothing about clinton, nothing about a protest. now, there were a few of those kids that had signs. but, you know, then my son -- and it was only like 50 of the

kids. and i'm right -- my work is right next to a high school. host: tell us about your son. caller: my son -- a few of his friends and students decide that had they were going to leave. they left. and there was about 50 of them. and they were trying to raly up more kids -- rally up more kids to come with them, and then they for the only about 50 of them. they ended up going back to school. t yeah, it's my opinion that the majority of them are using this as an student to get away from school and really have no idea. host: you said that your son participated, if i understood you correctly, did i support that? did he not ask permission? how did that go? caller: he did not participate. i would have supported him had he been as involved as i was and his mother was in the election.

but to me personally, most of these kids are only hearing either from their parents or from other students or from people that are around them, tidbits of information of what's really going on, whether it's a 2k3w50d piece of information or whether it's a bad piece of information. they're not getting the full story. and, again, that makes me feel as if they really don't know what's going on, and they really want to do just more protesting and a way to get out of school and to get on the news. i mean, they had the news choppers here yesterday. host: all right. that's chris from olney, maryland. we'll move on now to steve, who is from florida. steve is calling on the line for all others. steve, what do you think about this? caller: well, i think it's great. support these young people. it's great that finally there's a generation out there that has

reembraced the concept of solidarity. it seems like every sense the reagan administration, solidarity has been considered taboo. and, you know, it seems like in he last 35 years we've had our rights eroded and picked away one by one as employees, as as far as consumer finance, as far as healthcare goes. we've been -- we've just sat and watched legislation that gets passed that hurts us as consumers. but finally there's a generation that says, hey, solidarity is not a bad thing. host: all right. steve from florida. next subpoena steve from maryland, who's calling on the line for teachers. steve, how have you addressed this in the classroom?

caller: well, just to qualify myself, i taught public school for 31 years, retired from that, and now i'm a professor at a university for the past 20 years. and i was a student back in the vietnam war days, so i know what the protest is. i've had that experience. to me, i believe it's a great learning experience for the students of their constitutional rights. and in another four years, some of these students will be voting for the first time, so i think they have every right. i mean, other citizens, when they protest, sometimes they take off from work that day, so the students are taking off from school. and i do know some teachers at schools where they -- where the school administrators are actually supervising the kids while they protest, and usually it's done on the school ground.

so i totally encourage it as a good learning experience, as long as they keep it nonviolent. scommoip steve, do you think that administrators should provide student-skiced absences, etc., excuse them for missing class during that time? caller: true, true, they're missing class, but again, i'm going on the premise that it's a learning experience, therefore, it's part of the school curriculum, especially in civics class. ey learned as far as their constitutional right. host: all right. that's steve from maryland. here's a related comment from twitter. 1960 student walkout mrs and demonstrations helped stop the vietnam war. maybe these are limit the damage trump could cause. let's hear from dorothy, who's a parent in baltimore, maryland. dorothy, what do you think this morning? caller: good morning. yeah, i just wanted to say that two of my kids, they

participate in the protest here, and they knew why they were protesting. peep keep saying they don't, but you see the signs, so you know why they're protesting. if you watch the crowds, you can see that they're mixed of all races, of whites, blacks, hispanics, what have you. and what they're stating is that -- see, young children now, they're not separatists like we were back then. they live together. they're friends. they like each other. you know, and everything. so they don't want -- they see a president that's just been elected. now, this is what they have seen, and this is what trump has shown them, no doubt about it. he showed them a type of president that they probably have never seen talking the way he does and the things that he's doing. so the kids are not liking that, because we've always had presidents since i've been doing, and, of course, that never spoke and talk the way -- i mean, you know, they find

that horrendous, and you see how they -- so they do know why they're marching, and they're not marching the election. they're marching against a person who's representing their country, when they don't want to have a country that he has projected. they want to be there together, you know, as they are, and they do, and i'm proud of them. as long as it's nonviolent. host: all right. dorothy from maryland. let's flare a student. tom is calling in from clinton, maryland. tom, good morning. caller: hello. can you hear me ok? host: we can hear you. caller: yes, you know, i -- i did a little bit of law in my time, and i know we've had jurisprudence, civil and common law and criminal law. ok? and this complaint against donald trump was a criminal complaint, and you can't tell a

criminal complaint by paying off the person, like too many breaks in your home as a criminal complaint. and it has to be settled in the court. now, this complaint was supposed to be settled in court, not through hem paying off someone. how he got away with that, i do not know. i would like for somebody to explain to me how he can pay off a criminal complaint and not have to go to court to settle this criminal complaint. i wish somebody would tell me. host: all right. that's tom from maryland. and we're going to get to that story near just a little bit. but first, we want to show you some footage of montgomery county public schools superintendent jack smith. he commented on the recent walkouts and student protests. here's what he had to say. >> well, mcps supports everyone's right to assemble and respectfully express themselves. these demonstrations have, unfortunately, generated valid concerns regarding the security

of our students outside of our schools. when students are threatened or injured as part of a protest, it raises serious safety issues that require us to rethink the situation. our goal is to keep our students safe, under adult supervise, and engaged in the learning process. it is for this reason that i am asking and expecting all students to remain in school and participate in the daily educational program as intended. if students do not comply with these expectations, they may be subjected to the regular disciplinary actions that align with whatever infraction is involved. i also want to address the recent increase in hate-related vandalism in schools and on school property. these are deeply disturbing incidents. vanledsism is illegal. this type of horrible vandalism is illegal. it's a violation of mcps policy and, most importantly, it is simply wrong.

host: we are taking your calls this morning to hear your view of high school students walking out of the classroom to protest donald trump and his election as president. let's now turn to bowie, maryland. sharon is a teacher who is calling in now. good morning, sharon. caller: good morning, c-span. thank you so much for taking my call. i just wanted to also add that -- there was a caller earlier who talked about the solidarity of students, and these students right now, they're learning in their government classes exactly the separation of powers. they are understanding the federalism. they're understanding and learning, and then they have a lot of questions. you know, over the last year or two, they've been watching donald trump. they've been watching hillary clinton. they're mad. i'm going to tell why you they're mad, because this is what they say. they say that hillary clinton

had one popular vote -- had won the popular vote by over one million votes. you know, there's a lot of republicans out there saying that the democrats didn't come out. well, they say that the democrats and republicans and independents did come out, and they voted over one million votes for hillary clinton. they are listening to trump, how he incites bigotry. this go to school with this diversity in our stools today. they go to school with hispanics and asians and muslims, and they are all friends. and they're also telling me because they're learning, in the state of maryland, they can register to pie at the age of 16. however, they have to wait until 18. that's about two, three years for them, and they have a legitimate cause. they see what's going on. hey're not going to stand back

and do nothing and say nothing. host: sharon, are you currently teaching in a classroom? caller: yes, i teach in a high school. host: how have you addressed this top and i can issue with your students? caller: well, actually, what i am doing is, i'm asking them to take this lesson seriously. i'm asking them to look at the separation of powers. i'm asking them to take a further look and let's learn and understand about federalism. let's hear each other's opinions and each other's feelings about how how they're feeling about living in america today. these children are in fear of e type of society that america, the united states, can become. they don't want to live in a

fearful society. host: all right, sharon, from bowie, maryland. here are a few comments from twitter. one person writes, it is despicable for students to walk out, but many just want an excuse to get out of school and too very little in school anyway. another person tweets, high school students too young to vote, they should be in class being taught how our system works. and another person tweets, many teachers are liberal, they shouldn't discuss religion or politics in classes. i never did. it wasn't my place and was wrong. from alabama -- oh, i think i butchered that one. jan is calling now. good morning, jan. host: good morning. thank you for taking my call. host: sure. what's your thought of these student walkouts? caller: i am so glad that they're doing this. we need more people to speak out about how the constitutional party has butchered the constitution and stole democratic votes. again.

they did this in 2000, and now they've done it in 2016 and bragged about doing it. host: do you think that schools should give students time? should they excuse the absence if they are walking out to protest this election? caller: i think that should be done on their own time and not at school, because they're in there to learn, and they're not going to pick up much if they're out there in the streets and we have that outside influence of the devil out there trying to stir up cause and destruction. we don't need that. they need to be in school to learn. and after school, if they want to do something on the weekend or something, i'm behind them. host: all right. next up is jim from oxford, maine, calling on the line for parents. what do you say this morning? caller: well, i think that we send the students to learn. if the teachers want to express their concerns or their

opinions in the schoolroom, do these teachers get paid while the kids are out on the streets? they are being trying up traffic, restricting business. if i had a kid in college and i was paying his tuition and if i found out that they were on the street to protest, i can tell you they wouldn't be in college anymore on my dollar. that's my opinion. host: all right. that's jim from maine. robert from washington is another parent who is calling in. robert, what do you think? >> i think the students ought to be in class, i agree with jim. and the teachers are, i think, promoting this, promoting their own agenda on people that don't have any idea what they're doing. and i don't understand why it's ok for illegal immigrants to be in this country. why are the hispanics out on the streets? because they're illegal?

and the same thing with the blacks. why are they protesting? is it because they're all muslim? host: robert from washington, we hear you this morning. now to arkansas, diane, you're a parent. would you let your child participate? caller: well, i wouldn't want him to, but sometimes they don't have a lot of choice. they've done it before they realize it. i'm old enough to -- i'm in my early 80's, and i'm old enough to remember in the 19 0 -- 1960's when they were protesting at berkeley. i talked to students, and most of them didn't care what -- they were just out there having fun at lunchtime. they didn't take off school then, take off from lunchtime and shaking their fists and everything. they had no idea what was going on. and if people will zpop think what if hillary had won and the republicans were out there

protesting now? think that and remember. i called in about two months ago, and i did not call in, a fellow called in, and he was asked what his job was. now, it was something about the job, and he says, well, i'm getting $1,500 a week from black lives matter, and nobody questioned him about that. now, i don't think these stool but en are being paid, these others that are protesting definitely are, and i think george soros ought to be looked into, his media and all this concept, because he is behind this, i'll guarantee you. host: all right. that is diane from arkansas. want to get in a few more headlines for you this morning. here is a story from the scott jones ee,"

lost in the sacramento-area house seat. a democratic representative clinched a third term on friday after providing a bruising challenge for scott jones. jones conceded the race friday afternoon after sacramento county reported that nearly 20,000 more votes had been tallied and the increase lead -- and the lead was increased to 48.8%. election officials across the state continue to process mail-in ballots that were turned in on election day or received by mail in the days following novemberly 8. also also this story, new york announces $25 million settlement in trump jufert case -- university case. president-elect donald trump has agreed to settle with the lawsuit against his now-defunct trump university.

eric snyderman called it "a stunning reversal by donald trump who had pledged not settle." ? suedy donald trump for swindling thousands of innocent americans out of millions of dollars through a scheme for trump university. the trump oh, said it was happy to have -- oh, said it was happy to have reached a settlement. here's they're -- their quote -- "we are pleased to announce the complete resolution of all litigation involving trump university. " and meanwhile, the "new york times" has a story about donald trump's new picks to fill national security posts. the story says that

president-elect donald trump's trio of hard-line selections serve notice he intends not only to overturn eight years of liberal policies but also policies fordes of role in ates' proper world affairs. look into the to guantanamo bay. we reviewed the top democrat of the house and he talked about some of the people donald trump is considering for key security positions. >> there have been quite a few names for secretary of defense that have been thrown out there. any that you would find acceptable or might suggest a shift in that world view?

>> i don't think so and it's hard to know what to believe in terms of the names that have been thrown out there. certainly senator cotton would not be good with regard that to that world view. so i have to wait and see but the way it's shaping up is pretty frightening. -- and ign rhetoric vs. even saying he defended nato and he defended the rational use of nuclear weapons. he didn't sound so blustery as a campaigner or someone like even general flynn. three-star general. former d.i.a. held. lots of experience. the idea of turning your back on nato and working with putin, what would have to happen for the united states to turn it back on nato. the operations across africa and

all the intricate details. >> i don't think these people know exactly how it would work and, that too, is scary and look, i worked with general flynn. i've done a lot of work with counterterrorism stuff. i was pretty close with general mcchrystal and his staff when he was at socom and then in afghanistan. those aspects of what they say that make accepts to me. certainly we do need to take a fight to dash and al qaeda but we also have to understand that the broader issue is ideological. we have got to work with moderate muslims and people like banen and flynn would laugh at that sentence, oh, there's no such thing, yes, there is. host: you can watch the entire

interview with adam smith tomorrow here on c-span. we want your views of student walkouts that have been occurring in high schools across the area. we talk to john in virginia. what do you think? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. as a parent who came here a long time ago, you have the last caller -- this guy who said these people who are demonstrating, they are black lives and muslims. this is the land that donald trump told his people -- they think that donald trump, because he's president, they can say whatever they want. but those parents, one of their parents maybe is illegal and they worry about when they go to school and come back home mom or dad is not there. this is not the country that we built years ago and the reality is we've seen donald trump, the person that he just spoke to,

told the justice department that he wants to go after the immigrants, the muslims -- this is the reality and i can tell you one thing. those kids have the right to go out there and demonstrate and furthermore, the language that this caller hiding behind the phone -- they are angry. these people don't get that it today is 2016 and this great nation, multicrurl, we should respect each other regardless of who goes to the white house and i don't understand the people who call in calling with kind of hate. i'm a muslim myself. i have two daughters who go to school. every day they ask me, dad, if someone -- my job, what am i going to do? it hurts me. you don't understand when your 1-year-old tells you, dad, if i go to school, what am i going to

do if this person calls me names. i don't want to see this happen in this country. host: what do you tell your daughters when they tell you they're skired -- scared and worried? caller: i tell them we are the country of law. it doesn't matter who goes to that white house. and if anyone violates your rights, he will pay the price. i'm not going to get intimidated by the idiot who thinks that he loves this country more than me. i pay taxes just like anybody else, i follow the rules. i tell my kids, they should respect -- if you need respect, you should get respect back. donald trump, what he did in this election showed the american people, if you insult the people, call the names to people. if you say whatever you want to say and you're a white person, you can get away. host: our next caller is curtis from campbell, missouri.

curtis is a parent and how do you feel about these -- these protests? caller: well, when i was in school and i was a senior in --h school and what they did work skip day. they explained to them before they did the skip day that if they did this they would be corply punished. in other words, whipped with a paddle or expelled or not graduate. these children were like 18 years of age and i was 18 years old when i joined the army. you have to learn responsibility so when you're in the army, you make mistakes and do things, you're going to get punished. host: what about the argument that a skip day is one thing but this is an exercise of first-amendment rights? caller: it doesn't matter. they're supposed to be at school that day and they're supposed to follow the rules. and if they break the rules,

they explain to them what the rules are and if you do this, you're going to have problems. i looked on the sbernlt at different countries in kenya. and they get out of control. they go killing everybody and setting everything on fire and people are dying and stuff. over there, the police ill those people for setting fire to stuff. they do this in afghanistan calf. i watched it on youtube. host: sheridan is calling from columbus, ohio. what are your thoughts on these high school student walkouts? caller: thank you for taking my call. i think first and second amendments, they have the right to protest, i don't care -- when i was 11 and think brother was 15 and f.d.r. was against we ell wilk can i -- wilky, ere both old enough to know --

[indiscernible] i'm 8 now and a korean war veteran and i wish would do something on the late entrée schism that is in this country. six years before the civil war, i was born in michigan. the michigan legislature passed a law that forbid any peace fficer from helping racist slavers going -- slavers going north to get their slaves back. that was 1855, you can look it up. i want to quote oliver wendell holmes, former justice of the united states and also a civil war veteran. he said "the mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye. the more light you shine on it,

the smaller it gets." host: quick comments on twitter. one person writes amaze ago see the disrespect for future voters. another person says the student lines are ridiculous. they need to be in class. trump was elected. it's time to accept this and move on. evan is calling on the line for administrators. evan, go ahead. caller: i have to say first of all, i totally disagree with curtis. i think the students have every single right so -- to do what they believe in host: are you currently working inside a school? caller: yeah, i work with a collegiate school. host: and do you think the students should be receiving excused absences if they miss a class, a test, etc., if they are protesting this election? caller: absolutely. you'll have students coming in and they'll just be --

[no audio] host: jim, from king george, virginia, is calling in. what are your thoughts on the high school protests? caller: first of all, these protests were not organized the day after the election. they were organized before the election and they were organized to cheer on the next president, who was going to be hillary clinton so all of a sudden, the day after the election, they're faced with the biggest, you know, upset probably in american history. and they went out to boo trump yors,ers from their spear whoever peer yors, they may be. so i don't believe you should have covered this or if you are covering, honestly you're going

to express what really happened here. host: you think that is true both for the demonstrations amongst adults and in the high schools as well? caller: i'm talking about the school protests. i think the kids just were taking a holiday but i believe the adults are being led by george soros. host: that's jim from virginia. up next, as a parent. donald calling from san antonio, texas. donald, good morning to you. caller: gosh. first of all, i'd like to say i understand your question, what you're asking about your views of the student walkout. my point is i don't understand why would you let people keep calling in giving false information and if you are going to let them put that information out, there's a way to get that from. it's about the students walking out. i feel that everyone on this planet, students, young folks,

old folks. if they feel as though they want to protest, they have the right to do that and we shouldn't have people calling in spewing stuff about this george soros. ask them where are you getting this affection from? this is what facebook is fighting against now. then once you put this out there you can walk out there in the street. first thing this morning, i go to mcdonald's, i heard somebody say where did you hear that from? on c-span. host: we hear you today, "washington post"'s paul director act writes this -- donald trump is going to be our president and the same -- saying donald trump is not my prosecute masher me as saying

shtag not my constitution or not my country. hillary trump won the majority vote but not the presidency. meanwhile in the hill newspaper, there's a story about new york de blasio bill encouraging americans to keep protesting donald trump's victory. he said in a radio interview, we have to recognize that all over this country, the more discussion that's done more it will change the trajectory of things. host: good morning. caller: i would like to say that i believe the children have a right to protest.

i do believe they know what they're talking about. the majority of them. they're protesting about racism and separation. they do know what they're doing and these are the children, the teenagers, they're the ones that are not philadelphia. -- afraid. we need not look at each other with the color of our skin. and president barack obama had to go through it with the racism and i do believe that republicans who atlanta party, ran it on racism and there are a lot of people that are afraid. host: all right, that's vickie from texas. let's get in alicia from florida. go ahead, alicia. what's your thought? caller: my thought is i think it's ok if they protest in the right way. it's hard for the teachers to teach right now when you have kids crying in class because

we're down here in florida city and we have a lot of mexican migrants and these kids are scared. so i think it's ok to protest ut protest in the right way. host: next up is matt from buffalo, new york. caller: i feel like america from the inception of america has always been about revolution and protests in beginning, 18 hirks, 1900. 1 60's, 1970's and i feel like 20, 30 years from now these children will be memorialized for what they're doing. every generation, they've always had to two through the same thing they're going through now and because of the lack of understanding of the mentality that they have, i think that most of the people far calling

are kind of stuck in their own little pocket of the world and what they think and still trying to throw that at the youth that's out there right now. i give more power to them, more power to everyone who's trying to revolutionize without the violence. we don't node that. if not, we'll turn into a country of people who are constantly being told what to do and doing it. there's always going to be a need for revolution and change and i think they're doing the right thing for that. host: last caller will be michelle from maryland. michelle, you have the last word. caller: thank you, c-span. i'm a parent of three college-age students and i voted for, in this election, i won't say but as the parent of three college-age students, i'm glad that the students are protesting because my children are able to

see in this country, there's a resistance to this bigotry that is out here and i just want to encourage everyone to see the 13th "the 1th amendment -- amendment" and you can see what is happening in this country. it's shown in the movie. host: that's all the time we have this morning for this question. >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. sunday morning, alliance for justice president and judicial chief counsel and policy director harry severino will be on talking about the impact president-elect trump will have on the makeup of the supreme court. also, frances burwell will discuss u.s.-trict relations, the future of nato and trade and

economic policy. watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern sunday morning. join the discussion. >> we're having a technical problem and will be unable to bring you the town hall in peru with president obama today. he will be speaking again tomorrow in peru at the apec economic summit. you can watch that live on sunday. a short time ago, president-elect trump finished his meeting with mitt romney. before fortting, mr. romney gave -- departing, mr. romney gave some brief remarks to the media. let's take a look at that. >> how did the meeting go? >> went great.

>> we had a far-reaching conversation with rewards to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the united states of real significance. we discussed those areas and exchanged our views on those topics. a very thorough and in-depth discussion in the time we had and appreciated the chance to speak with the president-elect and look forward to the coming administration and the things they'll be doing. thank you. >> did you apologize? >> governor, would you take a job if he offered you one?

>> follow the transition of government on c-span as donald trump backs -- becomes the 45th president of the united states and republicans maintain control of the u.s. house and senate. we'll take you to key events as they happen without interruption. watch live on c-span. watch on hand in at c-span.org or listen on our free c-span radio app. >> thank you very much. welcome to congress. [applause] student ofays been a american history, particularly e history of its african

descended people. >> saturday night, the author talks about his memoir "never look at america in the eye." >> my uncle formed this impression from watching cinema, western specifically where they would get together and exchange a few words and we never understood what they were saying but at one point they would stare each other down and start shooting so my uncle formed the impression that that's what americans would do to you, shoot you, if you looked them in the eye. >> this week, newly elected members of the house were on capitol hill to meet one another and pose for the traditional freshman class photo on the steps of the capitol. here's a look at their

interactions. dd ♪

>> brad snyder? brad, will you come down here? >> right now? > yes, real quick.

thank you very much.

>> if everybody could look at me and the camera, the guy on the right is going to take your photo. fred, put your camera up. [laughter] >> there you go. right above the lens, and he is going to take your photo. on the very end. beautiful. big smiles. everyone here for a couple more. [cameras clicking] >> smile here.

good, super. awesome. everybody is doing great. a couple more real quick. awesome. a few more for me right here. [cameras clicking] >> fred, what do you need? [laughter] , can you shuffle that way a little bit? yes. you, you. i am looking at you. [laughter] >> there we go.

everybody, right here. perfect. thank you. thank you all very much. welcome to congress. [applause] [indiscernible conversations]

[laughter]

>> is that where we are going, down? [indiscernible conversations] [laughter] >> you sound like us toward the end of the campaign. >> how many days to go? >> 27? >> joey! what are you doing?

[indiscernible conversations] >> watch your step. >> you are going to catch me falling down. >> we don't want that. >> but what if? conversations]

>> thank you. good to see you. >> have a good one. >> the newly elected members

will be sworn and when the new congress meets in january. we got to know more about some of the incoming members during their visit to washington, d.c. >> we are here with congressman elect ted budd of north carolina's 13th district. before congress, ran a gunshot in north carolina. how does one go from running a gunshot to becoming a member of congress? >> i think of myself as an entrepreneur. we like to create value for others. we volunteered. we had a big primary. people like i had never been in office before. >> you came in campaigning as an outsider. how do you plan to keep that label now you are a number of congress? >> you have to create value for people. i am inside now, but do i represent the people well? that is what i want to do. i want to come home and say i am representing your best interest. that is what i am here to do. >> what are the priorities you have legislatively? >> congress is too intrusive in business and personal lives.

especially business. im having onto roofs saying am having to reduce the size of my business and turn people away and not hire them to be more profitable because of obamacare and things like that. >> you run a good range. you are good at shooting a weapon. are you planning to use the gun range on capitol hill? >> i hear that there is one in raburn. i am new to the place. i will find my way there before long. >> have you talked to any of your new colleagues about doing that with you? >> i have been campaigning for a while. they may be a better shot than me right now. i have to get the skills back. >> planning on bonding with the new colleagues? have you made any friendships in the hours you have been here? >> today, meeting folks from both sides of the aisle. definitely, this freshman class should be fun. we make great friends in the freshman class. i look forward to that. >> as you go through the process, what are you hoping to get? >> we are not making commitments at this point. it is presumptuous at this

point. as a business person, i can offer a lot of value in options to different committees. >> we are with congressman elect scott taylor, a republican. tell us how orientation is going for you as you get to know the new job. >> it is going well. on a bipartisan level, they are very helpful. they want you to be successful. i have been impressed by it. it is going well. >> a navy seal in a district that has a big navy district. tell us about the second district. >> we have the largest naval facility in the world. we have eight major military installations. we cover every service. we have more veterans than any district in the nation. it is an honor to be there. >> a district impacted by cuts under sequestration. talk about how that has affected your district. >> it has affected our district for sure. people have been laid off. there have been problems with maintenance schedules and training. it hurts our national security. my district and the nation.

it is coming back. i am here making sure we do something about that to make sure we protect our national security and my area. >> how do you make that argument and is the republican leadership in congress willing to listen? >> i think they are willing to listen. they understand it hurts our national security and military moving forward. you have to make the argument with fiscal and military hawks. i think we have the ability to do that. i'm looking forward to making that happen. >> what do you take from being a navy seal to now being a member of congress? >> i have had the pleasure observing with some of the greatest people i will ever know who taught me loyalty, honor, working within an elite team and having the ability to navigate through chaos with clarity. i don't get overwhelmed. when things are stressful, i remain calm and make decisions. that is a direct reflection of my training. ofwhat are your thoughts

president trump as commander-in-chief? >> he is a practical guide. i think you will see something strange. he articulated what a lot of people were feeling. i have high hopes. i'm confident he will bring people together and get things done. i am looking forward to working with him. >> you defeated seven-term congressman randy forbes in the primary. how did you defeat a seven-term congressman who has so many connections here in the state -- d.c.? >> hats off to him for his service and i wish him nothing but the best. we took our message to the people. a lot of people know me. we worked really hard. people have confidence in my background and what i wanted to do moving forward. congressman forms is being mentioned as a possible navy secretary. is that something you would support? >> i think he is a competent, capable guy. i wish him the best. if he finds himself in that

role, i am looking forward to working with him. >> have you thought about your committee assignments on capitol hill? >> the logical committees for my background and education and district would be house armed services, foreign affairs. that is plan b. plan a is to shoot for appropriations because virginia will be without an appropriate or for 102 years. that is plan a. plan b would be foreign affairs. >> for those who do not understand the rankings of the committees on capitol hill, why is appropriations the one always at the top of everyone's list? >> appropriations is hard for a freshman to get that. i think we have a good case. a lot of committees authorize what is going on. appropriators move the money around, so that is where money comes from and gets moved around so it is a very sought after committee and hard to get. >> what are other examples of hard to get committees? >> energy and commerce is one.

appropriations, of course. both of those are eight committees -- a committees. we are working hard to make sure we get on appropriations. >> thanks for your time. we are congresswoman abdomens of lord is 10th congressional -- we are with congresswoman val demings of florida's 10th congressional district. >> i served as a 27-year law enforcement officer and had the honor of serving as chief of police. i have dealt with people in just about every facet of their lives. i have seen the results of good government and bad government. i am excited about this opportunity to serve them in this very special but different way. >> what are your priorities now that you are a member of congress? what did you campaign on? >> i'm sure it comes as no surprise our national security down to neighborhood security is a top priority for me. it is the foundation on which the american dream we love to

talk about is founded upon. police community relations and criminal justice reform our top priorities. making sure we keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, which has nothing to do with the second amendment. it has to do with people who are mentally ill, criminals, domestic abusers, and terrorists. taking care of education. education is the key to success in our country and making sure every child has access to quality education. protection of men and women who protect us, our veterans as well as protecting our seniors and making sure they can retire with dignity and respect. >> on the guns issue, how do you think the orlando shooting, the worst mass shooting in u.s. history, how do you think that has impacted the debate on guns? >> when i was appointed chief, crime was at an all-time high. i made the reduction of crime my number one priority. also, removing guns from our streets was my second priority. we looked at a lot of the homicides that occurred.

most were committed with firearms. the pulse shooting for orlando could now have the title of being the place where the deadliest mass shooting took place. that is unbelievable. i really believe it has provided an opportunity, just like all of the other mass shootings in our country, for both sides of the aisle to come together and let's get to work on this issue so we can better protect those we represent. >> are you feeling that from your new fellow colleagues? is there momentum for that in this new congress? >> this has been a tough conversation because it has been hijacked somewhat by our second amendment rights. i am a gun owner. i carried one in my profession for 27 years. i get that. it has nothing to do with second amendment rights. even though this has been a tough conversation historically, we have seen some movement on both sides of the aisle after the colts shooting. we just need to work hard to

keep that momentum up. community relations another issue you said you wanted to make a priority. what advice would you give to the new administration if you can talk to the president-elect about dealing with that issue that has become such a thorny issue in recent years? >> there is no doubt the overwhelming majority of men and women who protect and serve as do it well. they would risk their lives for strangers. they do it every day. we have issues that need to be addressed. as we continue to hire the brightest and best men and women to the dude job and make sure they have the best training and equipment to do their job, as we talk about training, let's introduce them to sensitivity training. make it mandatory so every man and woman who polices will be better equipped to police more diverse communities. >> have you thought about what committees you want to serve on? >> that is still a work in progress. the protectionis

and safety of our nation is a top concern of mine as well as making sure we keep america moving. in orlando, we have 66 million people who visit central florida every year. transportation is certainly a key concern to me. we are still trying to work through that process. >> thank you so much for your time. >> thank you so much. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> restoration of the u.s. capitol dome been completed in time for the new congress. it will cost nearly $61. stephen ayers, the architect of the u.s. capitol, held a news conference this week to talk about the repairs. we also got a tour of the newly restored dome.

this is 35 minutes. >> i would like to introduce the architect of the capitol, the honorable mr. stephen ayers. [applause] >> thank you and good morning. thank you for coming out this morning. it is my pleasure to announce that the talent and leadership of the dedicated team of people that have joined me here today and many more consultants and contractors from across the country, the capitol dome restoration logic is complete. [applause]

mr. ayres: this was the first complete restoration of the dome in more than happy century. the dome was in dire need of repair. with the help and leadership of the congress, we repaired more than 1300 cracks and deficiencies in the cast-iron. we repaired and recast intricate ornaments, gutters and balustrades. the team used both innovative technology and historic tradecraft to repair the dome. preservedevealed and the exquisite craft and should -- craftsmanship that went into the construction of this great dome. we removed hazardous materials, upgraded electrical, mechanical, and fire protection systems, and finally, repainted the rotunda and done itself.

to preservetto is and inspire. we do so every day across this capitol campus. this one project was the most visible of all. the symbol of america's democracy and a beacon of hope for millions around the world. and we delivered. our work to serve the people of the united states and congress will preserve this monument of american ideas -- ideals for generations to come. i am so proud of the team that worked through the night in all kinds of weather. a blizzard, snowstorms, and scorching summer days. we successfully met our deadlines and did so under budget. i would like to recognize two important individuals in particular. , a certified

construction manager for the dome restoration project. gallagher,y, shane also a certified construction manager working on the rotunda restoration. these gentlemen did a fabulous job for the last 2.5 years. everyived and breathed single detail of this project. they did a fantastic job managing a very complex and risky project. and for that, we are all incredibly appreciative. so let's give them a round of applause, please. [applause] mr. ayers: it is important for us to take a moment to celebrate and share the fine work is team has done here. thank you for joining us today.

thank you for your support. thank you for your patience as we restored this beautiful building for all to appreciate and enjoy. i am happy to answer any questions anyone may have about the project. >> how big is this dome? is this the biggest cast-iron dome in the world? mr. ayers: we do believe it is the biggest cast-iron dome in the world. from the east plaza to the top, it is 288 feet tall. was there any historical graffiti or remnants of the original builders or workers? the question was, did we find any historical graffiti or remnants of the original workers? we did, indeed. first of course, montgomery

iggs liked to stamp his work on everything he did. he did stand his name on many of the pieces of cast-iron. and many of you will see that today as you twour the dome. we found some tools, in particular a crowbar we will share today that was left behind 150 years ago on the project. an employee of the architect of the capitol carved his name in the plaster nearly 150 years ago as well. we uncovered that. al ports. is you mention innovative new tools. can you give an example of what type of new work you had to do on the dome? mr. ayers: we employ technology

in a couple of ways. first, using a computer program that enabled us to track these 1300 deficiencies and the repair and inspection process along the way. that was incredibly beneficial for us. our cast-iron manufacturer also used 3-d modeling to model many of the peas is of ornamentation that had to be recast and used that model to construct the most to recast the new pieces of cast-iron ornamentation we put on the dome. >> can you talk about why the project needed to happen now? mr. ayers: the question was, why did this project need to happen now? we have been monitoring the condition of the dome for nearly 15 years now. it really started in the early 1990's when we had a significant .ater leak in the dome

as we investigated that water leak, we found many of the rain gutters were completely clogged with rust that was falling off the dome, clogging the gutters, and causing overflow of the water that then came into the rotunda itself. we monitored the cracks and deficiencies during those years. we had two or 300 of them. when we tipped 1000, we determined it was time to intervene. we were losing too much historic and original material of the dome and went before the congress requesting money to refurbish the dome and they were incredibly generous and supportive of that initiative. >> did you have to repaint any of the paintings in the rotunda? mr. ayers: the question was did we have to repaint any of the paintings in the rotunda?

of course, there are three. the apotheosis of washington on the top, which is a fresco. that was not touched during the restoration process. it was refurbished 20 years ago and it is in great shape today. secondly, the frieze of american history that is in the center of the dome, that was cleaned and touched up during this process. and then down below, the beautiful oil paintings, they were not touched during this process. and they are in great shape as well. >> can you speak a little more about what it means to have this done by inauguration in january? mr. ayers: it is so important for us to have this project done by the presidential inauguration. we call this capitol and the west front our nation's stage. as our nation's stage, it needs to be beautiful.

and that's the kind that everyone across this great country and across the world will be watching. and it is so important for us to have this grand capitol building to look magnificent and to truly be our nation's stage during that time. thank you, everybody. >> thank you, mr. ayres. i would like to thank all of you for attending today's announcement. and i want to echo his remarks and thank you, our talented and dedicated team who supported the project. on the table to my right, you will see examples of the cast-iron stitching used during the restoration of the dome. you will also see a cast-iron acorn, one assembled and one disassembled so you can see the level of detail that was required to repair the intricacies of the dome.

we also have additional information on our website and media resource kits for you. thank you for coming. >> we are now standing inside the staircase. it is an iron staircase that provides access to the roof level to get into the dome. our work in here required us to remove the laminate plaster that was loose from the wall. before we were moved that plaster we did a detailed paint , analysis and went through hundreds of samples to document what the historical colors were of the stairwell. as you may recall from a previous tour, this was painted gray for a period of years. after we removed all the plaster, we put back new plaster and repainted that in the

historical colors of 1865. natural skylight above us had been boarded up for years. so as part of this restoration, we removed all the plywood, opened up the skylight, and built a new skylight above that. our work in here included removing plywood that boarded up the historical skylight for a number of years. after that, we replaced the glass, restored, and is stored a modern skylight on top of it. right now, we are in the skirt area of the dome. as you may know this is the , second dome on top of the capital building. the original dome was a ministry -- masonry and copper dome on top of the sandstone foundation to my left. the iron dome was put on between 1855 and 1865.

it got larger. there was a need to replace it with the iron dome. the iron dome was put on between 1855 and 1865. one of the incredible things about the iron dome is that it rests on the foundation of the old sandstone foundation of the original dome. above us, you will see large iron brackets that sit on the foundation of the sandstone wall cantilevered out to support the level of the iron dome. the iron dome that was built on top of the old foundation from the original dome is larger in diameter. to overcome this, a series of iron brackets were built on top of the foundation. they cantilevered out and carry the entire outer colonnade that everyone can see from the ground level. looking up, we are looking at the brackets the cantilever out, support the dome, and the hollow openings are where the water and the rain comes down through a

series of gutters from the top down. so the skirt level is this wall, all the way around us, that has been built from the top down, to make the dome look uniform. one of the surprising things we discovered on this was the historical artifact from the original construction. the dome was built without modern tools. we take tools like modern drills for granted. these large columns serve as downspouts for rainwater. to get a gutter through that, they had to drill a series of holes with a hand drill and take this chisel with a sledgehammer to make a penetration through the column to put a pipe through. we discovered these artifacts

from the original construction laying at the bottom of one of these columns. so there's 36 columns along the colonnade and they alternate. every other one is ventilation. every other one is for rainwater and drainage to come down from the dome. we found these historical artifacts laying at the bottom of the column. this is a picture of the original dome that was on the itol from the third architect of the capitol. in this picture, you will see the wood and copper dome sitting on top of the sandstone foundation. the wood and copper dome was removed and the sandstone foundation survives and it is here to my left. the iron dome was built on top of that foundation.

these stairs are the grand iron staircase. this serves access from the roof level to the first gallery to the dome, the rotunda level. during the course of the construction, the staircase was protected to ensure no damage to the historical work. we are going to head through what we call the first fitters gallery. this will give us a downward look into the rotunda. from there, we will climb all the way up the interstitial to the top of the dome. a steep staircase, everyone watch your step coming up.

we are walking through the first visitors gallery, overlooking the rotunda. outside the windows is the colonnade for the peristyle. we are going to walk through the interstitial area, the area between the two domes, all away to the top.

we are now overlooking the rotunda. so the scope of the project for the rotunda restoration first included installing a large protective netting. the entire project was done while congress occupied the building. tours occurred. members of the public were here. a large safety net was installed to protect the building for the work. after that was installed, we installed 500,000 pounds of scaffolding, all the way up to the base of the balustrade. we did a significant paint analysis that took hundreds of tips of paint from all the layers of paint to identify what the original colors were of the rotunda. we discovered the rotunda had been painted four times in history from 1865 to the 1970's. we did an analysis on those colors to determine what the original colors, the historical appropriate colors, of the rotunda were.

after that was completed, we removed all the lead-based paint in the rotunda, from the balustrade all the way down to below the freeze of american history. once all that paint was stripped, using an abrasive blasting, three coats of paint went on. repainted to historical appropriate colors and upgraded the electrical and lighting systems in the rotunda. all the work had to be done while protecting the portraits at the base of the rotunda, the apotheosis of washington above the rotunda, and the freeze -- the freeze of american history. there was some water damage. there was touchup painting performed during the project. >> something about the columns? >> one of the most fascinating things we discovered on this project was really how detailed the cast-iron ornaments were. outside this window, we have the 36 -- we have one of the 36

columns that surround the perry -- the peristyle area of the dome. on top of this, we have the detailed capital. all of this was made entirely out of cast-iron. these have about 100 different ornaments. we had never known how these ornament were created. it wasn't until we removed about 12 layers of paint that we discovered these ornaments are made up of multiple castings. they range from two parts to 18 parts. these large scrolls that are on the corners of the columns are made of 18 individual castings. this has never been recorded in history, how they were made up, how many castings there were. it was left to the foundry to determine how to make these parts. it was never recorded on drawings how they were constructed. one of the incredible things that we discovered after the paint was removed, how these detailed ornaments are really made up. and it's truly an ornate structure to be witnessed once

the paint was removed.

>> [indiscernible] >> yeah. so the top right column, you see the large scrolls that come out and curve around? one of those scrolls is made up of 18 individual castings. you see the very top, the flower in the middle and the two rose bulbs? those are made up of seven individual parts.

>> [indiscernible] >> so montgomery miggs, the original construction manager for the cast-iron dome, he left his name engraved on projects of works he had done. before this project, we had not found his name left here on this dome. age was incredible to find his name hand stamped on every other bolt around this entire level of the dome. these are the main 36 structural supports that hold the dome up. from this, the project included repairing 1300 cracks in the

exterior cast-iron that was causing water infiltration, leakage into the area of the dome, and threatening damaging artwork in the rotunda.

>> yes, we are now in the interstitial area, the space between the outer dome on the exterior and the inner rotunda dome. we installed an improved electrical and fire systems in here.

>> [indiscernible] >> so right below us is the back of the rotunda copper dome. all of those beautiful new paint colors are on the backside of this. we are looking at the supports that hold up the entire rotunda copper dome from the 36 structural supports that are around the dome.

as we go through here, there is a close-up of a metal repair that we left exposed. you may want to get a close-up of that. as you know, the dome has 1300 cracks. as you are aware, the dome has 1300 cracks that we repaired. all the cracks were repaired using a metal stitching process. -- we discovered during studies that cast-iron cannot be welded. in order to wealth cast-iron, you have to take the entire part, put it in a furnace, heated in a controlled environment. so we discovered a lot of repairs from the 1959-60 repair have read craft -- re-cracked.

as part of this project, they were re-stitched using the process where a series of pins are drilled and tapped into the cast-iron. when they are finished, they are ground off and pull the by airon together watertight installation. the repair is then ground over and repainted. we are now at the top of the rotunda of the second visitors gallery. this is the level where we have the large, protective netting installed, draped all away down of americanieze history to protect occupants during the project. was installed,g we installed 500,000 pounds of scaffolding. after the scaffolding was

installed, all the lead-based paint from the interior copper dome was removed. we documented the historical paint colors before paint removal and the copper dome was repainted to historical, appropriate colors. during the project, we protected these priceless teases of our work -- pieces of artwork from noise and dust generated from the project. >> [indiscernible]

>> i am going to stop here. dates onn see from the it, we have three eras of glass. we have the original glass installed to the far left in 1865. about half of the historical glass remains. to the far right, there's replica glass installed during the 1959-1960 restoration. >> [indiscernible]

are at the very top of the dome. this is right below the statue of freedom. outside this is the full restored balustrade. outside this is the fully restored balustrade. >> here we are at the very top

of the dome with these marvelous views of washington, d.c. we have a national monument, the national mall, you can see virginia on the horizon. >> virginia.

>> some of the most significant damage on the dome was utilitarian parts of the dome. we have the gutter systems that failed. we have got that way up to 400 pounds letting water poured into the interstitial space. this fella straight is one example of some significant is one-- balustrade example of some significant damage.

it was so corroded it was no longer stable. this comprised about 350 individual plates of cast-iron. it was completely dismantled from the top down to the floor level. it was shipped across the country to the foundry at salt lake city where a number of parts were recast. >> this weekend on cspan3, tonight at 8:00 eastern, in lectures on history. >> the only essential difference between a nazi mob and american mob burning black men in mississippi is that one is encouraged by the national

government and one is tolerated by the national government. >> the professor on world war ii and its impact on civil rights. a 1968 film on the black panthers. founded 50 years ago. >> it is very apparent the arece in our community concerned about the security of the business owners in the community and to see the status quo is kept intact. >> sunday afternoon, the archaeologist on his findings while excavating the revolutionary war battlefield in new york and its inspiration to his book. >> what on earth was a little old lady doing out there? at the time she died, she was about five feet tall, at least 60 years old, and she was a battle casualty at saratoga. what is going on here? >> at 6:00 eastern on american artifacts.

down. wings cut your second training flight, they give you more wing and a bigger engine and you would literally hop up and down the field. when you were ready for the big day, he would talk to your instructor. he would pat you on the shoulder. you would get in the airplane and make your first solo flight by yourself. >> the pilot takes us on a tour of the military aviation museum at virginia, home to one of the largest private collections of world war i and world war ii aircraft to learn about aviation technology during the wars. for a complete schedule, go to c-span.org. >> on capitol hill this week, federal reserve chairman janet yellen said an increase in interest rates maker relatively soon. she made the comment while testifying about the u.s. economy and job growth.

she also spoke about her own future at the federal reserve, saying she sees no reason to step down before her term ends in january of 2018. this hearing is an hour and 48 minutes.

>> excuse me. the committee will come to order. we're welcoming this morning chair yellen, federal reserve chairman. i would like to just announce to my colleagues, and many of them will be filing in shortly, we have a hard stop at noon. both for the chairman's sake, and we have a senate vote at noon. so we'll do everything we can as chair to get everybody the opportunity to ask questions of

the chair, but to my colleagues, it's a hard stop, so we're not going to be able to go beyond that time frame. the joint economic committee has a long tradition of receiving regular updates from the chair of the federal reserve, and we're pleased to hear the chair's insights once again before the congress adjourns for this cycle in 2016. while we have seen some encouraging metrics of economic performance over the past years, the next congress and the next administration will still face a number of challenges. eight years after a deep recession, we're still looking for a higher rate of gdp growth, stronger productivity growth, and increased work opportunities , especially for prime age workers. low interest rates have historically been the prescribed treatment for a weak economy. however, the past seven years have clearly taught us that low

interest rates alone cannot cure an ailing economy. in response to this continuing challenge of stimulating growth to a more desired level, there seems to be a growing consensus forming that tax on regulatory reforms plus fiscal stimulus measures such as targeted infrastructure initiatives may be necessary ingredients or perhaps are necessary ingredients to incentivize capital investment in gdp growth. but as we pursue these policy changes, we also have to be mindful of a nearly $20 trillion national debt that looms ominously over the u.s. economy. where debt to gdp stood at 39.3% in 2008, it will total 76.6% by the end of this year, according to the cbo analysis, and will climb to 85.5% over the next ten years. we look forward to hearing the chair's thoughts on this

economic outlook, as well as the types of policies that congress perhaps should be looking at and considering during this time of change. i now recognize ranking member maloney for her opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is likely the last hearing of the joint economic committee in the 114th congress, and i'd like to sincerely thank chairman coats for his stewardship of the jec and for holding a number of very interesting hearings that have generated excellent discussion. i'd also like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and to welcome martin heinrich as the ranking member on the democratic side and to ms. klobuchar who is going, i understand, to be ranking on rules. i'm particularly pleased that we

are ending on a very high note with federal reserve chair janet yellen. chair yellen, i think it's fair to say that all my colleagues warmly welcome you to this hearing and look forward to hearing your thoughts at this critical time. i would like to begin by thanking you for your extraordinary and careful leadership of the federal reserve. the fed has played a critical role in helping our country recover from the worst recession since the great depression. your steady hand has built on the work of your predecessors and has guided the economy forward, and we thank you. much has changed since you appeared before the committee a year ago. the economy has continued to strengthen, the labor market has continued to improve, wage growth has been the strongest since the recession. household income has had the largest annual increase since census began tracking this data,

inflation has edged up, though it remains below the fed's 2% target. these are among the tea leaves of the economy, and everyone here is eager to find out how you read them. up until very recently, it was widely assumed that the federal open market committee would raise interest rates at its next meeting less than a month from today. some of your past statements have indicated that this is a possibility or even a goal. but then came a thunder bolt on november 8. many critical changes about our country changed literally overnight, and our world has been turned upside down. the question everyone would like to know is how the federal reserve will steer through the days ahead. one particular challenge is that the president-elect has called for policies that may have countervailing effects. history has shown us that the type of tax cuts candidate trump has proposed disproportionately benefit those who don't need

them and dramatically increase our national debt. i'm also curious to see how president-elect trump's infrastructure plan be reconciled with the republican congress' past opposition to fiscal stimulus. there is a great deal of uncertainty about fiscal policy, and that leads to uncertainty for markets, businesses and the economy overall. one constant hope that i have is that we can count on is monetary policy that remains insulated from political attack and attempts to meddle in any way with the federal reserve's independence. the election could also have a direct effect on the fed itself. the president-elect's comments on this subject have been somewhat contradictory. he thinks both that the current low interest rates are good for the economy and that the fed has been being political in keeping them at these levels.

the congress -- in congress, some have called for revolutionary changes for the federal reserve, changes that would affect the very nature of the institution, changes that, in my opinion, would lead to disaster. to those who would like to restrict the independence of the federal reserve, i think it's important to briefly review that immense benefit of an independent federal reserve. we have only to look back a few years when president obama took office. he inherited what former fed chairman ben bernanke called, and i quote, "the worst financial crisis in global history including the great depression," end quote. the federal reserve quickly acted to lower rates to almost zero and has held them there for about eight years. it instituted several rounds of quantitative easing to further stimulate the economy. this action by the independent

federal reserve was critical to our recovery. economists alan blinder and mark zandi found that efforts by the federal reserve and the obama administration -- with support from democrats in congress -- dramatically reduced the severity and length of the great depression and recession and prevented a depression. with control of the legislative and executive branches, past republican efforts to limit the fed's independence may gain momentum. last year, republicans in the house passed legislation, the form act, that would fundamentally hamper the fed's ability to conduct monetary policy. it would limit the fed's independence by forcing it to determine target interest rates using a mathematical formula while ignoring a broad range of important economic indicators.

chair yellen, as you noted before, if the fed had been forced to follow such a rule in recent years, and i quote, "millions of americans would have suffered unnecessary spells of joblessness over this period," end quote. another proposal to jettison the fed's mandate to try to maximize employment and instead focus solely on inflation. i'm not sure that people in michigan and pennsylvania and other states would respond well to that suggestion. but if that's the conversation my colleagues want to have, then we'll be ready to have it. the past nine-plus years have been an extraordinary period in the u.s. economic history. we should continue to study and learn from it. we are not out of the woods by any stretch. when the next recession hits, as it surely will, what will the monetary response look like? will the fed have the tools to restore growth?

will it turn to quantitative -- return to quantitative easing? what other effective policy tools will the federal reserve have at its disposal? i want to make one final point. the federal reserve has been at the center of the u.s. and global economic recovery. efforts to hamstring the fed are misguided, just as efforts to politicize it are wrongheaded. chair yellen, thank you for appearing before the joint economic committee today. we look forward to your testimony. thank you. dan coats: it's now my privilege to introduce to you chair of the board of governors, janet yellen, has been, has long experience at the federal reserve, including four years as vice chair of the board of governors and six years as president and chief executive officer of the federal reserve bank of san francisco. she previously served as chair of the council of economic

advisers under president clinton and as chair of the economic policy committee of the organization for economic cooperation and development. chair yellen earned her ph.d. in economics from yale university and is also professor emeritus at the university of california at berkeley. it is my pleasure, chair, to introduce you as our witness today and to thank you for your always accessible presence for this committee. you've been someone that has been a delight to work with and to get your guidance in terms of the direction that we think the fed needs to take in order to assure our public that there's a steady hand at the helm. so we thank you for coming this morning and look forward to your testimony, and then we'll have questions from our committee. chair yellen: thank you for those kind comments. it's my pleasure to be here.

chairman coats, ranking member maloney, and members of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today. i will discuss the current economic outlook and monetary policy. the u.s. economy has made further progress this year toward the federal reserve's dual mandate objectives of maximum employment and price stability. job gains averaged 180,000 per month from january through october. a somewhat slower pace than last year, but still well above the estimates of the pace necessary to absorb new entrants to the labor force. the unemployment rate, which stood at 4.9% in october, has held relatively steady since the beginning of the year. the stability of the unemployment rate combined with above-trend job growth suggests that the u.s. economy has had a bit more room to run than

anticipated earlier. this favorable outcome has been reflected in the labor force participation rate, which has held steady this year despite an underlying downward trend stemming from the aging of the u.s. population. while above-trend growth of the labor force in employment cannot continue indefinitely, there nonetheless appears to be scope for some further improvement in the labor market. the unemployment rate is still a little above the median of federal open market committee participants' estimates of its longer run level. involuntary part-time employment remains elevated relative to historical norms. further employment gains may well help support labor force participation as well as wage gains. indeed, there are some signs

that the pace of wage growth has stepped up recently. while the improvements in the labor market over the past year have been widespread across racial and ethnic groups, it's troubling that unemployment rates for african-americans and hispanics remain higher than for the nation overall, and that the annual income of the median african-american household is still well below the median income of other u.s. households. meanwhile, u.s. economic growth appears to have picked up from its subdued pace earlier this year. after rising at an annual rate of just 1% in the first half of this year, inflation-adjusted gross domestic product is estimated to have increased nearly 3% in the third quarter. in part, the pickup reflected some rebuilding of inventories and the surge in soybean exports. in addition, consumer spending

has continued to post moderate gains, supported by solid growth in real disposable income, upbeat consumer confidence, low borrowing rates, and the ongoing effects of earlier increases in household wealth. by contrast, business investments has remained relatively soft, in part because of the drag on outlays for drilling and mining structures that resulted from earlier declines in oil prices. manufacturing output continues to be restrained by the weakness in economic growth abroad and by the appreciation in the u.s. dollar over the past two years. and while new housing construction has been subdued in recent quarters despite rising prices, the underlying fundamentals, including a lean stock of homes for sale, an improving labor market, and the

low level of mortgage rates, are available for a pick-up. turning to inflation, overall consumer prices -- as measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures -- increased 1.25% over the 12 months ending in september. a somewhat higher pace than earlier this year, but still below the fomc's 2% objective. much of this shortfall continues to reflect earlier declines in energy prices and in prices of non-energy imports. core inflation, which excludes the more volatile energy and food prices and tends to be a better indicator of future overall inflation, has been running closer to 1.75%. with regard to the outlook, i expect economic growth to continue at a moderate pace -- sufficient to generate some

further strengthening in labor market conditions and a return to the committee's 2% objective over the next couple of years. this judgment reflects my view that monetary policy remains moderately accommodative and that ongoing job gains, along with low oil prices, should continue to support household purchasing power and, therefore, consumer spending. in addition, global economic growth should firm, supported by accommodative monetary policies abroad. as the labor market strengthens further and the transitory influences holding down inflation fade, i expect inflation to rise to 2%. i will turn out to the implications of recent economic developments and the economic outlook for monetary policy. the stance of monetary policy has supported improvement in the labor market this year, along with the return of inflation

towards the fomc's 2% objective. in september, the committee decided to maintain the target range for the funds raised at .25% to two and a half percent and stated that while the case for an increase in the target range had strengthened, it would for the time being wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives. at their meeting earlier this month, the committee judged that the case for an increase in the target range had continued to strengthen and that such an increase could well become appropriate relatively soon if incoming data provides further evidence of continued progress toward the committee's objectives. this judgment recognized the progress in the labor market economicnued and that activity has picked up from a modest pace seen in the first

half of this year. and inflation, while still below the committee's 2% objective, has increased somewhat since earlier this year. furthermore, the committee judged the near-term risk of the outlook were roughly balanced. waiting for further evidence does not reflect a lack of confidence in the economy. rather, with the unemployment rate remaining steady this year, despite above trend job gains, and with inflation continuing to run below its target, the committee judged that there were -- there was somewhat more room for the labor market to improve on a sustainable basis than the committee had anticipated at the beginning of the year. nonetheless, the committee must remain forward-looking in setting monetary policy. were the fomc to delay increases in the federal funds rate for too long, it could end up having

to tighten policies relatively abruptly to keep the economy from significantly overshooting both of the committee's longer-run policy goals. moreover, holding the federal funds rate at its current level for too long could also encourage excessive risk-taking and ultimately undermine financial stability. the fomc continues to expect the evolution of the economy will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate over time to achieve and maintain maximum employment and price stability. this assessment is based on the view that the neutral federal funds rate, meaning the rate that is neither expansionary nor contractionary and keeps the economy operating on an even keel, appears to be currently quite low by historical standards. consistent with this view,

growth and aggregate spending has been moderated in recent years, despite support from the low-level of the federal funds rate in the federal reserve's large holdings of longer-term securities. with the federal funds rate currently only somewhat below estimates of the neutral rate, the stance of monetary policy is likely moderately accommodative, which is appropriate to foster further progress towards the fomc's objectives, but because monetary policy is only moderately accommodative, the risk of falling behind the curve in the near future appears limited, and gradual increases in the federal funds rate will likely be sufficient to get to a neutral policy stance over the next few years. of course, the economic outlook and, asently uncertain

always, the appropriate path to the federal funds rate will change in response to changes to the outlook and associated risks. thank you, and i would be pleased to answer your questions. >> chair yellen, thank you for your opening statement. something caught my attention during that statement that i hadn't been reading your statement earlier, this caught my attention. stated that the case increase in the prime rate relatively soon unless -- it is the word unless that perked me up a bit -- unless further evidence indicated to the contrary. my question to you is, are the results of the election and -- does that fall in the category of unless, and how is the fmo see looking at that -- how is

the fmoc looking at that in terms of the decision that the case for an increase is still relatively soon? chair yellen: my own judgment is looking at incoming economic data and developments thus far affecting the outlook. the evidence we have seen since we met in november is consistent with our expectations of strengthening growth and improving labor markets, inflation moving up, so we indicated that the case had strengthened for an increase in the federal funds rate, and to my mind, the evidence we have seen since that time remains consistent with the judgment the committee reached in november. now obviously, there are many economic policies that congress and the administration will be considering in the months and years to come, and when there is greater clarity about the

economic policies that might be put into effect, the committee will have to factor those assessments of their impacts on employment and inflation and perhaps adjust our outlook , depending on what happens. so many factors over time affect economic outlook and the appropriate stance of policy that is needed to achieve our dual mandate employment and inflation objectives, but at this stage, i do think that the economy is making very good progress toward our goals and that the judgment the committee reached in november still pertains. mr. coats: thank you. you suggested publicly that fiscal policy should play a role in stimulating economic growth. as i mentioned in my opening

statement, any new economic growth initiatives envisioned by the next congress and the next administration should include a full accounting of the potential effects on the economy. from your perspective, how would you balance the need to promote economic growth with the realities associated with deficit spending in high and rising debt? i assume we are looking at some type of a balance there. how can that be achieved? chair yellen: well, it is clearly up to congress and the administration to weigh the costs and benefits of fiscal policies that you will be considering. my advice would be that several principles should be taken into account as you make these judgments. first of all, although the economy is operating relatively close to full employment at this point, so in contrast to where

the economy was after the financial crisis when a large demand boost was needed to lower unemployment, we are no longer in that state. you mentioned the longer-term fiscal outlook. cpl's assessment as you know is that there are longer-term fiscal challenges that our debt-to-gdp ratio at this point looks likely to rise as the baby boomers retire and population aging occurs, and that longer-run deficit problem needs to be kept in mind. in addition, with the debt-to-gdp ratio at around 77%, there is not a lot of fiscal space should a shock to the economy occur -- an adverse shop

that diddverse shock require fiscal stimulus. i think what has been very disappointing about the economy's performance over the last -- really since the financial crisis or maybe going back before that is productivity growth has been exceptionally slow. the last five years, .5% per year, the last decade 1.25% per year, the previous two decades before that were about a percentage point higher and that's what ultimately determines the pace of improvement in living standards. my advice would be, as you consider fiscal policies, to keep in mind and look carefully at the impact those policies are likely to have on the economy's productive capacity, on

productivity growth, and to the maximum extent possible, choose policies that would improve that long-run growth in productivity outlook. mr. coats: thank you. my time has expired, so i am going to return to congressman maloney for questions. thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for your service. we will miss you. can you envision any circumstances where you would not serve out your term as chair of the federal reserve? chair yellen: no, i cannot. i was confirmed by the senate to a four-year ter,m which ends at -- a four-year term, which ends at the end of january of 2018, and it is fully my intention to serve out the term. mrs. maloney: thank you. the election outcome introduced new uncertainties that the

markets and the private sector had not expected or priced in. how do these uncertainties affect the fed's decision in the next meeting? chair yellen: well, the markets try to anticipate what policies congress and the administration will put into effect, and we have seen some significant market moves since the election longer-termlar, treasury yields are off about 40 basis points, and the dollar is strengthened. 3.5% broadened about index. be thatpretation would markets are anticipating that you will ultimately choose a fiscal package that involves a net expansionary stance of policy and in the context of an economy that is operating

reasonably close to maximum employment, with inflation getting back toward 2%, that such a package could have inflationary consequences that the fed would have to take into account in devising policy and that the market response is consistent with that view. so from our point of view, we don't know what is going to happen. there is a great deal of uncertainty right now. i have tried to offer you my assessment of where the economy is and what policy response is appropriate in the months ahead, given my current assessment. theill be watching decisions that congress makes in updating our economic outlook as the policy landscape becomes

clearer and taking into account those shifts in the economic outlook for the appropriate stance of policy, but i think that is how i would interpret the market response. things could turn out very differently. we understand, and we will simply wash what does it -- simply watch what decisions are made that will influence our thinking going forward. mrs. maloney: does the lack of information weren't a delay in raising the interest rate -- lack of information w in raisinglay interest rates until the january meeting, when you will have more information? that yellen: my thought is uncertainty about these matters will last for a considerable time, and we have had an accommodative monetary policy, i do think, and the committee has

said for a long time that gradual increases in the federal funds rate are likely to be appropriate to promote our objectives. and my assessment of where the economy is and how it has been operating, and the fact that the near-term risks do seem reasonably balanced. that the judgment the committee reached in november remains the appropriate one. one maloney: chair yellen, of the most significant responses to the financial crisis was passage of the dodd frank law. as a result of this law, the financial system is stronger, safer, and more stable. how do you feel about repealing dodd-frank? chair yellen: well, i agree with your assessment. we lived through a devastating

financial crisis, and a high priority, i think, for all americans should be that we want to see put in place safeguards, through supervision and regulation that result in a safer and sounder financial system, and i think we have been doing that, and our financial system, as a consequence, is safer and sounder. many of the appropriate reforms are embodied in dodd-frank. we now have much higher capital than before the crisis, much more stringent liquidity requirements. derivatives -- standardized derivatives are now subject to central clearing, and derivatives both clear and uncleared are subject to margin requirements that

increase their safety. we have a new orderly liquidation authority. we are focusing on resolution through and ending to two big to -- an endingnding fail through the process, which i think is really changing the mindset of large financial firms that have the need to run their businesses and making them safer and sounder , and dodd-frank puts considerable emphasis on financial stability. we now have a group, the afsoc , that meets all the regulators to consider threats to financial stability, so i think dodd-frank was very important in fostering those changes and we should feel glad that our financial system is now operating on the safer and sounder footing. mrs. maloney: thank you, and my time has expired, but i just

have to ask you very quickly, do you have concerns that the repeal would make another financial crisis more likely? chair yellen: i certainly would not want to see all the improvements that we have put in place -- i would not want to see the clock turned back on those , because i do think they are important in diminishing the odds with another financial crisis. mrs. maloney: thank you for your service. mr. coats: thank you congresswoman. vice chairman mr. tiberi. >> i'm book ended by two individuals who are going to retire at the end of this session, and it is an honor to sit in the past on this committee with both of you. you have brought so much business expertise and chairman if there were concerned that -- he would be that picture. it has been an honor and privilege to serve with you. you will be missed. i'm comforted only by knowing that your replacement, my

colleague senator elect todd young is as nice and as smart as you, so a great successor. mr. coats: he is actually smarter. but thank you for the complement >> it has been an honor -- but thank you for the complement. >> it has been an honor to serve with you. chair yellen, it's an honor to have you here and thanks for your time. the story this month in "the wall street journal" reported that for the first time in more than 30 years, banks, credit unions, and other depository institutions share of the market should market fell below 50% because of the bank's aversion to risk in fear of legal and regulatory issues. while some lending is increased , banks have shifted clearly to far worse to have the best credit. loans to small businesses have lagged and new rules for credit cards may be hindering lending as well. president-elect trump has said

the dodd-frank is, and i quote, "a tremendous burden to the bank's." he has expressed the same concerns that the banks are unable to listen to people who actually need it, people who want to start a business or stay in their current business which has made us less competitive and has slowed growth. this view is shared by many community bankers, by small and medium-sized bins business owners and by many economists across our country. further the gao released a study of the federal reserve's bank stress test procedures and had 15 as you know recommendations for making improvements that go beyond what was outlined his next steps. chair, what are your responses in respect to the following issues -- the current state of bank lending, the constraining effects of regulation generally, and stress tests in particular, and finally, the impact on the economy's ability to grow and create jobs? and one last thing, do you plan on adopting the gao stress test

recommendations on improving transparency, model design and management, and cost-benefit analysis, and any of that i asked, if you can't respond to today, i certainly understand. if you could reply in writing, we certainly would appreciate it. chair yellen: let me take a shot at replying. if there's anything i don't cover, i would be glad to respond in writing. let me start by saying something about the burdens on community banks. community banks play a very important role in our economy in lending, understanding the conditions in their communities, and providing lending that supports economic growth. it's really critical that they be able to function and thrive. we recognize -- we talked to community bankers regularly, and

we recognize the burdens that they are operating under our significant and wants to do everything that we can to reduce those burdens and to simplify the compliance regime for those banks. we have taken many steps on our own to reduce the burdens of our supervision, and we are contemplating ourselves, the regulators working on possible proposals for a simplified capital regime that would apply to smaller community banks. so i completely agree those banks play a critical role and we need to focus on reducing burden. with the dodd-frank rules, many of them apply particularly to the largest financial institutions and the most significant increases in capital requirements, including

surcharges from the largest capital surcharges to the largest firms that create the greatest systemic risk. the burdens of stress tests and other regulatory requirements fall on those firms that i do think pose potential threats to financial stability. it is important that those institutions maintain higher standards of safety and soundness. let's see -- you mentioned the stress tests and gao's findings. stress tests have been central to the federal reserve's efforts to increase capital and ensure that capital planning in large

, systemic financial institutions, that capital planning takes into account an accurate assessment of the risks that could strike banks. and the gao in their review found generally that our stress are effective and useful, and they suggested some changes, many of which we had already considered or had underway and their suggestions are useful. we intend to take them up or look carefully at it, so that was a very useful report. but bottom line, it concluded that our stress testing regime has resulted in a very substantial improvement to safety and soundness. i should say that we recently new regulation that

will reduce the burden of the stress testing regime on billionions between 10 and 250 billion in size -- 50 billion and 250 billion in size, that those institutions will no longer be subject to the qualitative part of our so-called c.car capital review process, that we will no longer object to capital distributions based on qualitative evaluation of their capital planning process. we will look at their capital planning process through normal supervisory methods. i think that will serve to reduce burden on a number of large but smaller institutions subject to the stress test. finally, you asked me about bank

lending and mortgages. i think certainly mortgage credit standards have tightened up, and there are borrowers who are finding it difficult with lower credit ratings to obtain mortgage credit. i think it is a consequence of the financial crisis, regulations and greater caution on the part of lenders. i think we would not want to go back to the mortgage lending --ndards that we had between that we had in the first decade of the century that led to the financial crisis, but they certainly have increased. on small business lending, i think my assessment there would be that it remains largely available and that banks find, -- and this is something you also see in surveys -- that the

demand for lending by small businesses has not been very robust in recent years. in part, i think they see their sales are not growing sufficiently rapidly to justify much borrowing. certainly the community banks and other banks that we talked to and monitor suggest that they adequatedy and have resources to support additional lending to smaller businesses. but there's a question there as to whether that is a demand or supply issue. mr. coats: thank you, congressman. i've just been alerted that the house has been called for a vote . we would love for you to vote and come back, and we will keep your place. as i looked down the line, the senators are smiling because that means they move up on the

list. let's see -- senator klobuchar, you are next on the list. vote and come back. we would love to keep you on the list. >> thank you very much, madam on mr.and to follow-up tiberi, not 20 banks. i think i will put some additional questions on record. as you know, i am concerned about the status of community banks and what's been happening in the last two years. i just wanted to start out with a question about the importance of independence for the central bank. i know you can't comment on political goings on but you may have noticed there were some campaigning going on in the last year, and the federal reserve was discussed a few times. could you comment on the importance of preserving the independence of the federal reserve bank from interference by either the executive branch of the legislative branch and what that would mean for

monetary policy effectiveness if there was not independence of the bank? chair yellen: thank you for that question. i think independence by a central bank to make tactical implementing of to aary policy, subject congressional mandate, which we .ave obviously we are accountable to congress, we are a creature of congress. established goals for us of maximum employment and price stability, but it is critically important that a central bank have the ability to make judgments about how best to pursue those goals while being accountable for explaining its decisions and transparent in its decision-making. central banks around the world

in recent decades have gained this independence, and the economic outcomes that have resulted from this trend toward central bank independence that we have seen, much better macro economic -- ms. klobuchar: there are studies that banks that have this sense of independence, that there has been improvements in those countries? chair yellen: there is clear evidence of better outcomes in countries where central banks can take the long view are not subject to short-term political pressures, and sometimes central banks need to do things that are not immediately popular for the health of the economy. we have really seen terrible economic outcomes in countries where central banks have been subject to political pressure. often, it is the case when a country is not able to balance its budget, it is running large

deficits, it is finding it hard to finance those deficits. how can you finance it -- you realize you can go to the central bank and force it to buy the debt that's being issued. the story in every country that has experienced very high or even hyperinflation is one where a central bank has been forced to follow the dictates of government that it has compromised its independence. markets come to expect low and stable inflation from the central bank that has political independence and good economic performance, and i believe we have seen that both in the united states and globally. ms. klobuchar: thank you. we have the dual goal of maximum employment and price stability. there has been some talk out there of just eliminating one of the goals and just focusing on price stability. there have also been comments

that the fed target a certain growth rate for the economy. what do you think would be the effect of that, either limit the feds focus to stabilizing prices, get rid of the other part of the dual mandate, or putting in and starting a certain growth rate? chair yellen: i am a strong believer in the feds dual mandate. it was congress's decision, and it is up to congress what our mandate should be, but i believe that both of these -- both price stability, the rate of inflation, having bad low and stable, and employment -- having that low and stable, and employment matter greatly to the american people. the welfare oft households and individuals in this economy to a great extent. i think they are both appropriate goals. ofce stability is a goal

every central bank -- most central banks also take employment or real side performance into account into achieving it. i would say there is rarely any conflict between pursuing these two objectives, so it is not commonly the case -- they could be in conflict, but most of the time, they are not. if you think about what we have faced, the federal reserve in the aftermath of the crisis, we have had very high unemployment that we wanted to bring down as rapidly as possible, and inflation has been almost consistently below our 2% objective, and so our efforts to put in place a highly accommodative policy were directed toward achieving both of those goals, and they have not been in conflict. with respect to a growth rate objective, we can't

independently -- if we are to achieve our inflation objective, simply choose some arbitrarily chosen growth rate objective and try to achieve it. , and it iso do that one that is not consistent with the underlying productive potential of the economy and the wastey's ability to grow on changes in technology and capital and labor over time, we would end up with an economy that either has inflation that is above acceptable levels or conceivably deflation, if the target we chose were too low. ms. klobuchar: thank you very much. i will ask my questions on the record on infrastructure funding effect on the economy, and also the positive of doing that, and

income inequality and some of your views on that. thank you very much. mr. coats: senator, thank you. i know the members of the committee will miss your presence in the future as you are moving on to greater responsibilities. on klobuchar: i may still be the committee, but yes, my presence at the front of the line, you mean? mr. coats: congressman hanna. >> we talked about dodd frank. the federal frank, reserve examiners took responsibility for the safe the and soundness of money as well as can protection oversight. dodd frank moved that over to yet, in 2015, "the l.a. times post quote reported that wells fargo was putting cross-selling pressures on bankers was encouraged and encouraging fraud. wells fargo paid $185 million in

fines, and i know this is somewhat hypothetical, but i'm curious -- dodd frank in this this, and it is a profound miss. do you think it would have been any different if it has been left with the federal reserve? we have cooperated historically with other regulatory agencies to engage in examinations, and in this case, the consumer financial protection bureau was involved as comptroller of the currency. most of the abuses that occurred were in the national bank, where the comptroller of the currency also has responsibilities. that has been historically true. so they didn't find -- so they

did find these problems. they have levied significant fines and put in place enforcement actions to correct them. 2011, looked at a subsidiary we were then responsible for, which was the independent mortgage company, , which we finds wells fargo for and put in place enforcement actions. i think we have all worked together pretty constructively to try to address abuses. , would say that going forward that we supervise our state and look to see if there are similar practices that could cause problems, and with

the holding'companys -- of the holding company's we supervise with a larger institutions we overtake a horizontal review of compliance practices, but we do work constructively and collaboratively with the other agencies. mr. hanna: so there is no real disconnect because of this. frank? -- because of this dodd frank? chair yellen: there are many agencies in united states involved in supervision, and we do try to work constructively together. i think we have had a good working relationship with those agencies, so i would not want to let a criticism there. mr. hanna: i understand. in previous hearings, we have discussed the massive amount of student debt and how that impacts starting a family, having a home, doing all those things that people used to do at a much amber age. -- at a much younger age.

how does the fed take that into account when they consider all the things that they look at? it is somewhat like consumer debt, this trillion dollar , is haunting and hanging over everyone's head. how does the fed think about it going forward> ? chair yellen: we have been very attentive to trends in student debt. it really has escalated to an extraordinary degree. there is a good deal of research that is trying to determine whether or not student debt is a burden -- student debt burdens might be impeding household formation. household formation has been very low. the number of young people who are purchasing new single-family homes has been quite depressed, and we have seen less of a

recovery in the housing sector and pick up in housing starts than we would have expected. multifamily has been quite strong, but single-family construction has been depressed. there are a number of factors i think that are contributing, and there is some research that suggests student debt is a factor that is leading to the -- to reduce willingness of millennials to buy single-family homes. they are marrying later, getting more education, living more in cities, have more student debt -- it is difficult to sort out exactly what the most important drivers are, but that could be one of them. mr. hanna: it is interesting how we study things. said, you have to be a

weatherman to know which way the wind blows. we spent a lot of time figuring out things that are patently obvious, but thank you for your time today. mr. coats: thank you, congressman. senator peters? mr. peters: thank thank you, chairman coats. it has been a pleasure and honor to be on this committee with you, and i wish you well. is wonderful to be with you here today, and thank you for taking the time. i certainly know that you understand that politics shapes american democracy and sometimes very unpredictable ways, and we have to be prepared to that on particular days. in times of uncertainty and change, one thing that always seems clear is that americans care about the economy, usually first and foremost, and they are concerned about their pocketbooks, their futures. they want jobs, growth, a better chance for their children, and

while politics that shape our democracy don't always follow a printable pattern, -- a predictable pattern, all of us need some measure of stability, be it markets,- consumers, spenders, neighbors, young professionals. obama,phrase president the federal government remains an ocean liner, not a speedboat, but there still remains a level of uncertainty about the near-term of fiscal policy in this nation. i just wanted to say how much i appreciated your comments on the independence of the fed and the necessity for that. and iry policy has been certainly think must continue to be a balance and a consummate to fiscal policy -- a balance and a compliment to fiscal policy of the government. the allegation that federal reserve policies are somehow

political in nature iswe have tr views on monetary decisions, whether in criticism or in praise. to undermine the credibility of the federal reserve is a very dangerous action that may be difficult to undo, once it is out there. i don't believe these are just abstract discussions. the credibility for undermining the central bank will have a direct impact on the economy and our constituents back home. i believe members of congress have the added responsibility to uphold these norms in our country for decades. with that, i would urge my fellow policymakers here in both the legislative and executive branches to exercise caution in prudence when it comes to these kinds of criticisms. turning to a question, i believe one of the greatest challenges we face in our banking system is

cyber security. from a consumer level two commercial level, to the level of global banking system, we face tremendous threats every single day. the warning signs are very evident. in february 2016 packers stole -- hackers stole $81 million from the bangladesh central-bank by request from the new york federal reserve. additional breaches have been uncovered, including in vietnam, ecuador, and more, through the swift society telecommunications banking network used worldwide by more than 11,000 financial institutions. i use this example not to speak ill of swift, who has pledged to take steps in strength and security and that of its partners, but just to illustrate that we are only as strong as our weakest link when it comes

to cyber security. in august i wrote to president obama to put cyber security on the g 20 agenda, and in the most followed, i am pleased the group of seven introduced 8 principles for government agencies and private firms to follow. this is an issue we must do in a collaborative and international manner. chair yellen, what steps has the federal reserve taken to ensure cyber security and security of financial institutions overseas? will you currently play a central role, what assurances can you give us? chair yellen: let me start by saying i agree with your assessment. this is one of the most significant risks our country faces, and we are cooperating with the regulators, as you indicated internationally. working with g7, cooperating

with financial institutions to make sure that we have a system that is prepared to deal with cyber security risk. i can assure you we will need to highest standards -- we are working closely with financial institutions to make sure the controls they have in place are appropriated to keep part of our supervision. we recently put out an advanced rulemakingroposed that suggests higher standards of cyber security protections for institutions that are systemically important, and for those that are interconnected,

where a problem could spill over into the entire financial system . we are proposing the very highest standards those firms should meet, given the fact that they could be a source of vulnerability to the larger financial system. i would say that while we are focused on this in our own supervision, and are working closely with other financial regulators, and with the u.s. thatury, this is something congress needs to look at very carefully. it is not just a matter of the fed and financial institution, risk involved merchants, and others involved in the economy -- it is a very broad thread that we alone are not able to deal with adequately. i hope you will stay involved. >> i look forward to taking you up on your offer to have a more

detailed discussion as what is happening at the federal reserve. i serve on the commerce and human security committees. all of this merges together. again, as you stated yourself, this is the most significant threat we face, cyber security. thank you for your testimony. chair yellen: thank you. >> ok, we have this byzantine process of going forward. [laughter] i think you are between both on the list? yeah. we are going to give you your five minutes. >> thank you. one of the controversial things about the federal reserves, last time we were in a crisis, you bought a lot of

mortgage-backed securities, right? chair yellen: we did. >> you felt that you paid them both market value for those securities? chair yellen: we always pay at market prices. sen grothman: could you give me an idea of private funds purchased in the last few years? =-private bonds purchased at last few years. chair yellen: we are not able to buy perk private bonds. securities are issued by fannie and freddie-- sen grothman: and you consider that the equivalent of a government bond. chair yellen: both an agency bond, those are permissible investments for us. we buy securities in the open

market, and in the bidding process, we purchase it at market prices. sen grothman: do those mortgage-backed securities has a face value, so to speak? say, alla value as if, the mortgages would be paid in full? chair yellen: they do have a face value. and then they trade in the market, and practice can deviate from those face values. sen grothman: and when you are purchasing them, what were you paying compared to the face value? chair yellen: i honestly don't have -- we have published that information. sen. grothman: maybe just a wild guess -- maybe it is an unfair question. 80%, 90%. chair yellen: we would have been paying market prices for securities at that time.

sen. grothman: i know, but was that 70% of face? i realize you don't know exactly, but you must know about. chair yellen: i don't think the discounts were nearly that deep, but i might be wrong. sen. grothman: okay. that is my final question. sen. lee: thank you very much chairman and chair yellen for being with us tonight. banks asthere were 12 i understand it the controlled 69% of the industry assets. i think we have been seeing a market increase in the share of revenues concentrated in a relatively small handful of firms. i see you are nodding. i assume you don't disagree with that. chair yellen: i believe that is true.

sen. lee: the economic census of 2012, we learned from that study there were some 33,000 fewer business establishments in the finance and insurance industry and there were in 2007. -- industry than there were in 2007. entities,000 business that were consolidated or left. i think it is evaluating -- worth evaluating the potential problems in increasingly concentrated and endless competitive -- in less competitive banking sectors might pose, especially in light of the concern of the too big to fail concern. let me ask you this, what risks do you see that might come from the concentration of power, the

concentration of market share within the financial industry? what risk do you think that might pose to our overall financial stability? so, large,n: interconnected complex firms -- it is not just a question of size, but sizes part of it, other characteristics matter too. their distress or failure could pose significant risk to financial stability. a great deal of our regulatory and supervisory response since the financial crisis has been directed at those firms that do post such systemic risk. have imposed much higher standardsandards, and

for individual firms that reflect our assessment of the individual risks that each of those systemic firms poses to our financial system. pose,e of the risk they they needed to have a lower probability of distress to be better managed, have more liquidity, have resolution plans. we need to make sure these entities are resolvable and diminish their risk of failing. through our stress tests and capital requirements, resolution plans, living wills and other improved the safety and soundness of those institutions. sen. lee: let's talk about those efforts for a minute. you mentioned stress tests in particular. since the enactment of. frank and others -- of dodd frank and others, the fed has taken

regulatory measures. i wonder whether some of those duerts might undermine the process interests of those who own the banks, not just the wealthy people who were invested in them, but for many people, including retirees who invest in them. a long-standing concern of due process involves certainty in the law. james madison described it as in the federalist, "it is little people if they are of their own choosing if they are so complex that they cannot be understood, or if they undergo such incessant changes that no person who knows what the law is today can be sure when it will be tomorrow." my understanding of the stress test, the standards are

constantly changing. there is kind of a black box. they don't know what the law is today, and they know even less about what the lawyers tomorrow. if by the law we mean the standards enforceable by the fed that carry the force of law. how is that consistent with due process, and how can the lack of transparency be consistent with our time-honored standards of due process? chair yellen: sure. i would disagree there is a lack of transparency where we do not publish the precise mathematical formulas that are used to evaluate bank portfolios. we have published and shared with the industry a great deal of information about the models that we use. sen. lee: a great deal of information about them. but that doesn't mean they know what the models are.

the models themselves are the basis for legal standards. chair yellen: we want these banking organizations to have sound risk management. that means developing their own capacity to evaluate the risks in their portfolios, rather than using a model that we hand them. stress review of our testing did not recommend they look at this -- they looked at this very carefully -- and they recommend we do not share with the industry the exact details of the model. we have put out for public comment policies about how we design stress test scenarios. the industry understands how we go about devising those scenarios, although they change

from time to time. they have a great deal of information about the models we use, and what we want to ensure that they have the appropriate incentives to analyze their own risks, that we do not capture in our stress test, and build models that are appropriate for each individual firm. sen. lee: my time has expired. i have to respect the clock and fellow committee members. updatingid recommend the guidance. i want to be clear, i understand you have a difficult job to do, and these are important things, but i don't think we can overlook the fact simply because some thing is important, doesn't mean we can subject the american people to laws that are constantly subject to change. laws that are not even written by individuals of their entries and.

people that are unelected and on a couple to the people. it doesn't mean they have bad intentions. i think we have to take due process into account. we have to be mindful of that and look for ways to reform it. >> thank you sen. coats: your service and the reputed working with representative maloney on others with this committee. we wish you luck as you transition. madam chair, we are grateful to be with you again. when you provide this testimony, we always learn from it. my copy of your remarks is highlighted in yellow. i will quote from them and a moment. vexingto focus on a problem, and that is wages, or lack of wage growth.

i think we have had a basic disconnect lately, wherewith a good recovery, corporate profits are healthier thank goodness, but the wage picture over time, has been a different story. we do have a disconnect where folks see corporate profits going up and wall street having good results in their own wages growing over time. i think it is a problem for both parties to come together and tackle it. i believe we need to focus on short-term strategies to deal with that, as well as a set of long-term priorities. seen not just in the context of the election, but even prior to that people leading lives of real struggle. a love it is connected to the

wage issue. you are familiar with one of the studies, the economic policy institute basically said wages grew more than 90%, maybe as high as 91% for 25 years after world war ii, with an alignment of productivity growth, and after that, briefly around 1973, even with productivity still increasing or than 70%, wages flatlined. by one estimate, 11% over 40 years. if that data and that analysis is in any way accurate -- and i believe it is -- we are looking at wage growth of 11% over 40 years, when we can't injure another 20 or 40 years. what do we do about it? one thing we need to do is focus communities when they are dramatically affected

by substantial job loss in the short term. theoryg of a place like county, pennsylvania. to have suffered a lot of job losses went ge moved jobs down to texas. something i have been advocating for is measures that will provide immediate and targeted assistance to communities that thatthat seismic impact leads to job loss. overtime we need to focus on more strategic actions, quality affordable childcare, a real commitment to early learning, which we don't have as a nation. and something we have heard a lot about lately, and i hope we can get agreement on, investments and infrastructure. not only the more traditional roads, bridges, but also broadband deployment.

pretty hard to grow a business or run a family farm if you are in a small community that doesn't have access to broadband. especially in rural america, where the problem is really alarming. ruralercentages of pennsylvania don't have broadband. that is a lot to chew into. i want to get your sense of how much you hope we would do, maybe from the vantage point of what you think works. short-term strategies to raise wages, as well as long-term investments that might result -- any ideas or opinions about that? pointed that you in your comments, the behavior of wages, the disappointing growth in wages, is not just a recent phenomenon, is not just something associated with the

great recession following the financial crisis, although that took a huge toll, it is a longer-term trend. reflectsomists feel it both technological change that has persistently favored skilled and diminished the job opportunities of those who do less skilled or repetitive work. globalization played a significant role. even though economists believe these forces are good for some sense for the economy as a whole, there are many individuals who were very badly and negatively affected by these trends. i agree with your focus that it is important to think about how to help individuals who are not

winners because of trends of ,echnology and globalization and how to put in place inclusive policies that will help those individuals and make sure that the gains str broadly shared. i don't have full proof of method to do this. a very good list of things to consider. see they when you since the in wages, 1980's, that is a signal that investing in people, investing in education, workforce development training, we see now there are high levels of job openings, and yet there is a

certain degree of mismatch of skills. investing to make sure that individuals have the skills they need to fill the jobs that are becoming available. there is a good deal of research on early childhood education that suggests that is important. there is a wealth of investment possibilities that could help to mitigate this trend and other interventions. i definitely think it is appropriate for congress and the administration to consider a broad range. sen. casey: i appreciate that. thate say in conclusion the good part of your testimony that i highlighted on wages " some signs of the pace of wage growth have stepped up recently." is that reflected in the 2015 wage increase-- chair yellen: we are seeing some

evidence, and i think that is good. over the longer run, we have attract. it is important to do more than that. -- we have a trend. >> let me just say that in a shuffling between various congresses, it appears that you are going to move up significantly into this chair. so i welcome you to that. my understanding is that chairmanship now refers to the health, including mr. tiberi. we look forward to your leadership here. i'm about to give you the chance to talk to chair yellen, who i assume will be one of your key witnesses. sen. heinrich: sen. coats: are just want to say what a pleasure this has been -- senator coa

ts, i just want to say what it was with us has been to work with you on this committee. senator casey went exactly where i want to go as well. the economy has come a long way in the last few years. it is certainly growing. i think historically we have noticed approach at if we can make the economy grow, a rising tide lifts all boats. peopleom home, hear from and have felt that sentiment in the recent election that those boats have not been keeping up with the rest of us. that is a fundamental problem of the quality of our economy. things like wage growth, particularly the seemingly broken link between productivity and wage growth. some of the lack of wage growth you can describe to skilled versus unskilled. we have seen this very divergent

path where historically we were able to keep wages tied to the same trajectory as productivity. we have seen those splits apart. do you have thoughts for why that is, and how we can see through vocational training or other policies, to relink those things together for a broad swath of america that is not feeling the benefits of a growing economy or rising stock market? chair yellen: productivity growth is important over the long haul to real wage growth. it has been extremely disappointing over the last decade. i also agree with the point that you just made we have had perio ds in which real wage growth has not kept up with productivity growth.

that is also true. if you look at the share of the our and by pie, i mean gross domestic product, its division between rewards delivered and rewards to capital -- that share was essentially constant for 100 years. and more recently we have seen an increase in the share of the pie going to capital. consistent with real wage is not keeping up with productivity. there is some research on that. the u.s. is not the only country that has seen that happen. i am not certain what because of it is. i would agree it's something that happened. we have seen some reversibles

now that wages are increasing more rapidly. even if wages were increasing in line with productivity, we are seeking rising income inequality. we have been seeing that for a long time. inoss of middle income jobs the face of technological change and globalization. that was probably accelerated in the aftermath of the financial crisis. we have people who lost good jobs, where they were earning good incomes. even if they can find find work when there are a lot of jump openings-- right. the nature of the jobs have changed. so they are taking large wage hits.

we are seeing the frustration that comes with that. i just go back to the points made in response to senator casey's comments. i believe there are lots of things that can be considered that is not in the domain of monetary policy. there is structural policy, training, education, and safety .et sen. heinrich: on mortgage tightening requirements, i wanted to quickly ask you thatmentally, we all agree we were not getting the balance right when the mortgage crisis occurred, certainly we have seen stricter requirements in large

--t, certainly some benefits to you think we have gone that right? have we gone too far in tightening mortgage requirements? chair yellen: that is a hard question. i don't think i can give you a simple answer to that. i think it's appropriate that standards are tighter. i think there are some groups for a variety of reasons that may be having in unduly aftermath.ime in the mr chair, thank you for your leadership and service to this country in a variety of ways. so thank you. matthew chair, thank you for being here. thank you for all that you do. chair yellen: thank you. >> i ensure that your knowledge

greatly exceeds mine. to have aileged conversation with one of your predecessors, alan greenspan. i asked him, this is the first time over eight years we didn't have gdp growth over a percent. is this the new norm he said it might be? . i have a graph. i am sorry, i which i could blow it up. it looks like since 2011, the year-over-year growth in capital expenditures by fortune 500 companies have declined significantly. again.ins to decline every time there is a qe, there is a spike in buybacks. there are those who say the easy money has made it easier for big corporations to arbitrage as

opposed to make money by long-term capital investment. going back to my former conversation with chair greenspan. he said if you go to the board of directors and said we need a 30 year spending plan for capital investment, they will say, where is the certainty? if you say we will invest in the credit or bond market and have a return, they will. hurte perversely investment? chair yellen: there are a number of factors that have been depressing gdp growth. estimategues now long-term growth rate is likely to settle under 2% without some change in policy. we have a more slowly growing labor force.

attainment ofl the workforce, which had been increasing at a more rapid rate, is now leveling off. there is less contribution there. i agree with you that capital investment has been weak. that is one reason that productivity growth has been as depressed as it is, even outside of investment. improvements in technology that come from other sources also seem to have diminished. clear to my mind why investment spending has been as weak as it is. initially we have had a lot of economy with excess capacity. operating clearly without enough sales to justify a need to invest in additional capacity. more recently with the economy

moving toward full employment, we would expect to see investment spending ticked up. it is not obvious -- it has not picked up. i wouldn't agree that the fed's monetary policy has hampered business investment, or been a negative factor. i'm not aware of any evidence that suggests that it is. may, because if i i am almost out of time. i have a graph. it shows in 2 -- 008, the productivity begin to decline. you mention productivity independent of crisis, then they begin to climb around 2009, the timing with qe 1.

it modestly begin to decline. it plummeted. it had stayed lackluster on net since the end of qe 2. what you're saying is that the excess capacity associated with the recession had to shake itself out. it doesn't make sense that between 2007 and 2009, productivity would have grown so robustly. chair yellen: i believe what happened is we had a huge foundial crisis, firms they sales collapsing, and took measures that they thought was necessary for business survival. that meant firing every worker that the company could possibly do. and because layoffs were so huge, we saw a surge in

productivity. bone,ut workforce at the and productivity surged. those productivity gains continued for a while, but eventually the amount of labor low firms had was so relative to their output, that as hiring and sales picked up, productivity growth subsided. rmsre was a huge surge as fi did everything in their power to cut costs. it is not largely a reflection of trends. sen. cassidy: so a specific question, if a company has a chance, as mr. greenspan -- she wasn't related to this -- but s aid if a ceo can go to the board and say, we can make a 30 year versus invest in

these financial instruments, they are choosing the financial instruments over the productivity. would you say that is true, relevant or on relevant, or not true? chair yellen: i think we do see a short-term focus in business decision-making that is disturbing. the causes of that i think are not clear. i certainly don't think it is our monetary policy. but it is true that businesses seem reluctant to commit to projects. in part, it suggests that they don't see that many projects that they think will produce returns that justify those investments. it's conceivable that we see evidence, the pace of technological change has diminished. it may be partly a reflection of that.

thank you.y: i yield back. sen. coats: thank you senator. i think we have come to the end of the session. i just want to say this has been a privilege for me to chair this committee. there are very few joint committees warehouse members gathered together to address the particular topic. this is one of them. we have had a will of experience of experienceh and informants helping out with economic and national issues. we have made our records available to all house and senate members, and to the general public. thank my personally colleagues. thank you senator lee for stay ing.

but also the staff. we have had a marvelous stuff. working together in a bipartisan, bicameral way. that is not the norm in congress. but it is a pleasure to do that. the respect that i have for that staff is do norm is. i want to give special thanks to chair yellen. she is our star witness. we have had many wonderful witnesses, but she is the star. coordination between the congress and legislative branch and the fed is extremely important to the future of our country. yellen has been more than available to come and speak with us to deal with all the questioning that takes place, to better explain the role of the fed in relationship to the role of the congress and legislative

branch, she has been transparent, and as you have listened this morning,, very thorough in her answers. i just want to thank her for her availability. the best of success in the future. much of our economy full to both areas,- falls to both but the fed plays a great role. we thank you for your leadership. chair yellen: thank you senator. i appreciate your kind words. i want to say how much i appreciate your inviting me here to testify, and how much i have enjoyed corporate with you and appreciate your leadership. i wish you the best in the

future. sen. coats: my parting gift to you -- i know how busy you are -- is that we are adjourning early. [laughter] at least give you more lunchtime. with that, this meeting concludes. [chatter] you, toos: the best to . thank you.

[chatter]

>> we ask students to dissipate in the -- to participate in this year student cam condition, what is the most important thing for donald trump and congress to address in 2017? it is open to all middle and high school grade students grades 6 through 12. produce a 5 to 7 minute documentary. a grand prize of $5,000 will go

to the team or student with best overall entry. $100,000 in cash prizes will be awarded and a shared between 153 students and 53 teachers. the deadline is january 20, 2017. that is inauguration day. for more information, go to studentcam.org. >> get a handful of schools, including berkeley, california, phoenix, and des moines, iowa, students and teachers made walkouts and protests at the republican nominee's win. others 0--- teachers must these divisions in the classrooms, sooth students of color while giving students process the election outcome. joining us to talk about her story is assistant editor at education week. week. good morning. guest: thank you for having me.

host: how widespread are these protests and the number of students? guest: i only saw student walkouts in major cities across the country. phoenix, omaha, des moines, iowa, seattle, miami, denver, washington, d.c. thousands of students have walked out of class in -- since the protest started the day after the election. in some cases, it will be a handful of students and in some cases it is students from multiple schools across the districts or cities. host: these are protest of people unhappy with donald trump's election, are you seeing demonstrations of those cheering his victory? dost: a couple of students support donald trump joined the protest to have their voices heard. host: you mention of emotions

have been running high at schools. half these protests largely been peaceful and have they been reported incidences of violence? guest: for the most part, the protests have been peaceful. there has been a couple of isolated instances of violence. , a suburbery county of washington, d.c., a 15-year-old students who wore a make america great again hat was beaten by students when a political argument turned violent during the walkout. administrators are concerned about student safety and warning students that they cannot guarantee their safety if they leave class. host: we have seen protest from adults across the country, is there something unique about these students protesting, or a special way we should think about them because they may be too young to vote and they may be doing this during school time? guest: i think the students are

too young to vote. chanceel this is their to have their voices heard, they want to tell donald trump they are watching and listening and that they care. as teachers have taught students throughout the election, there involvedways to be than just voting and protest is one way. host: how are schools and administrators dealing with this? you mentioned a district in iowa gave students unexcused absences , is that the case for schools across the country? i think most schools giving students unexcused absences if they leave class. host: what about teachers, how should they approach talking with students about this in the classroom? guest: teachers are trying to heal some of these divisions

that trickle down into the classroom. teachers have to get students from both sides of the political an ability to and talk about their feelings and process emotions in a constructive way. i know a lot of teachers are using this as an opportunity to educate their students about the foundations of democracy. , lot of students are scared teachers are talking about checks and balances and the limits of presidential power. ,ost: that is madeline will assistant editor at "education >> c-span "washington journal," live with news and policy issues that impact you. sunday morning, the alliance for justice president and chief counsel and policy director will be talking about the impact of president-elect trump on the

makeup of the supreme court, upcoming nomination process, and cases ahead for the court. also trans-atlantic commit occasions in a trump presidency, and the future of nato. be sure to watch "washington journal" sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. >> vice president joe biden delivers the white house weekly address, discussing growth in the economy and middle-class. representative todd young of indiana gives the republican address, talking about the legislative agenda and health care. folks, this is joe biden. over the last eight years we have created more jobs than advanced economies and the role combined. unemployment cut in half, wages on the rise. we have gone from economic crisis to recovery, to the cost of genuine -- cusp of genuine

resurgence. we are ready to own the 21st century better than any other nation in the world. there is more we can do to make this resurgence permanent. it begins and ends with what the president and i have believed from day one. we have to give american workers a fighting chance, restore the basic bargain, which was if workers contribute to the success of an enterprise, they should share the gains. we make sure that everyone that has worked hard and play by the rules has a shot at getting into the middle class and staying there. we worked with congress and the last eight years to do all those things. more than 160 million americans got an average april tax cut of thousand dollars per year. better on it when it benefits for 18 million jobseekers. trillions of tax cuts, trillions of dollars in tax cuts for

middle and low income families. when the republican congress did not act, we extended overtime coverage for 4 million workers, extending their wages by $12 billion over the next decade. additional paid sick leave to 1.1 million workers employed by federal contractors, and requiring that they earn earn at least $10.10 per hour. hope to close the pay gap by fighting back against pay discrimination, making salaries more transparent so that employees know they are making the same at the same job. we also called on citizens states to act across the country, mayors and governors leading the way to raise the minimum wage. since the president's call to action to increase the minimum wage in 2013, it has reached my

state of delaware and many others. 55 cities reached the minimum wage from alaska to florida. workers have a shot at a paycheck they can actually live on and get out of poverty. 7 million workers have seen wages rise. earlier this month 4 states, arizona, colorado, maine and washington overwhelmingly passed minimum wage increases. it matters, it really matters, because no one in america should be working 40 hours a week and still live in poverty. additionally, california, rhode island, washington state, new jersey, and more than two dozen cities like minneapolis and stoking have -- and spokane have extended access to paid leave. you all know why that matters. in the neighborhoods where he grew up, if you miss a paycheck,

you could be in trouble for that month's car payment, just paying the heating bill. paid leave makes a real difference in ordinary people's lives. we have to preserve the progress we made in the past 8 years and continue to support states and cities in the fight for worker protections. it is not just workers who benefit. the economy benefits, the overall economy. companies benefit from higher productivity and less turnover. communities benefit. when people have more money to spend at local stores, the entire economy grows. folks, there is so much more to seize the immense possibilities within our reach. we are poised better than any country in the world in the 21st century. we have to address the anxieties by globalization. and moneyse of good

around the world. we have to recognize that globalization has not been an ongoing good. we have to empower those that have paid the price. there are many things we can do to level the playing field. given a chance, the american workers have never let their country down, but they need a chance. i just want to thank you all for your faith in this great country. like i said, we are better positioned than any nation in the world to own the 21st century. we know how to do it. not only have a great weekend, but a great thanksgiving weekend, because we have much to be thankful for. rep. young: hello, i am todd young. i was honored to fight elected by those of indiana as the next u.s. senator. we live in a representative democracy characterized by free and fair elections and peaceful

transfers of power. roughly half of americans are rolled with results and the other half are profoundly disappointed. the past 16 months have been contentious to be sure, but our nation must come together is only americans can. our principled disagreement must not obscure our shared principles, a believe that every american is an asset to be realized, not a liability to be written off. now is the time, as martin luther king once observed, to serve as custodians of hope. americans have chosen a new direction for our nation. it is our duty to deliver change that improve the lives of all americans. in my experience, all americans, republicans, democrats, and everyone in between want roughly the same thing. an assurance that if they work hard, they can create a better life for themselves and their families.

they want to feel safe and secure in their future. too often americans feel like washington gets in the way and makes fulfilling the american dream too difficult. the foot dragging, obstructionism, and overreach in washington must end. in indiana, hoosier put it this way, there is too much washington and indiana, not enough indiana in washington. during the 115th congress, you can expect us to tackle the nation's challenges head on. we will create a health care system that works for all americans. under obamacare, rates are skyrocketing and insurers are living the marketplace. -- leaving the marketplace. let's take the best ideas from both parties and build a system that is geared toward quality and affordable health care. congress must take responsibility for our own constitutional duties.

over the past few decades, some in congress increasingly abdicated their constitutional role of legislating to the executive branch and administrative agencies. regulations have choked job christian and stunted -- job creation and stunted pay. shifting paid away from the executive through regulatory reforms will help grow our economy and restore trust and responsibility. elections should highlight principle disagreements, but must not obscure our capacity to cooperate for the common good. through a respectful exchange of ideas and emphasis on shared goals, i am confident we can put our disagreements behind us to ensure a better future for all americans. thank you, and may god continue to bless the united states of america.

>> sunday night on "afterwards," the life of the former federal man whochair in "the knew: the life and times of alan greenspan." >> alan greenspan had an unusual operating in the sense that he was raised in the 1930's, a child of a single mother. his father left his mother when adam was only three years old. and was a distant unlikable figure -- unreliable figure who would say he would see his son, but were not show up. that forced him to live inside his own head. >> sunday at 9:00 p.m. eastern on "afterwards." go to book tv.org for the complete schedule. >> on c-span "the communicators" is next with a look at tech and telecoms issues facing the fcc and and in coping trump administration. ah how trump and ministration

would roll back regular since by the obama administration. president obama speaks to students at a town hall in peru as part of his final overseas trip before leaving office. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's television cable companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. peter: a discussion about the federal communications commission and the incoming trump administration. joining us are two former members, robert mcdowell, republican member who served from 2006 to 2013. michael copps, 2001-

2011, and served as acting chair for half a year. michael copps, you were there during a presidential transition. what is it like? michael: i think it will vary from incoming administration to incoming administration. rumors about who is in and who is out. i assume there is. i hope the business of the commission will continue. as we go between here and january. there are a lot of items teed up that democratic and republican commissions have worked on. i think it is time to put some of those issues behind us. there is a whole new generation of telecommunication issues out there. we will start to tackle those, the future of the internet going beyond network neutrality. what it