Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20150526

Order arms. Present arms. [drum roll] [taps] order arms. Ladies and gentlemen the ring ceremony is only great wrceremony this morning will take place. [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen please stand and remain standing. The command chaplain, joined force headquarters, and the United States Army Military district of washington. Major general, jeffrey s buchanan, commanding general united dates army, military district of washington. Mr. Patrick callahan, executive director, Army Military cemeteries program. General martin id. See chairman, joint chiefs of staff. Dempsey, chairman, joint chiefs of staff. The honorable ashton carter, secretary. Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the chaplain. I invite you all to pray with me. Almighty god, we gather today across america, very mindful of the cost paid for the freedom we enjoy. We gather on these Hallowed Grounds particularly to remember and to honor, with singular devotion, men and women of ignoble claylike like ours who rose above their human condition with noble hearts and steadfast will. Despite the brevity or of security of their lives dignified our humanity and the profession of arms, by choosing to stand for something. Who declared with their actions that preserving freedom was a cause to live for, to serve for, and even to die for. Bless our commemoration here and all of its participants, maintenance of servants render honor to those who remember we remember. For what they gain, they deserve more than we can give. We ask you lord, to bestow upon them the gift that this world cannot give. Grant of the peace that they felt so elusive in this life and let that peace be full and everlasting. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen please join the United States marine band in joining our National Singing our National Anthem. O say can you see by the dawns early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous night, oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming . And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; o say does that starspangled banner yet wave, oer the land of the free and the home of the brave . [applause] please be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, general dempsey. [applause] general dempsey thank you very much. Let me begin by thanking the president s own and mastery Gunnery Sergeant who did that rousing rendition of the anthem. Give them one more round of applause. [applause] general dempsey mr. President secretary carter, fellow americans, good morning and welcome. We come together in this anointed place on this appointed date to honor our fallen warriors, those champions of freedom who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. I especially want to thank their families on behalf of the men and women of our armed forces. I want you to know that you are always in our hearts. We along with a grateful nation reminded remain inspired by your strength and remarkable courage, and i want to make special mention of my teammates for the tragedy assistance program. They are celebrating their good grief camp. God bless you guys. [applause] general dempsey i am often asked my fellow countrymen and women how to properly honor our fallen. They wonder how they can best pay tribute to those laid to rest beneath our flag, so that we may stand freely beside it today. I tell them simply to remember. Our great nation is set aside to date for this very purpose to remember. To remember how are followed stood with courage and to memorialize their devotion to america and to our principles. But the sun will set on this day and disappear behind foothills of virginia, and in the morning when it rises over the potomac emma watson . What then . What should we do . Tomorrow, we resumed lifes daily routines, take a moment to think of the families who will return home and leave their loved ones here in the sacred place think of these families home and abroad with unmarked graves abroad and in the blue seas. Think of the empty chair at the dinner table and the one less voice of laughter in their house. Next week, next month, what should we do that . Remember. When you see the starspangled banner flying over your Childs School committing a moment to consider those men and women who gave their lives make america great. Upon seeing a purple heart license plate or hearing the National Anthem at a sporting event will take a moment to think of those who did not survive their wounds, we did not return home, who can never again salutes the flag or share the freedoms we experienced each and every day. These are the acts of remembrance, daily rituals of reflection handed down to us by families of the fallen for generations. Remembrance, like love and trust, only truly exists interactions. It is not a place we visited, or a simple sentiment, rather it is a debt of attitude that shapes the way we live our lives. Let us pledge today to make a have of these acts of remembrance as an example for the generations that follow. A year from today, on the last monday of may, we will reconvene on this Hallowed Ground to reaffirm our promise to always remember. May god give rest to our fallen, and are missing. Assaulted solace to their families and less into the United States of america. Thank you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, listen now as the United States marine band performs america the beautiful. O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain for Purple Mountain majesties above the fruited plain America America god shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea o beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life America America may god thy god mend thine evry flaw, confirm thy soul in selfcontrol thy liberty in law [applause] ladies and gentlemen secretary carter. [applause] secretary carter mr. President chairman and mrs. Dempsey, distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen, to our gold star families, the families of americas Fallen Heroes in attendance here and across our grateful nation, it is truly our honor to be standing with you on this solemn, sacred day. We, your fellow americans, lacks the words to describe what you feel today. Because trias we may try as we may, and try as we do, we can never fully know. But we do know what your sacrifice means to us. To this nation, and to a world that will depends so much on american men and women in you or for its security. As we gather here this morning im reminded of the words of one of our president s, a veteran who himself rest not a 10 minute walk from here. President s john f. Kennedy. In this very amphitheater he once said. , these quiet grounds this cemetery, and others like it all around the world remind us with pride of our obligation and our opportunity. On a day set aside for americans to honor and remember those who perished while serving our country, our obligation and or opportunity are one and the same. Our obligation is to give voice to the fallen. To honor them, and share their stories of sacrifice and heroism. Our opportunity is to use this day to inspire new generations to understand the freedom they have been given. To grasp how and why it is theirs, and to dedicate themselves to pass it on to generations unborn. Reflect, for a moment, on the way our nations flag is flown on memorial day. First, it is wasted briskly to the top with the same clarity of purpose we see in all of those who join our all volunteer force. And then it is solemnly, soberly lowered to half staff. A tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But it does not stay there. At noon it is raised back toward the sky signaling our will to recover after tragedy and symbolizing the great strength and resilience that characterizes not only our nation, but also those who defend it and their families. Today, when we watch the American Flag fully ascend once again, our thoughts will be with our Service Members, both lost and living, including the nearly 200,000 soldiers, sailors airmen, marines beyond our shores as we gather here. So ably protecting us far from home. They also join us in morning the follow the fallen. They celebrate their strength. And they also serve a long line of patriots who fought in places like lexington and concord gettysburg and midway, and more recently, falluja and how elmut. The legacy that has made our military the finest fighting wars are world has ever known. Troops of such caliber demand great leaders, and there is no doubt they have one in our commanderinchief. I see that every day. He knows well the challenges we must face, the obligations we must meet, and the opportunities we must sees in order to keep our nation safe, and to make a better world for our children. And i see that he cares deeply about the safety, welfare, and dignity of our men and women in uniform and their families. For all that, and so much more, i am tremendously proud to serve as his secretary of defense. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great privilege to introduce the residents of the United States barack obama. [applause] president obama thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Thank you, secretary carter for your leadership of our men and women in uniform, general dempsey, Major General buchanan, mr. Patrick, executive director of Army National military cemeteries am a chaplain cemeteries, chaplain, members of our Armed Services, veterans and most of all families and friends of our fallen. It is my deep honor to share this day with you again. For 147 years our nation has set aside to this day as a solemn tribute to patriots who gave their last full measure of devotion for this country that we love. And while the nature of war has changed over that time, the values that drive our brave men and women in uniform remained constant. Honor, courage selflessness, those values live in the hearts of everyday heroes in every american war. Men and women who now rest forever in these quiet fields, and across our land. They live in the patriots who sparked the revolution, and received our reunion. They live in the young gis who defeated tyranny in europe and this year we marked a historic anniversary, 70 years since our victory in world war ii. More than 16 million americans left everything they knew fight for our freedom. More than 400,000 gave their lives. Today i ask all of the family and friends of our following world war ii heroes, spouses children, brothers and sisters and fellow veterans from world war ii to please stand if you can, or raise your hands so that our country can thank you once more. [applause] president obama the same values live in those who braved the mountains of korea, the jungles of vietnam, the deserts of the middle east. In the past decade we have seen these values on display again in the men and women of our 9 11 generation. For many of us, this memorial day is especially meaningful. It is the first since our war in afghanistan came to an end. Todays the first memorial day 14 years that the United States is not engaged in a major ground war. On this day we honor the sacrifice of the thousands of American Service members, men and women who gave their lights since 9 11, including 2200 patriots who gave their ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan. As an arizona kid wyeth love the outdoors. He started fishing when he was two years old. His dad says he was pretty good for a toddler. Wyatt grew to six foot four inches and for a flannel shirt everyday, his friends nicknamed him hold on you. And to go to college and work in the arizona game and Fish Department so that he could contact the land and water he loved so much. Wyatts wife was animated by the blessings he and his family enjoys americans gave an obligation with that came with an obligation to give back. He enlisted in the army. When you deploy to afghanistan as a combat engineer, there was no doubt in his mind that he was doing the right ring. Last summer, he told his sister if something happens to me, know that i went happy. Ronald morris was born in jamaica. He moved to queens as a teenager, and like so many he was called, compelled, to serve his new country. He enlisted in the army, and even recruited his older brother to join as well. He served five tours, including several in iraq. Along the way he fell in love with an Army Reservist named christina. They had little girl named arianna. Ramon was the kind of leader who would do anything for his men, on and off the battlefield. Nothing was more important to him than being a great father to his little girl. Specialist wyatt martin and Sergeant First Class ramon morris were 15 years apart in age. They traveled greatly different paths in life. Those passed to them to the same unit they made them brothers in arms, serving together in afghanistan. In december, and ied struck their vehicle. They were the last two americans to give their lives during our combat mission in afghanistan. Today, here in arlington, in section 60 ramon lies in eternal rest, and we are honored to be enjoying be joined by his brother who is deploying for germany tonight. Thank you. Thank you to your family. [applause] president obama these two men these two heroes, you saw them passing on the street, you would not know they were brothers. Under this flag, in common cause , they were bonded together to secure our liberty, to keep us safe. My fellow americans, this Hallowed Ground is more than a final resting place of heroes. It is a reflection of america itself. In a reflection of our history the wars we waged for democracy the piece we peace we fight for to preserve it. Men and women of all backgrounds, races creeds, circumstances and faiths willing to defend and the for the ideals that bind us as one nation. It is a reflection of our [ parents, and in the sentinels of the third infantry regiment who dutifully and unfailingly watch over those patriots known only to god, but never forgotten. Today a grateful nation thanks them as well. Most americans do not fully see, do not fully understand the sacrifice made by the 1 who serve in this all volunteer armed forces. This i cry for preserve the freedoms we too often take for granted. If you know it is like to take a bullet for a buddy for to live with the fact that he or she took one for you, our gold star families, our military families, our veterans, they know this. Intimately. Whenever i meet with our gold star families like i did this only, i hear their price through their tears as they flip through old photos, run their fingers over shiny medals. I see that their hearts are still broken and still full of love. They do not ask for awards or owners, they do not ask for special treatment, they are unfailingly humble in the face of unspeakable loss. They represent the best of who we are. They are people like ramons mother who could carry case for the people who killed her son but she said i have no anger, no bitterness, even for the person who did this. I feel sorry for them, and i as k god to change their life. That is one gold star mother of amazing grace. People like wyatts parents who said he was not just our kid, he is everyones. He is an american soldier, and as an american soldier, he belongs to everybody. The siblings like the goldstar sister who wrote to me of her brother, private class Stephen Dennis gave his life in 2004. She said remember him not as 1253rd war casualty, but the 67 inch burst of light he was on the world. These sons and daughters, these brothers and sisters, who lay down their lives for us, they belong to us all. They are our children too. We benefit from their life, their positive influence on the world, and it is our duty, our eternal obligation to be there for them too. To make sure our troops always have what they need to carry out the mission, to make sure we care for all those who have served. To make sure we honor all those who we have lost. To make sure that we keep faith with our military families. To make sure we never stop searching for those who are missing, or trying to bring home our prisoners of war. We are greatful for the families of our pow mias. This may be the first memorial day since the end of our war in afghanistan, but we are acutely aware that our men women in uniform still stand watch, still serve and still sacrifice around the world. Several years ago we had more than 100,000 troops in afghanistan. Today, fewer than 10,000 troops remain on a mission to train the afghan forces. We will continue to bring them home, to reduce our forces rather down to an embassy presence by the end of next year, but afghanistan remains a very dangerous place. So many families know our troops continue to risk their lives for us. Growing up in massachusetts john dawson was an honor student to play varsity soccer, he loved the bruins, he loved the past, he was always up for fun. Running into a room spraying silly string or photobombing before it was in style. He was passionate about the service. You share the same convictions of so many we honor today. He wanted nothing more than to john a join a common cause, be part of something bigger than himself. He did journey} with his church he joined the army, as a combat medic he fulfilled his dream of helping people. He loved his job. In april, an attacker wearing an afghan uniform fired at a group of american soldiers. An Army Corporal john dawson became the first servicemember to give his life in this new mission to train the afghan forces. The words on his dog tag were those in scripture. Greater love has no one other than this, then to lay down your life for your friends. The americans rest beneath these beautiful hills, and in sacred ground across our country and around the world, they are why our nation indoors. Endures. Each simple stone marker arranged in military precision signify the cost of our freedom. It is a debt we can never repay. But it is a debt we will never stop trying to fully repaid. Repay, by remaining a nation worthy of their sacrifice, by living our own lives the way the pollen lived there, a testament that greater love has no one other than this led to lay down your life or your friends. We are so grateful for them. We are so grateful. For the families of our fallen. May god bless our Fallen Heroes and their families, and all who serve, and may he continue to bless the United States of america. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the playing of taps and the benediction. [taps] eternal rest grant unto our beloved dead old lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Bless us lord, bless us all across this land we call america , with strength, wisdom and courage. Made the sacrifice of so many who have died in service to our country and our world inspire us to remain to a renewed commitment to our nation and to our patriotic duty. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place until the president has departed and the colors are retired. [applause] to mark memorial day, cspan brings you a number of interviews with freshmen members of congress who served in the military. Coming up, we will hear from lee zeldin of new york, then mark takai, then mike bost. The french, british and german ambassadors to the u. S. Will give an update on the Nuclear Negotiations with iran stopped. We will have live coverage. Later, a report on incarceration rates in the u. S. The u. S. Currently has the highest number of people incarcerated in the world. It is live at 3 00 p. M. Eastern. Next, a conversation with lee zeldin. The freshman republican served in the new York State Senate and was deployed during the iraq war in 2006. Last year, he defeat of the new yorks first Congressional District, including port jefferson, sag harbor, and southampton. Host congressman lee zel what got you interesteddin in running for congress . Rep. Lee zeldin being alongside great men and women, and i wanted to continue to serve. I came back home, moved about half a mile from where i grew up , and i started running for congress. Host where is that . Rep. Lee zeldin long island. A lot of people know the hamptons. There are a lot of vineyards, agriculture out there, and i live in a small town just west of the hamptons called for caven called brookhaven. That is where i live. Host you got out of the reserves and ran for local office . Rep. Lee zeldin i ran for congress. I was 27 years old. We got our clock cleaned in that race. I was elected to the state senate was reelected, elected to congress in 2014. Host what is behind your motivation for running . Coming out of the military, why do you want to serve . Rep. Lee zeldin we are confronting huge issues. The Foreign Affairs committee, transportation infrastructure committee, veterans affairs. My home county has the secondhighest veteran population than any county in america. Evoking passion, when you talk about the need to defeat isis, to ensure that we are not entering into a bad deal with iran, protecting our military to make sure we keeping america safe and free, when you deal with some of the issues that we deal with on a daily basis again, here at home and abroad, it evokes the huge passion, and i am just privileged to be a part of it. Host said you get elected in 2014 and come to office in 2015. What was that transition like for you . Rep. Lee zeldin i came down with about 200 of our supporters at the beginning of january. I served four years in the state senate and got some experience with regards to how hills become lost, how the process works how conference works, and how to do constituent services, and how to be a good family man, be a good husband and father, so coming down here in january it was not really too new, even though it was a new setting here in congress. We just tried to have the staff fully operational as quickly as possible and we know each others strengths and weaknesses set our priorities, not just on National Issues but also on important, local issues, so we hit the ground running and fortunately, we were able to. Host did you bring some of the staff with you . Rep. Lee zeldin i did. My District Office is almost entirely the people that were with me in the state senate, and my Office Downtown is new staff. Each were exciting for different reasons, but good chemistry, and constituent services is a key part of the job, and having a good team here in d. C. To make sure we are doing our Due Diligence is important, as well. Host what is a typical day like for you in washington, when congress is in session . Rep. Lee zeldin very busy. There was one day when i have 31 things on my calendar. You might have a fiveminute meeting followed by a 10 minute meeting followed by a 10 minute meeting, with the committees and the subcommittees. I try to exercise as close to every morning as i can. The evenings usually ends late. I like to there are other people there that have vices. You know, they might go out drinking or whatnot. I like to empty my email box. That is my vice. Staying on top. But for me, we might be out there might be an event going on. Local groups from the district here, for good causes, but i like to get back to work, and i usually go to sleep around 12 00 or 1 00 and am back up around 5 00 or 6 00. Host when you are in washington, where do you stay . Rep. Lee zeldin i am one of 80 staying in my office, 1517 longworth. Host is that because it is expensive . Rep. Lee zeldin when i visited here, chris gibson was one of my officers. I remember in 2010, i member thinking then, if i was elected as part of that class there are a lot of different factors to it. It might still just be the army in me, but i have an air mattress put down, and it is all good. Host lets talk about emptying the the email box thing. What are your favorite parts of being a member . Rep. Lee zeldin i have honestly enjoyed every minute of every day. While i am here, i dont spend my time wishing i was at home and when im and wrong, i do not spend my time trying to wish i was in these the it is a privilege to serve. A twoyear term goes by quickly. I think you should stop being a member when you are stepping on the house floor or walking in the capital where it loses that feeling, and you lose the appreciation for the history of the institution and for me, i really do enjoy that part of it, being able to walk into the United States capital. Host you mentioned the agenda on the list. Three Committee Hearings to attend to. Does it ever feel like, i cannot devote my all to this issue, this one Committee Meeting that i wish i could . Rep. Lee zeldin there are so many issues, and there will never be enough time in the day to get as next deep neck de ep in all of them. I will have a constituent come in, but until they walk and, i have never even heard of that proposal and then there is a next meeting, somebody pitching a proposal, which is the First Time Since being an office, and you might be here for a few months and a few years, and you are encountering an issue for the first time, so you try to prioritize your time as to what is important, delivering for your district and your country and there is just not enough bandwidth to spend all of the attention on everything. I wish we could. Host who keeps an eye on that schedule . Rep. Lee zeldin we have a scheduler. We have one person who handles everything, both in the district and in d. C. She is based here in d. C. , and we have a chief of staff, and a deputy chief of staff who also serves as a legislative director. We have a good team. You make adjustments over the course of months and years and responsibilities. People come and go, with life events, and that is the best way to stay organized, is having a good team. Host hounding interact with Republican Leadership on a daily basis . Rep. Lee zeldin i would say i interact with my colleagues most on the floor when we are therefore votes. That is when it happens most often. There may be events in the evening, where youre able to ross pad with a particular member. At times, you might be sitting at a dinner for two hours. And i would say over the course of a routine, you must frequently interact with the rank and file members when youre on the floor. When you are not on the floor, everyone is busy with meetings. Host is there a best way to communicate with you . A text message where they say, hey, we really want to get your support for this . Rep. Lee zeldin the with team will go around with names on a card. Maybe it is monday, and we are told on thursday, there will be a whip check and a person will come find you, and sometimes youre able to tell them, yes absolutely im voting for something, or no, i am absolutely not. Sometimes you have a really important question, and you need that answered. It mostly happens on the floor then. Host so there is not a lot of arm twisting going on on the floor . Rep. Lee zeldin there are bills, and a might be opposed to something, that i would vote no for, and maybe they would what me to vote yes, and you have to have a good, honest dialogue. They appreciate an honest know a lot better than a dishonest yes so when they ask me how i would like to vote on a particular bill that i am not with them the best thing for a legislator to do is just to tell the with dean, tell the leadership, tell the whip team, i am not with you. That is just not good for the process to not do that. Host have you seen opportunities for you to be approached by democrats to support their legislation . Rep. Lee zeldin sure, that has happened on the floor. I have interacted a bunch the colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Sometimes it might be in the hallway, on the shuttle ride back to new york, and you happen to be with your colleagues from the other side of the aisle, and you Start Talking about something they are working on, and they might put and ask him. Sometimes you are with them. Sometimes you are not, but it is important to find common ground. That is the best way to serve our common districts. Host what are your concerns . Rep. Lee zeldin the first Congressional District in new york is almost completely surrounded by water. There is only a small 13 mile or so stretch that is connected to land. Aircraft noise is an issue. There is a National Research facility there. So education is a big issue, with the implementation of federally mandated, statemandated, as well as local School District created testing. So those are some of the very local issues that we are working on, and it gets even more specific when some business contacts you, or some individual contacts you. That disability ratings from the v. A. To get approved, that really becomes very high on the priority list as far as that staffer and that can do to it. Some of the more National Issues that are important to the district, i would say certainly fighting for veterans, trying to create more goodpaying privatesector jobs, making our policy more can did, improving our health care. We will see how the Supreme Court and Congress Reacts with changes as 2015 moves along. Those are some of the National Issues that are of importance to our district, and there are many others, as well. Host you are a fairly young member of congress. What is the average age for people in the First District . Zrep. Lee zeldin i am 35 years old. In congress, there are 31 members under the age of there are 20 in the House Republican conference. 11 in the Democratic House conference. I am in favor of term limits, personally. There has been such a huge changeover. Two thirds of the republican conference was not even here five years ago. The average age of the House Republican conference is about excuse younger than our colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle, and there is just a lot of changeover that has happened over the course of the last few years, all across america. So as far as my district, about a decade older on average, but we have people who are 18 years old, and they want to know how they can afford to go to college, and then you have seniors, trying to figure out how to pay for their prescription drugs or put oil in their tank, so there is certainly quite the range as far as interest around the district. Host you are also the only jewish republican member of the house. Is that significant, in your opinion, and how . Rep. Lee zeldin there are issues that i care very deeply about. You speak up, and you talk about who are americas friends, and who our enemies are, what our Foreign Policy should be as relates to defeating isis. Isis happens to be about 18 miles from the Syrian Border with israel. How is our approach with syria and iraq and afghanistan and of course, the Nuclear Talks the rising tide of antisemitism around the world, including right here in the United States, and this is starting to become more prevalent on college campuses, and around the world where some iteris, some cemeteries are being converted to all muslim cemeteries without even any indication as to what they will do with jewish remains. , and maybe a next her person listening that day to help spread the word, i embrace that. Host how did your experience in the military, particularly your experience in iraq, influence, or does it your views on Foreign Policy . Rep. Lee zeldin fours four years in active duty, and then in the reserves, i have been able to encounter all sorts of issues affecting activeduty Service Members, their family, Mental Health needs, providing occupational and vocational needs, especially when youre coming off of active duty, ensuring you are getting the health care that you need and reserve deserve from the the you, making sure the military has the resources they need to win, not just with equipment but also with the rules, the rules of engagement, making sure their hands are not tied, that the leaders, the commanders of these troops on the ground are given the flexibility they need to accomplish their mission. Even going back to before i was even in rotc, just studying history as relates to war reading philosophy and just how human nature works, and what the best approach is to deal with conflicts. You have to make assumptions but it is very good not to make bad ones. Making a critical decision as far as National Security goes. I would say over the course of my time, there have been a lot of lessons that have helped in for my desire to be part of the decisionmaking process here. Host in terms of reading, if youre not reading briefing books, you talked about reading history. What do you like to read . Rep. Lee zeldin anything, really. I am fascinated when i can read i can read aristotle, talking about how important it is to know the difference between right from wrong, so when it is time to leave you do what your gut tells you is right, and just that development of leadership. You know, reading about henry the fifth, trying to give the saint crispins day speech from a force that went from 10,000 to 6000, up against tens of thousands of french, and trying to motivate those men at that moment, despite being not just outmanned, but just to inspire and the significance of the relationships, not just militarily but also diplomatically. The british and the french in that example. I do not limit the story with any one particular piece of time. I enjoy reading all of it, because usually, you can live thing in every you can find something in every one of these stories. Host you beat tim bishop in the elections. How did you do it . Rep. Lee zeldin we had a primary first and ended up winning by 24 points. That was a june primary so we had a few months. June 2014. And we had a few months to prepare for november. For me, it is a whole lot of doortodoor, phone calls rolling up your sleeves, going to fairs and festivals, meeting as many people as possible. Many of the people i represented in the state senate, there was a good base of support among people who i knew going into the race, but it was just a lot of hard work and a good team, using social media and emails just trying to have a good message, talking to people about issues that they care about so you can make that connection, where they realize that you share common values, because you are running to be the representative. It is important to know where you stand. Host how effective was the committee in getting you effective . Rep. Lee zeldin they helped. A spent a couple Million Dollars on the race in multiple ways and i think they brought, not just with the tv ads, but also on the media front, making it introduction with someone. There are many different ways that they were able to assist, which was great, but ultimately it is important for a candidate to do as much of their campaign on their own from the grassroots up, so the help you get from washington with these races, and a matter what style the side of the aisle youre on, it is helpful. It is great to have that air support show up, and you just cannot rely on it, because you will lose touch with your district. Host you have talked about what your district is like. Give us an example or a short, brief story on somebody who may have come to office for help to make typify the type of constituent you serve. Rep. Lee zeldin i was thinking of the veterans story with the appeal, that we were help to satisfy some and trying to get an appointment with a federal agency to do something with their Social Security or their medicare, some of the with an immigration concern, they have a Family Member who is overseas, going to the local embassy. They are trying to get home, and for whatever reason, they are having trouble to get back home. It is just every day. We have had several hundred people come to our office. I had 17,000 in my four years in the state senate, cases that came in and were resolved. The state legislature in new york is a little different than the legislature around the country, so we had probably about 15 staffers at the state legislature, so we were able to deal with a lot of these cases. This is very similar, except it is the federal issues. You try to help move something up a priority list when they are having a lot of difficulty cutting through the red tape. Host do those cases see more satisfying than, say, a vote that goes in your favor . Rep. Lee zeldin there are some success stories, where you Read Everything they were going through and the significance of being able to help someone. For them, that issue is more important than any vote that we have down here, so that is very rewarding, and my time on active duty in the military. I spent some time in an office, and you can help somebody through a divorce, or they are trying to get out of a bad contract, or they bought a car that they should not have. Some of those challenges. You might the overseas, and a Service Member back home, like their girlfriend just went out with their power of attorney that they probably should not have side, their girlfriend went out and bought a nice, fancy sports car, and they see their account go down. It is nice to help, because they are very desperate sometimes. Host you are still serving in the reserves . Rep. Lee zeldin yes. I met a 90yearold world war ii veteran who is the last living medal of honor recipient from the battle of the bulge. It was so cool. It was a nice reminder. You take off this suit. You put on an army suit. Youre surrounded i people who believe in a cause greater than themselves, and it helps to keep you grounded. Host congressman lee zeldi next, a conversation with mark takai of hawaii. He won the seat with 52 of the vote after serving in the hawaii state house. He also serves in the hawaii Army National guard. This is 20 minutes. And the hawaii Army National guard. This is 20 minutes. Host congressman mark takai representing the First District, how many districts are there in hawaii . Rep. Mark takai two. Host what do you think of washington . Rep. Mark takai i love it. When i am in d. C. , i would probably go to see our congressional delegation about every quarter. Never in my wildest dreams did i imagine i would be sitting here as a member of congress. Host and you visited them because you were a member of the legislature . Rep. Mark takai a member of the legislature, some visits because i was a member of the National Guard. There were some opportunities to come to washington, d. C. , and it was always a treat. Host it is a long way. Now that youre a member of the house, how often do you get back . Rep. Mark takai my family, one of the things we decided on was where my family was going to stay. We have two young kids, matthew 13 and kaila 12, and i am in d. C. , and my family is at home so i tried to go home as much as possible, not only for my family, because it is important but also as a new member of congress, i think it is important to go back home. Host i think one of the items you brought from your office is a picture of your family. To our viewers. Your family is back in hawaii. Rep. Mark takai very appropriate. That was the day i decided to run for congress, august 8, 2013. Host what prompted that decision . Rep. Mark takai there were some members of congress he talked to me, but, truthfully, the reason i am here, unfortunately, is because senator inouye passed away. There was a lot of movement in our delegation, and because of that colleen hanabusa, before me, ran, and there was a spot open, so in 2013, on august 8, we made that decision. Host how much convincing did it take your family . Rep. Mark takai welcome of the biggest decision was where we were going to live. Once they knew they would be a look to stay home with their friends, and my wife sami and her family and my family everything was all good at that point. Host the congressional recess and district work periods when you go back on, it is not just to go back to the sandy beaches, but to work. Are you able to separate out your life and be able to tend to those . Rep. Mark takai a member of the legislature 20 years prior there is almost no separation, especially in hawaii. With your family, we have dinner, say, at the closest Shopping Mall to our house near pearl harbor, and i am always working, so i am trying my best to spend family time with my family, but my kids grew up through dad being in the legislature, and now they are growing up with me being in congress. I go to their soccer games or their swimming meets with our kids. Always on. Host you spoke about coming here as a member of the military. When did you begin serving . Rep. Mark takai july 19, 1999. Host did you serve in iraq . Rep. Mark takai i served in kuwait as part of Operation Iraqi freedom. I am proud to be in the Army National guard, right now serving as a lieutenant colonel. Host do you still have demands on your time for the National Guard . Rep. Mark takai absolutely. The reason i know the date is that is our anniversary date and every year, you have to have the many hours of her and mine is coming up, so i am working hard to make sure it is a good year. Host you are on the Armed Services committee. What would you like to see accomplished . Rep. Mark takai we spent the first apple youre months working on the bill otherwise known as the National Defense authorization act, and it is a hard it is a tough measure because it is all inclusive, but at the same time, you work hard on it the first of four months. You get it done, and then we can move on to other things. We were proud to have introduced 29 amendments, of which 28 past, so we felt like we were pretty successful. Host do you think your time in the military. The ear of other members of the Armed Services committee because of that . Rep. Mark takai i hope so. I sit next to another veteran. In terms of the freshman crass class, there are a number of veterans on the democratic and republican side. To make sure that our perspective, members of the military, and their perspectives are heard. Host from an organizational standpoint, how this congress compared to the military . Rep. Mark takai that is a good question. No one has ever asked me that. I think in some ways, it compares pretty well, because everything in the military is about leadership and chain of command. And congress is sort of like that most of the time, so in that way, we have a chairman running our committees. We have a speaker. Running the National Guard in hawaii, and everybody follows his direction. So i think in some ways, it is like that, but another, there is much more flexibility and freedom being in the legislative branch, because i would not necessarily tell the general but in some cases, you can tell leadership. I am a democrat, part democrat. Host could you see yourself in a leadership position in a committee or other areas . Rep. Mark takai fortunately this year, i serve as a Ranking Member on a workforce and Small Business committee, so we were very fortunate. I am definitely privileged to have the opportunity to be a lead democrat on a subcommittee right now. In the future, i think it is important for hawaii. Our family, when we made the decision, i told them, along with my Close Friends and supporters that the commitment to run for congress in this particular seat, especially for a small delegation like we have in hawaii, is a longterm commitment, and if given the privilege of serving or many years, i think it is important for us to build seniority in the house. Host a lot of the Committee Meetings are covered on cspan and the cspan networks. Do you ever get frustrated with a limited amount of time you get to ask a witness was two typically Something Like five minutes . Because that is just not enough time to get your questions answered. Rep. Mark takai being in the legislature, where there was no limit, i appreciate the limit. The Armed Services committee with nearly 70 minutes, if everybody had an unlimited amount of time, we would be there for days. I think over time, congress has developed this time limit, a policy of five minutes, and in some cases in terms of the floor one minute, i think if you cannot Say Something within the one minute on the floor, if you cannot Say Something in five minutes in committee, then you have got to rework your message. Posts going back to your campaign and that august 2013 decision to run, how wellfunded were you at the time . How much of it was a concern and how do you typically continue your fundraising . Rep. Mark takai well, we started from nothing. We were the first time running a congressional race, a federal race, so we started from scratch. I learned early on that in order to win a congressional race, you have to put together a great team, and i credit Tammy Duckworth with wheelie really helping me through that. We are college classmates, and i credit myself for her getting to run for congress in 2008, and we helped her again in 2012. I was here for her confirmation hearing when she was assistant secretary for the v. A. I was very close to her. She told me mark, dont worry. I will let you have my whole team, and you will run with my team, and we will work hard to raise money. I did not have to worry about the region of 18. Tammy helped me. Every member of her team, media print, even fundraising was her team so we did that, and we just focused on fundraising, and like i said, we started from nothing. We were trying to raise about 1 million for the primary. We came in a little bit short, so that delay our tv buys, but we had one solid month of tv and that thought as overthetop. Incredible, we started 20 point down. This is a lot of work. Host does it feel like you have to continue to fund raise . Focusing on constituent work as much as you would like to . Rep. Mark takai we are spending a considerable amount of time fundraising. And it is expensive to run a congressional campaign. Our entire Campaign Last year cost 1. 8 million, so we ran a general Election Campaign that cost over 1 million. Most of that goes to tv, and if you take a look at the market in hawaii, it is a lot cheaper than anywhere else, so we are buying a point at Something Like 100, and some of the other markets are spending up to 1000 per point, and we want to keep on raising money, because it is important for us. Post what one aspect of hawaii do you think your fellow members typically do not get . Rep. Mark takai that is a good question. There was a bipartisan delegation, and i was the only freshman. I had the honor of representing not only the freshman class but also these services, and i think that grew just that visit and the visit to the Pacific Command, to get the Pacific Command brief surprisingly, many senior members of our delegation were unaware of the important of hawaii, on being the strategic hub and headquarters for our military across asia, the pacific, and the indian ocean, so i think that in and of itself is important to talk about because i constantly am talking to colleagues and inviting them to hawaii and letting them know how important, strategically important, hawaii is for the United States. Host reading about your background, you were one of the first in hawaii to buy a nissan leaf. What prompted that decision . Rep. Mark takai well, that goes back to truthfully, that was back to me being deployed in the middle east in 2009. Hawaii is a very beautiful place, but we have our challenges. We are what i call the most isolated populated land mass in the entire world and because of that, the need to be more sustainable is critical. The cost of living is high in hawaii, i believe mainly because of the fact that we are not as sustainable as we need to be, so i served in the middle east. I looked around and kind of wondered why we were fighting a war half a world away from hawaii, and i realized it was partially because of oil, black gold, so when i got home, i told my wife, we have got to put these panels on our roof, and she said, what . And i said we had to make electricity from the sun, and months after that, she was telling her friends, you know what, our electric bill is zero. With market, we put these things on our roof, and now we are not paying electricity. With mark, we put these things on our roof, and now we are not paying electricity. You could log onto the internet and order your car, and like you said, i was one of the first. That was five years ago, so 2010. I am on my third leaf. Every two years, i get a new one, so i just picked up my third one in april. Host other hawaiians have picked up this trend in terms of alternative energy . Rep. Mark takai if we could, we would harness the sun, and not everyone is as fortunate as my family, because we live in a singlefamily home, and we own our home, but there are renters and people who live in townhomes who do not have the opportunities i have, so even in the legislature, we are pushing for these measures that would do more for the community as a whole and move us towards sustainability as quickly as possible. Host most mainlanders come to hawaii, and what took you from hawaii to the mainland first . What was your first trip . Rep. Mark takai you know, that was probably when i was five years old to go to disneyland in california. A lot of people travel to california from hawaii, and many people still go to disneyland. That was probably my first trip. I started swimming when my family was living in guam. Host competitively. Rep. Mark takai competitively. Host did your dad work in the military . Rep. Mark takai we were stationed from pit way to seventh grade. We lived in guam. From fifthgrade to seventh grade. We lived in guam. Host you mentioned senator in a way senator inouye. Tell us about the people. Rep. Mark takai far left is senator inouye, then the congresswoman from hawaii, and on the far right, another senator from hawaii. Host a state senator . No, a u. S. Senator. Rep. Mark takai i tell this story almost every day about what it is like to be here representing hawaii. I have many stories about senator inouye and about patsy but i talk about being on the shoulders of people like them, and you know it because we all work here. The halls of congress, especially capitol hill, it is a very different place at night, you know when all of the tourists, all of the work groups are gone and we are walking to and from the capital. I heard stories of senator inouye talking about these long nights. In fact, he had his office as Senate President pro tem in the capital, and it is just a surreal experience to be walking through the halls and just hearing your footsteps in realizing that these people who came before me also represented the state of hawaii. In fact, senator inouye was the first elected member of congress, and he came right after hawaii became a state. Host are your traditions that people would not know about, a piece of memorabilia, or something that is passed down from member to member regardless of their party . Rep. Mark takai nothing has been passed down. We have gone into the cage upstairs. That has some memorabilia from other members, and i pulled out some of the portraits and the artwork from previous members but i think in terms of hawaii we are very proud of the fact that people love us for our macadamia nuts and chocolate. And then when we talk about hawaii and being on the hill there is almost an expectation that you either come with a lei wearing a lei or you come with chocolate covered macadamia nuts. So i bring them out once in a while. Host you talked about what you want to do on the Armed Services committee. More broadly, how long do you want to serve, and what are your broader goals in congress . Rep. Mark takai i got elected at 47, and i was elected in the state legislature and served for 20 years, and as i mentioned earlier, the commitment that our family has made, if given the opportunity and privilege, to put in another 20 years so that would make me 67. That is not too, so, yes it even the opportunity to stay here, i think it is if given the opportunity to stay here, i think it is important for hawaii for seniority, and for this place, for the most part it works on seniority. Host you talked about serving on the newspaper and being a Political Science major. What about your kids, what are they interested in, and what would you like to the them do . Rep. Mark takai i would like to see them not run for politics. I tell young people to get a life, raising emily, and then maybe if you years down the road come back and possibly run for office, so i hope they do not have aspirations to follow me right out of college, because it was tough. Post but then you do not have a chance to meet george takai. Rep. Mark takai we met through Tammy Duckworth. It was duckworth, honda, and another supporting tokai, and mark takano and jerry endorse me in the primary, so the headline read takai and tokano endorse tokai. All three of us get confused. We have the pleasure now of calling ourselves friends, and, in fact, i am going to see george to k t takai, and he is debuting in a new broadway show, focusing on the japanese experience, and i am looking forward to that show. Host well, we hope we get it right. Next a discussion with mike bost. Mr. Bost, defeated incumbent. And monthly most expensive house races of 2014. He is a former marine. Involuntary firefighter. He served in the Illinois State legislator. This is about 20 minutes. Host so we welcome congressman mike bos of the 12th district in illinois, and we can tell by your pin that there is an military part. Why would you want to run for congress . Rep. Mike bost i have been in the legislature, have 10 grandchildren, and was a situation where i was not happy with the things that were happening out here, everything from obamacare to overregulation on business. I was not only in the beauty salon business, but i was in the trucking business. I came home from the marine corps and ran it for 10 years. The frustration, talking to the family with a lot of decisionmaking, and i could have just thrown my hands of an and i am done with them a but, in that, i said, no, im going to try to it is to make eggs better for the kids. Host when did you want to run for the house . Rep. Mike bost 2014. Host your race, you defeated the incumbent Democrat Bill enyart, in what was reportedly one rep. Mike bost of the most expensive races. Rep. Mike bost reportedly one of the most expensive races. Rep. Mike bost it is. The paducah, kentucky market is less expensive, but you go to st. Louis, it is like 600. Host so your district reaches all of the way up that far . Rep. Mike bost my district goes up to alton almost st. Louis, but not as far as grafton. It is 1. 33 counties. Host how did you do it, from the standpoint of raising the money . Who helped fund you . And what about beating him . Rep. Mike bost we had Jerry Costello there for many years. Jerry was a conservative democrat. He represented the area well. The concern that had come up was that this congress or bill enyart was not keeping in touch with the people. They had become used to Jerry Costellos style which was constantly in contact. They knew him. All over the district, and in a short period of time, i realized that was not occurring. I actually talked to a democrat state legislator who said, i do not know him, and he was in the district, and that is not what these jobs are about. They are about servants positions, and i was able to look at that and then springboard on some of the other issues out there. Of course, we also have a videotape that was from my experience on the floor as a floor leader that we did not know whether they would use it or not, but we had to trick try to figure out how to build our name recognition. Host this is the one that got you the nickname of rep. Mike bost meltdown mike. It is the second greatest rant according to cnn, so, basically, what had happened is right after year in congress, they had passed obamacare, and the statement had been made, we have got to pass it, so we find out host 2010. Rep. Mike bost yes i am on the floor, and what we have been working on is the illinois pension problems, and we had been working on it for a year and a half, and i am one of the leaders, and i come on in on the morning that we are supposed to pass it, and i say i need some information on the bill, because there are some hangs i need to talk about, and he said, they changed it, and i said, they changed what part of it, and he said, all of it, and i said, who changed it, and he said the democratic speaker, so things went on. They actually moved the bill in a partisan manner out of committee, and they were bringing it to the floor. My job as a floor leader is too full. One is to protect the members and two is to argue our point. But this was more than that. It was a case of were 30 years plus of having the same speaker bypassing rules, and basically what happened is i had had enough, and i threw the bill in the air, and if you listen to it, there were specific arguments. It was odd, but there were specific arguments that i was talking about. Host and this went viral, and in the end, you think it helped your campaign. The media and other members may be criticizing you. Rep. Mike bost right. You wish that it was not a case where you had to do that, but sometimes, what we have discovered the cynically with this is the majority of the people who contacted me after it happened and in the campaign as a matter of fact, they say you do not what to send some of the elk like this to washington. It will make the federal problems worse, and the answer we got on the street was no, we want some it is like this in washington who will stand up for us and who will say, no, things arent right. Host what have you found so far . Is it different . Rep. Mike bost it is quite a bit different, and one is the controlling rules as far as your debates, everything like that, after being a floor leader in illinois, where we did not have to address the chair. The chair was kind of the moderator, so it is different in that respect. Just the level of work and the amount of subjects you need to be a breast of, and the sheer size of the job. Host we talked earlier about Jerry Costello keeping in touch with the district. How do you do that . Rep. Mike bost we do that by social media, and when i am back in the district, when people say, well, you are home. Well my population base is quite away from my home. For example, during easter, we were there one week before and one week after, and all of those 16 days we were home, i slept in my bed four, so the day you do that is to make sure youre out and in Constant Contact everything from town hall meetings, but also we have listening sessions, where we go out and meet with different leaders and with the general public, and they know we are out there, and we are getting comments on that all of the time, that we are out there everywhere. Host you do not have duties anymore about being a volunteer firefighter, but you brought a helmet. Tell us a little bit about that. Rep. Mike bost that was a gift from one of the fire departments, because i often carry the language, but i was a firefighter with murphysboro and you get to do all of the things that your mother does not want you to do, running into buildings that other people are running out of, getting dirty getting wet, and people like you because of it. It really was one of the most exciting job i ever had in my life. Even with the marine corps, this was right up there. Host you were a volunteer. Rep. Mike bost i was actually a fulltime firefighter. And paid for call. 1988 until actually even up until the time i was in the state legislature until 2000 2008. Host you talk about the busy schedule on capitol hill. What committees are you on . Rep. Mike bost Small Business, veterans affair, and ag, which is appropriate for the district. Host does that sound like a lot . Rep. Mike bost it is. They told me you probably do not want three committees, but they put me on, and we are able to cover it, but it is a busy time. Host how do you keep it all straight . Rep. Mike bost we have staff and studying the issues, and one of the important thing to do is these things that are obviously from other congresses before, and you have to play catchup in your mind, and we are getting to the point now where we are pretty smooth. Host you have several witnesses, and you only get a few minutes. Rep. Mike bost that is probably one of the rough parts of this job. By the time you get down to the freshmen members most of the questions have been asked. It has drawn out over a long period of time, but with the subcommittees, i have been able to get into what i need to know during the actual committee, and quite often, we have to come back with questions so we can get our answers. Host what is on your to do list . Rep. Mike bost a couple of things. We have got Scott Air Force base, and there is a geospatial system that is needed, we are we can get it there, and one of the most important things really is and it has to deal with this, with those resources, over burdensome regulation from the epa, and other agencies that have just caused why do we strangle our businesses in this nation, and when we are trying to compete with a Worldwide Market with so many agencies that have these rules, and that doesnt mean we do not want to make sure everything is safe. When you have been an Small Business, which i have, you find out sometimes the government does everything to make it difficult. Host give us an example. You were in the trucking business and the beauty salon business. Rep. Mike bost in the trucking business, if you know there is a Driver Shortage, a Driver Shortage is not occurring because there are not people who want to do the jobs. It is just that people doing the jobs cannot sell enough hours because of a mishandling because of the rules and the logbook rules. And that was a very dangerous time, but you have got to be able to, for instance, if you are coming up on your amount of hours that you are supposed to have in a week, and you are an hour or a halfhour from your destination, you have to stop the truck and waited 36 hours or they have to send a driver . And not only that, that driver then, if his week falls with a weird break in the middle, he or she can not solve 40 hours. That is when you have got people here in d. C. Writing rules who have never even sat in a truck. They do not understand. Not necessarily from the standpoint of the federal government, but in the beauty salon business, we have this, and we became so overregulated. Host in terms of federal and state . Rep. Mike bost both. Host how prohibitive are the regulations . Rep. Mike bost the level of taxation on the Trucking Industry was very for him it is. And the cost of doing business. Host you are talking about the highway bill, transportation bill, at least through july. What are some of the biggest infrastructure issues, and how to we go about resolving this . Rep. Mike bost as we move forward, and i do not know if you can put the boats together for a gas tax and the reality is the people in the coffee shop and beauty shops they are a little bothered by that, and so we went to watch and see if we can find a stream for longterm purposes, and i will be working with colleagues to try to figure out exactly what that is, but truly our job there are many things that we dabble in. An interstate commerce, that is a job. And the highways, that is our job. And we have to make sure that the bridges are kept open, and we have not been doing a real good job. Host what would you say are the condition of yours . Rep. Mike bost they are rough. I think they patchwork things because of funding problems. They do not go to the depth that they need to to restore them to the point that they were. Host you are one of the several new members of congress with military experience. How long did you serve in the marines . Rep. Mike bost i served three years in the marines. I went to san diego for boot camp. Then to yuma, arizona, where i did my duty. Host are there any similarities between the military and the house of representatives . Rep. Mike bost no, not really, and let me explain why. In the marine corps, our job was to we had immediate obedience to order, and quite often, that would save your life, by the way. Here, we are independents representing our own district. There may be some that want to roll over and give you orders, because we do have leadership, but leadership has to represent recognize that each and every one of us represents our district host . Our district. Host holding your own . Rep. Mike bost will that come up at some time . It may. I still have to work with my district, and that may upset some people. There are a lot of coal mines, a lot of unions in the districts a union firefighter, but i am a republican, and so it is about jobs, and it is about keeping people working and straightening out economy out and all of the other issues. There are the borders, all of those host were you born in your district . Rep. Mike bost yes, born and raised. I was driving for the Family Trucking business and i got hit on a motorcycle by a drunk driver. It was in october and i got hit hard. I ended up with just a slightly twisted ankle. I was at home, not in the truck, when the iran hostage situation happened. At 18 years old, you think you can change everything. I waited up and the next thing i knew i woke up in marine corps boot camp and i was serving. Host so it was the iran hostage situation that motivated you . Rep. Mike bost maybe that is why i run into buildings other people run out of. Host looking back to that incident and where we are with iran now, what are your feelings . Rep. Mike bost i am not a big fan of what the president is trying to do as far as his negotiation with iran. They have a history. The history that we have had to deal with. We want to be very careful. I want to make sure that whatever we do we make sure that they dont have a nuclear weapon. Im going to be standing very strong to make sure that my voice is heard through congress that we are not going to go down that path. Host getting back to campaigning a bit. Youre in your first term. Tell us about the process of winning reelection to your seat in 2016. Has that started . Rep. Mike bost it has. 20 years in the illinois general assembly, i ran every two years. You immediately go right back into running in the state of illinois because it is an early primary. We are going to be out and doing that shortly. It is part of the process. Somebody said they felt we should change the constitution. I dont think so at all. I think the best way that we can keep our congress in check is that every two years they have to go back to the voters. It is the voters that make that decision. Host do you feel you fit the bill of Citizen Legislature . Rep. Mike bost id like to say yes but in a moment, if they dont want me, ill go right back. I also think that we need people with experience and set is also a reason why we why i dont agree with term limits. What happens is that bureaucrats and up running the government, not those that are elected. I want to be sure that its the elected people. Host you have a picture of your grandkids in your office. Rep. Mike bost we had to tape one of the newest ones on the top. Birdie was born a week ago sunday. They range in age from 14 to newborn and they all live within six miles of the house. I have three children of my own. I think they are done now. I dont know. My wife made the statement because there was no more room in the car, she said i think weve had enough. I told her she doesnt make the call. Host have your kids and grandkids been back east to washington . Rep. Mike bost they have. I had one of the greatest lessons. I have a picture of it hanging in my office. My grandson and his pain on for the first time. My grandson pinned the pin on me for the first time. Host would you like to see one of your grandkids in office . Rep. Mike bost i dont know. My son is 34 now. He knows the strain it puts on life. Id be very proud of them whatever they do. I dont know that i would definitely push them that way. Host illinois congressman mike bost. Up next a discussion. [no audio] by marvin and deborah kalb. They are authors of haunting legacy vietnam and the american presidency from four to obama. About a month removed from the 40th anniversary of the fall of saigon, professor cobkalb, how is that anniversary remembered in the United States . Guest i think it was Richard Nixon who says it was the most misremembered war in American History. On the president s mind at that time was that this was the first war that the United States lost. It is great history. The United States of america fought many many times. But only once have we without doubt lost a war. And so it leaves a huge impact upon the American People on the u. S. Government, of president s who have to send troops off to fight in other wars. So when the president finds time and time again, is this the right thing to do or are we getting into another vietnam . Another vietnam means another quagmire, another mess that we are not going to be able to get out of. When we think about world war ii, for example, it was in so many ways a horrible war, but the president of the United States said unconditional surrender. And the enemy did just that. But in the vietnam war, what Lyndon Johnson called a raggedy ass little forthright country beat the United States. Now how could that possibly be . That is what we had in mind with the legacy. How does that happen and what does that have on other president s . Host you write in the book that vietnam seem to have a seat in the oval office, playing a Critical Role in many president ial decisions. The loss of vietnam has profoundly changed how president decide questions of war and peace and how to interact with congress, the public, and the world. Deborah kalb, how are you seeing that lazily playing right now and the decisions that legacy playing right now in the decisions in the battle against iraq and isis . Guest i think that vietnam has always been on the minds of each president and president obama is no exception, although he is really the first president who is only a child during the war and what it ended also. He tried to make a point that he was not a part of that generation of the 1960s. He was the new generation when he was running in 2008. And yet those issues still follow him. With any president , they are really looking at the issues of sending troops into battle. In the case of iraq, iraq has become what was referred to in article recently that actually said the republicans vietnam. For republican candidates now they are all dealing with that. George w. Bush was the president who sent the troops into iraq in the first place. Obama is the one who then took it over and managed it. It is still an issue for this new campaign that is starting up now for the president ial race of 2016. You have president ial candidates all trying to position themselves. Jeb bush, in particular, the brother of george w. Bush, is having to decide whether to distance himself or how much to distance himself and having trouble figuring out what he should really be saying about that he says he does not want to really be disloyal to his brother, yet he does not want to be saddled with all that. It continues to be an issue because the iraq war is supposedly ended but there is still issues going on there. It is creating its own legacy at this point that may end up similar to the vietnam war. Host it reminds me in your book iraq being in vietnam it was over who lost china. There was an article out earlier this week on who lost iraq being the headline of that piece. Guest speaking of debbies point, every president enters office with the weight of history. Now that history could be positive or could be negative. If you are thinking about sending troops to fight and you are at president , you have to be thinking about vietnam. It hangs over and haunts literally every white house. Every white house has to have in mind if we send troops, is is going to be another vietnam . Can we count on a victory or are we going to end up with another defeat . If it is a defeat, politically that is death. You are going to lose. It is very interesting. In the book, we point out time and again that if you are running for presidency and you are actually in vietnam and excellence served there, youre going to lose. If you had nothing to do with vietnam, you end up winning. That is a remarkable thing. Up to that point, every american president who would win would always have behind him the feeling that if i was in the service, i did a good thing i protect my country, the American People are going to reward me and hold the mentally ultimately reelect me. But if you walk around with the legacy of vietnam that hangs like a heavy coat, it doesnt get you votes. Host in the segment, our lines are different. We have a special line for vietnam veterans. It is to a 27488003. 2027488003. Otherwise, it is our standard lines for democrats republicans, and independents. Deborah kalb, how why does defeat linger so much longer than victory . Why do prisons look president s look at world war ii and see that we can do this . Why does defeat linger so much longer . Guest i think the other wars linger as well, but in a different way though. The legacy of world war ii continues. People refer to the victory as world war ii and still different it is still something the country looks to fit the greatest generation looks back to that generation as something that we put up on a pedestal almost as something to look back on and really revere. Host but the decisionmaking in the of awful oval office . Guest with the anonguest with vietnam and the first the feet, the country was not seen on par with our country as terms of a global power. When you think about the impact that the terms of foreignpolicy decisionmaking and the politics of it, as my father mentioned, it was something that tended to be viewed as a negative in every possible way. It was not seen as a political winning situation. It was not seen as something to emulate. It was seen as something to avoid. The subsequent president s look that it and said, ok, we do not want to do that. You see images of Lyndon Johnson poring over a table and looking at possible places to bob. His involvement was to that extent of choosing the targets. I think other president s after that do not want to be seen that way. We do not want to be viewed as that. Johnson ended up not running for office again in large part because of the way things were going and the adopted i think that was something they wanted to avoid. Host you mentioned images that linger. Tonight on American History tv we will be showing the abc news special report from may 26 1975. Abc news was reporting on events that had taken place in the weeks following the fall of saigon. Here is a short clip from that reported. [video clip] we delayed the start of the tonight show starring Johnny Carson to bring you the following nbc news special report. At 12 00 noon on april 30, a North Vietnamese tank brought down the palace of saigon. The communist soldier ran the enemy flag across the lot. To this day, the communist one. It is not a celebration. Saigon had argue surrendered. Already surrendered. [gunfire] host professor kalb, how long are those images going to linger . Guest so long as we have a great country, we are to think all the time about this moments when we werent great and will ask questions about why. Why did we lose this war . There is a segment in here where Ronald Reagan is asked a question by a wonderful reporter. He says no more vietnams. She is asking, what you mean by that . What do you mean by that . He says, i was the one who never believed that we should of gone in. This is reagan saying this. I have always believed that if you do not get involved in a land war in asia that was the feeling that everybody had before we went into vietnam. Dont get involved in a land war in asia. And reagan says, but the troops were sent in. Once they were set in, you have to make a commitment to the men that you are asking to fight that you are giving them every resource to win this thing and to then get home as soon as possible. In other words, reagan was saying something that is now at the heart of the american dilemma with respect to iraq and afghanistan. If you go into a war, go into the war to win it. Do not assume that war is a plaything. That you can get in and apple and put 2000 here and 3000 there. That gave birth to the colon powell doctrine. If youre going to go to war, go in bigtime and win it. Otherwise do not go in at all. That is what is on the president s mind right now. Do you send in 3000 troops to iraq . 20,000 . Will that do it . Do you need another hundred thousand . If you get in there, when you get sucked into another vietnam . I think these are fundamental questions that for every president as long as we are around will have to face. Host we have a caller waiting in ohio on a line for independents. Caller im a vietnam veteran. I see disenchantment with these guys from iraq and afghanistan. It is sort of similar to what we had. My question is this and i find it very troubling. I cannot get an answer. They always say to ask your representative and get a hold of this person or that person. From the American Legion that im america, i cannot get im a member of, i cannot get an answer. It is fair troubling. It brings back a lot of old feelings that i get in a lot of veterans have to. On the Homeland Security bill, one of those two, i looked on the internet that there are certain categories of individuals that are possibly categorized as possible domestic terrorist. In general, the word veterans of peers. You hear thank you for your service from the president all the way down to the common everyday citizen. I find this very troubling. I try to live my life and obey the law and struggle through what struggles i have and will never leave. But i have to learn and have learned to deal with these everyday things. Can you give me an answer as to why veterans were put on that list . Host marvin or deborah kalb, do you know the list that he is referring to . Guest i do not. Im sorry. I would imagine and im guessing that veterans are put on the list now for the very reason that you have veterans honored at baseball games. Since the vietnam war, at the time of the vietnam war, and immediately thereafter veterans were largely ignored. It was a horrible moment in the life of any soldier who lays down his life who comes home and the people really ignore him. Since 9 11, it has been the other side. It has flipped way over. And now people are saying thank you, sir, as the caller said. Hank you for your service. And veterans wonder, is this true . Do they really mean it . Is this a routine kind of thing . Im not a veteran of the vietnam war. I covered it. Im not a veteran of the war. At that particular time, i can imagine the soldiers coming back men who had then who had gone through a horrible experience, finding the American People disconnected, not really interested and in any way so pathetic. Sympathetic. This is a very major issue right now. 6 of the American People are in the service. 99. 4 are not. They go about their lives. But their lives depend on the work of that. 6 . They make it possible for us to have the liberty that we have and enjoy. And if they feel that they are being ignored certainly would be the last one in the world to say that i dont understand that. Host if you recognize that voice that you are hearing. Martinvin, had a 30 year career working for nbc news. Never cop working for the good that new service that could marvin kalb had a 30 year career working for nbc news. Never cop work for the good that new service. Peter on the line for democrats and a in new jersey. Caller i remembered you and i respect you and your brother. I want to Say Something. You are the only one who has touched on this. I got out of the service at that time and a couple years later i believe Richard Nixon came on the air, on television, and said , this is the whole point. He said, i will not preside over a defeat. I knew at that second that he took this personal, like he was to blame. For years after, that war went on and people died for nothing because he took it personal. Now comes along george w. Bush. He took it saddam personal. He was going to kill his father and he went to war because he took it personal. I think this is disgusting that these people what you goes that have or whatever. They get us into these wars. And thats an important point that he said he would not preside over the defeat. That went on for years for no reason. Guest the interesting point that is being raised here nations go to war largely because they have interests that have to be protected. It isnt a matter of a president not liking another president. For example, right now president obama is known not to like president putin. But that is not the reason that you have an argument with russia. Because two men who are temporally and office have an argument. United states of america is going to be there a lot longer than obama. What this color is raising is a fundamentally caller is raising is a fundamentally important point. The individual approach to war if you are president. And the president understanding the interest of the United States with respect to the war. Satisfying those interests in a way that leads to victory. That is what, i think, most president s would like to have, if they can pull it off. Host deborah kalb, a question for you yet twitter. This is vietnam who says vietnam was a loss . Doesnt that depend on how you define victory . Guest this often comes up for people who served in vietnam not always, but often it does. I think it is a valid question. It depends on what you define victory. I think people can argue that the reason the war cannot continue was because congress pulled the funding. We couldve have one had a continued. It is hard to know what wouldve happened if the funding had continued. I think that we are saying in the book that it was like a defeat. At was that was how was perceived. That was how the president subsequently proceeded. As a result, i think that i see the callers point. People to find out that way. I respect the position of people who would say that i do not define it that way. But i think in the book we are. Host let us bring in some vietnam veterans. We have special lines for them. Charles is a vietnam veteran from louisiana. Good morning. Youre on with marvin and deborah kalb. Caller good morning and thank you for taking my call. I served in vietnam from 19711972. I retired after 40 years and nine months of service in the United States army. I was in vietnam for 19. For my 30th birthday, i was shipped to the persian gulf. For my 50th birthday, i was a volunteer of Operation Iraqi freedom. Mr. Kalb, i take issue with your statement and others who say that we lost vietnam. Thats what you are alluding to just a few minutes ago on how you are defining loss. As an american soldier, we won every major engagement against the vietcong. The political will as you alluded to earlier cost tremendous backlash at home and to the soldiers. We are warriors. Our job is to put such overwhelming force on the enemy that his friends and his friends friends would think twice about attacking United States and its allies. When we were not allowed to bomb the harbor in those places that were unrestricted, we give them years to build up. When they overran the south vietnamese troops because i was there, we trained the south vietnamese troops. Once they saw a helicopter come, we were down in the vietcong delta to join from march to south. The ho chi minh trail in both water and land. As a vietnam veteran, i would gladly do it all over again because we went there with honor to support to hold on the communist aggression and a nation that wanted to experience democratic freedom. Host thank you for the call. Marvin kalb. Guest i think it is a tricky question. A terrific question. We live in a country where the military does the work, but the decisions are made at the white house, and by civilians. That is simply the structure. It has been that way from the very beginning. I think what the german is saying gentleman is saying is that if let loose, the u. S. Military could have won the war. Absolutely, and i totally agree. At the time, it was the decision of both democratic president s like Lyndon Johnson and republican president s like Richard Nixon and gerald ford that our National Interests were not being served by continuation of that war. Could we have unleashed more bombing of North Vietnam . Absolutely. What the more bombing have resulted in an american victory . That is the big question. When Richard Nixon unleashed ferocious bombing of North Vietnam in december 1972, it did lead to the paris peace accords of january 1973. However, we could have had those results that we got in january one. 5 years before, if the president had decided to accept those terms. The people who go out to fight have every reason to object that the decision coming down but they know that they salute and they do the job. They were not allowed to do the job as they saw it. At the same time, the president was deciding on a different course. We do follow the president. Host lets go back to that line for vietnam veterans, james is waiting in michigan. Good morning. Caller good morning. Marvin kalb, an honor to speak to you. Im all enough to remember when you were in active reporter. I retired from the air force in 1994. There is so much controversy for medical care for veterans. Im wondering if you are willing to throw your weight into an idea that i have, which is when people and list or get commission and the military, why not give them try care . I have had that since i retired. When active duty is deployed they are cared for by the military, as far as their medical care. When they are home, why not put them in try care . That money would come out of the v. A. Perhaps, the v. A. Could be scaled down or eliminated. Is that process or something you would be willing to investigate . Guest i tell you, i would be willing to investigate it. You know, i used to be a journalist but i am not any longer. It is not for me to go into that as a reporter. If i understand the point that was being raise, would a soldier, having finished his service or her service, on that soldier not be in a position to receive full medical care . Is that the full point . If that is the major point, i was under the impression that they are able to get full medical care now. If i am mistaken on that, please correct me. My sense is that you are able to do that. I think youre raising a more complicated question which im not grasping. Host deborah kalb, do you want to talk about how vietnam has influenced the spending decisions when it comes to the v. A. . Especially in a time of budget cuts and sequestration now. Guest i think in this particular time, i do not know the vietnam is the primary concern when it comes to the budget of the v. A. With sequestration. I think those concerns came out of more recent issues that came up, coming out of the past 10 years or so with economic troubles, and different partisan issues going on in congress today. I do not know the vietnam is directly a part of those decisions. I think in terms of how veterans are treated in general, which is something we are all thinking about on memorial day, you can look back and see a shift in terms of the attention paid to them, as my father was talking about earlier. When veterans came back from vietnam, they were not treated very well at all. You do see a shift since september 11 especially. You think of the veterans coming back today. All of the attention paid in various ways, and yet, you still have a lot of issues going on with the v. A. And how they are treated. I do not know that the funding decisions now are tied to much to the legacy of vietnam. Host lets head to california where steve is waiting on the line for independent spirit good morning. Caller