been podcast -- c-span podcasts. >> coming up tonight on c-span, events from 2017, including othersown actors and discussing issues they care to steve we talked television's influence on politics. we start tonight's primetime programming with celebrities ashton kutcher, jennifer garner, and ryan phillippe. after ashton kutcher is the cofounder of an organization childrenorn fenders of -- defenders of children. he testified before the senate foreign relations committee.

it is an honor to be here. as a young man brought up in the public school system, i pledge my allegiance to that flag every honor, maybend the one of the greatest honors of my life today, is to be here, and leverage the work that i have done as testimony that may in some way benefit this nation that i love. i would like to start by saying thank you to chairman corker for your leadership in this endeavor and to the senator. your leadership has been extraordinary, and i would like to say thank you to the rest of the committee that has supported this effort. this is a bipartisan effort, and in a country that is riddled with bipartisan separation on so many things.

slavery seems to come up as one of these issues that we can all agree upon, and i applaud you for your agreement, and i believe in you in your leadership and your ability to take us out of it. i am here today to defend the .ight to pursue happiness it is a simple motion. the right to pursue happiness is bestowed upon all of us by our constitution. every citizen of this country has the right to pursue it, and that it is incumbent upon us as citizens of this nations, as americans, to bestow that right upon others, upon each other, and upon the rest of the world, but the right to pursue happiness, for so many, is stripped away. , it isaped, it is abused taken by force, fraud, or coercion.

it is sold for the momentary happiness of another. this is about the time when i start talking about politics that the internet trolls tell me to stick to my day job, so i would like to talk about my day job. my day job is as the chairman and cofounder of thorn. we build software to fight human trafficking and the sexual a quotation of children. that is our core mission. my other day job is that of a father of two. a2 month old and a two-year-old. it is part of the job i take seriously. toelieve it is my effort ensure a society and government that defends it as well. as part of my anti-trafficking work, i met victims in russia. i have met victims in india. i have met victims that have been trafficked from mexico, new york, new jersey, and all across our country.

have been on fbi raids where i have seen things that no person should ever see. content of aideo child that is the same age as mine being raped by an american that was a sexed tourist -- a sex tourist. engaging inshe was play. i have been on the other end of asking call of my teen for my health because we have received a call from the department of homeland security telling us a seven-year-old girl was being sexually abused and the content was being spread around the dark web, and she had been being abused. they watched her for three years and could not find the perpetrator. asking us for help.

we were the last line of actor, the laste line of defense. that is my day job, and i'm sticking to it. i would like to tell you a story about a 15-year-old girl in oakland. we will call her amy. amy met a man online, started talking to him, and a short while later, they met in person. within hours, amy was abused, , and forced into trafficking. she was sold for sex. this is not an isolated incident. there is not much that is unusual about it. the only unusual thing is that amy was found and returned to her family within three days using the software that we created, a tool called spotlight. in an effort to protect its capacity over time, i will not give much detail about what it that can it is a tool

be used by law enforcement to prioritize their caseload. it is a neural net. it gets smarter over time, better, more efficient as people use it. and it is working. with 25% of our users reporting, we have identified over 6000 trafficking victims, 2000 of which are minors. this tool is in the hands of 4000 law enforcement officials and 900 agencies, and we are reducing the investigation time by 60%. this tool is effective. it's efficient. it's simple. it's better. it's smarter. there is often a misconception about technology that in some way, it is the generator of some evil, that it is creating job displacement, and it enables aslence and malice acts, but an entrepreneur and venture capitalists in the technology

field, ic technology is simply a tool without will. the will is the user of that technology, and i think it is an important distinctive. an airplane is a piece of technology. under the right hands, it is used for mass global transit. under the wrong hands, it can be flown into buildings. technology can be used to enable slavery, but it can also be used to disable slavery, and that is what we are doing. i had a call from the department of homeland security about this girl who was being trafficked on the dark web. it is interesting to note that the dark web was created in the mid-1990's. tor, a tool with positive intention for sharing intelligence communications anonymously. it has also been used to help people who are being disenfranchised by the

government in oppressive regimes. on the other side, it is used for trafficking, for drug trafficking, for human trafficking. the warehouse for some of the most offensive child abuse images in the world. when the department of homeland security calls us and asks for our help and a if we had a tool, i had to say no, and it devastated me. it haunted me. for the next three months, i had to go to sleep every night and think about that little girl that was still being abuse, and the fact that if i do the right thing, we could save her, so that is what we did, and now, when i get that phone call, and at, theerever you are answer will be yes. we have taken these investigation times of dark web material from three years to

what we believe can be three weeks. . i will is called solis not go into much detail about the tool, but it is being used by 40 agencies across the world today in beta, and we believe it will yield extraordinary results. it gets like spotlight, smarter and more efficient and more cost effective over time. fromere do we go fo here? we need money. we need financing in order to build these tools. technology is expensive to build, but the beauty of technology is once you build the warehouse, it gets more efficient and more cost-effective overtime. toight be able to present you a government initiative where next year, i come back and ask for less. and to me, that is like -- it seems extraordinary. the technology we are building is efficient. it works. it is nimble, because traffickers change their modus operandi, and we contained hours

more efficiently. it is enduring. and it only gets smarter with time. we are collecting data. we understand that if we are delivering value, we can increase our efforts in that area. if we are not delivering value, we shut it down. and it is a quantifiable solution. don't my mentors told me go after this issue if you can't come up with a quantifiable solution. we can quantify it and we can make the work you're doing in the initiatives you put forward accountable. my second recommendation is to continue to foster these private/public partnerships. spotlight was only enabled by the mccain institution, and the full support of cindy mccain, and a man -- of senator mccain and john mccain. not just created by them.

there is extraordinary support from the private sector. reasoningy digital out of tennessee stepped up to proplate and offered us bono work. we had the support of companies that often times were with each other from google to microsoft some offacebook, and our other technology initiatives, including many other private companies. it is vital to our success. these private public partnerships are the key. the third thing i would like to highlight is the pipeline. you know, we sit at the intersection of discovery of these victims, but the pipeline areand the pipeline out just as vital and just as important in addressing -- and addressing them are just as important. i would like to highlight one thing in particular, the foster care system. there are 500,000 kids in foster care today. astonished to find out

that 70% of the inmates in the prison across the country have touched the foster care system. 80% of the people on death row were at some point in time exposed to the foster care system. 50% of the kids will not graduate high school. 95% of them will not get a college degree. the most staggering statistic i found was foster care children are four times more likely to be exposed to sexual abuse. that is a breeding ground for trafficking. i promise you, that is a breeding ground for trafficking. the reason i looked at foster care is it is a microcosm, a sample said that we have pretty extraordinary data around today even though we cannot seem to fix it, a microcosm for what happens when displacement happens abroad, the unintended consequences of our actions or inactions in the rest of the world. out, whene are left they are neglected, when they are not supported, and they are not given the love that they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking.

this refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore it. we cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise, we are going to deal with it for years to come. pipeline.nd there's just not enough beds. the bottom line is, once someone is exposed to this level of abuse, it is a mental health issue, and there are not enough beds. there is not enough support. we have to have the resources on the other side, otherwise the recidivism rates are through the roof. it is astonishing, because what maslow hierarchy of needs thenot being met, people -- only source of love they have in their life, that is what they go for. we have to address the pipeline out, and we have to create support systems on the other

end. it is not an entitlement. it is a demand 10 slavery -- to end slavery. my fourth and final recommendation is the bifurcation of sex trafficking and labor trafficking. they are both operations, both awful, both slavery, and they are both punitive, in fact, but the solution sets are highly differentiated. when you look at sex trafficking , a victim is most often present at the incidence of commerce. opportunityvides an for drastic intervention. whereas in labor trafficking, the victims are being hidden by the manufacturers and the merchandisers, and it requires an entirely different set of legislation and proactivity and enforcement in order to shut it down. there is a lot of rhetoric going on in the world right now about job creation in the united states. if we want to create jobs in the united states, i would ask you to consider eliminating slavery

from the pipelines of corporations. because a lot of that slavery is happening abroad, and if we ask those corporations under extreme pressure that if you do not change it, you are going to be penalized, and if you don't clean up that pipeline, it is going to mean trouble. they are forced to two decisions. they can either clean up the abroad, or they can move to the united states of america where they can be regulated or supportive. bringing jobs to america can be the consequence of doing the right thing or it can be the consequence of doing the wrong thing. but that choice is up to you. now, it is not lost on me that all of this disruption in our marketplace is going to have economic backlash. that is not lost on me at all. did you believe abraham lincoln had to consider the economic backlash of shutting down the cotton fields in the south when he shut down slavery?

because i'm sure that wade on ighed on -- that we his mind. happiness can be given to no man. it must be earned through generosity and through purpose. , thehe right to pursue it right to pursue it is every man's right, and i beg of you that if you give people the right to pursue it, what you may find in return is happiness for yourself. thank you. earlier this year, michael phelps used his status as the most decorated olympian ever to call for improved anti-doping measures and sports, testifying before the house energy and, sub .- commerce subcommittee you can watch this entire hearing on our website, www.c-span.org.

michael: good morning. my name is michael phelps. i want to thank the committee for the opportunity to appear before you today. it is a part which to share my thoughts and perspective on the issue of clean sport, which is important to so many athletes and to sport in general. formpeted internationally over 15 years and have a tremendous honor to represent worldited states and six championships. without question, many of my proudest moments have been representing my country in international competition. there is no greater feeling than standing on top of the podium, watching the stars and stripes rise as the national anthem plays. the rio olympics were special to me because it gave me the opportunity to end my career on my terms and do it with my wife, nicole, and some of whom are watching. it was neat because of increased

doping concerns. i watched how this affected my teammates and fellow competitors. we all felt frustration. looking back over my career and knowing how difficult it is to get to the highest levels of sport, i cannot help wonder if the next generation of athletes will be able to do it if there is uncertainty continues. as a child, i found school difficult. i had adhd, which probably contribute it to my restlessness. i will never forget being told by one of my teachers that i would never amount to anything. enabled meming that to see past those challenges and not be defined by them. my mom for my sisters and me in the pool so we would be water safe. at first, like many children, i was afraid to put my head under the water. got myoming that fear, i first taste of self-confidence. as it turned out, i was pretty good in the water, and i quickly realized that the harder i work, the quicker i improved. i found a focus and purpose i had never felt before. i would set goals for myself and work lik like crazy.

dreams would pop into my head whenever i got into the pool. i would dream about becoming a world medalist, recordholder. i wanted to be the best. i talked to my coach so we could come up with a plan, not just for what i was doing in the pool, but also how i could better myself away from the pool. i met up my mind to do everything i could to make my dream a reality. in school, i had friends, but it was not that social. i focused on swimming. at times, i was made fun of for what i was doing because it was different. love with challenging myself to become the best athlete that i could be. i felt that every single day was an opportunity for me to do something special when i went to the pool. i always felt the kids who worked the hardest got the best results. that's why i pushed myself as hard as i could. period, ie-year trained every single day without a day off. i figured, by training on holidays, i would be able to get that extra edge. aspart of my hard work, and

my hard work and suffe sacrifice began to pay off, i began to feel that if i could dream something and give everything i had, anything is possible. the strength of that belief drove me to set goals that others thought might be unrealistic. that is one amazing thing about competitive sport. it demands you believe in yourself. this is not always easy. there is so many times i could have quit and walked away. sticking with it requires me to dig deep, especially knowing that after all the work and sacrifice, success might be determined by just 100th of a second. in those critical moments that you really tester commitment, that can ultimately define your career. you need to believe that if you push on, you will get the opportunity to measure yourself, your preparation, your desire, your talent, against others who have prepared themselves in the same exact way.

throughout my career, i thought some athletes were cheating, and in some cases, those suspicions were confirmed. given all the testing we have been through, i have a hard time understanding this. in addition to the test and competitions, i had to notify them as to where i was every day, so they would be able to conduct random testing as that of competition. this whole process takes a toll, but it is absolutely worth it to keep the sport clean and fair. i cannot describe how frustrating it is to the other athletes breakthrough performance barriers in unrealistic timeframe's knowing what i had to do to go through that. i watch how this affected my teammates as well. even the suspicion of doping is disillusioning for queen athletes. to believe in yourself through sport, you need to be able to believe in the system that safeguards clean sport and fair play. theathletes must be held to

same standards, which need to be implemented and enforced with consistency and independence. for years now, i worked closely with kids, most of which are not swimmers, but are eager to sit down and talk with me and always full of questions. it is when i talk about being a kid like them, and how this all started with a dream, you see their eyes like an up. they talk about how i did it and tell them they can do it too, and tell them if they do the work, they can succeed. the power to believe in yourself and inspire others sport depends upon fair play. , i have i am retired frequently asked if i think anyone will ever win more medals than me in my lifetime. my answer to that question is i hope so. i would like to think there is some little boy or girl out there now with an even bigger even stronger drive to do something never done before, but for that to happen, he or she must believe they will get a

fair opportunity to compete. if we allow our confidence and fair play to the road, we will undermine the power of sport, and the goals and dreams of future generations. the time to act is now. we must do what is necessary to ensure the system is fair and reliable so we all can believe in it. thank you, mr. chairman, and members of the committee. [applause] next up in our celebrity activist program, actress jennifer garner. she spoke earlier this year at the national governors association winter meeting on the issue of early childhood education. she sits on the board of trustees for the group save the children. it is really exciting and thrilling to be in a room full of people who are giving their lives and service to our country. of thisteful to be part

conversation. believe me. when i started working here nine years ago, the thought of early education being part of a national conversation was something that was very far off in the distance. it is really chilling to see everybody here and committed and ready to get to work. just to let you know how i got into this in the first place, my mom grew up poor, dirt poor, with 10 siblings, no electricity or running water in depression oklahoma. she managed somehow to get herself educated, the only member of her family to go to college. sistersdad landed my and me into houston, west virginia, where we grew up middle-class, surrounded by generational rural poverty, the kind work his shoes are cut on the front to let their toes go out, the kind where my friends from first grade did not make it to second grade when i did, did not make it to third grade when i did, and somehow, disappeared

off the face of the earth as far as i knew in my little elementary school mind. i grew up one generation and one holler removed from poverty. they have driven me to think about big things like how did my mom get out and how can i help other kids like the ones i grew up close to? and so, i hunted down the organization that at the time i believe had the most efficacy in helping kids get out of generational rural poverty in the united states. that was save the children, run by marc scheiber. we had the great luck and fortune -- and when you are going into someone's trailer home that is surrounded by trash, that has plastic over a broken window, that has the oven door open to heat the small space, that is invested by cockroaches, and that has not an

ounce of sound or julie in the place, -- or joy in the place, you feel privileged to be welcomed into a place where they could actually just feel shame and not want you to take a look inside. when we walk into these homes, you would be suffocated by the silence in the room. the children are not babbling. they are not talking. they are not crying. they are not making joyful sounds or anything else. that is because their senses are dulled. their mothers and fathers are so stressed by poverty, food scarcity, drug addiction, abuse. you all know the drill better than i. the mothers are so overwhelmed that they don't have the capacity to look outside themselves. i'm sure they have not had the modeling. they do not have the capacity to

look outside themselves and read to their baby, sing to their baby, speak to and love their babies. frontit their babies in of a television. i have seen it over and over again across this country. and the child quietly goes to sleep inside their mind. if the brain grows between birth and five, we are doing these children a great disservice because they have absolutely lost the chance to ever make it ahead in life. if you are growing up in poverty, by four years old, you point five years behind developmentally. you are a 2.5-year-old. how is it going to feel when you start kindergarten? 60% of kids in rural america inrts special ed kindergarten. there is an answer, and the answer is starting earlier and earlier and earlier, and as much as i believe in applaud all of you who are putting money and

effort into helping kids at three and four-year-olds, i challenge you to look at birth to three, and ask you to think about what you are doing for those newborns. [applause] jennifer: in the last couple of years, i have visited governor mission, calhoun county, west virginia, eastern tennessee, south carolina, where programs are so, so needed, and the money for them was cut yesterday. i'm coming after him. governor bevans for kentucky. i am thrilled to tell you that there is so much optimism in getting to a mother and child early. i have a story that i love. i was visiting a family in a concrete home in the heat of central valley california. there was a little boy, 11 months old.

when i walked into the house, at the time, i had a 10 month old little boy who is turning five on monday. this little boy was 11 months old. he did not look up. he did not smile. he did not react to me at all. he was sitting in front of an episode of oprah, and that was kind of where his focus was, and she is wonderful. i hope you got something from her. the mother also looked depressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, and i can understand why. her life did not look like anything i would want to lead. this little boy was stagnant. in andrdinator came brought something for this child along with a bag of books and a log for the mother to fill out for every time she was reading to her child. she brought a ball. this little boy had never seen a ball. imagine your own children, imagine your son, with his first ball. this kid kind of looked at that

ball and his mom, and she was putting up with us, frankly. the coordinator said rollerball to your son -- role the ball to your sunday. he rolled it back, and the mother kind of sat there. the coordinator said "he's playing with you. do it again. do it again." soon there was -- is that my time? you guys are so scary. [laughter] tellfer: all right, can i you what happened with the mom and child? the baby made a noise. the baby made a noise. the coordinator said he is talking to you. this connection is happening. say the same thing back to them. child said it back.

the next thing you know, they were babbling back and forth. go on forghtswitch that little boy that day. because we visited that mother a week later, that light switch was turned on just run and yes for us to catch her week later and the week after that and after that. there was a connection made and the mother knew she could play with her child, new she could speak to her child and expect a response, and she was encouraged to read to her child, and that kid had a chance to go to kindergarten ready to learn. thank you so much. please call on me if i can never be part of coming to your state and introducing you to our great programs. governor mcmaster, i will speak to you soon. [applause] >> robert david is an award-winning director who spoke earlier this year at the annual conservative political action conference in washington. he described the origins of his relationship with president trump and his support for the president's agenda.

[applause] ♪ robert: good evening. you, i gotto tell , and iitation to come in said to the oscar parties, i ain't showing up. i got something else i have to do. [applause] robert: and i'm thrilled to be here with all of you. and i have to say how moved i am to see how many young people are engaged. [cheering] robert: you are the future of this country. ,nd you have got to be engaged and you have to understand how important this moment of your history is. this nation belongs to you.

i want to ask a question. i want you to be honest. , on the dayyou donald trump came down the escalator, for you trump's supporters? how many are supporters today? [cheering] robert: i write for breitbart. i have done that since the inception. andrew breitbart was a good friend of mine. i met him on the uss ronald reagan. i also have a radio talk show now. go figure. bond villain goes talkshow host. you get danger and politics at the same time, you know? for those of you that don't know what that is, it is an italian fish stew, and politics can be very fishy sometimes. [laughter] robert: i let you know before my show if it is edible or not this particular week, but i want you

to -- i want to read something for you guys that i wrote on june 16, 2015, for breitbart, the day donald trump made his entrance with melania down the escalator. donald trump could be the presidential candidate who finally provides amerco with -- the common sense populist message of the donald, while not as poetic as that of ronald reagan, goes right to the gut of an american population that has been ripping its hair out while watching the destruction of of a public from within. republic from within. the compliance and lack of imagination from some in the republican party along with the aggressive takeover by progressives who are bent on reshaping america into the image of europe have brought us to the point we are now in. i have not in my lifetime seen

such a disparaging portrait of america as we see today. it will take a leader who understands how to build, not just govern. we have years of political elites who have dismantled america's individualism. we do not need another politician at this particular time in our history. that was my opening statement on the breitbart article i wrote that our president announced. these are all great political figures and people, and i respect them all. i remember watching, and we love all of them, but there are a couple of benchmarks for me. them.dia is one of the culture is another one. we will get to media and a second. i talked about that for years. the hollywood since 1977, i did

my first film with frank sinatra. 1977. i have seen hollywood. , 1980.seen ronald reagan i want to bring to mind something -- i talked with a friend of mine. we discussed this. marc masters. waswhen ronald reagan president of the united states, mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. the wall came down. peace through strength, nuclear detente, prosperity. in 1988, his right hand was a .uy named george bush we respect the bushes. we respect george bush, but there was a shift. there was a shift that is absolutely stunning. after being the right hand of ronald reagan for eight years and seeing the bold choices and

the bold moves that he made, and much like what we have seen with donald trump, the establishment on the left and the right, how they have attacked donald trump throughout this whole thing, what does george bush run under? what is his slogan in 1988? no, that was 1992. in 1988, he said "a kinder, gentler nation." "a kinder, gentler nation." right after he saw what ronald reagan did. now, george bush is a good man, globalist flage put in the ground. that was the beginning of it all. after reagan, we have had bush, ii, obama --h tii booing] robert: we needed a force of

nature to take the ship back from a generated by you people. it is your campaign, as donald trump says over and over again. when mitt romney ran, we thought he could win. another good man. good man. but here he is. he is doing a debate. remember that debate, the second debate? i am an actor. i'm sitting at home. i have watched media. i am seeing the second debate, and he goes like this, and the president says -- talking about benghazi. at that moment, mitt romney was not able to go -- and this was on cnn, by the way it. -- by the way. [booing] robert: i'm going to tease you about cnn. who is the parent company of cnn? who is it? time warner? as time warner the parent company? remember that. on cnn, there she goes. she holds it up.

get the paper. instead of mitt romney looking at the president, said "did you guys rehearse this?" wait a second, the american people knew that they were misled about benghazi. we cannot mislead them any longer. that is what should have been taken at that moment. for some reason, the elites are afraid to rock the boat. i called that campaign and i said "please, the third to break, have them bring it up. bring it up at the third to debate." i never got to mitt romney to tell them this. i said it to the campaign people , in messages. then the hurricane happened. you're going to be president of the united states, act like president of the united states. you are three months from the election. act like it. donald trump did just that when

the hurricane happened in louisiana. he understands the media. he understands how to bring a message to the people. remember the night he won the election? [cheering] robert: my 16-year-old boy hours, nofor four kidding, he ate his sandwich like this. it was pizza. "dad, i'm not doing it until they call it for him." they did not call florida early. 16-year-old kid. finally, when it was called for she didreleased and -- not give a concessions beat. i know what happened backstage. you have got to realize what happened. everyone's hair had to be on fire. the phone in hollywood, they had to be calling him,

every hollywood elitist, it george soros. wait a second. what happened there? she does not give the speech for whatever reason. there is a book supposedly coming out about it. but here is what she said in her speech. and to the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists, and union organizers who walked on doors had talked to neighbors, posted on facebook, even in secret, private facebook sites, "i want everyone coming out from behind that and make sure your voices are heard going forward." young people, in particular, i hope you will hear this. i have spent my entire adult life fighting for what i believe in. i have successes and setbacks. sometimes, painful ones. many of you at the beginning of your professional and public political careers, you will have successes and setbacks, too.

this loss hurt, but please, never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it. it is. it is worth it. and so, we need you to keep up these fights now. a couple of hours later, there was the first riots, the first marches. that was the trigger. what is happening right now in our country, from the elite in hollywood, they can fly anywhere and work anywhere. i can fly. i travel the world singing. some of you may not know that. i am a pretty darn good singer, by the way. i travel besides, and i can go anywhere. but the makeup artists cannot go on the plane. the key grips, the electricians, the dry cleaners, they have lost touch. the hollywood community has lost touch with the blue color in america, and that is why they think that they don't know. so now, just a few little things.

company of cnn is time warner. we know that the media, the fake media, the very fake media, we know these -- i have known for years. i have seen as being manipulated. there are good people. i respect everyone's living. i respect everyone's point of view. that is what america is about. i understand that when i see the vitriol and the misrepresentation, the continued its representation of certain things, or the exaggerations of artain things, carried to point that they should not be. and that is what we see happening right now. on every media says the first 100 days. he has only been in office for 30 some odd days. what has days. look at been accomplished, look at what has been accomplished. look at what the future is going to be.

so anyway. i have got to wrap up. i will have to finish this speech tomorrow. i want to go, because of mike pence, in honor of mike pence, i would like to mention another son of indiana. how many know of red skeleton? his tv show, on january 14, 1969, talked about the pledge of allegiance. do you remember that? some of the use don't. i would like to read what he said, what his teacher said to him about the pledge of allegiance, because the kids were not saying it with any meaning behind it. reagant message ronald gave to the american people in his farewell speech was the american patriotism, to educate the youth with a new american patriotism. my article, i wrote it in november on breitbart. please read it. it is important. and president trump, during his inauguration address, brought up patriotism.

the assimilation of immigrants that don't know what america stands for, have not been taught it, and the youth that have not been. the pledge of allegiance, before we all say it. individual, a committee of one, pledge, dedicate all my worldly goods to get without self-pity, allegiance, my love and devotion, to the flag, our standard, old glory, a symbol of freedom, wherever she waves, respect, because her loyalty has given a dignity and that shouts "freedom is everybody's job," sanctified by the blood of our most brave, united. that means we have come altogether. states, individual communities that have united into 50 great states, 50 individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet unified to a common purpose, and that his love of country.

and to the republic. which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. and government as the people, from the people to the leaders. not from the leaders to the people. for which it stands, one nation under god, meaning so blessed by god, and indivisible, incapable of being divided. with liberty, which is freedom, the right to live one's own life without fear of some form of retaliation. justice, the principal and quality of dealing fairly with others. for all, which means boys and is as much your country as it is mine. and now, boys and girls, let stand for the pledge of allegiance. [applause] robert: let's hear it. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america,

and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under god , indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [cheering] ♪ >> former california governor and after arnold schwarzenegger spoke at a summit earlier this year on afterschool programs where he criticized proposed federal spending cuts. mr. schwarzenegger is the founder of afterschool all-stars, a program based in los angeles. he spoke about his activism on the issue with cnn commentator van jones. host: let me ask you a couple of tough questions. kids/?you spoiling the i mean, be honest. you yourself come from a modest background.

nobody gave you a big afterschool program. you got out there, you figured out a way, and you almost invented bodybuilding. you transformed the whole field. you are not just -- "i need a program." aren't you spoiling the kids? shouldn't they just go do it like you did it? arnold: i know exactly what your question is, but i have to tell you, i was spoiled myself, because today, we have to organize afterschool programs because, you know, like i said, both of the parents are working and most of the household. when i grew up, in austria, that was very uncommon that both of the parents were working. i did not ever hear that. very rarely. 5% maybe at the time did that. those of the people, the mothers stayed home and cooked. my mother was a traditional housewife, a member of the home, and from morning to night, was

all about providing food. she would be gardening, growing the vegetables, doing all those kind of things, and then cooking up a storm. in the afternoon, when we came home, she was there, and she major we did our homework, and she was tough. you know, i mean really tough. hand,ler, the back of the if you did not do your math. you cannot do that now, but this was the old days. [laughter] arnold: i tell you that she helped us with the homework. she was a very well read woman, educated, so she could help us with the homework all the time, with tutoring and stuff like that, and then in the afternoon, at 5:00, my father was a police officer. he went to the sports field, the soccer field, and he coached us in soccer. and then they would go ice curling and ice-skating with us. it was literally from morning to night, between the coaches and the teachers and the parents, everyone, mentors, everyone was

there 24 hours a day. this is why i am here today, because i had that kind of upbringing. this is why i became a fanatic when i was the chairman of the president's caps on fitness. i went outside to all 50 states, promoting health and fitness in the schools. odessa hundreds of kids being sent outside, and they were just standing around, so -- i always saw hundreds of kids being sent outside, and they were just standing around. i would think about it. i felt sorry for the kids that they don't have someone there helping them with homework. i felt sorry for those kids because no one took them to the sports field. ,here was no one helping them music, art, painting, something for them to do. that is where the idea came from. i was inspired. if i want to give anything back

to this country, that is one of the things i can do to get back to my community, by starting afterschool programs, and at the same time, showing the way on how to do it. >> at beautiful. [applause] you know, my dad was born poor. and she said the liberals and the conservatives did it wrong. he said that liberal thinking is that you and give somebody money and stop them from being poor, but if you are still poor in your heart and pour in your skills and self-esteem, you might not be broke, but you will be broke again tomorrow, because you have to climb the ladder yourself. at the same time, the conservatives get it wrong because even though every kid has to climb that ladder out of effort,on their own they have to make sure there is a matter for them to climb. you are building ladders. your building ladders, and we appreciate that.

arnold: thank you. i cannot stress enough, and you and i talked about that, of how important it is that we pay attention to our kids. you know, they need the help. areine how many kids falling behind in education. they cannot keep up with the school because everyone has different abilities, so they don't have anyone to give them a little push. during our afterschool programs, to give countryoring, so when a afterschool programs, we see they are falling behind in math, they get tutoring in that. if they fall behind with their english skills, maybe they are from a foreign country, maybe from germany or from some latin country, some french country, it is, thenr they need help. we need to help these kids all the time. that is the bottom line. >> a couple more questions for you. the first time you got involved , i wastics in the states

angry with you, and jealous, because i have been in politics for a long time. and of passed one bill. i never got one thing done. i would go to meeting after meeting. you step out, your first ballot measure, get 60% of the vote, embarrass the professionals. it was terrible for us. it, you have the civil rights groups and the cops together. we have been fighting throughout the whole 1980's and the whole 1990's, fighting, because of rodney king or whatever. you got us together, the republicans and democrats, the young and the old. how? it's not fair. the rest of us have been trying. it's not like we didn't show up to work. how are you able to pull this off? how are you able to get republicans and democrats to work together? arnold: again, i think the way a lot of people working on this. the way we did it was it was

wasn that law enforcement very adamant about getting the kids off the streets and finding a way to get them to community centers to play basketball, continuing education, because we always talked about the dangers, so as much as it was the teachers union. i went to them and said can you endorse this? they look at our initiative and said it is fantastic as long as you don't create competition for our teachers. i said we are going to hire teachers. that's great, and they were in. this is how we went from community organizations to democrats and republicans, law enforcement, and everyone started getting involved, and on top of all of that. i am a very inclusive person, so i do not ever try to do anything thinking i can do it myself. so i felt that, you know, everyone is really interested in having kids get afterschool programs, i want to get in touch

with them and to endorse the andiative, so we went up down the state and i spent a lot of my own money, billions of dollars of my own money, to go on tv and advertise and promote the initiative and so on, and we raised millions of dollars. that is how we pushed it over the top. i felt very passionate about it. i, for years, tried to get in touch with the legislators in california. i always told them about afterschool programs. no one wanted to meet. and then i got in touch with the governor, and he did not want to meet. no one had any interest in the subject because it was kids. did not give they money to politicians or anything like this, so there was nothing in there. so they did not understand the value. so i said to myself, i think the next best thing we can do when -- the great political system where you can go directly to the people through an initiative process,

that is the route i am going to go. that is exactly what we did. when i saw the point numbers, they said we are going to endorse it. everyone started endorsing it, and became part of it, which was great. i do not hold any grudges or anything like that. it was great. everyone worked together. of the voters during a recession, may i remind you. arnold: that may have been the last great bipartisan >> that may have been the last paper present moment in the states. things have gone in interesting directions. know about you because i got a chance to read stuff and learn stuff about you. .ou seem to be a sponge wherever you go, it seems you are just learning and learning and learning. you have gotten a chance to meet a bunch of folks in this room. you met a bunch of the kids through news programs. what has this community taught you that you want to reflect back to them? arnold: i think every time you

do something, it does not matter -- i have been an international code for special olympics, for instance, for the last 40 years. most people do not know that. i just came from the special olympics in austria because we have stood international special olympic games for winter sports. and people always say you're really pumping up these guys. the people in the special olympics are so pumped up when you come around. the fact of the matter is, when i watch them, i see the obstacles they have to overcome and unbelievable races and all that stuff, i skated, figure skaters, whatever the sport is, you know, you watch them. it is spectacular. and all the obstacles, that, to me, is really inspirational.

they don't look at it as an obstacle. they grind it out so i get inspired by them through the same is also here. when i go around in the community, and i see the way kids grow up, the lack of money there is a lot of times and opportunities, lack of opportunity, it inspires me, creates the fire in the belly where i got to go out and do something about it and help. i was very privileged because i got a lot of help from my parents early on and later on in this country. muslim fitnessf magazines, the king of bodybuilding, he gave me all the opportunities. producers like that gave me all the opportunities to do great movies and all the stuff. i want to do the same thing. i want all of those kids to have the same opportunities. when you see the way they live and the lack of opportunities they have, it inspires me in

turn to go out and to help and to do something about that because i am a person that does not like to sit in front of the television set and complain. because i hate that. >> that is the national sport, dude. arnold: i know. >> i thought you liked sports. instead of complaining about something, it is it better to go and have a solution. do something about it. to just sit there and say i wonder what is going on in washington, which is terrible -- every time we look at the news so there's another problem and they complain. and i say wait a minute, worse approval rating than her piece or

colonoscopies, or any of those things below those in popularity. 98% ofo myself, that them that got reelected in this last election. so, i say, you are the problem. instead of complaining in front of the television set, do something about it. listen carefully to what they say. the whole political system is fixed in the first place. maria correspondent shriver is founder of a group called the women's alzheimer's movement. she testified earlier this year for the senate special committee on aging calling on congress to on alzheimer's research. you can view this hearing in its entirety on our website, www.c-span.org afternoon.

it is an honor to be here with so many extraordinary people. every single person behind me could actually be be testifying and tell me -- tell an incredible story. i am honored to be here. as chairman colin's mention and as some of you may know, i have been here before, eight years ago to be exact. until march of 2009 i sat here and testified about how alzheimer's had taken up residence in what had been my father's beautiful brain. my father was an idealistic, intelligent, and dedicated to lick a servant. his mind was as sharp as they come, a beautifully tuned instrument that left people in all and inspired. he was an expert at sharing his passion with the general public,

thought leaders, and people like yourself. often came here to the hill to increase funding for the war on are pretty programs that he created including headstart, vista, job corps, and legal services for the poor. he loved working in this building and he was really good at it. he knew every senator and congressmen by name and if he were here today, he would know every single thing about each and everyone of you, about your careers, your interest, your politics, your families, and yes, your soft spots. imagine how painful it was to watch when this walking encyclopedia of a man went from knowing every fact about everything that had ever happened in the history of this to not knowing what a spoon or a fork was, to not knowing what my name was or not knowing his own name. two years after i testified, my

father died of alzheimer's disease and now i'm back. back again to testify. sound a 911 alarm about the biggest medical crisis facing the world today and i say it is a world crisis. back to focus your brains on this killer ravaging brains and families across this great country of ours. believe me, i wish i didn't have to come back here to testify. it was in my calendar. but when i learned that the funding for nih and alzheimer's research might be in jeopardy, i practically ran here to say this cannot be. wait a minute. there must be some mistake here. i know that this committee is well aware of this crisis unfolding in homes across the country. i know you know about it first hand and i know you note about it -- you know about it from the

people you represent. let me use this moment to remind the committee and the public just what the up-to-date facts really are and these are real facts. every 66 seconds another brain will develop alzheimer's disease and two thirds of those brains belong to women. and no one knows why that is. a woman in her early 60's is twice as likely to get alzheimer's in her lifetime than .he is to get breast cancer in the statistics are even more alarming for women of color. african-american women are twice as likely to develop alzheimer's , and latinaswomen 1.5 times more likely. more than 15 million americans are curing with someone -- caring for someone with alzheimer's or other form of dementia while also. ting and holding down full-time jobs.

just say no, two thirds of those caregivers are also women. all of those reasons are why i founded the alzheimer's women's movement. i believe the determining why women are more affected by alzheimer's will help us unlock some of the mysteries of this disease. instead of focusing only on the formation of plaques and tangles in the brain, let's also start focusing on women's brains and their bodies, on their the way theyon process information. this could help us learn more about alzheimer's compression and its progression. i believe studying women and getting more women into cynical trial could possibly lead to the cure for all of us. i don't believe this is sexist. i believe it is just plain old smart. it is smart. thank you. [applause]

it is smart because alzheimer's is the most complex, mysterious and expensive disease in the united states. or expensive than heart disease and cancer. and it's the only one of the top 10 diseases that a means to prevent, cure, or slow its progress. rum breaste death disease, cancer, heart disease, are all down, but alzheimer's disease depths are up, up by a breathtaking 89%. families andting on its way to bankrupting this country. how much medicare and medicaid will be spending on alzheimer's, the projected total is 259 billion dollars. if the government does nothing, the costs are projected to

explode to $1.1 trillion. i hope we can sit for a minute with those astounding figures. i want to take a moment to thank collins, ton make a bipartisan resolution to make a plan to effectively treat all timers disease by 2021 is an urgent national priority. right now, it is the most seriously underfunded disease in our country. this, at a time when every alzheimer's scientist will tell you we are at a critical and potentially groundbreaking moment in the history of the research of this disease. so much progress has been made, but now it is stalled. the only thing many of them say keeping us from pressing on to a cure is find federal funding to move forward.

one of my friends, the scientist isthe women's alzheimer fund a top alzheimer's researcher who discovered the first gene for the disease 35 hears ago. his lab has found two dozen more in the last decade. he says we have learned from studying the genes important clues about what needs to be done to prevent alzheimer's i decade or so before any symptoms arrive. but he says laboratory budget constraints like researchers like him is only about 10% on the research and information available. the united states government is better than this. we are letting down the millions who have this disease, the millions that are carried for them 24/7 -- and it is a 24/7 job -- and the millions who are going to get alzheimer disease and other forms of dementia as

we grow older. 10,000 people are turning 65 every day. brainsr that i said that develop alzheimer's disease every 66 seconds, by 2060 someone will develop alzheimer's every 33 seconds. we have to fund this disease at the level it deserves i-4 it levels all of us and our health care system. [applause] we have to fund it at the level we funded aids and that we isded cancer, because this an equal opportunity crisis, us in on me that can crash into any and all of us, republicans, democrats, independents. and make no mistake, without a federal amendment like you spoke

about, we are going to lose this fight. over the years i have wracked my own brain wondering why alzheimer's doesn't get funded at the level of these other diseases. i asked myself is it not being marketed properly, is it not sexy enough, hip enough. i wonder if it's because we ofnk it's just a normal part aging, which of course, it is not. or is it because our country is so obsessed with youth and none of us want to grow old. then i thought maybe it is sexism, maybe because it disproportionally affects women, that's why you're i can't tell you how me people have said to me, even doctors, isn't that just because women live longer? no. that's not white women are getting it. are we also terrified of losing our own minds that we want to push this disease out of the

field of vision to deny it exists at all? it truth is we can't deny away anymore. alzheimer's is everywhere and it can develop in your brain for 20 years before a single symptom ever shows up telling you that you have it. and what does that mean? it means the chances are that several of us sitting in this room right here today have it right now and we don't even know it. think about that for just a minute. imagine one of you up there, turning to day someone you have served with and not knowing who they are. imagine looking the person in your home you have loved for decades and you can't remember their name. imagine your family being unable to care for you, physically, financially, emotionally, or spiritually. imagine that scenario.

millions of americans do not have to imagine it. probably most of the people in this room don't have to imagine it, because they are actually living it. one of them that i ask to join me here today in this room is she is-old pam montana, sitting behind me. i wonder to come here today because she was just diagnosed with alzheimer's. for diagnosis forced her to leave a successful career at intel and forced her husband to quit his career as well so he could care for her. futurece an uncertain and a scary one at that, but i wanted you to see pam, because she is the face of alzheimer's. a woman in her prime, a woman, a wife, someone who had a successful career, who was earning money. this is the face of alzheimer's. and she and her husband have

come here to capitol hill from all over this country to use their voices, to advocate for increased funding, to tell you what it's like to live like this every single day, 24 hours a day. you know, there are so many brilliant minds focused on this issue, so many forceful add its of you onike those this panel and the 13 hundred advocates fanning out across the hill today, so many like the ones in this room who can no longer accept when they are told we just don't know what causes this disease or what to do about it. for them, that is plain old unacceptable. and for me, as a child of alzheimer's, it is also unacceptable. age, itsomeone at pam's is terrifying. the statement we just don't know needs to be repealed and replaced. it needs to be repealed and replaced with this.

we do know, and here is what you can do. because it wasn't so long ago certain/aids was a death sentence and cancer was pretty much on curable and now so. many of them are curable. . science has turned all of that around, but nobody who has ever been diagnosed with alzheimer's has ever survived it. we can and we will do better than that. when my uncle, john f. kennedy was president, he challenged this country to put a man on the moon. it had never been done before. today i challenge you to do also do something that has never been done before, give us the first person who survives a diagnosis of alzheimer's disease. [applause]

maria: i'm asking this congress to do what it takes to get our brilliant researchers back up and working at full capacity in their laboratories around this country doing what they do best, which is a finding solutions, finding cures. and not only that, until we find a cure or have to do better jobs of educating the public on ways to live a healthier lifestyles. we now know that the brain never stops developing, that is new. we need to educate people on the difference between brain health healthy diet, how they can

expand their brainpower with lifelong learning and social connection. the is a priority for women's alzheimer's movement which is why we have partnered with jim's all over the country with the program determined to get this message out to mainstream america that they can control their brain health, their genes are not their destiny. we also need to get the support of millions of caregivers. we have spoken about them today. the ongoing stress on these families is unimaginable. they need the resources to help them care for their loved ones while also working. and we must also ensure that there is a well-trained professional workforce ready to provide holiday care to the increasing number of people living with all summers and other dementia -- alzheimer's and other dementia who will need facilities at their home while

they grow older. i have never met anybody in of never met a woman who wasn't good at crossing off of her to do list. i strongly believe that this to-do list is something we can actually do even in this current climate, and perhaps more so in this current climate. the american public is desperate to see democrats and republicans worked together. they are desperate to see success here in washington and this is a great place to start. i am asking all of you with the brains that you do have today, democratsgether, and republicans, and make a commitment. let's do what we need to do to stop the onslaught of this mind because america should be the leader in solving this global medical crisis. we are the greatest country on the planet and finding a cure for this disease will make us be smartest one to boot your thank you very much. [applause]

thank you so much. maria: thank you. [applause] >> thank you. actor ryan philip b joined elizabeth dole on capitol hill earlier this year for a hearing on military caregivers. an philippe serves as ambassador for a group called hidden heroes. he testified before the senate special committee on aging. ryan: my experience growing up in a military family helped me prepare for this moment. grandfathers fought in world war ii during my dad was in the navy during the economic. my uncles were both seabees and infantrymen during the same

period of time. all of the members of my family who served thankfully returned, but each were affected in one way or another. i have had the opportunity as well to work with countless veterans and those currently listed on the area's television and film projects and all of this adds to mike deep respect or our vets and understanding that they are our nation's true heroes. i have in recently working with the elizabeth dole foundation and that's how i learned about a different kind of hero, our military caregivers , hidden heroes. family and friends that care for our service members that come home with physical and emotional scars. if you know anything about senator dole, she doesn't take no for an answer. she will hold you accountable.

she will hold all of us accountable, because our nation's military caregivers deserve it. a lifetime, caregivers face is tremendous challenges and right now there are very few resources to help them. it is up to all of us to fix this. right now they are shouldering this alone. they don't expect our help, but we owe them purposeful action and lifelong support. something struck me and senator dole's remarks that i want to emphasize. the military caregivers play an essential role in improving the quality of life of our veterans. i quote "the best chance for a wounded warrior to recover him drive is to have a strong caregiver, get, this is an emotional and financial toll on our caregivers." and that's why

am here. for starters, i'm speaking specifically about the recently -- nroduced that are in caregivers improvement act. this bill strengthens and expands vital programs to support caregivers nationwide and ensures that caregivers recognize for service in tangible ways. for example, pre-9/11 military caregivers would have the same military support -- same support as we give to our post 9/11 military caregivers. those caregivers not only need but deserve our assistant. the v.a. caregivers programs should be available to all caregivers. the bill also supports

caregivers for veterans who have mental or physical wounds. it also provides assistance with child care, financial advice, legal counseling, and education, which are all top and currently unmet needs. by signing onto this bill you will have a positive impact on the health of our nation's turns in military families for a long time to come. or ihidden heroes invested have had the privilege of meeting with military families across the country. and as i talk about it now i can't help but to think about megan and her husband matt. megan and matt are high school sweethearts. they have a long road of head of them here at as a result of matties received during

now suffers from dramatic brain injury. struggle withm winds that we cannot see, invisible wounds that most of us can't imagine. megan explained to me that she never pictured herself as a caregiver for her husband especially so soon intermarriage -- in her marriage. she is always on the lookout for things that might trigger matt's ptsd and also caring for three boys. there were 5.5 million that need us and they need you. i ask you again, members of the committee and all of you here today to give your will support to military caregivers serving

our nation. senators, please sign on to the act and each piece of the legislation outlines. to everyone here today and watching across the country's cities and towns, seek out your caregivers and after how you can help. thank you. >> the final speaker in our celebrity activist program is actressorder marisa hartig a good she testified before a bipartisan task force about sexual violence. she is founder and president of the joyful heart foundation. good morning. by sayingt to start thank you for your heartfelt comment and your passion this work. i am speaking to you today as

founder of thend joyful hearts foundation. i want to think the task force vitality -- by elevating this issue you are sending a powerful message to survivors of sexual assault of their cases matter. you are demonstrating to law enforcement and prosecutors that we must work to do everything we hold people-- to us safe.le and keep i would like to focus my time on how far we have come in clearing the untested rape kits backlog. that cannot begin without addressing the significant axis -- thed by the actions of the federal government. the kitcongress created

initiative to test backlog hits, create multidisciplinary teams to investigate and prosecute related cases and address the need for victim notification and re-engagement with the criminal justice system. the impact of this cannot be overstated. we have heard from law enforcement and prosecutors that the fund as well requirement to create a team to undertake this systemic reform, are bringing communities together like never before. these of resources are helping law enforcement get serial criminals off the street, easing the burden on personnel, facilitating community engagement in making neighborhoods safer. we have heard the same feedback from victim advocates. funds are helping agencies already stretched thin to implement reform and catalyze

changes. i testified in congress but the rate kit backlogs akin may 2010 and the national landscape today is very different. then, we had no idea how many untested rape kits were sitting on shelves and police storage facilities and cried lapse. an estimateds was 400,000, but that number is disputed. because mosts jurisdictions don't have a system of tracking and counting rate kits, we cannot be sure of the number. however, through records requests, investigative journalism, grassroots advocacy and state legislative reform, we are beginning to understand the scope of the backlog nationwide. have 2010, more than 20000 21 statesnted for and

have possible as requiring audits of untested rape kits. when i testified in 2010 there were no reform laws on the books . today, that trend has shifted. since january 1 2017, 71 rate kit reform bills have been introduced in 32 states and 10 states have laws. joyful hearts has launched campaigns to reform legislation in all 50 states of by 2020. since 2010 30 states have them collected --implemented throughd of reform and grants we are also seeing a change in law enforcement's understanding of the impact of trauma on survivors. jurisdictions now understand this important perspective and are implementing trauma informed

and victim centered notification practices that seek to avoid re-victim may shake and -- three victimization and further harm. there is much more work to be done. today, only eight states have laws requiring testing in both current and backlogged kits here in most states the decision to send most kits of protesting is left up to the discretion of an individual. we must reverse that trend to ensure that every kit is tested. the numbers don't lie. testing all kids solves crimes and saves lives. the survivors legislators district should not determine the outcome of their case or the right to information. survivorsof all

across the country, i think you for your attention on this issue and i look forward to continuing this dialogue. i know that you join me in commend me -- you join me in commending the jurisdictions that have taken the initiative and together we are raising the awareness to those who have not. thank you. liveashington journal" every day with policy issues that impact you. coming up friday morning, scholar, diplomat discussions social media app and countering with thextremism digital world war. be sure to watch c-span's "" washington journal" join the discussion. reporter ison post"

the author of "thank you for your service," the book was released as a motion picture last october. you can watch the conversation friday at 5:15 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979 c-span was created as a public service by american's cable-television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> all this week "washington journal" has featured authors with new books in 2017. next we talk with cliff stearns. his book "life in the marble