Well, good morning, everyone. What a pleasure to see a full crowd here tonight. I mentioned to the president that i was worried about the crowd showing up and he said dont worry, theyll be here. Its like field of dreams, they will come. We built it. Thank you for coming out and braving the roads this morning. My name is gary greg, the director of Mcconnell Center, and its been a pleasure of mine to be able to work with the students of the Mcconnell Scholars Program and many of you in the audience over the last 17 years. Over those years weve had some of the most consequential leaders in America Today visited with us, spoken to us here at the university of louisville and i think that today is no exception to that. We have been able to host, for instance, moments of historic importance like vicepresident biden here the day that mubarak resigned in egypt. And we broke news and had some very important things happen in the louisville tarmac that morning. Secretary of state colin powell delivered his first public address as secretary of state here at the Mcconnell Center in 2001 just after 9 11. David petraeus gave his only public speech as cia director here at the Mcconnell Center and many of you were here for some of those events. Today, i think at this important moment in american history, we will make history again by having the two leaders of the United States senate here today on a very important day in the United States senate. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please rise and help me welcome the interim president of the university of louisville, greg postle, the majority leader of the United StatesSenate Mitch Mcconnell and the democrat leader of the United States senate, chuck schumer. [applaus [applause]. [applause] good morning, thank you so much, dr. Gregg, for the introduction and for all of your hard work orchestrating this event. Leaders mcconnell and schumer and all in attendance on behalf of the students, faculty, and staff and alumni of the university of louisville, its my sincere pleasure to welcome you here this morning. Thank you for braving the slick roads to attend this muchanticipated event. Universities and colleges benefit in so many ways from their graduates. Some distinguish themselves in their personal and professional careers and thereby increase the influence of their universities. Others continue to give to their alma mater, giving their time, talent and treasure to be sure that the missions and the principles of the university are able to go forth and be bolstered. Were happy to say the person i am privileged to introduce this morning falls into both categories. Leader Mitch Mcconnell graduated with honors from the university of louisville with a degree in Political Science in 1964 and then went on to receive his law degree from the university of kentucky in 1967. In 1977 he was elected to his first of two terms as Jefferson County judge executive, a post he held until 1985 when he was elected to the United States senate. He has served continuously since that time and is kentuckys senior senator. From 2007 until 2015 he served as the minority leader in the senate and then since 2015 has serveds a the senates majority leader. Those who know Mitch Mcconnell know that hes truly passionate about his alma mater. The cornerstone of his legacy is the Mcconnell Center, which today is managed beautifully by gary gregg who you met earlier this morning. The mission of the Mcconnell Center is to identify, recruit, and nurture kentuckys next generation of leaders. The validities are those of leadership, scholarship, and service. The Mcconnell Scholars Program is home to 40 of the brightest undergraduate students in the state of kentucky who are selected for their ability and their distinguished High School Careers and who have an opportunity to study honors courses, participate in key programs to develop leadership capabilities, and also do some of their study abroad. The Mcconnell Center also is home to the Public Lecture series which we enjoy this morning. The idea is to invite influential political leaders, business executives, and accomplished scholars to the College Campus to help enrich and inform the campus community. Senator mcconnell has been very clear about his desire to bring to this series a wide variety of speakers over the years who represent many disciplines and many philosophies, so as to make sure that the dialog is diverse, which, of course, is interesting with the goals of the university. With that said, my sincere gratitude to leader Mitch Mcconnell and i welcome him this morning as he introduces todays keynote speaker. [applaus [applause] well, thank you very much, and i want to express my gratitude on behalf of all of us affiliated with u of l for your service, as acting president here and youve done, in my view, a seamless job of plugging the gap in this period that weve had here between president s. And i also want to single out gary gregg. When this program started in the early 90s, i really had no idea it could develop into what it has become and gary, youre the reason for that and i thank you. Gary came here in 2000 and took it to a whole new level and i hope youll join me in thanking gary gregg for the great job hes done. [applaus [applause] weve had a lot of interesting speakers here over the years. In my view, none more interesting than our guest this morning. [laughte [laughter] chuck schumer, of course, is from brooklyn, born and raised. His dad owned an exterminator business and one of chucks siblings remembered that we always associated the smell of triple x roach spray with love. It was his hard work, day in and day out that took this kid from brooklyn to the worlds greatest deliberative body the United States senate. And while last year Time Magazine named him one of the to its distinguished list of 100 most influential people. After graduating from harvard law school, chuck was elected to the new York State Assembly at the age of 23. About the same age as the graduates in this program. In his memoir chuck remembered his parents, actually didnt want him to run. They thought the life of a corporate lawyer would be respectable. [laughter] and more comfortable. Well, chuck, ive got to say my life would be a lot easier if youd only listened to your parents. [laughte [laughter] since that first electoral victory hes kept a perfect batting average, never losing a single election. Came to congress in 1981 and has served in both the house and the senate earning a reputation for tireless effort on behalf of the people of new york. A lot of people talk about working hard so that chuck has taken it to a whole new level. I mean, there is nobody that works harder than this guy. The Washington Post once wrote, work has always been schumers ace in the hole. Members of the Congress Said they passed his pet bills because he wouldnt quit peststering him. When the senate convened for the 115th Congress Last year, he became the first new yorker to serve as Senate Democratic leader. And he lives with his wife an accomplished woman of her own right and no matter how much time he spends in washington he never lets anybody forget where hes from. In our jobs and our leadership roles i get to work closely with him every single day. We negotiate the legislative schedule, nominations and other important Public Policy matters before the senate. As a majority and minority leaders were kind of like the offensive and defensive coordinators. Ive had both roles. As coach pet pettorino can tell you offensive coordinator is better. Washington can i often think they teach them in Journalism School that conflict is the news. But the senate is collegial place, we dont dislike each other, we can Work Together, and we have a long history of robust debates over the history of this country. I have to remind students from time to time anything you may have heard us say about each other pales in comparison to what adams and jefferson said about each other. We have yet a single incident where a congressman from South Carolina came over and almost beat to death a senator from massachusetts with a cane. So, robust debate is not unusual, been going on in this country for a very long time, but at every critical moment in this country, weve come together to do what needed to be done, to move the ball down the field. Now, a lot of people probably look at chuck and me and conclude something very different, but, in fact, its a great tradition of Senate Leaders working together. In 1990, George Mitchell and bob dole worked together to pass with the americans with disabilities act. Trent lott and tom daschle wrote a book together after they left the senate in the early 2000s. One of the most visible ways that chuck and i are seen together is every day when the senate floor opens for business. After the prayer and the pledge of allegiance, each of us has the opportunity to offer opening remarks detailing our views of the bits of the day. Traditionally, i speak first followed by the democratic leader. About you now that we have this show on the road, im the warmup act and i am thrilled to have my good friend, the democratic leader of the senate here this morning. Join me in welcoming chuck schumer. [applaus [applause] thank you. Thank you, everybody. [applaus [applause] its so great to be here with you. What a wonderful room and thank you, mitch, for that kind and generous introduction. We really do get along, despite what you read in the press. Now, as mitch will tell you, i all the like to start off with a little story, a little joke. My colleagues sometimes say no one laughs harder at my jokes than i do. But so this is a story its actually dedicated to my parents. I am blessed, my dad is 94, my mom is 89, praise god, and my dad as mitch mentioned struggled his whole life. He had this little exterminating business, it wasnt very successful, but when at age 70 he retired, my brother, who is a corporate lawyer and the financially successful schumer bought them a little house in florida. So, every winter theyd drive their car down to florida had a great time. My dad never played golf before, they took up golf and see their friends down there and had a good time. As they got older, things changed a little bit. My dad couldnt golf anymore and many of their friends passed on so they needed something to do. So Florida AtlanticUniversity Offers any Senior Citizen is allowed to take a course for free. So, my parent enrolled in the course called humor. Now, what was that . Every thursday at 4 p. M. Theyd roll up to Florida Atlantic university, go to the course called humor and what was it . Some erstwhile comedian who never made it in the catskills told jokes and my dad said college was easy i should have gone and they called each week with their favorite jokes and this is one of them. Mrs. Walters is brought before the judge and the judge rolls his eyes. Mrs. Walters, youre back. Yes, your honor, im back. What did you steal this time, mrs. Walters . Your honor, i stole a can of peaches from a supermarket down the road. The judge is exasperated. He said, look, i know youre a kepto maniac, i know its an illness and i know you cant help yourself and you can easily afford a can of peaches. This is march youve been arrested for shoplifting 17 times already and i have no choice, but to sentence you to some time in jail. Now, how many peaches were in the can, mrs. Walters . Your honor, there were four peaches in the can. And i have no choice im going to sentence you to four nights in jail, one for each peach. Hes about to bang the gavel and pronounce center when a gentlemen in the courtroom gets up agitated, your honor, may it please the court, im her husband. She also stole a can of peas . [laughter] so when you students all get old enough to retire and move to florida, you can enroll in at Florida Atlantic university and call your children and regail them with jokes. Anyway, its great to be here and i want to recognize at the beginning this Incredible Group of young scholars. You are going to have a positive and Lasting Impact on your state, on your country. Give yourselves a round of applause. You are our future. [applaus [applause] the scholars are so good i recruit them. One of the wonderful mcconnell scholars, jack, will be an intern in my d. C. Office this summer. Jasper, are you here . [applaus [applause] credit also goes, of course, to the great director of the Mcconnell Center, gary gregg, whos done an outstanding job at the helm for almost two decades. And finally, id like to thank my friend and he truly is, my friend Mitch Mcconnell, for this gracious invitation. I really respect and appreciate what mitch and his wife elaine have accomplished here at the Mcconnell Center. Nurturing the next generation of bright kentucky leaders. In new york, particularly in upstate new york, ive worked hard to support our network of worldclass public universities and tried to attract companies that would keep the Young Students in new york once they graduated. That is indeed just what the Mcconnell Center does, among other things, for kentucky and you should be very, very proud. Now, much of the coverage about Mitch Mcconnell and me, as he mentioned, focuses on the differences between us and the two states we represent, but the truth is, there are plenty of things that link mitchs hometown of louisville with my hometown of brooklyn. Take basketball, for instance, i know mitch is a huge fan of his alma mater. Every monday id come back and say how is louisville doing . Where are they in the rankings . I dont ask him this year as much. [laughte [laughter] , but i didnt want to miss this opportunity, that two of the three louisville basketball teams ever to win the National Championship were led by new yorkers. In 1980 it was the mcrae brothers, rodney and scooter from mt. Vernon in westchester county. In 2013, kevin ware and smith from the bronx in brooklyn and this year, jordan wora is from the great city of buffalo. So you never know. Here is another thing you might not realize we have in common. Bourbon. It turns out that brooklyn, where i was born, raised and still proudly live, produces some of the best bourbon in the world. I know thats a contentious thing to say in these parts, but i think its true. Now, this particular bourbon will james, is disspilled right around the apartment around the corner from the apartment where ive lived, my wife iris and i have lived more than 30 years. Its filtered through the same limestone that was used to build some of new yorks iconic structures, from the brooklyn bridge, to the statue of liberty, and as a thank you for his invitation, id like to give this bottle. [applaus [applause] brooklyn bourbon. Guest now, mitch and i dont agree on a lot of things, as you just heard im sure hell never agree that new york bourbon even counts as bourbon, but when we need to come together to solve our countrys problems and most pressing issues, we can and do successfully Work Together. As the longest serving leader of the Senate Republican caucus, he understands the pressure that every leader faces, including me, im new at the job. We try our best to understand each other, to never ask things that are impossible of the other, to be honest and respectful, to work in good faith and try to meet the middle wherever possible. Now, thats how we get things done in the senate. Sometimes it doesnt happen. Its no secret i didnt agree with the way health care and tax legislation were considered in the senate, for example. But sometimes it does happen. Late last week, for instance, in the early hours of friday morning, the Senate Passed a twoyear budget deal that provides significant investments in our military and in our middle class, including funding to fight opioid epidemic, and relief the student loan burden so many young people carry with them. Its a significant achievement, a genuine bipartisan breakthrough and shows in very Divisive Political climates, the senate can be the place where the business of the nation gets done. Last april mitch and i cut our first budget deal and then sanctions against president putin for his interference in our 2016 election and now we have this twoyear budget agreement which hopefully will lead the way, mitch is an appropriator, they never let me on the appropriations committee, that we can do appropriation bills throughout this year and the next where genuine bipartisanship happens every, every day. We have proven the senate can function when both parties work in a bipartisan way and endeavor to forego compromises. This week, the senate will have an opportunity to build on that progress. The senate is poised to take up one of the very most contentious of issues, immigration. Leader mcconnell, to his credit, has promised an open process