union address, live on c-span. listen live on the free c-span radio app and available live or on-demand on your desktop, phone, or tablet at c-span.org. announcer: next, georgetown university hears from lawmakers on civility. speakers include representative debbie dingell of michigan, john delaney of maryland, and tim scott of south carolina. this is about 50 minutes. hello, hello. georgetown. the way you can tell you are at a catholic meeting, there is no one in the front row. and the audiovisuals never work. thank you all for coming. we're delighted that you are with us. my name is john carr, the

director of initiative on catholic social night at georgetown university. we are very grateful to the chaplain's office for their help and our friends at the democracy fund who support our efforts at civil dialogue at a time when it is more important than ever. atl dialogue, at a time when it is more important than ever. we do large dialogues at the georgetown, and it would mention a couple of those at the end. i'do some convenient ones, probably the most important thing that we do, is reach out to young leaders here in washington. -- it is my experience, i am very old, as i am told by my children all the time -- my experience is that a lot of young leaders come to washington, many of them motivated to their faith.

but they get pulled into the wars. the great temptation in washington is not corruption, i think, it is in this is in. especially, -- it is cynicism. thiswe are, i day before rate of the union, which is -- which is of the union, as close as you get to american liturgy. i am catholic. there is the entrance experience, a stand, they said, there is ritual clapping, sometimes doing. it has gotten so bad, who was it that said -- you lie? to the president of the united states? my memories are not about the state of the union, they are about when pope francis was here a couple of years ago. i had the privilege of being in the chamber.

i had never seen people that happy, or quiet. it seemed like the only thing they could agree on was that they wanted to see the pope. and here a different message. he said, each son and daughter of any given country has a personals show responsibility. as a member of congress, your responsibility and also as people who work for congress, as to enable your country by its legislative activity, to grow as a nation. you are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens, the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good. for this is the chief aim of all politics. that is not where we are, today. calling politics of vocation. so, today we gather to hear from three leaders with a different vision. they are not your typical partisans. we have an african-american

senator whothat is not where we. is republican and challenged the republican president for his risk wants to charlottesville, and what he said about african nations. we have a member of the house who is a business person and is president, at a president, at a time of great partisanship. we also have congresswoman dingell, a democrat, who has served all her life as a advocate for the workers. before she was in the house and after she was in the house, she was a bridge builder. as you know, she comes from the 12th district of michigan. biography, i think she was shaved by her catholic education. she works for children, women, human dignity. a graduate of georgetown, with two degrees. [indiscernible] >> my 20 year plan is a doctorate. host: put this on the extra credit thing.

and one of the sayings -- as i was thinking about the extreme numbers, it struck me that for them, the personal is political, and the political his personal. you had joe kennedy to your district, to talk to high-school students, about drugs, and the opioid crisis. and there were a lot of experts. and congresswoman dingell was a different kind of expert. she talked about her father, her sister, and she said, i hope that would happen to our family will not happen to your family. i identified with that, my brother, david carr wrote a book about addiction. the other thing that i loved about congresswoman dingell, is that she offers an annual holiday greeting called the dingell jingle. two verses ofe

this year's jingle. >> in the congress will keep on fighting. maybe we can find some common how aboutir weird fixing daca, before we take those jet planes out of town? no matter their pursuit, no orb so, let us keep taking a stand, let us keep working hand in hand. >> congresswoman dingell is listed as one of the most hard-working members in the house. she is apparently also a rhyming member of congress. the questions that we ask, how can you be both principled and civil, in a time of great division? what are the behaviors and actions which help and hurt, and what advice would you have for young leaders who are trying to act as as a vocation? so thank you very much, congresswoman. [applause]

first of all, i've been losing my voice for 3 months, which you could joke and say republicans are happy, but not the right thing to say as we're standing here today. thank you for that very kind introduction. and the dingell jingle started with my husband long ago, so i'm just trying to keep up with him years later. i sort of laugh when you talk about, father, it's good to be here with you too. he's been a good friend of my family for a long time and they know when i'm at church because i'm always in the last pew. i never go closer. it is good to be with all of you and talk about a subject that is very passionate for me long before i ever got in the congress. could joke and say republicans are happy, but not the right i recommend to all of you, how many of you are georgetown graduates? a lot of you. i went back to georgetown in the '90's and got my master's from the local studies program and i lobbied for the doctoral program

in liberal studies, which is an excellent program for everybody who was to keep learning and studying. some day i'll get my doctorate from that program. having lobbied o'donnell for that program for a decade. i think that life should be a lifelong learning. but interestingly, my master's thesis was on civility in congress. so it is a subject that, and in the '90's, this is all right from my heart because it's been a crazy day and i didn't even look at the questions, which i should have -- you are really getting this straight from the. but in the '90's, i began to worry about what we were witnessing. and i think that there is a real problem that people don't get to know each other. i say that i am not old, but i am's use and. most of you or many of you may know my husband is a great man, john dingell, and i married him when i was a child but we've been married for on 38 years.

and i married him in '80 when it was a very different congress and a very different time. it was actually a headline that said that i was going to work. i kept my career at general motors, and congressional sponsors the network -- did not work then. people moved here and they had relationships. and i watched things change. i was part of watching the change. any member by the '90's that did not go home every weekend, would use their election. lose the election. i can't remember what year in was, but we briefed spouses when they would get here and some would say people say i have to , move here, but do i have to move here? and i said nobody can tell you what to do.

every district is different, every marriage is different, and for years, she told me, you don't know how great you made me feel. you took the guilt away from me for not moving here. and it is a really complicated time. but i think that in the '90's is when you began to see people who did not -- by the early 2000's, i love newt gingrich. don't agree with him on much, but newt and maryanne were very close friends. i think a lot of things that he did in the mid-90's contributed to what has been somewhat of a loss of civility. but republicans trusted me enough that we actually organized bipartisan retreats. and i worked very hard to keep them from being political. wasn't always successful, but tried hard. we talked about a lot of issues back then, the lack of relationships was really one. everybody loved those weekends because they got to know people

they would never get to know otherwise. we talked about a lot i have been here 3 years and i have nothing on my ethics report because -- what i'm doing isn't necessarily the right thing to do either. because codels were a way that you traveled with people and you got to know people. you developed relationships. that membersned is fly in on mondays -- i didn't realize we didn't have votes on wednesday morning and i said to my staff put me on the 6 :00, and i am out, on wednesday morning. tonight i have 8 receptions, tomorrow night i think there are 15. and i'm out of here on wednesday. that didn't give you a lot of time. in the '80's and '90's, we'd go to dinners, republicans and democrats and administration people. you'd talk about ideas.

i just did a club this weekend, and i had a really great conversation with the head of homeland security. nobody would believe the conversation i had with the secretary of labor yesterday. but those opportunities are not there for people, to just that and talk. so i think that is one of the, i would encourage you, i don't know where you all work if you in corporations, or death, all i say is, get to know each other to riyadh first bit of advice is lose the electronics. pick up the phone and talk to butle to riyadh every talk i give to a high school or college or graduation speech we , do too much texting and not enough just talking to somebody. really having a dialogue. you get a lot more out of a dialogue. but i have many friends on both sides of the aisle. quite frankly there are days i , feel more comfortable on the republican side of the house than the democratic side. but it also, most people don't know this, but i was a

republican when i married my husband. and very active. i was a teenage republican camp counselor. and i had many friends. spence abraham was my date for my high school prom. so that tells you. and i knew his twins when they were born. we had relationships that go way back. but i say to people i was a milliken republican. young, maybeay too one or two of you may remember who he was, but he was a moderate republican. probably more liberal than some of the democrats right now. and i'm a dingell democrat. both respected people, both reached across the aisle. john dingell came from a day where he worked with everybody. and the ranking minority on the energy and commerce used to say that there were so many dingell broyhill bills that people

thought his first name was dingell. [laughter] and he is still one of his best friends. so fred upton is one of my best friends. we went to the state of the state last tuesday night together in lansing. to be there with the governor, -- fred and i actually agree more than we disagree. fred is really out there working immigration right now. and trying to find a solution. we're both members of problem solvers. i think what you have to do is talk to people. you got to go have a conversation. john mullen, another michigan member, his office is right across from mine, he's very conservative. but a christian and we do many of the prayer breakfast things together. he pulls me in and i go wherever he asks me to go. and we keep talking about health care. and we keep talking about daca. and david trott as now, i thought i was going to die of shock when he said in a television program he would not vote for another budget

extension without daca in it. and i think that too many times people think that we're in the middle of a war of words. and these are real people's lives we're talking about. talk to david bratt from the on of myaucus, he is dearest friends. and no need to him aren't you , worry i'll say aren't you worried about this, or that? you won't find common ground if you won't sit down and talk to people. so we can respectfully disagree. and i've made news over the holiday when i said that i would work with president trump on an infrastructure bill. this country, it is not only broken bridges and roads that are in terrible disrepair and potholes. come to michigan after this and i just got another flat tire because of the potholes. but the infrastructure is water. flint is far from the only city across this country and every community deserves to have

access to broadband. actually i would put far more money into infrastructure. but my job was to represent the working men and women in my district. and they need us to be there. john delaney just walked in and i love john delaney and he is even more articulate than i am at some of these issues. but i said, i would work with him on any issues that benefit the people of my district. and if he does something that i disagree with him, is morally wrong, he will need a buzz saw like one he's never seen. and he has. [laughter] i represent the largest group of muslims in this country. i'll tell you something, i'm a catholic girl. and i am very proud of my catholic roots. the nuns have put in me the backbone and values that, i went to boarding school in 5th great. -- fifth grade. preschoolducated from and all the way up to georgetown. i did not think that it is age, i would be defending freedom of

religion, a fundamental pillar of our constitution. the president is just dead wrong. we put together in a day and a half, we shut down the detroit airport -- it was a young people that called me and said, we want to do a protest at the airport. and karen moss, head of the, another friend of mine that we work on everything together said sure, we'll help you guys. we had 20,000 people in a day about that and the airport cooperated with us. they actually let me get up in a baggage carrier and said will you talk to them and then when you are done, will you get them to go home so we can reopen the airport? we didn't have the scene that you saw at other airports. people came together because i called the head of the airport and said these kids want to organize this. what happened spontaneously, was that there were people from all walks of life -- you could not believe this crowd. it was people from all over the state and it was people from all walks of life because we did it in a way that respected each other. so, i know what my values are.

and when the president is wrong, i tell them to his face but if area it but if something that will help working men and women, families that need a helping hand up, not a hand out, then i'm going to work with everybody and anybody. i'm working with him on the opoid drug problem. i went to the white house. we had a crisis in this country. so i guess, i'm going to let john delaney take over with his wisdom, but i would say get to know people. don't be afraid of a conversation. find common ground. respect each other. and lose the electronics. thanks very much. [applause] host: john delaney as you know is congressman from maryland. you may not know he comes from a blue collar family in new jersey. he went to school on a scholarship from his dad's union

and the lions club, rotary club, i think. he represents one of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. he is not your typical politician. he is working against gerrymandering. he has authored a piece of legislation to open up our elections. and something surprising about john, it is not that he is the first democrat to announce for president this time around. it is not that he would be the first member of the house to serve as president in a long time. it is that he is the only ceo of a publicly held company that serves in the house of representatives. he is a decrease who is amocrat -- who is a democrat, in a successful businessman. entrepreneur of the year according to ernst and young. one of the 50 world's greatest leaders, according to fortune. they must have really good scout

s. lsn for all of you, he and his wife, april, have reinvested back in georgetown university in public service. education and internships and experience there. he has been a member of the board of georgetown, one of the lessons here is you ought to go to georgetown, but -- [laughter] but he's active in his parish, little flower. supporter of catholic charities. he is most known i suppose for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. a lot of people talk about infrastructure. john actually did something. but two things struck me as i've had a chance to meet and have a people with john. but one, people make fun of the fact that he has announced for president. one of the headlines was what is john delaney thinking. and he answered very directly in the pages of the washington

post. the american people are far greater than the sum of our political parties. it is time for us to rise among our broken politics and renew the spirit that enabled us to achieve the impossible. that is why i am writing. the other thing that i read, i don't know how i came across it, but was a statement about his father after his father's death. and it was a long wonderful tribute about this electrician and his pickup truck and two kids and his mom and his grandchildren. at the very end, he said as i look back at my life, i realize that my dad taught me something utterly invaluable. he taught me to work hard, to never back down, to stand up for your friends, and most importantly to take care, protect and love your family. in his world is how you judge yourself. that is not a bad message for us, for a member of the house or even for a president.

for a member of the house, or even a president. so, i am delighted that john delaney is with us. [applause] john: it is really great to be with you. that was very moving, thank you very much. it is nice to see everyone, and i do conquer, that one of the best things, certainly in my life, was going to georgetown because i met my wife there. and it's been an amazing community. i went to the law school, i didn't go to undergrad. graduated from the law school in 1988, a long time ago, before some of you were born. it has been an amazing community for me.'88 today. for 30 years, it has been an amazing community, and i have learned a lot. from my education in georgetown, but also my engagement with the community.

one of the things that i did not appreciate fully even when i was toloss will, that i came appreciate more with my involvement in the university, is a great jesuit motto, that we should be women and men, for each other's. it is a pretty straightforward way to live our lives. and i've tried to do that as best i can with my life and certainly with my time in service in the congress of the united states which is an amazing privilege. i do think as we look to the future the central question facing this nation, more so than any particular piece of policy, is how do we begin to unify a terribly divided and fractured nation which is what we find ourselves living in right now. and what has happened to politics across the last several decades, we've always had partisan politics. and that leads to a revery healthy debate.

as george washington discussed in his farewell address where i he warned about the dangers of hyper partisan politics. he acknowledged the importance of hyper partisan politics. but where we have evolved to, to d partynd of hard edge before country is in my judgment just terribly destructive. , and it really puts into question one of the great assets of this nation which is our resiliency, our ability to respond and unify as a people, to respond to great challenges and opportunities. one of the things that i think, marveled about is this ability to snap back really quickly, even if we make a missed take. i think that is really in question right now because of how divided the country is. it is tearing communities apart, even tearing families apart. how many of you know families

? >>? >>? >> that stopped talking becausef what happened last election. people are just marrying people in the same political party. maybe the most or biggest problem with it is it has prevented us from doing anything. this is a trend now. this is not who we are as americans. for decades, we have failed as a country to respond to tremendous change that has occurred. economically, socially, culturally, demographically, from a national security -- the cost of doing nothing, is not nothing. when you go decades without the action needed by the leadership, was needed by the federal government in our country, you would pay a very high price. and i worry it will happen again because the world is about to change even faster. technology, automatic make, machine learning, these things are having profound effect on

society, on the future of work, on our demographics, environment. on our security risks. so we need to really rise above this and return to our core mission, which is really serving , the people and working for the common good of the citizens. and that is where in many ways this kind of social justice mission that is so important to the catholic church, so important to georgetown, so important to the jazz awards, is really what should animate our lives. working for the common good of the citizens, trying to shape a world and future that is more just, that is more fair, that is consistent with our values of free market, entrepreneurial kind of rule of law based society, but where we're constantly making progress to improve the lives of our citizens, here and around the world. one of the reasons i've been such a big admirer of our pope

right now is probably the most popular person in the world, is that he speaks so eloquently on these issues, he reminds those of us who are catholic, what we love most about our church. poor.mmitment to the that commitment to shape the world that is more just, for our citizens. that is what i think has been so exciting about our leadership in the church. and i think our leadership, you know, his leadership style could rub off on some people in government and i think we'd all be better off for it. but the good news is we can fix all these problems. the good news is i believe that resiliency is still there. if it may be a little below the surface, but it is still there. all of the issues that we failed to con on frontfront we in fact can confront. if you think about what has happened across the last 50 years, when i was born 50 years

ago, about 75% of the world lived in poverty, and about 25% of the world was interconnected. so, we largely lived in isolated communities. and the poverty rate around the world, was staggering. years later, the world is entirely interconnected. i think the global interconnection rate is about 90%. the world has become smaller. and the extreme poverty straight about 10%. so that means that billions of people have been lifted out of poverty because of progress, because of economic progress, because of technological advances, because of people being committed despite government inaction to make the world a better place. if that is not the hand of god, i don't know what is. so i think what we have to do and i think institutions like georgetown really are showing the way, we have to recommit ourselves back to our core mission which is serving the common good of our citizens. we have to start acting like

half of the country is not entirely wrong about everything they believe, which is what the political parties would lead us to believe. we have on to stop listening to people who are just not honest. for decades we've listened to the parties basically tell the american people that everyone in government is either an idiot or a sellout, which they are not. and we have to get back to a more civil discourse where we restore respect to the profession of public service. and we come together with confidence, we work together for the common good which is something that i'm committed to do and a lot of the lessons i've learned in my life, i learned at georgetown either in that law school building, well, i didn't learn quite as much, but in my two decades being engaged in the university. it is something that i'm most proud of to have done in my life. so it is great to be here about -- it is also great to be here. >> you have also provided an

example. . >>. >>. >>. >>. > you're teaching the rest of u, could you take a few questions on the topic? you talked about the polarizing political situation. recently you have a case in a on the topic? d.c. cord, a defamation case over the issue of project mer itas -- d.c. court, defamation case over the issue of project meritos and the reporter going in undercover supposedly providing a report where people are on tape saying that they were either paying or encouraging people to go to trump rallies and incite violence. certainly the other side is contesting that, that is why it is in court. but assuming that was true and that is determined that there were groups that were paying people to go to trump rallies and cause physical violence, it seems like we've crossed a line. what should be done in that case? >> i think it comes down to leadership. to some extent it is pretty simple. as long as we elect leaders on both sides of the aisle who talk about half the country as if

they are entirely wrong about everything that they believe, right? we are going to continue to perpetuate this brand of hyper partisan politics, which is a said, is tearing us apart on everything. so i think at the end of the day, it really does come down to leadership. but the american people get the leaders they deserve. so i just think the next generation of americans, because my generation hasn't handled this as well have to think differently about what kind of qualities we want in our leaders. we want them to be honest, we want them to conduct themselves with integrity and show respect. and if we start rewarding those things in our elections, people here will change real quick. host: we are going to move along. good luck on your campaign trip. [applause] >> john, as you leave, i have a

story -- he says that the pope seems more popular with his message, then congress seems theirs. shortly after the pope came, i met with some senators, and we talked about daca, the budget and all that. at the end, i said, how come you folks never talk about politics? there was little talk about work for everybody. said,y one of the member you know what, we do not think it is that popular. we do not think it is politically attractive. and i said, well, let me give you a point of view. statesod day, the united breaks into the teens, in terms ofwe do not think it is politically fits popularity. on a bad day, the pope falls into the 80's. and all he does, is talk about the poor. maybe you ought to try it.

and he sort of knotted, and said, this is a senator who does abouty about talking poverty. he is a republican from south senatea, a member of the finance committee, health, education, labor, banking, housing and urban affairs -- his story is more awful than any political biography. about poverty. raised by a single mom, meant toward a powerful figure that taught him that everyone deserves an opportunity, and that every opportunity ought to be seized. i have read over the weekend that you were at a town hall done in south carolina, senator lindsey graham was there, and he said, tim is the smartest guy in washington. that is not saying much -- [applause] he is the smartest guy in washington.

experience was senator scott, -- you will not remember this, but a couple of years ago, we meeting, as senator scott was one of the few leaders who agree to come. the other leader who agree to come was president trump. and when president trump agreed to come, it was the time that we had given to senator scott. we called him up and said, would you be willing to move around a little so that we could have the president he on the panel. >> ever member saying, no, you are moving! >> so we had the president, we had a full saying, c-span, cnn -- following that, was senator scott. not surprisingly, some of the folks left. some of the camera shut down. imagine what most

senators would do in that situation. senator scott could not have been more gracious. he said, i have a message. we had several hundred people who listen to him. something about humility, something about the importance of message of a personality. it was a very gracious thing to do. the other thing that i remembered was when our country was very divided by the killings of these black men, and people were saying this and that. it was a very tough time. the floor,tt took to and i would read what he said -- he talked of his own experience of "anger, frustration, sadness, and humiliation from being targeted for nothing more than being yourself. recognize that just because you do not feel the pain and and wish of another, it does not

mean that it does not exist. struggles, to make them disappear, it simply lives , veryblind american vulnerable. we must come together, to fulfill what we all know is possible here, while understanding fairness." he is working, as an example of the bipartisanship. we are asking you to talk about how we can bring some stability to this internet. how we can bring some bipartisanship. what advice you have for young leaders. leader,humble public who actually practices what he preaches. thank you, senator. [applause] >> thank you for that very kind introduction. and i will say that for me, the issue of poverty is not a sexy issue, not a popular issue, it is an issue that i lived through.

and if you live through something, hopefully you have i guess the insight as well as the foresight to let that continue to germinate in you so you can help. if you could talk about the importance of civility and how you work across the aisle. sure. civility is just not important at all. how is that?

him keep going? so listen, i think we -- anybody ever gone to high school? this is good. want to know my audience. college? georgetown, maybe? good job. so here is what i learned in high school and the lessons don't really change that much from high school from my perspective. typically people find themselves in groups. and it starts probably before high school, but in high school it crystallizes. you're a jock, a pothead, the academic which i never was. as a matter of fact when cory booker and i work on legislation together, i saw he graduated in respect cum laude and i graduated thank you laudi. -- graduated thank you cum laude. reality is if you remember which group you were in, perhaps the groups that you wanted to be in, the groups that you felt a isolated from, you start understanding and appreciating this whole political world that we're living in today. with one addition. today it is now in vogue to speak about those not in your

group in the most salacious and vicious ways. and you are rewarded by doing so by the friends you have within your group. that is the breakdown of the american experiment of a melting pot. we have a responsibility not as elected officials, but as you human beings as those of us who are part of the american tapestry to reinforce the values that make us great. one of the reasons why i think finding civility in the senate is so important, i want to make sure that i'm a part of those examples who are leading in the right direction. so when i'm working with cory booker on legislation, or when we are actually going out to him speak to schools, it sends a message not when we start talking, but before we start talking. it says maybe there are folks, he calls us the bald black men caucus. that's what he calls us. i'm just glad he allows republicans in that caucus. they don't always do that. i thought y'all would get that later, too. so it's just, it allows us -- the seed to germinate and for something to spring above the soil that can be instructive and

constructive. there are anumber of examples of legislative victories that have happened because i worked in a bipartisan fashion and frankly, on some of the legislation that we have seen some real success behind, i didn't go to him, he came to me. so it works both ways. i think our future's incredibly bright as long as we remember that we aresingle american -- that we are single american family, and every time that we find ourselves at odds, which typically in families, you do that, you find yourselves at odds, come to the table. break some bread and make something good happen. so happy to answer some questions if you have them, too. how about in the back. >> how do we bring people together here in d.c. to focus on human rights internationally?

i think that's slipping through the cracks right now. google -- right now. >> i think there's a group, thinking about the middle east, are you guys familiar at all with apac? it's a group of americans forbasically a strong israel in the middle east, but they have done a fabulous job of bringing republicans and democrats to the table with a single-minded approach. one of the ways that we bridge that gap is not trying to figure out whether we agree on economic policy. whether we agree on bank reform. find an area where folks who disagree with one another on many other topics, find the area where there's common ground. focus on that. when we do that, we do that very well. i think one of the ways we do that throughout the world is finding the common bond that draws us together, and whatever that issue is for the two folks or the two groups that come together, it makes all things possible. >> you spoke out courageously [

inaudible] on africa. have you done a lot of work on africa. how do we get people to see the common ground we have with people half a world away? >> we first have to start with every single human being on earth has intrinsic value. i don't have to agree with who you are. i don't have to agree with what you think. i don't have to agree with anything. but if i start there, it allows me to continue the conversation on the right track. i can have very strong disagreements with my friends, but i never question their intentions or their motivations. when i start questioning your intentions, your motivations, i'm saying something about who you are and not what you're fighting about. very different positions to be in. >> ten years ago, there was this idea that the digital revolution was going to create a renaissance in democracy and democratic institutions and today, it looks like it's putting them in increasing peril and fragility.

my question for you is, how are you using technology and data to sort of fill the civic gaps, or to improve the deliberative and knowledge-seeking functions of the senate, especially, and what would you like to see? are you experimenting? i know cory booker is really great on this stuff. >> he has a million likes. i have like 12. i'm experimenting, yes. >> is the community helping you back home? that's the other thing. it's a two-way street. >> i think in the senate, we are probably, number one, cory and a few others who either run for president or are thinking about running for president are top five. i'm in the top ten in the use of technology, maybe six or seven. i'm not quite sure exactly where i am. the fact of the matter is that technology is another vehicle or conduit for the message. the question that we should start with is what is your

message and who is your audience, and what do you want to communicate. my message is hope and opportunity. my agenda is called the opportunity agenda. we focus on educational choice, we focus on work skills, we focus on tax reform, we focus on one other issue that i feel like i'm up here -- what did i say? so frankly, the reality of it is as i look for ways to communicate those issues, technology becomes a primary driver of my communication. good news for me is i have a very diverse audience that i'm communicating to. my comments from a racial perspective draws some folks in that like me. other folks that hate me. i my stand on political and

especially economic issues draws the exact opposite from both sides. my twitter is just a freak show. but it also allows me to communicate the core message of hope and opportunity to my audience. so it brings me into a realworld -- into a real world where i'm fascinated, sometimes frustrated, but typically fascinated by the comments of folks. but i also find people signing up to have a conversation about a topic that we would never have been in the same room because we are so different, but that one common bond that we talked about earlier allows me to address some of the issues across the board. a >> i heard you speak earlier, you spoke in the white house in december about the piece of legislation you and cory booker worked on and i was wondering if you could speak to that at length now that the bill has passed.

>> absolutely. after the charlottesville incident, the president and i were on two very different pages. he invited me to the white house to perhaps talk through some of the challenges i had with his comments that i found indefensible and disgusting. and so i went to the white house. >> was there a tape? >> listen, he was -- i think he was very interested to hear, to listen, which i thought was wonderful. as i have said several times since then, he's 70 something years old. i have never seen someone change their mind in single conversation but i'm not trying to change your destination, just your direction at times. so one thing that he asked me, how can i be helpful from a legislative standpoint. i said my legislation investing in opportunity act, is the way that you can help distressed

communities live a better life, see more opportunities, and basically, with the investing in opportunity act, it diverse your capital gains tax for up to seven years. you still have to pay it but we defer it so you can make a long-term investment in a distressed community, where 50 million americans live. he thought that was a pretty good idea, and very quickly after the meeting, started taking a very positive stand on the legislation and postured himself as someone who would be supportive of it being included in the tax reform package. so when it got to the nitty-gritty, having the president of the united states on board for that legislation, it was very helpful for me to keep it as a part of the final tax reform act that passed. so now all over the country, governors are working on, within their states, areas that they can now designate as an opportunity zone so that they, because control leaves

washington and goes to the states which is wonderful, those states will now be empowered to figure out where they want to invest some of these private sector resources into these areas, and my understanding is that there will be opportunities perhaps on a federal level but specifically on the state level, to take grants, private sector dollars, and do really interesting work and fascinating work in investments in these communities. i think the future is going to be brighter for the kids that grew up in the communities where i did, and that's my mission, to make sure we tackle this issue and we don't quit until we die. so it doesn't matter what role you play as long as your mission st >> c-span's washington journal

live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up tuesday morning, the rising cost of uprising in usc this and how it is impacting the middle class -- cost of housing in u.s. cities and how it is impacting the middle class. as part of sixpence 50 capitals tour, dense as a part of c-span's 50 capitals tour -- be sure to watch washington journal live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning. join the discussion. ♪ >> at 10:00 a.m., the senate considers the nomination of david stras. epa administrator scott pruitt testifies tuesday at a senate environment and public works hearing. >> the house intelligence

committee voted monday evening to make a gop memo on the russia investigation public. the memo was drafted on the staff of committee chair, devin nunes and alleges surveillance abuses at the justice department. the hill reports that the committee voted against making public encounter memo but did vote to release it to the entire house. republican members expressed concern that the minority memo would damage sources and intelligence methods. the president has five days to review and reject or prove the -- approve the publication. we heard from adam schiff who spoke to reporters following the report. he was joined by other committee democrats at this 15 minute briefing.