Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140308 : v

CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings March 8, 2014

Educated workforce in america. I want it to be the most Diverse Workforce in the world. That is what i am fighting for. That is what your superintendent and principal are fighting for. I hope that is what you fight for your selves. Because when i meet the students here at coral reef, i am optimistic about the future. Michelle and i said, we are going to be in good hands. We are going to do ok. [applause] young people are coming. And nobody is going to stop them. Thank you everybody. God bless you and god bless america. [applause] [marching band plays stars and forever] obama] ants next, one of the speakers from the second day of the cpa see. We will hear from Texas Governor rick perry and texas senator john cornyn. Rick santorum and senator rand paul of kentucky. Tomorrow on washington aboutl, ralph reed talks the role of religion in politics in 2014 and the future of the republican party. Paul singer speaks at 8 30 a. M. The author of dragnet nation discussions intelligence gathering and the right to privacy. We will take your calls and you can join the conversation. Suffice it to say, most of Health Policy really is not Health Policy at all. It is essentially budget policy. So the Congress Just docs on so many of the big issues and ends up putting together something ,hat might be called a patch maybe an extension, they be is called a stopgap, but the fact itit docs the big issues ducks the big issues. When you have 10,000 people eligible for medicare every day, there is a very real cost attached with that. Now, the challenge is to try to find a way to move beyond this fixation on budgeting. It would be one thing if it was sound budget policy, but so often we, as i have indicated, dont get at the structural issues, and move the on to this lurch from one budget calamity to another, and come up with some sensible budget wallace e. This weekend on cspan, senator ron wyden on the challenges facing medicare and hospitals. Saturday at 10 a. M. On cspan three is American History tv, the grounds and architecture of George Washingtons mount vernon, sunday night at 8 00. We do not have a criminal investigation role. We have a vast, unfortunate role. We make sure wall street abides by the rules. Sets the rules for wall street and broker dealers and advisers. We do not have criminal authority. We have the power to bring, with the approval of our commission, civil actions and negligence actions against those who violate the federal securities laws. We cant send anybody to jail, but we can assess civil penalties. Our level of penalties is not as , we canwe would like it require those who commit wrongdoing to discord should their illgotten gains, and we have the power in an appropriate case to bar somebody from the Securities Industries so they cant live another day to defraud again. Sec chairman Mary Joe White on sunday at 8 00 p. M. To show you some of the speakers from day two of the event. We begin with exes governor rick perry. This is just over 10 minutes. We begin with Texas Governor rick perry. This is just over 10 minutes. Hello. Get it up. [applause] good morning. Yes, it is a good morning in america. The best part about it is, we are getting to stand in the [applause] presence of american patriots. [applause] i am reminded this morning of words that speak to the american soul, words spoken by thomas a littleho said rebellion every now and then is a good thing. [applause] is inends, our country peril. Our debt is at a record amount. , this economic recovery is absolutely stagnant. Our place in the world is weekend. I have aened. Solution. It is time for a little rebellion on the battlefield of ideas. [applause] instead of looking to washington to find the front lines of the battle, i ask you to look to the states, where we find the laboratories of innovation and 50 different laboratories of democracy taking place. From my place we have two visions of america. There is a vision, and blue states, where the government plays an increasing role in the lives of their citizens. In these states, taxes are on the rise, pension programs are out of control, and jobs are leaving by the truckloads. Then there is division, and to american red america, if you will. The red state america vision for the freedom where the freedom of the individual comes first, the reach of government is limited. ,n these states, taxes are low spending is out of control, jobs are on the rise, and opportunity is being socked far and wide far and wide. T governors like nikki haley,. Obby jindal, scott walker under governor haley, South Carolina moved 20,000 citizens from welfare to work. Under bobby jindal, louisiana has become more competitive for jobs by implementing smart regulations. Under scott walker, red state principles have been brought to wisconsin. You see, the public union baders, they walked they lked. Because scott walker has the courage to reform pension programs fairly, the people of wisconsin did not recall them, they stood behind him and reelected him. [applause] under rick scott, floridas Unemployment Rate has dropped for three straight years, when just four years ago his predecessor resided over the loss of more than 800,000 jobs. Now that guy wants his job back. With a record like that, appropriately, he is running this time as a democrat. [applause] you have to ask yourself. What is the common denominator in the states . Governors whotive cut taxes, who control spending, who invest in jobs. It is conservative governors who trust the people more than the machinery of government. It is conservative governors who know the freedom of the individual must come before the power of the state. [applause] the contrast with blue states is crystal clear. Pick any two. Hack, lets pick the two biggest , new york and california. From the east coast to the west coast, no two states have lost more personal income to other states than new york and california. If you rent a uhaul to move your company, it costs twice as much to go from San Francisco to austin than the other way around. You cant find enough trucks to flee the golden state. [applause] in new york you have this new advertising campaign, the new new york. They are the tired old recipe of backbreaking taxes. You have the regulations that are larger than a 30 ounce big gulp. Now, lets pick a large red state. Shoot, lets pick texas. [applause] taxes. We didnt spend all the money. We created fair and predictable regulations, and we stopped trial lawyersy from filing frivolous lawsuits. We created almost 30 of the nations jobs while keeping taxes among the nations lowest. We are presided over not only an energy boom, but the nations largest population boom and an economic room of monumental proportions. We have demonstrated that no state can tax and spend its way to prosperity, but with the right policies you can grow your way there. Debate state blue state really matters, because it is about the future of america. The vision that wins out either this Big Government, protectionist, nanny state version offered by liberal leaders, or the limited , unsubsidized freedom state offered by conservative leaders will determine the the freedom of our nation. [applause] america cannot sustain its current fiscal course. We cannot continue to ro trillions of dollars from bankers in beijing and brazil and tokyo. Credit ading of our for the first time, two years ago, should not have surprised anyone. Fighting over a few billion dollars in spending cuts while our debt has soared by trillions in the last five years. How can the greatest nation on earth continue to spend its way to astounding debt without the bill ever coming do . Due . R coming we appease a syrian russiand embolden his without the bill ever coming due . I am here today to say we dont have to accept recent history, we just need to change the presidency. [applause] it is not too late for america to lead in the world, that it starts by leading at home. It starts by returning to the founding principles of democracy found in our constitution. Among the enumerated powers of congress are the power to lay and providetaxes for the common defense. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, to declare war. Armies, tod support provide and maintain a navy. But nowhere does the constitution say we should federalize classrooms. Nowhere does it give federal primary responsibility over the air we breathe, the land we farm, the water we drink , and nowhere does it say congress has the right to federalize health care. [applause] you see, it is inherent in human nature, once given power, to never give it back. The me tell you something, this human tendency is a bipartisan offense. Elect they we must right kind of leaders to represent us in washington, howard to the states and not robbed him of it. Leaders who respect the freedom of the individual instead of depriving them of the power to realize their dreams. Tois time for washington focus on the few things the constitution establishes as the ,ederal governments roles defend our country, provide a cogent foreign policy, and what the heck, deliver the mail, preferably on time and on saturdays. [applause] get out of the Health Care Business get out of the education business let the Sleeping Giant of American Enterprise create prosperity again. My fellow conservatives, the future of this nation is upon you. It longs to you, you have the power to change america. You have the power to speak to our newest hope. You have you are the path to the future. Hopeepresent the renewed that america can be great again. , and god bless this great country we live in. [applause] another speaker at the conservative Political Action conference was texas senator john cornyn, who this week won a primary for reelection. This is about 10 minutes. Good morning. It is great to be with you this morning. I want to thank our friends at the American Conservative Union and all of you for all the work you do around the year to promote the conservative message. I have to admit my friend governor perry is a tough act to follow this morning. It is a privilege to do so. Under his leadership, texas has shown the world that conservative policies do lead to growth and prosperity. [applause] i can tell we have a few texans in the house this morning. Call it an experiment in our democracy, if you like, but quite a successful one compared to the failed experiment in Big Government during the last five years under president obama. I am not sure cpac has ever had two texans speak back to back before. That takes patience on your part. Let me bend your ear for a few minutes this morning. I promise i will be brief but i dont want my brevity to distract from the seriousness of the topic. This morning, what i want to talk you about is accountability. Specifically, the importance of accountability in our government and its shocking abandonment in by the obama administration. Accountability is a fundamental virtue. We hold in high esteem people who are accountable to themselves, to their families, and to god. American history is filled with stories that celebrate the accountability of some of our greatest leaders. From the founding father who famously cannot tell a lie to one of the founders of our party known as honest abe. We celebrate accountability as a nation and it makes sense to do so. Not just because it is a morally admirable trait but because this entire experiment and in selfgovernment depends on it. Thomas payne said a body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody. [applause] as public servants, we must be forthright in our actions and fully accountable to those that have the privilege to serve. As citizens, we must hold those in Public Office to the highest standard of accountability because unaccountability has always been the refuge of autocrats scandal makers and , stubbornly bad government policy. For the last five years now, five long years, president obama has put this maxim to the test for five years. He has advocated for a larger, more intrusive federal government. For five long years, the president has refused to take responsibility for his own actions. Lets look at the record briefly. When it was revealed that Eric Holders Justice Department had knowingly allowed weapons to be smuggled to mexican drug cartels, did we get accountability . We got a coverup. When one of those weapons showed up at the murder scene of u. S. Border patrol agent brian terry, i ask you, did we get accountability . No. When the president invoked executive privilege and the damaging evidence under lock and key when a Career State Department official dared to speak the truth about that terrible night in benghazi, a night when four americans lost their lives, did we get accountability . No. He was punished for his honesty. When it came to light that the irs was targeting americans whose only offense was to disagree with the president , did we get accountability . No. We got a Campaign Donor to the Obama Campaign instead, appointed to lead the socalled investigation. Then there is obamacare. Where do we even begin . When the website that americans must use to purchase government mandated health care did not work, do we get accountability . No. We were told the errors were great problems to have. When it was discovered there were no criminal background checks for obamacare navigators, people employed to handle sensitive information, did we get accountability . No. In fact, secretary sibelius told me herself that convicted felons could be hired as navigators. When people like glenn barlow, a of plano, texas lost his health insurance, he found the only comparable plan was 65 more expensive and included Maternity Care which he did not need. Did we get accountability there . No. We were told that people like him were thrilled with their options, thrilled. The fact of the matter is we conservatives predicted things like this would happen. When obamacare was debated, we screamed from the rooftops that it just would not work, that it would be a job killer, that it would make health care more expensive and less accessible for millions of americans. For pointing this out, we were mocked and disparaged by president obama and his allies. We were accused of being heartless and misinformed. Now, four years later, our predictions have come true and i ask you, has the president shown any accountability . No. Instead we have gotten waivers, delays, and minced words over exactly what the president meant when he promised you and me and all americans that if you like what you have, you can keep it. So as conservatives, what can we do . It does us no good to simply point to these facts and say, i told you so. The status quo is not written in stone. If the last five years have taught us anything about our liberal friends, it is that they dont get accountability. While they may be a lost cause, the future of our great country is never a lost cause. [applause] if we are going to get back to the america that our forefathers handed down to us, the america that our children and grandchildren deserve, we must foster a new era of accountability. Here is the simple fact about conservatives. We are pretty good at Holding People accountable. That is why conservatives must lead in rebuilding this new culture of accountability. For starters, we need to hold the house of representatives in this next election. Then we must take back the senate. [applause] we must win in arkansas, virginia, west virginia, north carolina, louisiana, montana, and other states. We must lead the charge all over the electoral map, including nebraska. Because that is how we will take back the white house in 2016. [applause] together lets support conservative candidates. Lets win and bring accountability back to washington dc. Lets get to work. Thank you and god bless you and may god bless the United States of america. Thank you and good morning. [applause] another speaker on day two of the conservative Political Action conference was former pennsylvania senator and 2012 president ial candidate Rick Santorum. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, foster, i think. It is always a joy to be with foster and you never know what you will get. I have been watching a little bit of what is going on here and i hear a lot of, we have to win. We all know what they mean. They actually mean we have to lose. We have to lose those currently unfashionable stances on cultural and limited government issues that have been proven over time to give americans the best chance for a healthy, happy life. We are told that we have to put aside what we believe is in the best interest of the country so a republican candidate could win. Now, that may result in a win for republican candidates, but it will be a devastating loss for america. [applause] i dont know about you but i am not out here fighting just to elect republican candidates and let them win. I am here to see america win. [applause] how did it work out for the republican establishment and following their lead nominating moderate candidates in the last two president ial elections . Lets face it. We have a bunch of leaders in this country who dont believe conservative policies could be the basis of the Winning National election and so they put forth candidates that keep apologizing for the principles they say they believe in and then they wonder why they lose. [applause] i want to win too. I think everybody here wants to win. But unlike a lot of these beltway talking heads, i am not pontificating. I actually put my neck out there and just about every other body part. You may recall that i ran for president in 2012 and [applause] i didnt run to carry an agenda. I did not run to put forth issues. I ran because i wanted us to win the white house. I wanted us to be successful in transforming america away from the fallacies of this the policies of this administration. To create a better america for the people who are struggling and lets make no mistake about it. Millions and millions and millions of more people are struggling because of the policies of this administration.

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