entire administration with leading with silence and they believe in the power and possibilities of science and technology for all of us. madam vice president, we particularly appreciate your leadership of the national space council and your commitment to ensuring innovation in space. v.p. harris: thank you and good evening, everyone. president joe biden and i talk often about our mutual passions for everything you will do. this is an exciting moment to join you for the unveiling of the work that you have been laboring on for decades. two joe biden, thank you for your leadership. our nasa administrator, bill nelson, and the nasa director, lender nelson. thank you to our colleagues across the white house and everyone else joining us from home. as chair of the national space council, i know today represents an exciting new chapter in the exploration of our universe. from the beginning of history, humans have looked up to the night sky with wonder. and thanks to the people who have been working for decades and engineering unscientific marbles -- marbles, we -- scientific marvels. we have been able to look at the atmosphere and look at the university in ways we never could have imagined even a few decades earlier. now, we enter a new phase of scientific discovery. building on the legacy of hub bel, the james webb telescope allows us to see deeper into space than ever before and in stunning clarity. it will enhance what we know about the origins of our universe, our solar system, and possibly life itself. this was made possible by partnership among nations, and it is an example of how the scientific endeavor can build upon the international rules and norms that govern our cooperation in space. this telescope is one of humanity's great engineering achievements. the images we will see today are a testament to the amazing work done by the thousands of workers across our nation who dedicated years to this process. they embarked on this complex endeavor for the benefit of humankind and in the process, accelerated american innovation, sustained partnerships with our allies, and will undoubtedly inspired generations to look to the heavens with excitement and ambition. with that, it is my honor to introduce a leader who has always believed in the power of american innovation and international cooperation to achieve the remarkable. our president, the president of the united states, joe biden. pres. biden: it is great to be with you all. i was going to say, good afternoon, but the meeting was delayed. today is a historic day. in q2 vice president harris, the chair of the national space council -- thank you to present -- vice president harris, the chair of the national space council, and thank you to bill nelson. and dr. nelson, you have done a great job. it really is amazing. 6.5 months ago, a locket ranch carrying the world's most powerful deep space telescope on a journey -- a rocket launch carrying the world's most powerful deep space telescope on a journey. assigned shield the size of a tennis court, and tiny shutters, each one smaller than a grand -- grain of scan -- stand. today we will get a glimpse into the first light to shine through that window. light from other worlds, orbiting stars, far beyond our own. it is astounding to me when i read this. i will see what they think when we see this. light or stars were born and from where they died. light from the oldest galaxies, the oldest documented light in the history of the universe from over 13 billion years ago. it is hard to even fathom. as we share this with the world, it will be an historic moment for astronomy and space exploration, for all of humanity. as an international collaboration, this telescope embodies how america leads the world through the power of our example. our partnership with others that symbolizes the relentless spirit of american ingenuity and it shows what we can read -- what we can achieve. and more we can discover, about our own planet and climate like the system observatory we launched last year. that is why the government must invest in science and technology. these images will remind the world that america can do big things and remind the american people, especially our children, that there is nothing beyond our capacity. we can see possibilities no one has ever seen before. we can go places no one has ever gone before. you hear me say over and over again, america is defined by one single word. possibilities. possibilities. i want to thank the team at nasa , once again showing that that is who we are as a nation. let's take a look at the very first image from this regulus telescope -- miraculous telescope. [applause] nasa administrator, nelson, i will turn this over to you. mr. nelson: mr. president, you held a grain of sand at the tip of your finger at arms length. that is the part of the universe that you are seeing. just one little speck of the universe. what you are seeing there are galaxies. you are seeing galaxies that are shining around other galaxies whose light has been dimmed. and you are seeing just a small, little portion of the universe. 100 years ago, we thought there was only one galaxy. now, the number is unlimited. and in our galaxy, we have billions of stars, and there are billions of galaxies with billions of stars and suns. we are getting our first glimpse -- as you said mr. president, we are looking back more than 13 billion years. light travels at 186,000 miles per second. that light you are seeing on one of those little specs has been traveling for over 13 billion years. by the way, we are going back further because this is just the first image. they are going back about 13.5 billion years. since we know the universe is 13.8 billion years old, we are going back almost to the beginning. that is the discovery that we are making with this. there is another thing that you are going to find with this telescope. is going to be so precise, you are going to see whether or not planets, because of the chemical composition that we can determine with this telescope of their atmosphere, if those planets are habitable. when you look at something as big as this is, we are going to be able to answer questions that we don't even know what the questions are yet. this is what is happening. it is because of this wonderful team that is out here. part of that team led by thomas, it was in trouble financially five years ago. he took it over, he got greg robinson to directed -- to direct it, and the result is what you have seen. what an incredible team, joined with our international partners, the european space agency and the canadian space agency. this is an international endeavor. pres. biden: it is amazing. i wonder what the press will look like in other places. [laughter] >> we will have to leave and then continue the briefing. >> washington journal, every day we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and discuss policy issues that impact you. tuesday morning, a law school professor at george mason university on his new book, progressive conservativism. then, renewing american democracies director discusses his new book, race and rocketing. watch washington journal live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning on c-span or c-span now, our free mobile app. join our conversation with your phone calls, text messages and tweets. >> the january 6 committee returns for its seventh hearing, watch as they examine the role extremist groups played in the attack on the u.s. capitol and their relationship with the trump white house. watch live tuesday on c-span3, c-span now or online at the span.org. you can also visit our website at c-span.org/january6. c-span, your unfiltered view of government. >> next, a discussion on security and integrity for the 2022 midterm elections. lawyers and journalists talk about establishing a legal resource project to help eliminate election disinformation and ensure security for election officials. the two-part event hosted by the center for election innovation and research is just under two hours.