collegial body than it is. i want to congratulate the gentleman who represents bob michel's district now, succeeding in that office, his father, who is a very dear and close friend of mine. all three of them represented e best of that which america hopes, which serve it well. bob michel and i didn't always agree on policy, but as colleagues we reached consensus and achieved results. i remember in 1989 when tony and i were working to pass the house's version of what would become the landmark disabilities act, bob michel saw how

important and asked my friend steve bartlett from texas to work with me on the -- from the republican side of the aisle to achieve a bipartisan version that could become law. that's how bob michel operated. this house would be a better house if we followed the example of bob michel. he saw a problem and looked for a way we could come together around a compromised solution, not focused first on confrontation. deesens si and friendlyness were as evident as his seriousness as a legislature. as a republican whip and leader, he set an example on how to lead not based on obstruction but identifying on ways to work together to achieve common goals. to that extent, and in so many

other ways, as i have said, bob michel represented the best of us. now, bob, mr. speaker, could be tough. he could be really tough. he knew how to defend his party's interest and advance its goals in the minority. but bob belonged strongly that those who are sent by our constituents have first and foremoss the responsibility to make policy and not play politics. and that's how bob michel served by always, always, always putting country first. mr. speaker, i hope his example will be an inspiration for all who serve today. bob, nd by condolences to scott, robin and laurie and the entire family. and i join the people of illinois, 18th district in

mourning the man who was their champion for so many years. linois, this house and our country lost a great life, but one i hope will continue to shine through its reflection by inspired. bob michel i was one of those. we'll miss him. there aren't enough bob michels. and i yield back to the gentleman from illinois. mr. lahood: i want to thank leader hoyer for those warm words and inspiring words and heartfelt words. it means for all of us in peoria and his colleagues. i want to thank everybody that spoke here tonight from the illinois delegation that spoke

so fondly about mr. michel. and when we think about the traits that he exemplified, ntegrity, sincerity, humility, genuineness, it's important to remember that where he came from in illinois. the congressional district that he represented, the 18th congressional district was the same district that will president lincoln from 1847 to 1849 and same district that representative dirksen and bob michel for 38 years and the strong midwestern values that they represented. they were all buried within one our of hour. this last weekend weekend, bob michel. he could have been buried in

arlington cemetery, but he chose to be buried next to the love of his life and that says a lot about the person that he was. and it's unique within an hour's drive and see all three of those drafse graves. but the midwestern values that he had and those traits. the other thing i wanted to mention here in closing, he served 14 years as the republican leader, the longest as anyone in this institution as the leader of the minority party and he mentored and tutored from gingrich.t, and those he mentored in their positions and that should not be lost. he was a conservative republican, but the way he went about the work he did, his style f civility and his style of civility, being able to work across party line,

made this institution a better place. we need more people like bob michel in public service, he's a shining example of what publicer is vess should be. i couldn't be prouder to serve in the same congressional district that he represented for 38 years. lastly, mr. speaker, he made us proud to be from peoria, illinois. he made this institution a better place he made this country a better place by his service of over 50 years. leader,ght, we say, mr. rest in peace. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. plaskett is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. plaskett: good evening, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous condition sent that all members have five legislative days to

revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the subject of this special order hour. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. plaskett: thank you, mr. speaker. the c.b.c. chair, mr. sed ribbling richmond, and myself have a great honor that i rise today as one of the akons of the c.b.c., the congressional black caucus', special order hour. for the next 60 minutes we have a chance to speak directly to the american people on issues of great importance to the congressional black caucus, congress, the constituents we represent, and all americans. during this hour, as black history month ends in the next day, we believe it's important for this congress and for the people of america to hear about the great importance of grassroots movements which have been the fortifying effects of the civil rights movement and other movements here in this country and have made this country very great. at this time, i would yield as

much time as he would consume to the chair of the congressional black caucus, cedric richmond, from the great state of louisiana, who will speak on this subject matter here on the floor. mr. richmond: thank you, mr. speaker. let me just thank my colleague, stacey plaskett, from the virgin islands, for taking this assignment and making sure that the congressional black caucus continues its conversation with america and to inform people on issues that are important to us and also reflecting on how important african-american history is. not just to us, but to this country. it's african-american history that made this country great in the first place. how our civil rights groups and people of the same kind, not

necessarily the same color, came together to make this a more perfect union. so today what i wanted to do was actually talk about some of the civil rights organizations that changed this country and made it better and made it possible for me to be here and compare and talk about some of the movements that we see today that are making some of the same differences for the next generation and it's just a shame that in 2017, we're still fighting the same fights we fought 50 years ago for voting rights and for equality and all those things. so when i say i want to talk about some of those organizations, i want to talk about organizations like sclc, the southern christian leadership conference. or core, the congress of racial equality. or sncc, the student nonviolence coordinating committee. they all played an important

role in launching grass roots movement in ensure b -- ensuring more equality for african-americans. sit-ins, bus boycotts, marches voter registration drives, and other protests. these grass roots movements spread across the south, including my home state of louisiana. let's just talk about one specific incident. september 9, 1960, the woolworth's store lunch counter in new orleans closed early. what was the reason? seven member -- seven members of the congress of racial equality, five black students and two white student derks sided to hold a sit-in demonstration to protest jim crow. this was the first ever sit-in in the city. the seven students were like so many other students across the south at the time. who were using nonviolent action to change the country. and in fact, let me read their

names because many of them i knew. in fact, one, jerome smith, who was a southern university student the year before, is actually still on the battle field in louisiana, not only coaching little league but fighting for criminal justice reform and financial and economic equality. but you also had rudy lombard from xavier university a freedom fighter. archie alen from dillard university. bill horr lembings l from due lane. william hopper from l.s.u. hugh murray also at tulane. and joyce ley tore who intened to enroll at southern university. fortunately, these seven students, unlike others who held sit-ins, they didn't have milk shakes thrown on them, they were not beaten or bloody. they sat down at 10:30. six police officers were on hand to keep the peace and did not

try to remove the students. the students sat there, determined, for two hours. because of the demonstration, woolworth's blinked first, they decided to close early that day, closing at 12:30 after the students sat there for two hours. these seven students and so many other civil rights activists are the soldier -- shoulders on which we all stand. unfortunately, the fight for equality is not over. we see this most clearly in our criminal justice system. today, the organization black lives matter launched a movement that has succeeded in exposing police brutality and succeeded in making it front page news. it started after trayvon martin was killed by a neighborhood watch in 2012. i would be remiss that -- if i did not mention that yesterday was the fifth anniversary of trayvon martin's death. black lives matter focused on

all the way black people were disempowered by the state, including police brutality. in addition to exposing police brew brew tallitying black lives matter, like the organizations in the civil rights movement, has attracted a diverse coalition of supporters. the reality is not lost on african-americans. as i mentioned before, two of the protesters who sat in at the wool worth store in louisiana were white -- woolworth store in louisiana were white. if you go back to philadelphia an mississippi, where they found the three bodies of the civil rights workers who were registering people to vote, you saw one african-american and two white americans who stuck together fighting injustice. dr. king said so eloquently that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. as we talk about our organizations like sncc and core and sclc and talk about black

lives matter, it reminds me of the time when dr. king was sitting in the birmingham jail and seven, eight white religious leaders in the south criticized dr. king, asking why he couldn't wait, why did he have to force the issue and why as an outsider he was town in birmingham? dr. king responded, and he initially said, i don't usually answer criticism because i'd be doing it all day, but because i believe you to be eight men of good will, i will take the time to answer. i just want to read you an exempt of his answer. i think it's so appropriate when we think of our groups that are coming up now. he said, i think i should give the reason for my being in birmingham, since you have been influenced by this ethe -- by the argument of outsiders coming in.

i have the honor of serving as president of the southern christian leadership conference, an organization operating in every southern state with headquarters in atlanta, georgia. then goes on to say, so i am here along with several members of my staff because we were invited here. i am here because i have basic organizational ties here. then he gos on to say, beyond this, i am in birmingham because injustice is here. just as the eighth century prophets left their little thus es and carried their said the lord far beyond the boundaries of their hometown, just as the apostle paul left his little village of tarsus and carried he gospel of jesus christ to every hamlet and city of the gre co-roman world, i am compelled to carry this beyond

my hometown. like paul, emust respond to the macedonian call for aid. when you think of black lives matter and other protests and the first comment is, well, outside agitators, why are they here? they are here because injustice is here. all marginalized groups must stand together in the fight against injustice. this was important during the civil rights movement and it's important now. in that spirit, african-americans fully recognize the importance of not only joining movements in support of their rights but also joining movements in support of the rights of others. standing rock. most recently, african-americans and others have stood with native americans at standing rock to protest the dakota access pipeline. muslim ban. we stood with the muslim community to protest the trump

administration's controversial muslim ban. and then there was the women's march. which was led by a diverse coalition of organizers and attracted millions of protesters across the nation and the world to protest sexism and other gender issues. african-americans participated in the march including several members of the congressional black caucus. then we can talk about indy visible. african-american and others have stood with their fellow constituents at recent town halls to make sure that their congressman or congresswoman hears their voins the affordable care act and -- their voices on the affordable care act and other issues. some of these exercises and civic participation have been inspired by the fwidebook, "indy visible," which as the author states provides best practicesen on -- on getting elected officials to listen. then there's moral mondays with

reverend william barber. began in 2013 with reverend barber of the green leaf christian church in golds breaux, north carolina. as republicans took over the governor's mansion and state legislature in the star heel state for me first time in more than a century. on what was supposed to be the first and only monday protest, barber led a small group of clergy and activists to the state legislature to protest the state republicans' efforts to block medicaid expansion, cut unemployment benefits and roll back voting rights. the next monday, hundreds of protesters showed up and hundreds soon became thousands. these protests became known as moral mondays and eventually spread across the south. 10 let me just say that from sclc, to sncc, core, to invidizz -- to indy visible, to moral mondays and reverend barber, to

black lives matter, people of like mind come together and from that we learned the civil right musme and that's our contribution today to black history month and celebrating that civil protests and civil disobedience can change and make this a more perfect union. with that, i yield back, mr. speaker. ms. plaskett: thank you very much, chair cedric richmond, for that. i really was moved by the portion you talked about about outsiders coming to organizations and coming to protests and saying possibly that they are outsiders. no, we're all americans. and we will join with other individuals and other tissue in other areas that need our support and feel oppressed and feel that justice has not been on our side. that's been the black american experience. that's the american experience of civil protests and working for a more perfect union.

with that, i would yield time to my esteemed co-anchor, mark veasey of texas who also wants to speak, as we close black history month, some of the accomplishments of black americans, of the black movement, here in the united states as we move to becoming a more perfect union and how grass roots organizations have played a part in that role. mr. veasey: i thank my colleague for leading this special order hour on the topic of black history. ms. plaskett: only with your help. mr. veasey: i appreciate that. we have been doing a great job and really appreciate everything that you brian remarks that you have made during this black history month because it is a time to reflect about the progress that has been made, but also look to make improvements

and make our nation a more perfect union as we really look at things and not pretend that certain things don't exist, but to really use history, use present day and see what we come together, form some public policy to get the country moving forward and being inclusive for all important. i think that's so important. and you know, for a long time, now, one of the areas that isn't talked a lot about when it comes to civil rights, but should be is grassroots and how those grass-roots movement within the african-american community particularly from a black history movement changed things in our history. african-americans have fought for a fair chance at livable wages and improvement of job

conditions and provide basic necessities, whether it was working conditions, that was always one of the rights that we fought very hard for. access to these basic rights that i just mentioned, these basic rights. and privileges, would not have been possible without groups of dedicated organizers working together to fight on behalf of larger progress. the right to organize is not a new theory for change. since reconstruction, organizing has helped level the playing field and continues to drive much of our nation's progress. he weekends that we enjoy. people looked forward to getting off time and those things were fought for. those were gains that were made

and sacrificed. grassroots organizing. much of that done in the african-american community. and we know that even around the issue of progress and labor issues, that much of it was tainted by race. organized labor has been such a big part of the advancement of e african-american community and there are were issues that with forged by labor unions and african-americans gained footing in those areas. as a result of that, black workers continue to push and organize. and i think one of dr. king's quotes, one of my favorite quotes by dr. king and one of the quotes that he gave that is not mentioned that often, and he was speaking to a group of

laundry workers in 1962. and dr. king said this to the laundry workers, as i have said many times and believe with all of my heart, the coalition that can have the greatest impact in the circle for human dignity here in america is that of the negro and their for the tunes are so closely intertwined. and when dr. king gave that speech, he wanted people to know not only are professional jobs, white-collar jobs important, but he wanted people that worked in that laundry room, he wanted to know that their job was important, too. and he pushed for people, too, no matter if they were sanitation workers, laundry workers, whatever they happened to be in life, he wanted to push to make sure they had certain basic rights and privileges that other groups in this country enjoyed because he knew that was

going to be the vehicle that was going to provide upward mobility for the african-american community. and very principle of opportunity laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement that dr. king was a big part of. and we know that that played a big part in dr. king and what appened -- during his death in 1968. ms. plaskett: we would never be able to be here without people who are working in laundry rooms, blue collar workers and those gains have afforded education and support and home ownership to the first group of black americans who moved to the middle class and who are here in congress now. mr. veasey: so many people that i have memories of, some are still here, some are gone, but

they have laid the foundation for a black middle class, you know maybe granddaddy worked at the school and grandmother worked at someone's house or maybe they were fortunate to have good labor jobs where they made union wages but laid the groundwork for the foundation that we have here today and dr. king was obviously a big part of that. d sadly, april 4, 1968, he paid his life supporting the sanitation workers in memphis, trying to push for them to have better wages. when he died, it wasn't about trying to open up a restaurant to make sure all people had access to that restaurant or some other people, made sure to have equal opportunity in this country and for upward mobility

and to take care of their families. and just really appreciate everything that he did. and when he continued to mobilize and organize grassroots inequality.l income you see productivity rising in our country. u see countries -- companies recording record productivity, but wages are stagnant. used to be a time in this country that wages would go up when productivity of companies went up. and we aren't seeing that anymore. and i think that is really, really sad and need to organize around that, because all people need opportunity to be able to advance as the country advance and industries advance. and that's a big part of that. so again, i want to thank all the colleagues that have come

here tonight to organize, to carry the torch. and we need to continue to find different ways that we can uzbekistan grassroots movements in this country, not just looking back and reflecting from previous grassroots movements, but how we can learn from that history and mobilize people today to better america, to better wages for all communities, for african-american communities of course as we celebrate and come towards the end of plaque history month, but latino communities, white communities, people in the russ belt and places like gary, indiana, who have seen their fortunes hurt more than many other parts of the country. and we need to get together and work on that. i want to thank you. we have some other colleagues who are going to speak here

tonight. ms. plaskett: thank you very much. at this time, i would like to call congressman dwilet evans of philadelphia, pennsylvania, to speak on the issue of grassroots organization. thank you so much for your leadership and all the work you have done for the people of philadelphia and your tenure and welcome you to the c.b.c. hour and the information you are going to share with us. mr. evans: i thank the woman for islands. in 1976, the united states government officially recognized plaque history month. every february since we take the time to reflect on the contributions of african-americans have made to this great nation. we stand on the shoulders of those who have paved the way not only for african-americans, but all americans.

individuals such as shirley chisholm, who was a member of this body and the first african-american woman elected, congressman mitchell, justice thurgood marshal and reverend leon h. sullivan, a civil rights leader, a social activist who understood that jobs were the key to economic development to empower the african-american. reverend sullivan had a very simple statement. don't buy where you don't work. that's what reverend sullivan said. don't buy where you don't work. reverend sullivan, who was on e board of general motors, started something called o.i.c. that we all know about in 1964.

i was 10 years old when reverend sullivan started o.i.c. industrial center. reverend sullivan led a movement, a movement that 400 minimums sters led against a baking company in the city of philadelphia called tastee cake and he said don't buy where you don't work. and that message is clear today. we need to change the dynamics of this economic structure. despite the strives that some have made, we still have a long way to go to make our country a more perfect union. tonight, we want to make sure those who have joined specifically at the grassroots and quest for justice and equality, understands we are still fighting. our nations are struggling, and

we have to continue to fight against policies and actions that will negatively impact them, including the repeal and inadequate replacement of the affordable care act. constituents in my district who rely on the affordable care act heavily, and dismantling this law will be devastating and result in a loss of jobs. those in my district want us to understand the hardships they are going through. thus we ensure we listen to the concerns. i personally made a point to visit hospitals, attend rallies, visit colleges and reach out to communities. i serve because it is my job. i was elected to represent the people. we stand united for those at the grassroots movement that are fighting for justice for all. colleagues have continued to join with those who are pushing in the right direction, not just

during black history month, but every month, every day and every moment. this is a rather unique opportunity in history that we all can play a role in the change. i'm proud to be a member of the congressional black caucus and to be standing with my colleagues here today pushing the message and the conscience of this country, that we are still not finished. for those i have mentioned and the shoulders we stand on, we still have an awful lot of work. i thank both of my colleagues for leading this effort. and i thank the chairman of the congressional black caucus and his leadership. thank you. i yield back. ms. plaskett: thank you, so much, mr. evans. at this time, i would ask my colleague from ohio, joyce

beatty, who is a member of the congressional black caucus who formerly led this special order hour and has been a great mentor and support for us here in this time and will also speak of the grat roots efforts going on in the present time and as well as in the past during this special order hour. thank you so much. mrs. beatty: thank you. mr. speaker, some would conclude that black history month comes to a close. but the black congressional caucus wants the nation to know that we are prepared to share our agenda all year long. the congressional plaque caucus comes to the house floor tonight to commemorate the brave men and women who came before us to fight for justice, equality, civil rights and voting rights for all. men and women who shaped our nation in the hope it would one

day become a more perfect union for all americans, no matter their creed or color. i want to thank our congressional black caucus chairman, congressman erm chmond and our special order co-anchor, congresswoman plaskett and congressman veasey, for hosting tonight's important discussion. mr. speaker, you see, i grew up reading about soldiers of just ies like douglas assist, harriet tubman and so many more. and then, mr. speaker, i led through the civil rights leaders like rosa parks, dr. king and malcolm x and congresswoman shirley chisholm, james baldwin.

all heroes and sheroes allowed me to stand on their shoulders to continue to fight for justice and equality. oday we stand up for black history month, 49 members of congress, making our place in american history as african-americans. members like the iconic assistant leader james clyburn, who you will hear from tonight. congressman john lewis, chairman cedric richmond, congresswoman maxine waters, who serves as ranking member on the prestigious financial services committee. congresswoman marcia fudge, the 21st national president of delta

cigna -- sigma theta sorority. congresswoman kamalah harris, the second african-american co-serve in the united states senate and so many more who serve in congress and served as mayors of cities, mayors like congressman emanuel cleaver, congresswoman brenda lawrence and so many more. you see, mr. speaker, we are part of that history. we are fighting. and so, i tell you i end with one of my famous quotes by martin luther king. the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience. but the stand he takes at times of challenge and controversy. well, mr. speaker, it is clear that we are in a challenging time with the new trump administration.

and so i say to you, we are fighting, we are uniting in a movement to fight for our democracy. thank you so much to my colleagues and i yield back. ms. plaskett: thank you so much for that, congressman beatty. at this time, we ask that the assistant leader of the democratic caucus, the esteemed congressman, james clyburn from south carolina, take as much time as is necessary for him to speak on the matter before the house at this time, that being grassroots movements in black history and it's important and relevant for us here today. mr. cly bufferin: mr. clyburn: thank you so much for yielding me time, thank you for the work you do with this special order, my friend mr. veasey, thank you so much for allowing me to participate.

mr. speaker, thanks to the scholarship of dr. carter g. woodson and the perseverance of the association for the study of african-american life and history, we continue to lift up the contributions and achievements of black americans. the celebration of black history month has its roots in black history week established back in 26 and because of the urgent -- urging of carter woodson, the week was to be the second week of february to embrace the birthdays of frederick douglass and abraham lincoln. later, in fact , in 1969, students at kent state university, after having experienced some turmoil on

their campus back in 1968, as it took place on campuses in other places across the country, ackson state in mississippi, south carolina state, student a kent -- students at kent state desaied -- decided as part of their redress to expand the week to a month. and so they in 1970 celebrated what they called black history month. president ars later, gerald ford signed legislation creating black history month. and when he signed that legislation, he said it was to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of black americans. for the ssociation

study of african-american life and history is entrusted with the celebration every year and falls upon them to select a theme for each year. this year, they have selected he theme which i think is very timely, the crisis in black education. having started my professional career as a public schoolteacher i totally embrace this articular topic for this year. history, especially post-civil war history, there's always been focus on black education. as we all know. laves were not allowed to be educated. as a result, when the civil war

came to a close, there was this big push to get the former slaves educated. one of the leaders of that push was one of my heroes, robert small. robert smalls, though he was not allowed to be educated himself because he was born into used his obert smalls god-given intellect to study the currents of the charleston harbor and to study the whistles that were used on the ship that e was working on as a slave. he decided that he could at some point find his way to freedom, and because he learned those currents so well, and because he

became very proficient at studying the sounds of the whistles on the ships, one night when the opportunity presented itself, he absconded the planter he was working on, navigated the waters out of the charleston harbor, picked up his wife and friends, and sailed them into freedom. and when he delivered that ship to the union soldiers, he was rewarded with his freedom and a cash award. robert smalls, after the war, 1867 ack to diesel and in founded a school to educate the newly freed slays. he also par -- slaves. he also participated as a delegate to the 1868 south

carolina constitutional convention and in that convention, he offered and got passed a resolution that created the first free public schools for all in america. and he turned his wealth, his financial reward, into great a veryand also he became , i would say successful, politician. he served 10 years in the south carolina legislature. and a total of 10 years here in this house of representatives. now, robert smalls, while he was participated in politics, robert

smalls offered a piece of legislation that created what is now south carolina state niversity. therein lies a part of my presentation that i would like to concentrate on tonight. when south carolina state iversity was created, i want to first get people to understand, there are more than 100 his tore exly black colleges and universities in the country. now there's a difference between hbcu's, there's a difference between an hbcu and what we call an msi, a minority serving institution. msi's, s or ms -- are

but not all msi's, are hbcu's. simply because the definition means that you must have been in existence before 1964. we've had a lot of minority serving institutions that have been created since 1964, to name x t a few, malcolm lot of y, there are a hispanic serving institutions, they are not necessarily hbcu's. the reason i point this out, because here in this congress, 19 is body, currently members of the congressional black caucus are graduates of hbcu's.

now the reason i point this out is because i think it is necessary for us to understand the role that these colleges and universities play in our society. i often spend a lot of time with friendsmark of whom are i knew s of hbcu's, and astronaut ronald mcnair very well. i have a good friend, a cardiologist, recently retired, david douty, i also have a friend, a california businesswoman, who i interact with quite a bit, janis hallworth, who, all three of hese people graduated from north carolina a&t university. formera lot with another

, carrie meeks, a former member of congress. her son, kendrick meeks. former congresswoman corrine brown. former chairman of the board of microsoft john thomson. all four are graduates of lorida a&m university an hbcu. these are people who have made significant and are making significant contributions in our thrust toward a more perfect union. now, i came before this body several times week before last highlighting some of the hbcu's that are in my congressional district. of the more than 100 in the district, eight of them are in south carolina.

seven are in my congressional district. i talked about six of them when came before this body before tonight. i want to close out my discussion of these hbcu's by southg about two of them, both a state university located adjacent to each other in orangeburg, south carolina. kaflan university was founded in 1869 by methodist missionaries. to provide education for newly freed slaves in order to prepare them for full citizenship. it was named for william claflin, then-governor of massachusetts, and his father, ee claflin, both prominent

abolitionists and methodists. they provided a large portion of funds needed to purchase the land for the campus. it's the oldest historically black college in south carolina. in its beginning, it had a law school which was headed by former south carolina supreme court justice jonathan jasper wright. the first african-american to serve on the south carolina in 1948, under the leadership of its first alumnus to serve as president, dr. john seabrook, the college was accredited by the southern association of colleges and universities. it has always featured a strong music program. and the university collegiate choir performed at the 1965 orld's fair in new york.

dr. henry kisdale has served as the university's president since 1994. under his leadership, the college has thrived and grown to new heights. he has built it to an enrollment of almost 2,000 students and consistently ceded rank until the top 10 nationally for hbcu's. in 1999, through funds from the hbcu historic preservation program by this body, the historic minister's hall was restored. the auditorium at minister's hall was a named for former chief justice, one of the university's most notable graduates. he graduated from south carolina state's law school and would go

on to serve on the south carolina supreme court from 1985 through 2000, including six years as chief justice. early in his career, he represented the friendship nine, a group of rock hill students who were jailed in 1961 for a sit-in at a lunch counter. in 2015, he represented the surviving eight members of this group, to see their convictions overturned 54 years after they were originally prosecuted. the university is still affiliated with the united methodist church and offers multiple master's degrees as well as the highly regarded honors program. for 148 years, it has been a beacon of hope in a place of refuge for those who desired a

quality education, regardless of race and/or gender. mr. speaker, the final hbcu in this series is my alma mater, south carolina state university. south carolina state university has its roots in the first of which was passed by congress in 1862. the act of 186 created land grant colleges, a system of agricultural, science and engineering and military schools. one of the schools under this law was clemson university. but after reconstruction ended, southern states refused to admit african-americans to these institutions. consequently, congress passed a second moral act in 1890, which stipulated that blacks must be

included in the land grant system. seven states -- southern states had a choice, to either admit grant or create new land institutions which would be open to blacks. in south carolina, by the 1890's, white supremacists had total control over state government. though the state was still majority african-american, through illegal, violent intimidation, extreme voter suppression, and outright fraud, benjamin tillman was elected governor in 1890. the constitutional convention of 1895 subsequently codified white supremacy and the disenfranchisement of african-americans into the tate's system of governance.

when the united states supreme court sanctioned segregation, the following year, segregation was firmly the law of the land. founded a context fully in 1896, of the colored normal industrial agriculture and mechanical college of south rolina, as it was originally named. the state of south carolina continued to resist but relented when land was acquired from claff lynn college. the campus what have is now known as south carolina state university was born. it continues to be the only southly supported hbcu in carolina. i want to know, mr. speaker, i

have consumed a lot of time and i don't want to take all of the time from my colleagues. saying. just close by first uth carolina state president was a man named miller, who served as a member f this body. thomas miller guided the school for several years. notable graduates of that institution. are folks like dr. benjamin mays, the noted president of moorehouse college. south carolina state has a reputation as producing more african-american general officers than any other school in this country. i entered south carolina state in 1957. and of course i was there during

the turbulent 1960's. it was my great honor to help organize the first sit-in south carolina. talking about grassroots. that took place on march 15, 1960. now, i was jailed as a result of that sit-in. but it just so happens that sometimes good things can come out of jail. while i was there, a young lady came to bring food. i was so grateful for that hamburger she gave me, i married her 18 month it's later -- months later. and if all goes well, come june 24, she and i will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. now, when all of these cases

took place, growing out of these emonstrations and sit-ins, one stands out which i will close with. i mentioned ken state in 1968. and jackson state and south carolina state. a lot of people have heard of kent state. few people know about the deaths of three students and the injury of 27 others in an incident called the orangeburg massacre that took place in 1968. all over the integration of a bowling alley. because i've taken too much time, i'm going to close my comments by thanking the gentlelady from the virgin islands for giving me this time

and the gentleman from texas, and thank them very much for highlighting black history month . and, mr. speaker, it is impossible for me to really that he real impact schools like claflin and south carolina state and the other 100 hbcu's have had on our great country. but as i conclude our observance of black history month, i salute all of them and thank them for the indelible mark they have made on the fabric of our nation and i yield back my time. ms. plaskett: thank you so much, mr. james clyburn. and there can never be enough time for to you tell these stories and to educate and highlight to all of us the experiences that you have are personally -- that you have had personally, as well as the importance of black history month, particularly historically black colleges and universities,

to the fabric of the united states. thank you so much. mr. speaker, as we've been discussing, often grassroots organizations are born not out of necessity or are actually born out of necessity. not only because the system has not worked for them oftentimes, but sometimes because the system has been created, has been reorganized, or is actively fighting against them. virgin islanders understand the importance and the value of grassroots organizations. it's our nation, our life blood, we are a small people on a small island who have a history that was born out of oppression. and so the very need for grassroots organizations and people who are rel re-sill yent and willing -- who are resilient and willing to resist and night a passionate matter has been our very nature. our first experience with grassroots organizations was in 1733, on the island of st. john in the virgin islands.

which is probably the first slave uprising in the western 150 phere where a group of slaves decided that they had had enough and those slaves of begana decided that they were going to -- ghana decided that they were going to throw off the shackles of rebellion and organize themselves in a manner. and they were so effecting ofive -- effective at it, mr. speaker, that they were able to hold the island of st. john for six months against the danish government. the danes had to organize in such a manner that they brought the french and the swiss governments to provide assistance to them. and the slaves of st. john were quelled after that rebellion. but it took a grassroots group of organized individuals to be able to do that. again, in july 3 of 1848, many people don't know that the virgin islands became the second place in the western hemisphere to receive emancipation after

haiti. we did that in july 3, 1848, through the work of general buthoe. what people don't know is that he had an enormous organizational group that plotted and planned for months before the actual staging of that uprising. which was so effective and so organized that when they went to storm the fort against an armed militia, the militia didn't realize that all of the cannons, the gunpowder had been taken out, and had been replaced with molasses. the slafse were so organized and quiet and kept to themselves so much that they didn't even realize that it had been done. the governor of denmark had to -- that was assigned to the virgin islands, had to sign the emancipation on that date. because he knew that these group of people were so ordering that that rebellion could take the entire island ow you the -- out. and so we received our emancipation earlier than the

african-americans received theirs through that organization of grassroots. again, in 187, in october, the slaves -- 1878, in october, the slaves are been moved from slavery to an organized serfdom, labor contracts had to be signed. people were oppressed and living in what many here would under is a sharecropping system. it was really a serf system. four women organized the labor rebellion at that time. which we in the virgin islands called the fire burn. they were willing to burn the islands down for just wages for themselves and laborers throughout the islands. they forced the signed contracts to have much better wage laws in them. much better terms in them for individuals. those women were imprisoned, sent to denmark, many of them burned at the stake for that rebellion. but it was grassroots organizations that were able to do that. more recently, in the 1950's,

there was the creation of the virgin islands labor union. the organizing of cane workers and field workers. i'm proud to say moo my -- -- say that my own unck walz one of the organizers of that -- uncle was an organizer of that. they were able to forlse the sugar industry to sit down and create bargaining labels. but we would be remiss as a people if we kept those organizational skills to ourselves. and we brought that to the united states as well. many people know about denmark vecsey, who organized slave rebellions in south carolina. he did that as a free man, coming from the virgin islands, anding that oppression anywhere -- and understanding that oppression anywhere of anyone was an oppression of himself and gladly laid down his life, gave up his freedom to help organize the people of south carolina, charleston, where my great colleague, james clyburn, represents, to bring freedom to those individuals.

hubert hairson from st. croix was a civil rights activist, was the mind of pan africanism, along with edward blide be of st. thomas who gave form and shapes to marcus garvey and his organizing and his back to africa movement. and more recently, roy ennis, another relative of mine, who was one of the leaders of corps, the congress on racial equality. -- core, the congress on racial equal. malcolm x, all people of the caribbean who have come to the united states, who recognize the grassroots organizations must be formed to push for equal rights. the accomplishments of the civil rights movement has given us much, created momentum of the civil rights act, brown vs. board of education, the voting rights act of 1965, ended housing discrimination, desegregation of schools, democratic political gains and the march on washington.

but we have groups growing today because equality has not come to ts full fruition and achievement gaps, poverty, unemployment, increase in the use for for-profit prisons and because of that, we have seen other momplets now today, black lives matter founded in 2012 after the death of trayvon martin, moral mondays founded by lee reverend barber of green baptist church after the governor's mansion was taken over and the state legislature. these are gin justices that are continueding today. whether it be standing rock, slim ban, the march on washington or indiss advice i believe that has grown, which stood with their constituents to

congressmenat their and congresswomen hear. we understand that the people of all of the united states need to understand the importance of grassroots organizations. congressman veasey, this has been an outstanding time for congress and the people of america to hear about the grassroots organizations and how they may close. and with that, mr. speaker, both of us, i believe at this time will yield back to you the time. we are asking that the record stay open. there is a statement from the great congresswoman eddie bernice johns thanon and others o put in their statements. the speaker pro tempore: gentlewoman's request will be handled by general leave.

the gentlelady yields back? ms. plaskett: we yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, for 30 minutes. mr. gohmert: back in session. our session last week, it was great to get all over east texas and it's just good to be in east texas and good to be around east texas and had occasion to talk to a whole bunch of folks to my district, even tonight. nd i think about the headlines

a group called indivisible demanding town halls, and i keep coming back to last monday, jack ryan's restaurant, downtown tyler, tyler professionals asked me to speak there and i knew the gentleman who had the white hair and looked distinguished, was probably not one of the tyler young professionals but probably one of the indivisible people, democrats, some of them who say they are nonpartisan, but so much for that. but i knew when i called him on to ask one of the first questions, i knew he wasn't one of the tyler young professionals and i said, look, i give me your

word, let's sit down, conference table and i'll hear you out and he said, no, that is not what i want. i demand a town hall. so keep coming back to that answer because that seems to make very, very clear this whole indivisible movement. that can be best done as the founders realized when they put together the constitution a complete democracy is where you have mob rule, that a majority is always going to prevail but mob igured that having a rule and lynching and crowds doing something dramatic that they would never ever do individually, it would be too much of a violation of their conscience, but there's something about a group dynamic

that people can get whipped up into a frenzy as a group that doesn't happen when you sit down one-on-one with them. this has never been about town halls. never about being heard, it's been about headlines trying to intimidate us from keeping the to ises that have been made our constituents before we got elected. and god has a way of preparing us for what lies ahead. if i had not been a felony judge for a decade and been threatened by all kinds of felons, then i might have been at least intimidated. but it all seems rather interesting this frenzy. and really good decent people

get in a group and get worked up in a frenzy. but one of them did ask an interesting question east texas indivisible, as what would be wrong sitting down with him because that individual under stood well if we want to be heard, why wouldn't we want to sit down and talk, and what at, indivisibles isn't being heard, it's about what is in the indivisible playbook, the guide, the idea is to disrupt those who won with the majority of the vote in congressional seats and senate seats disrupt those who won with the majority and prevent them from keeping their promises.

reminded me somewhat of what george h.w. when bush was president. he had run saying, you know, read my lips, no new taxes. nd i wasn't in politics back when he was running saying that, but i got involved in late 1991, i guess december, and 1992. i guess it was back in the 1988 election. but it cost him the 1992 election, because he kept saying, read my lips, no new taxes. nd then he had to deal with an a majority of democrats in the house and senate, and they kept

luring, trying to suck him in. we are going to reach eaning agreement and give up on that agreement just a little bit. you are going to have to give up just a little bit and allow a little bit of a tax. and enough ca joeling they convinced george h.w. bush that they were not going to allow the bill to go through unless he had a little bit of a tax increase. and as soon as they lured him in something sounds like from the garden of eden and he agreed to a very small increase in taxes, then immediately the cries became you are a liar, you broke your promise. you promised no new taxes. he got lured into it and thought

they were acting in good faith when they were trying to break his promise and call him a liar and they trapped him into it and he should have told him read my lives and no new taxes but being a been off lent man and thought he was being a good man and found out different and cost him the 1992 election. we have people demanding, just give us the town hall. that's all we want, just give us the town hall. and they know and most of us ow if we give the bullying mobs what they're demanding -- they are saying we are going to harris you and harris you at church and harris you everywhere you go until you finally give --

until you finally give in, fine. but -- no matter how big the mobs get, no matter how mean and frenseyed they get and bullies they become, i know what i promised my constituents and i know what we've got to deliver. and i'm starting to hear from people on my side of the aisle, maybe we shouldn't repeal and maybe we shouldn't do what we did in 2015. everything what we did in 2015 was consistent with what the rules that are in play right now -- we ought to be able to do the same thing again. 2015, i ought to be able to do it now. we just shoud. house members and senate members, the majority of both

places then. got a majority now. we need to do it again. and we don't have to have this huge government program as a replacement. that's the beauty of a free market. but in order to have a free market, you have to have honesty and integrity in the system. that means nobody on my side of he aisle, nobody at the senate on the republican side of the aisle and nobody in the white no should be intimidated matter how fren subsidied the insurance lobby can become about what we can't do, because those same people embraced obamacare, that was about to destroy them and some of them say, we have to have a seat at the table.

i tried to explain. you don't want a seat at the able when you are on the menu. those folks dove right in. i could understand r.p. jumping in and endorsing obamacare even though it cut medicare by 616 billion and stabbed seniors in the back by dramatic cuts to medicare. can understand r.p. endorsing obamacare because they were going to be able to sell more insurance than they every sold before. i had seen one before, 2007 or 2008, they had $400 million in profit, which is pretty good for a nonprofit telling insurance or endorsing the policies that were sold. so, of course. then when you get the deal in

the obamacare that all these other policies are going to have an extra 2% tax on them, but not the policies, not the kind you sell. i understand aarp getting behind obamacare even though it did damage to the health care of seniors because they were going to make a lot of money. but i couldn't understand health insurance companies, didn't understand big phrma. i understand they could. because they were going to make tens of billions of dollars then they had. and president obama had them give billions given back. don't get it back unless you make billions more than you put back. and i'm sure they did. obamacare continued into the

future. wouldn't be probably within the next decade that you would see them heading towards their demise. but the big executives would be fine. they have gotten their golden parachute and taken off all the money that appeared to be rolling in at that point even though the day of reckoning was going to come for them down the road. . but we shouldn't be listening to knowing at sold out, they'll make money short term, but it probably will destroy them long term. people that were guided by the entality that embrace that bill, shall not be dictating what is in the replacement plan. and i say plan because when ou're going to use free market

to have, you know, a better health care environment, you have to have free market. and you can't have free market unless everybody knows how much things cost. and i was seeing again tonight from constituents, people think they ought to know how much a medical visit costs, whether it's blue cross, aetna, whoever. whether it's an h.m.o., whatever. they ought to know how much that costs whoever's paying for it, whether it's the government, whether it's the federal government, state government, whether it's an insurance company. people have a right to know what a medical visit, procedure, whatever it is, they have a right to know how much it costs. and only when we have truth in

treatment are we going to be able to fix so many of the wrongs in health care. then we can move toward a free market. where insurance will have a high deductible. this is the ultimate goal, i think. where you have a high deductible , but you'll have every dime of that deductible in a health savings account, either put it in there -- either put in there in a r employer or by you proper program. it ought to be every dime put in there pretax, no tax on that money that you put in there. and i still believe that every dime that's put in there should then be marked for health care only. and if the person owning that health savings account passes away before it's spent for

health care, it ought to keep that health care designation and roll over into the heir's health savings account. and if there are not heirs or in the will it could comb to a charity's health savings -- could go to a charity's health savings account. feel sure you'd have every charity set up a health savings account, have people donate from their own accounts to help the poor, help those who are chronically ill. as a christian, i believe god new it blesses us, it helps us as individuals, when we are charitable toward others. and that does not mean when the government, with the threat of the i.r.s., some swat team behind them, or some threat to come take your home, all of your assets, says will you give so

that we can give to who the government thinks should receive the charity. it's not charity. not charity at all. that's a much too powerful government. what we find is that the united states has been the most charitable country in the istory of the world. we've got a lot of benevolent americans. of course that doesn't include george sorros. he makes his money, it seems like one of the way he makes money is if he can topple an economy, bring it down, and through all of the suffering that's brought about, he makes money. and when we've heard tape recordings made in the past year by people who are saying oh, yeah, we funded the violence that those -- at those trump rallies, or we funded violence here, there. or we funded efforts to help

bring down this activity or that activity, then it sure seems like that's worthy of investigation. because what you have when you have people giving money to create violence at events, some people would call that basically a racketeer influence, corrupt organization. rico. it the would be worthy of investigation. people are giving money knowing, and they should know that money is going to be , get uted, create chaos seems hurt, then sure like that's the kind of criminal conduct people have gone to prison for. so, i hope our new justice department will continue its of d toward getting out

litigation that they never should have been in in the first place, and getting in where there's corruption. we know under the attorney general, eric holder, that as long as the people that were carrying belly clubs and threatening voters outside polling places were democrats, then certainly they did not need to be investigated. nothing needed to be done to them. because they're democrats. apparently under that old department of justice, it was just about them, just us, then as long as it's one of us, we don't need to prosecute them. but whoa, if it's a republican, yeah, we need to go after them. ut the great irony is there is -- could be no greater

disillusion of the right to vote than loading the deck with people who have no right to vote , who vote, and completely dissolve law-abiding people's right to vote. you just canceled out their right to vote with illegalality. -- illegality. so it seems strange to some of a justiceuld you have department that would say no, no, no, don't you dare purge those records of the dead people , you got to leave those dead people in. some those dead people may want to vote. it's important to led dead people vote if they feel like voting. -- let dead people vote if they feel like voting. to have a department of justice that doesn't want counties to clean up their voter registration, so that there can't be fraud, people that are

dead, people that are living in other states, or other voting districts don't come and also was there, it just incredible. lawlessness. to have a department of justice ghting against cleaning up voter registration rolls so that only people alive and living in that district could vote. why would anybody do that? why would anybody fight against cleaning up voter registration? the only reason i can think of nceivably would be they must still want people that are dead or don't live there to vote. illegally. hat else could there be?

some people are willing to have the department of justice, ok, we're even ok if you supervise to make sure we don't throw out somebody that's alive. but this justice department under president obama's administration, they didn't want voter registration rolls cleaned up. the lawlessness thankfully has come to an end. and i know that there are people that have been stirring up fear in american hearts about jeff sessions, but jeff sessions is a good man. he's a good person. will enforce the law fairly across the board. i am grateful that we finally have a justice department that will be about justice.

in the meantime, saw this story , from "daily caller." leaked audio reveals acttivity with anti-trump group indivisible plotting how to best manufacture a hostile environment at a town hall with republican senator bill cassidy in louisiana. the audio obtained by local radio station kpel reveals a coordinated effort to create the public impression that cassidy's support for trump is unpopular with his constituents. the activists who describe themselves as liberals in the audio can be heard strategizing how to best turn a local town hall into a political victory. the activists split up into an inside team tasked with occupying as many street -- seats as we can, and an outside

team whose job was to give the media the coverage they want before joining the others inside. activists were instructed to dress like conservatives and leave at home any signifier that you're a liberal. in order to blend in with constituents. the leftist activists strategized how to best dominate the question-answer section of the town hall and keep anyone sympathetic to cassidy from asking a question. the audio also reveals the activists laughing about, quote, the poor people of the town, local constituents who might get stuck behind them. local news coverage of the town hall said that, quote, many attendees were turned away, unquote, from the town hall due to, quote, capacity restrictions, unquote. well, game plan number one is to fill as many seats as we can. right? if it's all of us in there and the poor people of bo bridge are sitting behind us, well, then

tuck -- tough luck for them, unquote. one organizer identified by kpel as james procter, his poor people comment drew laughs from the other activists. quote, we can arrange it so he doesn't hear one sympathetic question. great, that only magnifies our impact, unquote. procter said. kpel identified procter as the acadiana, ndivisible a local branch of the national indy chrisable organization, which has organized hostile republican town halls all around the country. the indivisible guide does say that when you start to lose the meeting, that's when you boo and his. one unidentified activist can be heard saying. right, i was going to say that, another activist replied. local news outlet, the

advertiser, reported that members of the crowd frequently interrupted, expressing disagreement with some of cassidy's position, and shouting out their own questions. the outside team will join the inside team in the hall after media coverage. so what we'll do is try to dominate enough because, remember, the camera people especially are looking for some b roll and some quotes. they got three or four things to cover that day. this is just one of them. so we make sure we give them the coverage they want, then everyone breaks and goes inside. that reminds me of an article that was written by greg county, the largest newspaper. obviously they know what indy chrisable is and they were demand -- what indivisible is and they were demanding town hall belittling me. it just shows you what you -- how partisan, how malicious. they showed their malice toward me repeatedly. but fortunately for the people

of east texas, they don't count for a hole lot. their opinion is so biased, it is what it is. they know that these people are doing just what's talked about here. what's talked about in the indivisible hand book. and that's what they want. they want me out of office and there's such a problem with envy , with emotions that i've just never had like that. he had can't stand it -- they can't stand it. so, anyway, here's one. todd starnes from fox news, today's article, a group of enraged protesters exploded in anger after a chaplain prayed in the name of jesus at a town hall meeting in louisiana hosted by u.s. senator bill cassidy. the verbally abusive crowd, and

it's talking about the same town hall that this tape came from, where they were planning to disrupt and to keep the people from being able to participate any way, louisiana state chaplain, michael sprague and unidentified war veteran should be commended for maintaining their face. the february 22 town hall was quickly overrun by the angry mob much like other town hall meetings hosted by republican lawmakers. the mainstream media but i sincerely doubt many of the mob are residents of louisiana.

and nobody baves like that. folks are raised right. no way anybody would embarrass their mommas. i would be willing to bet that the jesus hating rebel rousers were shipped in like from berkley or brooklyn. i don't agree on brooklyn. any ways, chaplain envoked the name of the almighty when the heckling began. this is our time. amen. let's get on with it. others chanted separation of church and state. and words do not do justice to the amount of hate. i have never been shouted down the chaplain told me, i have never been in a situation. there is sad there is nt honor

and respect for god and they became unhinged when he concluded his prayer in the name of jesus. jesus.oed in the name of i thought several were going to spontaneously combust. the people in the room were causing a disruption but he harbors no ill-will. he said my heart's prayer everybody be treated with dignity and respect. the chaplain was disappointed how the mob insulted the vietnam war veteran. some were shouting, some turned their backs. infuriating but not surprising as i wrote in the did he plorables guide, they have a strong aversion to president glory. jesus and ole

and i share that. there is a lot to be grateful for, but one is -- this article from cbn news. jerusalem, israel a terrorist convicted of murdering two israeli university students is one of the leaders of the femnist movement against donald trump. odai, a member of the popular front is helping to organize a day without a woman on march 8. she quotes a report in the "new york post" and "guardian." she was sentenced to life in prison for planting explosives that killed people and now out leading organized resistance to the president of the united states and to law and order.

it's tragic, mr. speaker. i now yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman have a motion. mr. gohmert: i move we adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the motion is adopted. the house is adjourned the house today approved the bill expanding shiloh national military park by about two acres. they also defeated a democratic effort calling for president trump to release his tax returns. on the agenda tomorrow, a measure dubbed the scrub act. it creates a nine-member commission to review existing federal regulations and identify those that should be repealed to

reduce cost to the economy. later, members of the house and senate come together to hear president trump's first speech before a joint session of conference. c-span will have live coverage of the atlantic renting an eastern, and then take your calls and comments afterwards. >> tonight on c-span, white house budget director mick mulvaney on the president's proposed budget. then, remarks by the leaders of the intelligence committee on the investigation into russia and the 2016 election. first, we hear from chairman devin nunes. that is followed by ranking member adam schiff. white house budget director mick mulvaney made his first appearance at the white house briefing. he spoke about the president's budget, which includes a proposed $54 billion increase for the pentagon in 2018. it's expected to be delivered to congress by march 16.

>> i hope everyone had a great weekend. good afternoon. before i begin, i want ted to introduce mick mulvaney to talk to you about the president's budget. one director mulvaney is finished, we will allow him to take a few questions, and then resume the briefing and all the fun that goes with it. without any further ado, director mulvaney. >> this is not a full-blown budget. that will not come until may. this blueprint was never.

and do exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for office. rebuildingoritize the military, including restoring our nuclear capabilities, protecting the nation and securing the border, enforcing the laws currently on the books, taking care of vets, and increasing school choice. it does all of that without adding to the currently projected fy-2018 deficit. the top one, defense discretionary number is $603 billion, a $54 billion increase, one of the largest increases in history. it is also the number that allows the president to keep his promise to undo the military sequestering. the top line nondefense number will be $264 billion, $54

billion savings. it is the largest proposed reduction since the early years of the reagan administration. the reductions follow the same model. this is the president keeping his promises and doing exactly what he said he would do to reduce the money he would give to other nations. it reduces duplicate of programs and you amaze programs that don't work. the president is going to protect the country and do so in exactly the same way that americans families had to do over the last four years, prioritize spending. these numbers will go out to the agencies today in a process we call passback. we will spend the next week or so working on a final budget blueprint. we expect to have that number to congress by march 16. that puts us on schedule for a full budget, reporting all the things i mentioned. this does not include, with all the larger policy issues in the first part of may. so, with that, i will take a couple questions. >> to get to your topline on the

rest of the nonprescription, what is the description of the budget. you need to slice about 12% off the rest of the government. can't you do that without affecting the services the government provides? >> at is part of what the process is this week. when the numbers go out, each agency will get a topline number, along with recommendations to how we think they can hit that number. and they can come back to us with other suggestions. i think it is unusual for us to be coming to you this early in the process, but we wanted to let everybody know where we were. >> we are talking about double digits. >> there will be a lot of programs. again, you can expect to see what the president said he was going to do. foreign aid, for example, the president said we would spend less money overseas and that will be reflected. >> thank you very much. one quick follow up.

that accounts for 1% of overall spending. [indiscernible] >> why not tackle entitlements, especially when a lot of republicans over the years have mentioned this? >> it is the same answer i just gave on foreign aid. yes, it is a small part of the discretionary budget, but it still consists of what the president said. you will be able to tie these reductions back to his speech. he is simply going to -- we are taking his words and turning them into policies and dollars. we will be spending less overseas and spending more back home. i forgot your second question. >> on entitlements, nondirect entitlements. >> this is a budget blueprint that some folks used to call the skinny budget. they would not be unusual for larger policy decisions, including tax reform revenue projections, not to be included in this budget.

>> down the line, could we see -- >> the budget will contain the entire spectrum of the president's proposed policy changes. >> can you talk more about the breakdown of rebuilding the military? >> again, where we are in this process is that the numbers going to the dod today and over the course of the next 10 days to two weeks, we will be coming up with those details. i have time for one more. >> you are going to increase the military budget. are you going to ask people in the defense department to take a look at the budget and ask, where can we cut so we make sure we are spending the right amount of money? >> exactly. that is what secretary mattis and i have talked about. omb will also be involved. all of that will be incorporated in our larger budget in may. ,> so, it is not just a blanket we are going to throw money at

you. >> no, sir. >> are you going to request for doeslar increase, and that include money to pay for the wall? >> we do expect to include money in a future supplemental for the wall and the 2018 budget will also contain longer-term policies for that. thank you all very much. delivers histrump first address to a joint session of congress tuesday. following the speech, we will have the democratic response kentuckyer governor steve w. then, the president's speech, starting at 9:00. >>