This was a bit of a do over. There was any knowledge and and knowledge meant an acknowledgement the first time was a misstep. Wasought the herrera dress nice. Of the lastnd one. It was such a surprise. One of the things she does quite well, one of the reasons people are eager to see what she is going to wear, is because she does not just go with design houses that have been around for decades. Brendan mackerel hasnt even been in business for more than a year. Wore before, had not been in business very long. That is really nice to see. She is supporting Small Businesses. In the true sense of the word. Thank you for your time. And tonights state dinner dress versace. R such a tweeting, she looks flawless. Ceis comes from the versa fashion house. The first lady has had a major impact on the fashion industry. , following anlue appearance by the first lady, was 14 million. The dresses often sell out immediately. This diplomatic art. She tries to think about the diplomacy aspect. Robin said it best. When you are honoring a certain country, she looks for a designer that might have a british background in their history. Versace. N, is a wonderfully talented in doing that and looking so beautiful. It was so exciting looking and seeing those dresses. Does she approached designers . Do designers approached the white house . Likes andws what she she is really good at it. On the other side, they are clamoring to dress her. Does she have a stylist . She is a wonderful person who helps the first lady. You can see the work that goes into that. The first lady has a natural style, too. These dresses by these designers are really expensive dresses. Does she pay for them herself or does she paid full price . Yes, she does. To these designers ever donate the dresses . I think they do. I think it is a casebycase basis. Did they go to the National Archives . I think that is the plan, maybe going to the obama library. Some of the libraries have their spouses dresses on there we will see after they leave. Why is the designer kept secret . Thats funny. Watching this, that is one of the highlights of working there. Its not like we were getting ready to say ok, guys, what do you think . We all have our headset pieces in and we think, oh she looks stunning, she looks great. She looked gorgeous. All the first ladies do when its happening, i think. Its an exciting time. What about the president . He just wears a tex ito and looks great. Has he worn the same tax the the whole tuxedo time . I am not sure. This is a story i can tell you. We saw the president and the Prime Minister come down the grand staircase. He was getting ready for a state trip to china, his button fell off. We were like, what are we going to do . Around and find some thread and so the button back on. Crisis averted. People were like, what took so long . I will tell you later. Host what was his reaction . Guest its fine, its fine. It all worked out. Look back atake a Michelle Obamas Design Choices and dress choices over the past eight years. Fromt together a montage the cspan archives. Take a look. Host a look back at the first ladies dress choice for the past eight years at the 12 state dinners. Tonight is the 13th state dinner administration, and it is the last. They are honoring italian Prime Minister matteo renzi, who is at the white house with his wife and 400 of their closest friends who have been invited to tonights state dinner. There taking a look back at last eight years and what the approach has been from this administration to the state dinners. Juliana is here with us in studio, former social secretary for the administration. I just went to get your reaction to this. Guest chefi is the tonight. Why a guest chef . Is this unprecedented . Guest i do not know if the obamas were the first to bring in a guest chef or not, but its a great idea, and mario, i wish we could get a sampling of the food. For the one i did for mexico, we had written a less rick and it was wonderful. He fixed an amazing meal and everyone was thrilled. It can be intimidating for these chefs. They prepare wonderful cuisine, but probably not for 200 people that all has to be served t the same time. That is where Chris Comerford comes in, the white house chef, who is just fabulous. I think she loves having these guest chefs. She gets to show them how she does things. She is right there beside them making sure everything gets out on time. The mario was part of preparations. As we were talking, he was sending photos on instagram. Squash. Es of you can imagine the logistics of trying to get hot food out. Guest but they know how to do it. Its like the flight of the butterflies, almost. Its beautiful. Host what is the kitchen like on a night like this . Inst when they do it dinner the state dining room, they have an old family dining room just off the state dining room where they have it all set up. They have the paper down on the floor, stations set and ready to go. It is a huge production. Tables and all the the stations and get it out. Het mario told one reporter wanted to bring his own ingredients and he was surprised when the white house said you cant. What kind of security is there around the president s food . Guest its very secure, of course. The white house has it under lock and key and knows exactly what is coming in and what will be served. Happened once with me, but they understand. Host tonights entertainment, Gwen Stephani will be performing. How many songs will she saying, typically . Guest probably two or three, i would think. They had the state dinner for mexico, beyonce was there, which was great. Host how do they go about deciding who the entertainment is question mark is at the first ladies decision . And thehe first lady president have conversations about it and decide who they would like to come, who the honored guest is a fan of. It goes back to protocol. You know what flowers they like, what do they like, what kind of food they like. Its a research project. Learned about the flowers and food that will be served tonight when we did a state dinner preview. Take a look. Good afternoon. I am the white house social secretary. It is my honor and privilege to welcome you here today for the press preview of the state dinner. Tomorrow, president and mrs. The attackwell come welcome the italian Prime Minister for the 13th and final of thisnner administration. Get into the delicious cuisine we plan on serving, i want to tell you about the decorah. Tomorrows dinner will be taking place on the south lawn in a tent covered in chandeliers and mirrored cocktail tables to reflect the beautiful bouquet and candlelight. We will have handmade glassware as well as neoflorentine handpainted goldleaf charcoal. You to theay a thank many people who put this together. As you can imagine, we have a huge team of folks who help, including the secret service, the military office, the state executive, the office, the white house communication agency, and the security council. Executiveand i cannot do any os without my fabulous social office team who are here today, who are going to introduce themselves. Quakes hi there. I am lauren kelly, deputy social secretary, originally from des moines, iowa. I am the deputy associate director in the social office, and i am from the bay area. I am also deputy associate director in the social office. I am originally from new york city. I am a deputy associate director in the social office and i am from silver spring, maryland. [indiscernible] and i am from indianapolis, indiana. Is working to make the visit so wonderful for you tomorrow. Without further a do, i will send it over to charlie from the security council. Quakes could afternoon, everyone. I am the specialists could afternoon, everyone. I am be a special assistant to the director , everyone. Ernoon i am a special assistant to the director for european affairs. The official visit and state dinner to honor the Prime Minister and his wife provides an opportunity for the president to build on a strong betweenship that exists the United States and italy, as well as to build on the strong, personal friendship that the president has built with Prime Minister renzi over the last few years. The president sees this as a very important meeting and an opportunity to reciprocate for the hospitality that the prime both to the shown president as well as to his family and italy. Wants to essentially demonstrate the strength of the relationship with italy, as well as to get behind and put wind in of sales of someone sails someone he sees as one of the most promising politicians in europe. The president and Prime Minister sher a great deal of common ground. Prime minister renzi is in the some very important political and Economic Reforms in italy, attempting to streamline the political system and make it more effective. He is attempting to boost growth in employment through structural reforms. These are issues the president and Prime Minister will discuss tomorrow, and the president strongly supports the efforts of the Prime Minister to undertake these reforms. I think president obama also sees in Prime Minister renzi someone who is very important to the future of europe. It goes without saying that europe has faced tough times over the last couple of years. Sluggish growth, the migration , a moregee crisis aggressive russia, and all of this has combined to create an undercurrent of populism and besteu sentiment, perhaps exemplified by the recent vote in the United Kingdom to move toward an exit from the eu Prime Minister renzi is someone who believes in a strong and integrated europe. He is someone who has laid out an agenda in conversations with his european counterparts about how to revitalize the european project, realogy demise it, brief new life into it. Relegitimate it, breathe finn to it. His progrowth agenda is one life intoobama new it. His progrowth agenda is one president obama supports. This is a topic that will be at the center of the discussions tomorrow. Let me briefly run through what i think the conversation will focus on. First, reforms domestically in italy, but also within europe to help drive forward the project of integration, to speak to the needs of average europeans, to boost growth, to bring down unemployment, particularly among. Uropean youth there will obviously be a conversation about the ongoing migration crisis. The situation in the aegean has improved. Be oncus tomorrow will the central mediterranean, where we continue to see migrants coming. There will be a discussion of how to address that crisis in an orderly and humane way. There will be a discussion of the cooperation between the United States and italy on everything from the counter isil campaign to defense cooperation in nato and the efforts by europeans and americans to advance the fight against terrorism. , i expect there to be a conversation about the ongoing conflict in ukraine and how the United States can work with italy and at least european address a europe that is confronted with a more aggressive russia. I will now turn things over to. He executive pastry chef susan good afternoon, everyone. My name is susan morrison. Almost everybody calls me susie. I have a desert in my hand that is a flaky and ellicott crust delicate crust filled with a tender batterer and lightly poached green apple. And a a caramel sauce soft crumble top tube with a topped withelato a buttermilk gelato. In keeping with the theme of the have a handmade dessert creation made of chocolate and poured sugar that includes a chocolate pumpkin , and of course we have to have a little chocolate beehive. Pastryiature selections include a pumpkin iramisu,y tart, term 80 chocolate fig leaf, and an orange a chocolate fig leaf, and an orange slice. Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am the white house executive chef. The state dinner tomorrow will celebrate our fall harvest and a lot of italian dishes that have been embraced in our american cuisine. As part of the canapes we will be passing, we will have smoked rainbow trout, roasted figs from california, some wonderful basil , crab cannoli, how much he from hawaii, a dish from sweet and sour eggplant. We have some rosemary that came from the garden. Our objective is to utilize as much as we have from our fall garden harvest. For the main course, we are doing a classic italian dish in aan american beef ancote. Pe it is kind of a 10 minute diversion of the normal flank of a that version normal flank steak that would be praised for hours. We have a Butternut Squash and pumpkin finished off with a cheese from new york. For the first course, we are serving a sweet potato onion motif that has been garnished with a wonderful Monterey Jack and wenoma, california, have used a lot of wonderful all of oils that are part of sonoma county, california. I think thats it for dinner. Right . [indiscernible] [laughter] hello, everybody. And i ams mario c helping to make the dinner tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do. Our day is full. I brought you a taste of one of the dishes we are making. I am going to pass it around. I am proud to be here. I am proud to be an american. Celebrity chefs and restaurant tour mario vitali surprising the media, giving them a taste of the state dinner tonight. Its underway at the white house and we have coverage of it here on cspan for all of you. We showed you the north portico arrival and the descending down the grand staircase. Toastt is the traditional the two leaders will be giving each other. We will try to bring that to you live if we can hear on cspan. In the meantime, Julianna Smoot is with us in studio to talk about the last eight years as social secretary. Lets talk about the seating arrangement. Who decides who is sitting where and by whom they are sitting . Compromise is a huge as well. If you have planned a wedding or a dinner party where you have talkative guests and not talkative guests, you have to take that into account. The tables seat eight. Generally, the president and first lady like to have couples sit together. Theould be that they sit at same table, which would be fine. You would have couples together. A couple of italians and a couple of americans, government leaders at each table, and then you would stick them in with, you know, the regular people. Gwen stephani, if she were going to eat. You do aut number of friend through his for that. You do a number of run throughs for that. Somebody cancels last minute or has an rsvp at the last minute, there are lastminute glitches, but you need to start the seating chart probably three days ahead of time to get it going. There is no panic like not having the seating chart. Host some of the regular folks tonight include chance the rapper, who tweeted this out. Also, frank ocean tweeting. Showing off his footwear for the evening. Fromt lots of questions reporters about why he decided vans this evening. It would be interesting to know. Hat table they are sitting at in terms of choosing the plate where, the glassware, what are those conversations like . There are all different kinds of china you can use for state dinners. Sometimes it depends on what you are serving. If you are having a red sauce, you might not want to put it on an orange bordered china. A matter of figuring out how many people are coming. My last state dinner, i wanted to do finger bowls. I thought that would be so great. The butlers said it could be a bit of an issue because people dont use finger bowls. You would have to explain it at every table. So we decided not to do it. But it was interesting. Of course, coming up, the president and Prime Minister will toast each other and talk italythe u. S. Relationship, something the president has done many, many times over the last eight years. Here is a look back at all of the toasts he has given in 2000 since 2009. Mr. Obama i want to close with the words your first Prime Minister spoke at that midnight hour on the eve of Indian Independence because those words speak to our hopes tonight. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, the opening of opportunity to the great triumphs and achievements that await us. The past is over, and it is the future that beckons us now. And yet, we know that life is , as the extraordinary writer wrote in one of his poems. You must deserve your dream. Chinesed there is a proverb that says if you want one year of prosperity, go green. Grosgrain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people. So i propose a toast. Tonight we honor angela merkel, not for being denied her freedom or even for attaining her freedom, but for what she achieved when she gained her freedom. Politics determined to lead a united germany. The first german chancellor in german history and an eloquent voice for human rights and dignity around the world. This evening, i want your country to know what korea has meant to america. [speaking korean] of our alliance, i think, is embodied in the concept that is uniquely korean. It doesnt translate that easily, but it reflects the affection and bonds of the heart that cannot be broken and grow stronger with time. To her majesty the queen on her diamond jubilee. To our dear friends david and on the great purpose and design of our alliance. We remain, now and always, faithful servants. Cheers, everyone. Toast. I propose a to our friend and partner, president hollande, to all of our friends here today. France,. Bless america, and long live the alliance between our great god bless america, and long live the alliance between our great nations. Just as you say in china that the sea excepts 100 rivers , our countryivers thetronger when we accept diversity and views and contributions of all of our rivers. A alliance between the United States and canada. To our friends, justin and sophie. Americansship between and canadians. The spirit that binds us together. Abidingine, deep, and respect for each and every human being. Cheers. If you have visited any of these nordic countries, everything is orderly. Everything is clean. Everybody is well behaved. Even prompted a bestselling book called the almost nearly perfect people. There were some shockers. Apparently, nordic people can aboutto heated arguments which country is happiest. That, as wender pursue a more peaceful and prosperous order in the asian pacific, our partnership is strategicmore than interests. We are bound together by family and friendship, the dedication of our men and women in uniform flying across the skies, the excitement of our students and entrepreneurs who crossed the oceans to learn and work with each other, and the leadership of a son of singapore who is respected around the world and a trusted partner to the United States. Host president president obama giving the traditional toast. A are honoring italy Prime Minister matteo renzi. Julianna smoot, what goes into the toast . Who writes these toasts . Who gets to have input on them . Juliana they are so eloquent, and the president does them so well, so he ultimately decides. But the speechwriters, the nsa, and the staff in the white house held put that together, and he is great delivering it. Organization the behind the toast. What goes into that, the protocol and the logistics of it . That is through the department of state. Do a the toast they toast, we do a toast, and we know where the glass is. See sometimes he has a different glass than what the leader might have. Orchestratedy well. There is a walkthrough prior, too, so they know what to do. Greta we are waiting on the toast. That will be coming up shortly. But as we wrap up our conversation with you, Julianna Smoot, what advice would you give to the next administration about president obama and Michelle Obamas of which to state dinners, and approach to state dinners, and what would you pass along to the next administration . Ianna i am proud to be an american, but i will i am very proud to watch the state dinner. The folks did such a great job. The great thing is it is bipartisan, or nonpartisan. When you get out of the white house or get to the white house, it is amazing how wonderful the staff is. They will let you know, president bush did it well this way. We figured this out with him. We figured this out with president obama. Thathere is previous staff will be more than willing to help for the next administration. Italy also gave remarks. President obama good evening, everybody. On behalf of michelle, and myself, welcome to the white house. And welcome to the final state dinner of my presidency. [applause] president obama in the immortal words of a great italianamerican, yogi berra, it aint over till it is over. We have a wonderful evening ahead of us as we celebrate the Great Alliance between the United States and italy with our great friends. Prime minister matteo renzi and landini. Se is ae to say this remarkable crowd. At first, i was little nervous about this dinner. Is called the scrapper. The demolition man. Here. Berto bengini is as any italian and they will say the dinners can get animated. Michelle said to think of this as a typical italian sunday dinner. Remindedwe are american democracy has been graced by the touch of italy. Men arearation that all was penned by Thomas Jefferson and penned by his shared by his friend from florence. We stand by the Lincoln Memorial brothers. E work of sometimes, a president ial campaigns can seem like dantes inferno. [laughter] [applause] all went obama most of see the spirit of italy and friendships between our people in so many proud Italian Americans. I suspect many of you are thinking of your own families. Parents, grandparents, greatgrandparents who left the who gave everything that they had for the next generation so they could succeed. Your presence here shows america an where if you work hard, you can make it if you try. Even if we are not italianamerican, we can isebrate that mike piazza finally me Baseball Hall of fame. I want to thank my great friend matteo. He may be the youngest Prime Minister. He makes me feel old, which is unfortunate. I was thee in, h young guy. Theuld see he represented energy and optimism, that energy and values that can carry italy and america forward. Say, i cannot thank you enough for your Excellent Partnership as we have worked to advance the prosperity of our sins. I understand when you were growing up, your mother would tell you stories about Robert Kennedy and end by telling you, fight. You fight for the cause of reform, know that we stand with you. I believe italy and the world will continue to benefit for years to come. What of the reasons i am so makedent matteo will outstanding contributions is he has an outstanding partner. Our wives keep us humble. Atteos first claim to fame when he was just 19 years old was he was on italys version of wheel of fortune. This is a true story. Sweaters ande big whichore were too is an affront to time fashion. Matteo may deny it, but there is video. Giorgio armani is here and he would be ashamed that the italian Prime Minister used to wear things like this. You are not alone. When michelle show was in milan, she spoke to young people about eating slowly and savoring your food. Unlike president obama, who she said sometimes shovels his food down. Which is true. Matteo and iis, both married up. Because of our wives, we eat better, we dressed better, we are better, and we thank you both. [applause] president obama i want to reminisce about my last visit to rome. Tteos ministry of culture, i got to visit the coliseum. You can go there and nobody else is there if you are president. It was late in the day and quiet. Ancientched across the steps, it was a humbling reminder. Each of us is only here for a brief moment. So many of the things we focus on each day, the political ups and downs, the successes and setbacks, those things are fleeting. What matters in the end is what we build. What matters is what we leave behind, the things that will and were after we are gone. The poet virgil reminded us, bold. E favors the that we always be bold. Fortune smiles upon us. Cheers. And with that, let me bring to the stage, the Prime Minister of italy. Matteo renzi. [applause] mr. President , and the first it ismy american friends, an incredible honor. It is incredible to be here with you on this occasion of the last state dinner of president obama. I am really excited. Moment this is a special for the history of this country, as the presidency of president obama was a special moment in the life of this great country. So thank you so much. Thank you. [applause] is also an honor for us. Thank you for the welcome. Im in a difficult situation. It is impossible for me to reply after president obama, this said it is impossible. Can organize after the finish of your service, a dinner in florence. And we can prepare italian ice cream. The best in the world. Fth floor and tying tuscan wine. And we can see if the tomatoes from the white house garden are better than our tomatoes. I know, michelle, your tomatoes are great. After the last week, let me be very frank. Your speeches are better than your tomatoes. Thank you so much. [applause] as prime so much minister and also the father of a young daughter. You know i am a huge fan of you. Your first speech for the president ial run in february, 2007. But when i heard the speech of michelle in philadelphia, i i told, finally, maybe, someone michelle obama. This is good. [applause] but let me conclude with a personal consideration. I love a lot of the history of my country. During the renaissance in students masters and worked together for years to produce masterpieces. The goal is a masterpiece. Endured for have the centuries. A place where the masters and students try to do better. A new generation has a comprehensive vision of the future. This is mr. President , what you have done for us in this. Period. Is eight years is important for the international community, not just the United States of america. Your service was the service of a master of the renaissance. He worked with us to give us an opportunity. We worked together exactly with the spirit. Try to make better. Give a special opportunity to a new generation. Rentine, i think i am very grateful to you for your service. New your message, a lot of ders around the world thank you so much for that, mr. President. Thank you, master of renaissance. In italy there is an expression. It is an expression that comes a particular moment in the dinner or lunch. That comes from latin. Wheat, bread. From these, a lot of things. The values of the table are of sharing. Not only bread, wine, food, but sharing a friendship. I think this is the real relation between the United States of america and italy. We share the same values, the same friendship. Yes, on the table, we share the bread. We share all of the wine. We share above all the future and the common values. For this reason, i propose a toast to president obama. To first lady michelle. Thank you so much for your journey, your incredible service. For the values you inspire. Not only the United States of america but around the world. Thank you, president. Wisconsin Senate Debate between ron johnson and former senator democrat Russ Feingold in a readout of the 2010 race. Later, the indiana Senate Debate between republican congressman todd young and former democratic senator evan by. Cspans washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, Senior Vice President at the university of nevada las vegas on preparations for tomorrows debate. Campbell of the back womens Roundtable Public Policy Network on the organizations voting efforts in key battleground and southern dates. Also, associate professor of history at the university of nevada, las vegas, Michael Green , on historical significance of the final president ial debate. Looks at Media Coverage of the president ial willes and how students participate. Prime policy Group Chairman charlie black talks about how the Republican Campaign strategy conflicts between donald trump and some gop officials, and gop house and senate prospects. Watch cspans washington journal, live at 7 00 a. M. Wednesday morning. Join the discussion. Wednesday, a look at the care acte enrollment prospects for 2017. Sylvia burwell gives an update live at 10 20 eastern here on cspan. Briefing with nancy pelosi, speaking to reporters on capitol hill at 11 30 a. M. Watch cspan live coverage of the third debate between Hillary Clinton and donald trump on wednesday night. Our debate preview from the university of nevada las vegas there that 7 30 p. M. Eastern. The briefing for the debate studio audiences at 8 30 p. M. Eastern and the debate is at 9 30 p. M. Eastern. Stay with us after the debate for viewer reaction and watch the debate live or on the band using desktop, phone, or tablet at cspan. Org. Listen to live coverage with the cspan radio app. Downloaded from the app store or google play. This weekend, on American History tv on cspan3, saturday evening just before 7 00 eastern, ohio state universities Michael Benedict talks about the 1866 Supreme Court case where the court ruled it unconstitutional to try civilians and military court while civilian courts are operating. The milligan trial was part , designed toe prove to the public that the danger was real and that therefore, the military trials were justified. And as we know, it worked. Lincoln won the election of 1864. At 8 00, chad heap on the origins of the gayrights movement. Liberation front is playing on an building on all of the lessons that the whole other array of social and Cultural Movement from this period are. Eveloping the antiwar movement, the civil rights and black power movement, womens liberation movement, they are taking the best aspects of those and building upon them. 6 00 ony evening at american artifacts, we take a tour of the Woodrow Wilson house home, where the president died three years later. He responded to the crisis by sending food aid to armenia. The armenian people were very grateful. A group of armenian women were here in 1917 just after we declared war and presented this painting to president wilson. At 8 00 you like ike, i like ike neil oxman talks about the history of president ial campaign ads, beginning with Dwight Eisenhowers tv jingles. For our complete American History tv schedule, go to www. Cspan. Org. Vice President Joe Biden and secretary of state john kerry posted a luncheon posted a large and for italian prime a luncheon hosted for its italian Prime Minister matteo renzi. [applause] much. Erry thank you very please be seated. Make yourselves comfortable. Azi. I am delighted to offer the best wishes of everybody here to our distinguished guests, the prime wifeter of italy and his and to the entire italian delegation. We are very honored to have you here today. Excited to have you here today. I think you can tell from the reception and the president s comments. Studentas a high school struggling towas recall the latin verbs and i was thinking very unkind thoughts and i never imagined a day like this would come where i would be introducing the Prime Minister of italy. Here we are and we hope everybody feels very much at home. , more than a few lovers of italian wine. Provided you get a moment to drive around washington, you will see statues of dante, st. Christopher, st. Francis. Glance at a dollar bill and you fromencounter a quote virgil. Continent is named for a native of florence. You visit almost any College Campus on a friday night and you will see a toga party. [laughter] if you had turned on American Television set just two nights ago, you would have seen the secretary of state portrayed by dynamic individual, smart and leoni. Oking, named tea our chef is the Culinary Genius behind one of americas finest restaurants in chicago and he is of thenguished member American Chef corps. They travel overseas to help win hearts and minds and stomachs and friends for america. He is known throughout the country for his appearances on tv, on the tv show top chef masters. I ask everybody join in and say thank you. [applause] last time, i had the privilege of seeing the Prime Minister was in new york a few weeks ago and i was privileged to present him with the prestigious Global Citizen award. I know everybody here agrees that honor was richly deserved. The Prime Minister is the youngest person ever to be chosen as italys head of government. He is renowned for his highenergy, dynamic ideas, his commitment to economic reform. Anybody who heard his comments this morning at the arrival ceremony heard this presence, this vision and you could feel the energy, the commitment, and the passion about it. He has shown a graceful and difficult leadership in responding in humane ways to the global refugee crisis. Of course, none of the should be surprising because after all, he did go to graduate school in massachusetts. [laughter] we are delighted to welcome him. Ere on an official state visit this is the first state visit by an italian Prime Minister in 20 years and his visit could not come at a more prestigious time spit. Natowo nations are allies. We are partners in Training International peacekeepers and Security Forces and we stand sidebyside in the fight against terrorist groups trying to destroy the very civilization roman lawmakers, philosophers, to artists did so much create. On climate change, we have both come down squarely on the side of Mother Nature and for decades, we have engaged in joint projects related to the study and exploration of space, which was invented by galileo. The study, that is, not space itself. [laughter] italy is hosting 30,000 members of Americas Armed forces and 30,000 u. S. Students. Our total twoway trade has reached 80 billion annually and american tourists cross the atlantic in droves to sample italys unique and astounding cultural heritage, to take part in events such as last years milan expo. We are glad to have the commissioner here. We also know there are an awful lot of people playing the golian version of pokemon these days. 17 million americans probably claim italian heritage and a lot of them are with us this afternoon. I am confident that with the Prime Minister setting the policy and round and the president setting the policy in rome, and the president singled out in what is the more interesting conversations we have shared because it was serious and observant, thoughtful and sensitive and visionary. Howybody here knows challenged europe is right now. The president could not of been more clear in singling out the Prime Minister of italy, matteo renzi, for the singular role he is playing and will play in the future as we go forward. The president was very clear about the sense of responsibility the prime and mr. Has because the Prime Minister has. We all care about the bonds that exist between italy and the United States but i want to share with you a special and more personal reason for my sense of that bond. My father passed away in 16 years ago any and he was consistently posted through europe. During that time, when i was the young kid, i picked up enough italian to get by. Of 82, my dad did something a little bit of extreme. He decided to polish up on the language you love the most and he moved into a dorm at Dartmouth College where he was the oldest student by several decades. He took a course and passed it. He wanted to learn more. A few months later, he went to florence where he arranged for an elderly woman, relative to his 82, to cook his meals and to speak italian with him. When the woman started talking, my father decided he had begun to manage the language. It wased, thinking only then that he realized to his absolute dismay that the woman was complaining about her doctors. I just remind all of you it takes a little while. Let me try a little bit in retrospect here. [speaking italian] ladies and gentlemen, rome is known as the eternal city. I want you to join me now in a toast to what i am confident will be the eternal friendship between the United States of america and the italian people and to the leader of the government of italy, Prime Minister matteo renzi. Vice President Biden ladies and gentlemen, john just read my speech. [laughter] i cannot speak italian but i know how to love in italian. Irish but i am not slow. [laughter] what, i will not tell you actually. [laughter] minister, this lunch and this dinner are the hottest tickets in this town. This may be the last state luncheon and state dinner the butident has and we have, as the president said today, he saved the best for last. Such an incredible love of italy here in this country. The are millions, 17 million americans claiming italian heritage, and a couple of italian and a couple of Irish Catholic guys claiming italian heritage. And moved to this steel town in delaware. It was predominately italian. I was the only guy whose name did not end in a vowel. What happened was, i just want you to know, i overcame it. In thee only nonitalian 104yearoldeet by the sonse named of italy. Mothergot the award, my was there. , a guyd a friend of mine like tommy a guy named tommy lewis. Tommy was italian. I called him before i was going to prepare my speech. Remind me of some of the guys we grew up with. He went down the list and i realized everybody i grew up with is italian. I named all of the people i grew up with. I said, the more i thought about it, the more i deserve this damn award. The passion and commitment and pride of the Italian Community are worn on my wifes sleeve and grandparentss and that it is the same passion and pride reflected in the 17 million Italian Americans. We are one of the few countries in the world where we have hyphenated everything. It is a deep affection. I got elected to the United States senate john and i were reminiscing earlier. We have known each other since 1972 when we both ran for office. Is a bige state, there Italian American area called little italy. It. Ian immigrants built it always had voted republican. When they all came, like a lot of big cities, the city happened to be controlled by the republican party. I justted a job want you to know that i got and ind by the community my home state of delaware, i am the first one to win the community. I only won by 3200 votes as a 29yearold kid and i got over 87 of the vote in the Italian Community. That is when they changed my name to bidneno. [laughter] my son recently, we chose the Italian American community to have his mass. Thousands of people the reason i mentioned that, the one thing about the italianamerican community, my mother used to have an expression. She would look at you and say, joe, remember, you are defined by your courage and redeemed by your loyalty. That is the best description of the italianamerican community i can think of. One of the most loyal and steadfast communities in the United States of america and i am proud [applause] , i had four pages of all we had worked together on but i would be remiss if i did not speak to our ambassador and his wife. John, you have done an incredible job for us. My family is incredibly indebted for 40 years, i , 14 of us,ire family we went to nantucket every thanksgiving. When we lost our son, no one had the courage to go back. John offered the residents in italy. I was able to bring my five grandchildren to see your magnificent country. I have been many times but it was amazing, an amazing experience. To show you this mans hospitality, we were supposed to meet and it was over that i was and he said prepared to go to his office. He met me at the residence. The Prime Minister of italy came to see me because he wanted to extent his condolences and wanted to extend his friendship. Today, i have been to every single head of state meeting the president has had in the oval office. I did not recall the president ever speaking in such personal terms a. He pointed out that he and john and i and many of us are more concerned about europe regaining its selfconfidence than we are about the middle east or any other part of the world. The United States cannot conduct its Foreign Policy and have its interest met without a united, confident europe. President is not he does not waste a lot of words. You. Id, we are looking to europe is looking to you to not only lead italy, but to lead europe. Courage. Man with this is a man with genuine vision. This is a man who understands that in politics, no matter where it is, the brave to get rewarded. People do respect integrity. People do respect taking difficult decisions. You have shown incredible tenacity and office. You have never shied away from any tough decisions. You have never back down when things got tough. And you have earned a nickname in italy the scrapper. Increasing protections for the italian lgbt community, establishing samesex unions, making 50 of your cabinet women. You have addressed the issues of the moment and have addressed them with absolute confidence. I am confident our natures our nations will continue to stand together for the future of peace and prosperity. The way you and your wife and your country has embraced the tens of thousands of children fleeing chaos, fleeing from africa, fleeing from libya. Prior to the agreement from turkey, fleeing through turkey. We talk today about your generosity may get you in trouble. So are you have been steadfast. I would like you all to raise iglass to the enduring have to let you guys get a glass. The enduring friendship and partnership between our countries and to wish you and your country incredible good luck. All yours. I really them in a really ammoment i in a difficult moment. I received a great speech from the team. I arrived with it. These two guys incredible as joe and john, it is impossible to make a good speech. You are great speakers. Just dontent biden talk about age. That is all we ask. [laughter] your courage, your , itlty, and your friendship is an incredible gift to us. Thank you so much for the invitation. When iot easy because met with president obama during why donttold him, you organize any visit in italy . Maybe you can visit the pope. The good italian wine. No. Old me organize the last state dinner. This is a great gift. This is a great act of friendship and this is a message. Weiendship is not only have lots of reasons for the great friendship of the past. In italy,hip florence, legend, in this is the point. The real reason of this friendship is not only from the past. Ofry day, we have a lot International Commitments together, International Commitments in afghanistan, iraq, africa. We consider the United States of reference, the clear leader. We will continue to work together. Fight against the culture of intolerance, against the culture of lack of respect. I think wetes need a new effort in these particular moments because we a deviation from our identity. I think i am only one italian who visited delaware. [laughter] i do not know why. Why. Not remember [laughter] not for you, joe. Community the italian in wilmington, they told me, we have a senator. Italian, but it is not italian. Perfect. In 2006, i was the only italian who visited delaware. A very particular moment when john ran for the white house. Values. Eas and a great message for the new generation. The speech was very powerful during the convention. To be here with these guys, it is an incredible privilege. This is not simply a sentimental friendship. We have common values. We will continue to give keep in our hearts these type of values. If your father had 82 years and , thisd to study italian the message is incredible. Message from the American People. Their desire to continue to look at the future in every moment. Martin luther king wrote a great statement. If tomorrow is the last day, i will continue to think about the future. John, thedear sentiment is the same. We cannot look at the past. The past is wonderful and magnificent, but we continue to go in the direction of the future. The same aspirations of your father. Learn from message i we willible continue. [applause] it is not simply a great initiative, a great political initiative. And ideal. Lue thank you so much. Sec. Kerry folks, just before you eat, one moment left. I love the way the Prime Minister gives birth to every thought and word. There are loads of distinguished guests here. I do want the president s cabinet to be represented here. Powell, delighted to have you here. Thank you so much. [applause] i quickly want to thank so many colleagues from the administration coming. Susan rice, National Security advisor. Oniz, the secretary of energy. Our secretary of housing is over here. The head of the Small Business administration. Memberelieve i got every of the cabinet. If not, i will not be in the cabinet anymore. Please enjoy lunch. Italy,eign minister of one of the best colleagues anybody could ask for. He doesnt incredible job and his eighth he does an incredible job and he is a friend to boot. Washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, Senior Vice President at the university of nevada las vegas. On the campbell organizations voting efforts and key battleground and southern states. Associate professor of history at the university of nevada las vegas Michael Green on the historical significance of the final president will debate. Media coverage at the present of debate and how his students will participate. Charlie black talks about the Republican Campaign strategy, conflicts between donald trump and some gop officials. Journal live at 7 00 wednesday morning. Join the discussion. Watch cspans live coverage of the third debate between clinton and trump on wednesday night. The live debate preview starts at 7 30 p. M. Eastern. The briefing for the studio audience is at 8 30 p. M. Eastern. The debate is at 9 00 eastern. Stay with us after the debate for viewer reaction. Watch the debate live or ondemand. Coverage of the debate on your phone with a free cspan radio app. This weekend, on cspan 3, saturday evening, ohio state universitys Michael Benedict talks about the 1866 Supreme Court case where the court ruled it unconstitutional to try civilians and military courts. The milligan trial was part of this debate. Publicd to prove to the and the danger was real military trials were justified. Know, it worked. Ofcoln won the election 1864. At 8 00, the origins of the gay rights movement. Playing on and building on all of the lessons the whole other array of social and cultural minutes from this period are developing. The antiwar movement, the black power movement, womens liberation movement. 6 00,saturday evening at on sunday evening at 6 00, we take it to her of the Woodrow Wilson house a tour of Woodrow Wilson house in washington, d c he sent food aid to armenia. The armenian people were very grateful. A group of armenian women were here in 1917 just after we declared war and presented this painting to president wilson. At 8 00 of the Campaign Group incorporated talks about the history of president ial campaign ads. Complete coverage, go to cspan. Org. A debate between the candidates for wisconsin seat in the u. S. Senate. Ron johnson faces Russ Feingold in a rematch of the 2010 race. Announcer tonight, a wisn 12 news commitment 2016 election special. The u. S. Senate debate. In partnership with Marquette University law school. Wisconsins contest is one of the mostwatched in the nation. That is what this election is about, its about saving this country. Russ feingold trying to win a second term. Trying to win back his old job. The outcome will help determine control of the senate. The candidates on health care, National Security, and the top of their ticket. A 90 minute debate about the direction of the country. Live from the Marquette University law school, here is tonights moderator. [applause] mike good evening, everyone, and welcome to our debate with the candidates for United States senate. Were joining you live tonight from Eckstein Hall at Marquette University law school, where i work as a fellow in law and Public Policy. During the next 90 minutes, well be hearing from the majorparty candidates for u. S. Senate. Incumbent republican senator ron johnson, and his democratic challenger, former u. S. Senator Russ Feingold. Our rules for tonights debate are pretty simple. Its a conversation. Ill be asking the candidates about their views on important issues facing the country. Weve asked them to answer questions directly and concisely, and to stay on point. No filibusters. The candidates can talk to one another, but i will manage the time on any given topic, and will have the freedom to move the conversation along. Toward the end of our broadcast, each candidate will be asked to make a closing statement. So we have a lot to get to tonight, and the first question goes to senator johnson. Senator, thank you for being with us tonight. Same to you, mr. Feingold. Same question to both of you. I think its safe to say that this race, and a number of races, have been somewhat overshadowed by the president ial contest this year. Lets begin by giving the people in this room your take the people watching, and the people in this room, your take on what is at stake here. Mr. Johnson what i think is at stake is the future of this country. Right before president obama got elected, he said in five years, we can fundamentally transform this nation. I could depress this audience listing all the challenges, problems, and threats that face this nation. We have to address those. We have to fix these problems. We need to return to our founding and the poles of a limited government primarily designed founding principles of a limited government primarily designed to protect individual freedom. We need to return to a free market that protects the best price, best quality, and best level of customer service. We have to understand what made this country great. Its the American People, the folks in wisconsin who wake up every day and work hard. They need to be left alone as much as possible and keep as much of their hardearned money as possible. Mr. Feingold i have listened to the people of this state in all 72 counties, and they have told me what that stake. I see it as their decision, what we should really be working on. When i hear his middle income families wondering when they are going to get a little fairness. They feel they cannot pay their bills. Even though people at the top are doing extremely well, wall street is the highest its ever been, unemployment is lower, but their wages are stagnant. They are wondering when they are going to get a minimum wage increase, paid family leave, when is the cost of Pharmaceuticals Going to go down, when are we going to do something about Student Loans . What i see as at stake in this race is standing with the people who are concerned about that. Senator johnson has voted with corporations, billionaires, and multimillionaires who dont see it that way. To me, thats a fair statement about the choice in this race. Mike does the president ial contest have any bearing on the choice in this race . Mr. Johnson listen, i have heard the false attack ads saying i am in the pocket of the business and corporate interest. Listen, i started out making 1. 45 an hour as a dishwasher at a grill. I proud that i have helped build and grow a very successful wisconsin family business. I not only installed the equipment, i operated it. Continuing shift operations. The fact that senator feingold continues to attack and lets face it. This campaign has been one of false attacks. He says he is for the working men and women, the middle class. I am for the middle class. I have been all my life. On this issue, growing our economy, strengthening our security, fighting isis, protecting our borders, fidelity to the constitution, i think we are on the right side of the issue. Mr. Feingold i am confused. Why would senator johnson respond to what i said in that way . All i said was we have different voting records. His voting record is what i said. He votes with corporations. He votes with big business. He votes against the things i talked about. This is not a personal comment. Its something the people of the state have a right to say. Who is this guy going to vote with . Thats the fundamental issue. I think i stand on firm ground that he votes with big interests. Mike you have tried to tie him to donald trump. Is that important . Mr. Feingold i dont know that i have tried. Its not very hard. Senator johnson supports a man for president of the United States who just about everybody in their heart of hearts knows should not be president. He is not qualified. He does not have the temperament. He has gotten where he is by dividing people, saying unfortunate things about latinos and muslims, and his personal conduct seems pretty inappropriate. His colleagues in the senate some of whom are in pretty tough races themselves republicans have said enough is enough. There comes a point. They have all withdrawn support. But senator johnson continues to support him. We need to do what is best for america. That means you distance yourself from somebody like donald trump, who certainly should not be president. Mr. Johnson first of all, every vote i have taken, the way i have conducted myself, is always in the best interests of wisconsin and wisconsin workers. I am beholden to no special interests. When i ran in 2010, i said i would always tell the truth and vote my mind. I was hoping to get a serious president to work with me to tell the American People the truth, address these problems, and fix these problems. That didnt happen, so i am running again. I am on the Homeland Security committee and chairman of affairs, and i want to address these problems. I do not know what senator feingold is talking about. Nor does he, quite honestly. But the fact of the matter is, i have a record of being independent minded. Coming from the private sector, i know how much harder this is. I know how much harder the federal government makes it. He is running for a fourth term. Is he willing to say he will limit himself to four terms . Will it be five . Will it be six . I am the guy who is seriously concerned about this country and willing to vote to solve its problems. Mike i want to followup. In the most recent Marquette Law School poll, 70 of the people polled said they did not believe donald trump showed good judgment. So, tonight, do you think your partys nominee shows good judgment. Mr. Johnson i have been very upfront when i disagree with the candidate. I am not sure the same thing can be said about mr. Feingold. He may be the only candidate who thinks secretary clinton is trustworthy. We have not talked about her decades of lying, her dereliction of duty that cost lives in benghazi, and then lying look at her email scandal. Putting americas top National Security secrets at risk because she is trying to avoid freedom of information laws. We should be asking him about that. Mike he will get that question in a second. Do you think, as your partys nominee has said, that the election is reg rigged . Mr. Johnson i think with the bias of the media, the election is stacked against him. That i dont think its rigged. I think we need poll watchers. I dont want any legitimate vote marred by a fraudulent vote. Its a concern. And its a point to talk about the media almost completely ignoring all of the corruption and lies of secretary clinton. Mike mr. Feingold, let me ask you about your support of your partys nominee, Hillary Clinton. You have said she is reliable and trustworthy. The same poll i reference to said 66 of the people in this state do not think she is honest. How can you support someone the people of this state fundamentally believe is dishonest . Mr. Feingold senator johnson talked did not talk about donald trump, so i am going to talk about him. Senator johnson completely pivoted away from talking about him because he knows its wrong to support him for president of the United States. Senator johnson is an excellent businessman. Theres no way he would have ever hired donald trump at his business or let him run loose in his plastics manufacturing company, because he is any responsible person you cant deal with. So let me first say, you cant have it both ways. You cannot say i am for this guy and distance myself. He has refused to appear with donald trump. Let me answer the question about Hillary Clinton. I have had a number of experiences working with Hillary Clinton. Its a unique opportunity. I worked with her when she was first lady. I remember being with her in wisconsin at a college a while back on the health care issue. I worked with her when she was in the senate. I also worked with her when she was secretary of state what i have said is that in each a counter that encounter i have had with her, she has been reliable and trustworthy. That is my experience. As president , i believe she is good judgment, is tough. We know she is not perfect, but on balance, she is about is qualified to be president of the United States as anyone. Mike to have any concern about the way she has handled the emails do you have any concern about the way she has handled the emails, about her relationship with wall street or her feelings about open borders . Mr. Feingold i have disagreed with her on a number of occasions. I oppose the iraq war. She was for it. I have disagreed with her on Campaign Finance reform. I believe her presidency should be open and transparent. She regrets some of the things she did, and she has been open about it. She is not perfect, but she is so much better than donald trump. Frankly, i think it would stabilize the world. We have a twotier justice system. Thats obvious by the fact that the fbi did not recommend indictment. She would not be confirmed for any position in the United States senate based on what she did with those emails, and yet, senator feingold supports her for president of the United States . What the American People should be suspicious of is a former first lady who leaves the white house and says she is dead broke, and years later, she and her husband have tens of millions of dollars. And a former United States senator who called himself mr. Finance reform mr. Campaign finance reform, all about clean campaigns, and what was the first thing he did when he set up office . Three Political Action committees, 10 million dollars, tried to raise money he said he would spend on candidates. About 5 when on candidates. The rest went to himself and his shadow campaign. Its a moneymaking machine he has raised all kind of money, primarily outside the state of wisconsin, used that to attack me falsely, relentlessly. Lets hope wisconsin actually understands how phony he has been on Campaign Finance reform. Mr. Feingold everything you have heard is simply false. The people of this state know me and know that i am an ethical person, and that is how i have conducted myself. Were talking about the presidency. I dont know how we got off on this. If you care about your family, your kids, unity within this country, the world being a stable place, the only choice is to elect Hillary Clinton. And the idea that you would cause china, france, britain to say what are we supposed to do with someone who changes his mind every five minutes and Vladimir Putin. Senator johnson has basically invited Vladimir Putin to mess with our election. Mike do you want to respond to whether you changed your position on Campaign Finance reform . Mr. Feingold sure. I believe the entire system was gutted by the Citizens United decision in 2010. That allowed corporate and special interests to hide Huge Campaign contributions to overwhelm the political process. Senator johnson loves that system. He has four times more outside independent ads in his campaign than i do. In the past, i was able to maintain a majority of my Campaign Contributions from wisconsin. Now that is not the case because the entire needle has changed. But ask yourself two questions. Who has more support from wisconsin . I do. I have 50,000 contributors from wisconsinites. He says he has 80,000, but he hasnt revealed it. Thats the first thing. The wisconsin support is far greater for me. Who has greater support from outside . Senator johnson. Four times more than my campaign. The question is who is wisconsinbased and who isnt . Clearly, i have more support. Mr. Johnson when he first ran, he said he was going to go to washington and look for outside money. He said he would raise the majority of his funds here in wisconsin. That was his pledge for the future. When you pressed him on that point, he said it was a pledge for this term. Lets face it. He raised 10 million, spent it on himself, paid his campaign staff, paid himself a salary, bought leather bound books, and spent it on candidates. He set up those pacs that he actually tried to outlaw. What we are really talking about between senator feingold and Hillary Clinton, i think the American People are looking for dramatic change. I am a change agent. If you want the status quo, if you think everything is wonderful in washington, d. C. , you will probably support of 34 year career politician like senator feingold. If you want dramatic change. If you want our economy to realize its full if you want dramatic change, if you want our economy to realize its full potential, you should focus me. Mr. Feingold progressives united was created to fight the corporate domination of our political system that senator johnson supports. Yes, it gave contributions to candidates, but that wasnt the main purpose. The main purpose was to raise contributions through emails for candidates directly, which was very successful. Or importantly, it made sure that tens of thousands of emails for example, when Social Security was on the chopping block, progressives united was successful in stopping it. This organization was effective, 100 ethical and effective, and all of the things he has said about it are completely false. But here is the point. He is trying to change the subject from what matters. The families of this state want a senator who is going to vote for things like raising minimum wage and doing something about the cost of pharmaceutical medicine. Mr. Johnson i can quickly close this out. His pacs were moneymaking machines that progressives united sold to the feingold campaign. 70 of his contributions come from outside the state. You can be the judge. Mike do you favor any changes in our Current System and the way campaigns are run . Mr. Johnson we should certainly get back to a system where Campaign Contributions flow into a campaign and are accountable. That is one of the failures of his Campaign Finance reform, a plan that did not work at all. It has been a spectacular failure. Mr. Feingold senator johnson has been in office for six years and has not lifted a finger to do anything to change campaignfinance because he likes it the way it is. He is benefiting enormously from this corruption and hidden contributions that are not reported. He doesnt want to change it. Otherwise, he wanted. I worked on a bipartisan basis with john mccain to do something. That law still stands. Politicians cannot call special interests directly and ask for contributions. If we can overturn Citizens United, which i believe we will in the next few years, the mccainfeingold law will have the effect of preventing these kind of corrupt contributions. And i think congress should pass a law requiring these disclosures. The Supreme Court said we should know where the contributions are coming from. Senator johnson does not support that. He compared it to the naacp not having their membership lists revealed. The people in the state deserve to know where all the money supporting senator johnson is coming from. It wouldnt be pretty. Mike i want to move on to a topic the both of you mentioned in your introductory remarks. It seems like a theme we are going to talk about tonight. Security. There is National Security, Foreign Policy, but there is also economic security. Lets walk through a number of these issues. I want to begin by talking about economic security. This is interesting. Six years ago, we sat in this same room at about the same time in the Unemployment Rate was 7. 8 . Today, its 4. 2 percent. Clearly, the economy has improved from what it was in 2010. But recent surveys say that people feel a growing sense of economic anxiety. A poll said 53 of people feel they are either just getting by or struggling. I will begin with you senator johnson. I guess, a couple of examples you think people in the senate can do to better the lives of people who feel that economic angst. Mr. Johnson first of all, they are feeling reality. During the eight years of the obama administration, wages have stagnated. They are right to feel pinched. Yes, unemployment is lower, but so many people have dropped out of the workforce. Economic growth is the solution to so many of these problems. By the way, this is the slowest recovery since world war ii. Last quarter was 1. 4 Economic Growth. First quarter was. 8 . On average, since the depression, the American Economy has grown by about 3 . Even with the meager Economic Growth we have had since 2009, federal revenue has increased by 1. 1 trillion. All of our Public Policy should be directed toward unleashing the innovation and creativity of americans. We have to reduce the regulatory burden. In my committee, we work to enhance the security of america. Regulatory reform cost about 2 trillion a year to comply with. Theres a big reason. We need to reduce the regulatory burden. When i asked folks in the audience, would you rather have 14,800 feeding massively inefficient government bureaucracy or your paycheck senator feingold supports the growth of regulatory agencies. He supports putting the epa in charge of 92 of wisconsin landmass, which would be devastating for the environment. For the economy. I want to grow the private sector by reducing the size of government. I want to make sure wisconsinites get to keep more of their hardearned money. Mike what would you do to address some of the economic angst . Mr. Feingold i think you deserve an answer. I think this trickledown is not what has happened. As i have gone to all parts of the state, milwaukee, chippewa falls, superior, its not happening. What do we need to do . We need to do the opposite of what senator johnson has proposed. We need to increase the minimum wage substantially. It is at 7. 25. For a family of two or more members, thats below the poverty level. Senator johnson does not support raising it. He has said in the past that he doesnt think we should have a federal minimum wage. Secondly, we need paid family leave. We need to make sure that when you have a child, you have an opportunity to have a few weeks off to bond with that child. That is better for the employer. We could join the rest of the countries in the world who do this sort of thing. It would make a measurable difference to a lot of families. Do you know how worried a lot of people in this state are . They are worried sick about the costs of pharmaceutical medicines. Its overwhelming. Sometimes people have a 400 dose and they are tempted to cut their dosage in half to make sure they can still afford food and rent. I believe we have to allow the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices under medicare. On all of these measures, he has zero specifics because he will only stand for those things the corporations will allow. Mr. Johnson on your show, when you asked about his proposal to raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour, economists say that would cost 6 million to 7 million jobs. There are serious consequences. As far as allowing medicare to negotiate prices, we have Medicare Part d. We have a singlepayer Government Run Health Care system that governor that senator feingold once for all of the economy. They only have access to about 82 of drugs. Medicare has access to about 95 of drugs because they allow different providers to negotiate the prices. The cbo director says negotiation by medicare or would save negligible amounts of cash amounts of money. Concentrate on some dislocations by raising the minimum wage to 15 an hour is callous. Senator feingold this from a senator who doesnt believe we a minimum wage that comes up to the poverty level. 123 billion, it would save they foster hard to make sure the seniors were not have the gap in their coverage. He has voted to open up that donut hole again. What do you tell a senior in this state who is scared about prescription medicine . He says there is really nothing we can do about it. Mike what do you tell a senior in this state who is desperately scared about their prescription, well, there is nothing we can do about it . Mr. Johnson i have provided hundreds of wisconsinites with middle income jobs. I dont think anybody should apologize for working hard and succeeding. How you succeed and grow an economy is get the government out of the way. Reduce the regulatory burden. We have to have a competitive tax system. Senator feingold has endorsed the policies of president obama. He could not pass laws through legislation, so he is passing those policies through regulation, circumventing congress. We need to reduce the regulatory burden, have a competitive tax system, and keep wisconsin workers competitive. We all want to maintain a clean environment. The fact of the matter is the policies senator feingold promotes make wisconsin workers less competitive and global workers more competitive, and costs us jobs overseas. Senator feingold lets be very clear. This is very simple. Senator johnson paid himself for time at his company after he went to the senate, and he described that as reasonable. He doesnt think raising the minimum wage 7. 25 is a reasonable. The people of wisconsin should see that. Senator johnson i have provided good paying jobs, and thats a fact. 13 years where i did not take a salary and let the money build in the business so it would build and create additional jobs. Its sad. My business provided great paying jobs, careers. Some of those people are still with me after 30 years. I dont know why he has a problem with a successful family manufacturer that exports to all countries. Ill think anybody should have to apologize for working hard and succeeding. He seems to do that. By the way, i have never suggested we not have a minimum wage. I would be happy to look at proposals. I am not supportive of dramatic increases that cost Families Jobs and opportunities. P is for that and he calls
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