All my predecessors, laguardia was when the cofounder of u. S. Conference of mayors. It did not exist. He was one of the people who gave us the voices here. I do not know if there was a mayor who spoke about the nation. What i do know is a lot of things my city needs happen right here. The political environment will not allow us to get the support we need. We have to change the debate and the political environment. We need to build a coalition of leaders that will push the debate in the right direction. I have to ask i have to achieve these changes will making sure my city is safe and improving our schools and a host of things we do every day. Commissioner bratton is a great job. The overall crime index shows it is going down thank god, but , weve got to achieve both. We cannot have cities abandoned by the federal government. Last one. You are the one, yes. Are you concerned at all about the experience that Great Britain went through with the labour party shifted to the left . Totally wiped out. These are very different dynamics. I was entertained by mr. Gingrichs analysis and i think it is a very different reality for a host of reasons. One of the major factors in that election was the growing desire in scotland to be independent. That fundamentally shifted the electoral context. Second of all, weve got income inequality here that has grown since the day Ronald Reagan took office in a very, very sharp manner. I thought Joseph Stiglitzs analysis i commend it to everyone. It points out 35 years of declining possibilities or american working people. Fourthis is structural and has gone unaddressed here in this capitol for years. So i think our situation is different and i think right now people all over this country are shocked that there is not a set of solutions on the table in washington to address income inequality and these are the ideas that will win the day in this country. You you have the two leaders of visiting and policy in the senate and house on the democratic side, Chuck Schumer and steve is now. Have you talked to them about the messages . They are both valued colleagues and we certainly talked about a host of issues , but to me, we are seeing now before our eyes a change in our national politics. This fight for not like anything 15 weve seen in years. The referendum on min wage, to increase minimum wage, increase basic income is something that was difficult to achieve years ago. Our politics are different since the great depression. This is a plan to address the america of today and thats why such a crosssection of progressives are with you. Thank you, everyone. Are you going to meet with them . When are you going to stop taking the workers . Why wont you even meet with them . You are a phony, thats what you are. On the next washington journal, sarah westward of the Washington Examiner and Michael Mccaul of the Huffington Post discuss the role of the house of Lords Committee on benghazi and its investigation into the 2012 consular attack and what was the role of then secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The former bassinet to the former ambassador Mark Ginsberg talks about the Ongoing Nuclear talks with iran. Derek wall bank of bloomberg looks at the future of trade and how the house and senate will deal with it. Washington journal, live every morning at 7 00 on cspan. Sunday on newsmakers, senator mike lee looks at several congressional issues, including the recently passed Defense Authorization and the house and amending parts of the patriot act that would and the nsa collecting data. See newsmakers tomorrow at 10 00 a. M. And six clock p. M. Eastern on cspan. Congress returns the session on monday. The house will turn to several items including work on the Highway Trust Fund, which is set to expire at the end of may and 2016 spending for the legislative ranch. You can see the house live on cspan. The Senate Returns with continued work on the trade Promotion Authority and will vote on amendments at 5 30 p. M. It amends president obamas ability to enter into a trade agreement. Senators also amend provisions of the patriot act which would end the nsa collecting americans phone records. See the senate live on our companion network cspan 2. Just one more week on capitol hill before the house and senate go out for their memorial day break. Joining us for a look at that last week ahead is lauren french. She is a congressional reporter with politico. And two big deadlines ahead, the patriot act and Highway Trust Fund. The house passed its bill dealing with the patriot act nsa surveillance, renewing expiring provisions, whats the status of the legislation in the senate . So thats a lot more complicated than it was in the house. The house passed it to the senate with an overwhelming number of members supporting the usa freedom act, but that legislation is really not being picked up in the senate. Mitch mcconnell wants a clean reauthorization of the patriot act. The program most notably known for because of Edward Snowden and the release that he did. Theres critics of the patriot act and the bulk collection of american data who want to see the freedom act or a bill like that put on the floor instead of a straight extension of the patriot act. Senator rand paul and mcconnell finding themselves on opposite sides of this issue . Senator rand paul said he would likely filibuster if Mitch Mcconnell put up just a clean extension of the patriot act. He is worried about the privacy concerns that the government can collect data from americans without warrants or proper notification. So he could filibuster that bill if it came up to the floor, but Mitch Mcconnell is pushing heavily on other republicans to supply the votes need for a clean reauthorization so they can move on to other pressing deadlines. Lets turn to the Highway Trust Fund another one thats , facing a deadline. Democrat tom harper tweeted about the bill, dealing with it he is calling for a twomonth extension, says today senator senator boxer and i are again back with a bill to compel congress to fix the trust fund this summer. What is the status of this funding for this, short and longterm . Funding will run out and right now the current authorization for the Highway Trust Fund ends the end of this month. And lawmakers are on a strict deadline with the upcoming construction season. There needs to be money available to keep those Infrastructure ProjectsGoing Forward and building. So what is happening here is you see in the senate and in the house a twomonth extension of that authorization to give lawmakers much more time to figure out how to pay for a longterm extension. Mostly everyone involved wants a fiveyear or longer extension of the Highway Trust Fund, the question and the Sticking Point is how to pay for it. Democrats are advocating for an increase in the gas tax but thats not a popular proposal among republicans. And then this senate, moving forward with trade Promotion Authority, politico reporting dems look to start senate trade war next week. What do you think we can expect in floor debate and will the senate finish this by the end of the next week, when theyre supposed to be out . You can expect a contentious week in both the senate and in a lesser extent, the house, over the tpa the fast track trade Promotion Authority. You will see democrats some wanted but someone with senator reid earlier this week to stop it from Going Forward until there were currency debates and other bills considered but now that its going to be on the floor, youre going to see democrats really railing against Fast Track Authority and the qualms that they have with the upcoming Transpacific Partnership, that larger trade deal. Sort of a very contentious week and theres no guarantee that trade is dealt with by the senate. It is on the agenda for next week, but they might not get to it or vote on it, might not pass. Its all very much in flux, and if it does pass it goes to the house where the future of tpa Fast Track Authority is much more uncertain. And then affecting also the tpp, the Transpacific Partnership as well. Lets move on here. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton was supposed to testify before the select committee on benghazi as early as next week, but then as you write, the chair of the select committee, trey gowdy, says hes not going to allow her to testify until certain documents are turned over. Whats happening here . Will you saw trey dowdy flip the switch and turn attention away from Hillary Clinton and on to john kerry, her predecessor successor at the state department. What hes saying in this letter is that, without these documents, without all of the documents theyve requested in a letter and subpoena over the last year, he cant have Hillary Clinton come in and testify, because he just doesnt have the evidence he needs. And shes insisting shell only appear before the Benghazi Panel one time. Gowdys fear is she comes in new evidence comes out, when new documents are made available they will have missed the opportunity to question her. Now, hes saying without all of these documents, she wont be appearing and really trying to amp up pressure on the Obama Administration to get the documents they have been waiting for in some cases, six months. We will continue to fall you on twitter. Your handle is laurennfrench. The new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress with colored photos with color photos of every member. Also, district maps, a foldout map of capitol hill, and a look at congressional committees, the cabinet, and federal agencies. It is 14. 99 13. 95 less shipping and handling. You can get it on www. Cspan. Org. Former transportation secretary Rodney Slater discusses longterm funding and in for structure development. He was joined by trent lott and john breaux at this event, hosted by the law firm Squire Patton boggs and the council on competitive this competitiveness. This is two hours. While many of these individuals have been witnesses for one thing we want to say is on the half of Squire Patton boggs and and the council on competitiveness, and welcome the 50 such events sponsored over the course of this week to highlight the importance of Infrastructure Investment to our improved quality of life and our economic competitiveness and wellbeing. Over the duration of the next two hours, while gathered in this, the Historic House transportation and infrastructure hearing room, you will hear from chairman bill shuster and Ranking Member peter defazio, leaders of this distinguished committee. You will also hear from deputy secretary Victor Mendez, as well as other transportation and infrastructure thought leaders from across the United States. Our two panels will be moderated by distinguished former members of the u. S. House of representatives and the u. S. Senate. Former majority leader trent lott and the distinguished senator from louisiana, john breaux. Infrastructure week started monday of this week with comprehensive presentations by Vice President joe biden and u. S. Secretary of transportation anthony foxx, followed by Panel Discussions that included voices from a diverse quarter or quarters, if you will, of our society. Rich trumka president of the aflcio, tamara lungren, chairwoman of the u. S. Chamber of commerce, and the noted harvard professor who unveils her new book move putting americas infrastructure back in the lead. Todays session will focus on the specific and particularly important topic longterm transportation funding. The imperative as it relates to u. S. Competitiveness and leadership in the global marketplace. To begin, i would like to call forward victoria kram, who is the cochair of the Squire Patton boggs transportation infrastructure and local governments practice group, to introduce Ranking Member peter defazio, who will bring opening remarks, to be followed by senator lott and our distinguished first panel. Vicki. Thank you, secretary slater. Good morning, everyone. It is my great pleasure to introduce congressman peter defazio. He was first elected in 1986 and is now the longest serving house member in oregon history. He has served on the house transportation and Infrastructure Committee since he was first elected. As you all know, he is the Ranking Member of the transportation and Infrastructure Committee. If you have ever seen him on the floor or in committee you will , know that he is passionate about transportation policy. He has been integral to the development of every transportation and aviation bill over the last 25 years. There is no one who understands the need for longterm transportation more than congressman defazio. Thank you, congressman. [applause] congressman defazio thank you. Trent and i were reminiscing about 10 years here. I have been here so long that i will start with this point. The last time we raised the gas tax was 1993. That was with the dad of the current chairman, bud shuster. He brought a group to vote with the then majority democrats. We raised the gas tax. We ran a very bipartisan committee. Bill and i are teamed up and if you stay around long enough, i dont think i will be around for the grandkids from the family. So, as you know, our country is falling apart. Very briefly, 140,000 bridges need repair or replacement. 40 of the highway system surface, not just surface but you have to dig up the road, substantial renovation needed. We are now up to a 86 billion backlog on our existing transit systems to fix the repair. Its so bad we are killing people here in washington, d. C. On the metro system because of the state of disrepair on the system. That is pretty bad news altogether. The good news is we are be strong was requirements of any part of the federal government. Much stronger than the pentagon. If we make these investments , we will put a heck of a lot of people to work, not just in construction and manufacturing not just steel. Hightech manufacturing when it comes to transit vehicles and a lot of Small Businesses will be contributed to this effort. Its imperative we get to that point. We got a roadmap back. We had two commissions and they did great work. One focused mostly on the system itself and the state of disrepair, and the other focus ed specifically on finance. If you want to know all the potential options, go back and look at that finance report. We have not invented many new ones except perhaps for some things that might deal with the tax code, which we were talking about them because we were much more focused on a user fee based system. And i, as a member, of the Committee Still look principally on the user fee based system. It is proven and i think its a possible way to go forward. The problem is the president has been opposed. The speaker is opposed. We have a few roadblocks there. But more and more rankandfile members are coming up to me from both sides of the aisle and saying, if you can get your bill to the floor, i will vote for it, but i will not the my name on it. The ice is kind of melting here. The members really begin to realize that we went through that period for a couple of years for some people who believed in socalled devolution. I didnt bring my poster here today, which i have carried around the country for years. I dont need it anymore now that jim inahofe has declared the devolution. Dead. He said it is a bad idea 10 startup and it is a bad idea now. But there is still some devolution in the house and the poster i have is from a picture from life magazine in 1956 and is an aerial shot of this beautiful ribbon of concrete. Brandnew kansas turnpike and it ends and its kind of these weird angles that are dark. You say, what is that . That happens to be the kansasoklahoma state line. Oklahoma said if you build it, we will build it, and oklahoma got into difficulties. And those are farm fields which is where the new freeway or turnpike ended. People crashed through it and he could have made a lot of money. He did not use that field because people kept driving through it. Until the eisenhower bill and then when oklahoma and got in the timeshare with the feds, they built it. We have tried devolution and it didnt work in the 1950s so it sure as hell isnt going to work in the 21st century where you are competing with other countries spending up to 10 of their gdp on the infrastructure to efficiently move goods and people. We are down to 1 . I have given a lot of speeches on this and talk about the deteriorated condition. We used to be number one in the world and now we are rated 26 in infrastructure. Blumenauer came up to me after one of his speeches and he said that was i said you know how bad things are. He said you are insulting third world countries because they are investing more in gdp and infrastructure than we are. So i have now tak