former representatives ileana ros-lehtinen. they will also talk about the challenges their parties are facing. the discussion is expected to begin shortly. >> wendy weiser of the bretton sutter center for justice. she serves as the vice president for democracy at the center. thank you for giving us your time. can you talk about not only the center itself but the programs you are involved with, especially as it deals with voting rights? for profit think take that focuses on issues of democracy and dusters. and for many years, for several decades now, we have been studying voting laws, changing to the voting system, and working to improve election administration and strengthening that across the country. host: as far as funding?

are you supported by outside sources? how are you supported? guest: we are a not-for-profit organization that takes contributions from individuals read for pound nations and not the university. host: as far as a recent report of yours with election laws, the center put out a report. what drove that? guest: >> retiring representatives cheri bustos and kathleen rice, along with former representatives ileana ros-lehtinen, talk about life after leaving office and the challenges there parties face. this event is hosted by politico. elena: 35 democratic lawmakers choosing not to run for reelection. this is not unusual for a party facing a tough midterm cycle, but beyond the tough political environment, which our members have had to deal with -- they have won in the past -- i wanted

to find out, what's the reasoning behind their decision to not run? what does it mean for washington's deepening gridlock that these women are not going to be in congress anymore? joining me, let me welcome congresswoman cheri bustos, democrat from illinois, congresswoman kathleen rice, democrat from new york, and former congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen, a republican who represented south florida and was the first latina to serve in congress. she retired in 2017 but we ask her to join because there are no house republican women who are retiring by 22 -- by 2022, or retiring by choice, i should say. thank you for joining us. we are thrilled to have you. for those of you tuning in over the livestream, you can chime in on twitter using #rulewithus.

i would like to get a better sense from each of you as to why you decided not to run for reelection. it is not because you have not won tough races before. congresswoman bustos, you won this rural district in back-to-back years in which donald trump also won your district. can you walk us briefly through your thinking? rep. bustos: thank you for having us. it is especially exciting to be with kathleen rice and ileana ros-lehtinen. love them both. we all played on the congressional women's softball team together, a great uniter. elena: we will see how baseball and softball plays into this. rep. bustos: we have great stories, including kathleen wearing a cashmere sweater to our first practice. we are walking over there at 6:30.

at best we brush our teeth. >> this is how she met her future hubby. rep. bustos: back to the question at hand. i have been doing this for 10 years, first elected in 2012. it was a great class. among my best friends are the women who came in in 2012. i never intended to have this job when i was in my 70's or 80's. by washington standards, all three of us are babies. i do a deep dive on my life every 10 years. i can look back at my career when i turned 30, 40, 50, and i was 60 when i made this decision. i have made changes. every decade of my life.

what went into my thinking was -- again, i am young by washington standards, i have another career or two in me. i have loved 95% of this job, loved it. i loved my colleagues. on both sides of the aisle i have really good friends. i made this decision that -- i was actually one of the very first members to announce a year ago april that i wasn't going to run for reelection. i did that because i am in a trump district. there is only three democrats left who won in 2016 and 2020 in trump districts and i am the only woman. i wanted to make sure there was enough time for someone to figure out if they were going to run, start building a campaign in a tough district.

that's what went into it. one other thing and then i would like to have time for kathleen and ileana to answer. january 6 played into my family's decision to not want me to run again. we have three sons, three daughters in law, three grandkids. we got together over easter and all but one of my daughters in law said as a family, let's -- that's why i made the decision not to run, all that together. elena: i wonder how many other members that january 6 factored into their decision-making. i want to jump to congresswoman ross let and then. you won a blue trending seat in miami in tough years. when you retired, you had some thoughts on your party. you told npr, we don't go to suburbia, we don't talk to women.

there is a litany of advice you had to former colleagues. was that part of your calculus, concerned about where your party was headed? rep. rice: thank you to elen a, kathleen, and cheri. i don't miss the circus but i miss the clouds and i say that lovingly. when i retired i had already been there 30 years, plenty of time to have enjoyed it, and i enjoyed every day. charlie wrangle, one of our colleagues, wrote a book, haven't had a bad day since. he was talking about how after world war ii every day was a gift. that is how i felt, being a cuban refugee, the first latina serving in congress. i never thought i would have that life, so it was the greatest thrill of my professional life. i came away thinking, i have been there, i have chaired the foreign affairs committee, chaired all the subcommittees i wanted to, great friends, great

connections, it's time to try something new. i don't regret it because i am still involved, still a lobbyist. i work with different clients and different members of congress. i am still in the game but a different facet and i am able to be here at my daughter's house trying to help her with her sick child. i am able to do all those things so this is a nice mixture. cheri's and kathleen's departure is going to leave a mark. it is such a shame to have young women -- i consider them young because i am really old -- leave with so much energy and intellectuals. as far as the autopsy i did about my party, nobody took that advice. in spite of all the mistakes the gop makes, we are doing really well and we are going to do better with women then we have.

we are doing better with hispanics then we have. i am puzzled by it but glad, so i am looking forward to election day. sorry, ladies, but it's going to be a bonanza. elena: i look forward to spending more time with you diagnosing what might be going on with the crosscurrents you are talking about, but that's a conversation for another politico event. congresswoman rice, we have heard baby and young women that you guys have been describing each other as, in washington terms. you have been in congress for four terms and usually members stick around longer. why did you decide to leave? rep. rice: it is so great to see iliana and sheri even though it is virtual. this is a really important conversation. in eight years i have seen an enormous increase in the number of women coming to washington on both sides of the aisle.

regardless of ideological differences, that's good. until women are 51%, we are not going to have equality. my decision was personal. i was coming up on my 57 birthday and i said, it's time to do something else. i have always been cognizant of the negative impact that a lack of term limits has on the legislative process, local or federal. i said i am not going to wait for me to be term limited, i am going to term limit myself. i also want to expand on what sherri talked about. january 6, for those of us who were there, was incredibly horrifying. it was for every american. that was part of my thinking, more in terms of that day was terrible, but the political aftermath made it almost impossible to get anything done in a bipartisan way.

when i was a freshman member of congress, i spent my political career as a reach across the aisle person. i think codels are the best thing to happen to congress because it forces you to travel with colleagues who don't share your political background, but you get to spend personal time together and you build a friendship that makes it more likely you are able to compromise, which is the keyword when it comes to getting legislation done. it's important for people in congress not to feel like it's a birthright to stay but that it's a privilege to serve. i look forward to supporting other women willing to take the job. it is still difficult for women to mount successful campaigns around the country. i know i can speak for ileana and cheri when i say we are supporting women and not pulling the ladder up behind us. rep. rice: you are -- rep. ros-lehtinen: you are so

right about the toxic nature of congress. when i got there, 1989, it was so different. there was no spot on the foreign affairs committee, and international affairs is why i ran for congress. a democratic member, the chairman, said, don't worry, here is a card table and a chair, i will make room for you. this was a democrat committee chairman going to bat for a lowly republican newbie, and he changed the ratio so i could get on his committee. i could not imagine a scenario when that would be happening right now. it has changed so much and people are so negative. the toxic environment is very real and very different from what it used to be. i know i sound like an old timer , but it's true, it's different. >> it should happen that way. it doesn't happen that way in

2020 probably hasn't for most of the time kathleen and i have been in, but it should happen that way. elena: do you worry, as three women who clearly have relationships with each other, with women across the aisle, what does it mean that you don't want to keep doing this? does it worry you about who might replace you? does that keep you up at night? >> i think over the past couple of election cycles, there are more people who want to run and come to washington as performance artists as opposed to legislators. it is how many twitter followers they have, how much money they can make for their campaign, and they don't add anything to the legislative conversation. that's where we are.

social media has overtaken our lives. it is where most people communicate with their followers and constituents. it would be nice for us to remember that being in washington is a privilege. it would be better if people felt the need or had the moral courage to compromise and not see that as a four letter word because that is what has happened. it's unfortunate the last few bills, although bipartisan when they came out of the senate, somewhat bipartisan in the house, but these are bills meant to help americans across the country and it would have been nice to get together. if the pandemic doesn't bring the parties together, what the heck will? i hope people who are coming to washington take this job more seriously and understand the job is to reach across the aisle and get things done and not just

worry about how many twitter followers you have. rep. ros-lehtinen: i find that voters say they like bipartisanship and consensus and negotiated bills, but who did they reward with their votes? rep. rice: that's a good point. rep. ros-lehtinen: it's the extremes who seem to get so much airtime and oxygen. they suck at all out of the room. being a moderate, as i was in the republican party, is not rewarded in your own party. i may be looked upon nicely from the other side but it's never rewarded. both of you are very moderate folks. it's a problem for you. i don't want you to say it's a problem for you, but i know as moderates it's a problem in your party and moderation is a problem in my party as well. we are looking at extremes and voters are voting that way. primaries are tough on a lot of elected officials.

>> can i backup just a little bit? great point, but i also believe the voters do want normal -- i'm going to say normal. the problem is gerrymander really -- is gerrymandering. i think increasingly we should look at ranked choice voting. that's not popular to say in a state like illinois. i am a south stater, where republicans dominate, but illinois is a democratic state. we ought to take a look at that. we desperately need to figure out money in politics. it has become a cliché but it. is a big problem. if we fix gerrymandering and money, i think democracy would matter again. primaries end up setting up for extremists. you come out of the republican

primary, you have to go farther and farther right. with the democratic primary, we are electing farther and farther left people, and it is a problem. i think if we address that, the electorate will do the right thing. i was a journalist for two decades of my life, so i know how a story is put together. frankly the media loves the drama. i remember going back to the newsroom and going, this alder man is fighting with this alderman and that ended up being the first page story. whatever it was done for the parks system and new pay ground -- new playground equipment, that runs deep inside the paper. you look at those three things, and social media, to kathleen's point, and the click bait, those are the ones that get the

attention. those are all problems in our democracy today. elena: we all need to look at the institutions we represent. i am thrilled you mentioned the media. but i am glad you mentioned some solutions. that's what i was going to ask, what are conversations you have privately about how to fix this? ranked choice voting, redistricting, money. the problem is those are pretty tractable issues. before we get off on the challenges, i wonder if you can speak as three high-profile women in positions of power, even though we have seen enormous strides for women gaining entry to congress, we are still at -- still not at 50-50, have not seen a female president. what are challenges you have dealt with that your male colleagues have not? rep. ros-lehtinen: i was a florida certified teacher and i still love going to schools as a has been talking about congress.

i ask all the time, how many of you would be interested in running for congress? there are very few young women, 11th and 12th graders, who raise their hand. they don't see this as a viable career choice. for today's generation, that is not a career path. it's not attractive for them, and i think it's because of the noise and infighting and vitriolic language and nastiness. we need to do something to make it more attractive so that younger generations of women leaders find this to be a good career -- or not a career, just something you do for a few years. you have to have a service heart to want to do good for your community and they don't see politics as doing that. >> i totally agree.

running for office doesn't just impact you as the individual, it brings your family into it. it has gotten more toxic, not just for the individual candidate. it's hard to put your name on a ballot and ask people for your boat, but it's that much harder for the families, siblings, children of those people running for office. how do we ensure that women -- although i think ily is right that they don't see this as a viable path long term. one of the reasons i think women feel that way, putting aside the toxicity that is our political environment, is they don't have the financial infrastructure that men have had for decades to even be a viable candidate for public office. shary says we have to deal with the outsize impact of money on

politics. put the pack money aside. who is running and printing literature, that takes money. because women are so far behind as ceos, cfos, venture capital, private equity, they don't have the network rolodex to make themselves viable because money is what does that. that has to change as well. rep. bustos: i was cochair of recruitment nationwide to recruit candidates in the 2016 cycle. it was clear there was a distinct difference in genders when you were recruiting. women would typically immediately go to families -- kathleen, your point. how is this going to impact my family? then they would get to, how do you take all public criticism?

men, you almost -- this is out of the 2016 cycle -- you almost never hear that. i launched something called build the best and paid for it out of my leadership pac because i don't women want to have to pay anything to be trained on how to win. i focused on recruiting women, young people, and people of color, because those are the three areas i saw we were having the most difficulty. i run this in 2016 and we have trained 400 some people, half of whom have run for office, and half of those have won, many in very tough races. i'm going to continue that after i leave congress because i think there is a need. it could be franchised in any state in the country. we just had angie craig's

campaign out of minnesota. they are going to take that over in minnesota. i am a midwesterner so i typically focus in the midwest and i think we have our own unique politics. we need more of that. when i speak to any young group, i always referred them to a book called the four agreements. one of the agreements is, don't take things personally. if i could give advice especially to women, it is that. ily and kathleen and i would end up in the corner balled up if we read all of our social media. rep. ros-lehtinen: never read the comments was my motto.

nothing good can come of that. just like we have an amazing leader like cheri bustos who started this on her own, we have on the republican side elise stefanik, who was not happy the gop was not helping gop women candidates enough because they usually involve -- usually lose the primary. our code was we get involved when they leave the primary. she started to help women candidates, whatever your views were, republican, liberal, conservative. now finally our party has gotten the memo and are helping more. sometimes our own internal rules about when to get involved and we need outside groups to do it for us to help women candidates get through the primary, or else we will never get up to par in the gop. elena: congresswoman bustos mentioned advice she would give,

don't take things personally. i wonder if the other two of you would share some advice. what would you tell incoming women in sunny 23 -- in 2023? rep. rice: i agree with cheri you can't take things personally. but i always say two things. if someone asks you to run, say yes. don't think about it because if you do, you will never say you will. number two, a motto of a family member of mine, feel fear and do it anyway. there is a lot fear in this world and politics, but acknowledge the fear and say, i'm going to do it anyway. whatever is worth having is worth working hard for. politics is hard, especially now, but that doesn't mean you should say, i can't do it.

don't beat yourself before you throw your hat in the ring and don't let other people define your potential. rep. ros-lehtinen: so often we put on our own breaks, put obstacles in front of us and say we can't do this, i'm not ready. be assertive, fake it till you make it. studies have shown if there is a job qualification and there are 10 things you have to have, a male will say, i have two, i can do this job. a female will say, i only have seven, not 10, i can't apply. we need to be assertive, put your foot out there, raise your voice, and be loud. don't wait for somebody else to be tooting your horn, nobody else is going to do it for you. elena: what are some candidates you guys are keeping your eyes on who you think are going to be inspiring, exciting, or interesting to watch? any female candidates? >> shout out to nikki but in ski

. i am in springfield right now visiting with my mom where i grew up. nikki is running out of this district so she will represent most of my family outside of my kids and husband and i. i think she is running one of the best campaigns in the country. i am paying close attention because it is in my home state. she is young, only 45, but she returns phone calls. she works the phones and will ask for advice from people. she never makes assumptions that someone will be for her without her hard work going into it. she is raising the money she needs to raise to be successful. she is not a showoff, not a

click bait type of person, not a performative politician. she is going to do the hard work. it's not an easy district. i hope and pray she wins but she is putting in the hard work. that's the race i am keeping my eye on the closest and i'm the most excited about in the nation. rep. rice: i'm going to put in a plug for the woman i hope is going to take my seat, laura gilly. she won town supervisor. the town of hempstead in my district is the largest town in the country, over 8000 people. she ran a race four years ago where she became the first democrat to be supervisor of hempstead in 100 years. she was up against a republican town council.

she has a backbone of steel. i think i made it look easier than my district is. we are redistricting, it has supposedly gotten a little better. in a year like this where every democrat who was on the ballot lost. one of our colleagues right now is a republican from new york on long island, running a very aggressive campaign for governor. i think that's going to help down ballot races especially on long island. laura gillen, she has a mother of four, which is amazing to me being a mother of none. i don't know how you guys do it. she is running a really tough race doing what she needs to do and i hope she is successful. rep. ros-lehtinen: i want to give a shout out to to our lieutenant governor, jeanette nunez, a young hispanic female who is our present lieutenant

governor, if everything goes well on election day may be our governor will be running for president. this would be a step up for jeanette. she is a former state rep. talk about battle tested, she has been. florida is a top state and she would make a great governor. let's hope a latina takes over that spot. she is president of the lieutenant governor's association and is terrific. keep your eye on her. elena: thank you for those suggestions. we are going to watch closely on election night. i can't close a political event without asking a newsy question. you are still in the primes of your careers. is there a world in which you would consider running for some political office again? i got to ask.

>> 17 years is enough. rep. ros-lehtinen: 30 years and seven in the state legislature before that. been there, done that, moving on. rep. bustos: we have all had careers before we went to congress. i was on city council in a great big town of 21,000 people. i represented one ward which made my clinical base 3000 people. went from representing 3000 two 700,000 overnight. my mom is very ill, but she always said growing up to never say never. i can tell you right now it is not something i am planning on, but i believe in public service to my core and part of recruiting women and young people to run is talking about

how we can change the world through public service. there is a lot of ways you can serve and i'm looking for how that looks in my next career. kathleen is trying to navigate what she is doing next, ileana has done that, working for a good firm and making a difference in government relations. i am navigating that now. one thing i will be involved with, the council for responsible social media. it is led under a group called issue one, a think tank in washington, d.c. it's goal is looking at social media, how are we going to make sure our next generation of kids are not so adversely affected by what's happening on social media? how are we going to make sure social media helps preserve, strengthen our democracy rather than tear it apart?

that's not something where i am going to make a lot of money but it is something i am interested in. as i look ahead to whatever my future holds, i hope it will be a combination of public service, and i got to mako living. i am married to the sheriff of our counties so it's not like we are independently wealthy. i got to figure out how i am going to make a living and make a difference. rep. ros-lehtinen: cheri and kathleen have such a bright future. they are wonderful young leaders and still have a lot of spunk. they have a servants heart so we need them involved. elena: congresswoman ros-lehtinen, i know you are working as a lobbyist and that is keeping you busy. congresswoman rice, anything you want to share about your next chapter? rep. rice: to be determined. i am taking my time. i have been in public service for 30 years, but i am excited

for my post congressional life. elena: thank all three of you for joining us. it was such a thrill to talk to you. i know we are going to be missing you in the halls of congress and certainly the relationship you have built, i hope that serves as a pattern for others for how to work together. i know the congressional softball team is going to miss you guys. maybe by not having a few of you , it will make it easier for the press to win again next year. thank you to everyone who joined us on the livestream. if you would like to stay up-to-date on womenrule and continue to follow our -- [inaudible] coverage related to women and politics and power, sign up for our newsletter at politico.com. [no audio]

>> tonight, more from campaign 2022 on c-span. we start with live coverage of the illinois u.s. senate debate between tammy duckworth and her republican challenger kathy selby. hosted by wttw tv, this begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. at 9:00 p.m., we go to alaska where mary peltola defends her u.s. house seat against two republican challengers, sarah palin and nick begich. at 10:00 p.m., senator maggie hassan debates republican don bile duct in new hampshire's u.s. senate race. watch these debates tonight on c-span, our mobile app c-span now, or online at c-span.org.

>> election day, november 8, starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern, watch c-span's live election night coverage to see which party will control congress. here are the results as they happen from house, senate, and governor races from across the country. see victory and concession races on c-span, the free mobile app, and at c-span.org/campaign2022. congress returns for legislative work after the midterm elections on monday, november 14. lawmakers continue talks on the house and senate floors to fund the government through next year. current funding is set to expire on december 16. the senate will continue debate on senate programs and policy administration and vote on president biden's judicial nominations. watch live coverage of the house and senate. you can also watch on our free video app, c-span now, or online at c-span.org.

c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you think this is just a community center? it is way more. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 unity centers to create wi-fi enabled spaces so students from low income countries can get the tools they need. comcast supports c-span as a public service, along withhe other providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> now to a debate for connecticut's fifth congressional district. the candidates discussed abortion rights, transgender athletes, and inflation. the nonpartisan political report with andy walter rated the race a tossup, changed from liens democrat.