Transcripts For CSPAN Washington This Week 20140921

To me they seem to confine it to being able to have your religious views in church or in temple or wherever you worship on sunday or wherever, whenever you worship, and thats it as opposed to living out your religious views 24 hours a day seven days a week. I think the real assault is on religious liberty. I think the hobby lobby case where the green family was threatened with over a Million Dollars in fines if they didnt want to pay for adortafations was correctly decided. I wish there had been a 90 ruling. This is the latest assault on religious liberty. You see it in the case that was decided with the administration, the case of a lutheran school, went in and tried to argue there was no ministerial exemption that had long been recognized in the employment laws. When you think about that, whats dangerous, they didnt have to claim that in simply deciding that case. They could have gone with a much more narrow argument. Instead the government was claiming there was no protection for churches to select who gets to teach the gospel, minister the gospel in their settings. They didnt even have to argue that to argue the case. I think that was a very dangerous im glad now think about that. It was decided 90 against the administration. Every Supreme Court justice from left to right agreed that the administration over reached. What was worrisome to me, what scared me is the administration tried to make the argument it made and it shouldnt have made that argument. I was glad the court turned it down. I think the bigger issue is this assault on religious liberty. The president spoke eloquently at the National Prayer breakfast about defending the rights of christians overseas. Did a beautiful job. That is a shooting war, not a silent war on religious liberty as we see here at home. Im not trying to con fillet the two. For many of us it was shocking to hear him speak so eloquently about what was happening overseas and the rights and protections of christians overseas while ignoring what is happening here at home. Religious liberty im sorry the United States did not create religious liberty. Religious liberty created the United States. It was the reason our country, one of the fundamental reasons our country was founded. It is also by the way the foundation for that without religious liberty there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of association. I think there is a growing issue in terms of this assault on religious liberty. I would say this. My final thought on this is that my hope would be even those that may not share the same conservative social views as evangelical christians or other believers who happen to be right now at the forefront of the religious liberty fight, my hope would be that they would, even if they disagreed with their particular views, would still fight for the ability of those individuals to live their views and say, you know, we may not agree with your views on marynell or whatever the issue is but we do think in this country its right, you have the ability to live your right according to your views, your sincerely held religious views. Weve always held that as a country. I would hope this is something that would mobilize folks across the political spectrum and is not simply an issue for crips or republicans. I would hope there would be a broad bipartisan consensus we live in a country that values religious liberty for all folks. Not just evangelical christians. They just happen to be the ones right now who feel their rights are being infringed upon and are speaking up right now. I think religious liberty is a very important issue. Lauren . Thanks governor for being here. In august the cbo recorded medicare spending had declined significantly. Where does that leave leaders in the party outlining specific plans to curb the cost of entitlements . Does that undermine the longterm republican argument that the entitle mentreforms are necessary . Not at all. I think part of the challenge in reforming medicare and the entitle mentprograms, unfortunately this town is addicted to fiveyear, tenyear cbo scoring windows. Its not a recent phenomenon. You see all the different gimmicks that have been done to try to get, to make policies that may have a shortterm impact that really dont longterm impact the trajectory of the program. Look at medicare specifically. You look at the part a trust fund, the actuarial reports, not just the shortterm cbo reports, we still have a program that is in incredible distress that faces longterm challenges if we want to and we do if we want to continue to sustain and preserve this program for not only our parents and grandparents but for future generations as well. The challenge within the debate here in d. C. Is if you look at everything in five and tenyear scoring windows you get a lot of bandaids but you never address the real problem. The greater problem is medicare is still growing. Costs are still growing faster than Economic Growth. You still have a program where u doan the the baby boomers have not yet become, not yet gotten to the age as a cohort where theyre going to be consuming their most consuming even more medical resources than they are today. In the future youll see baby boomers consuming even more medical resources as they get older and have more health care needs. Were just at the front of the tidal wave thats going to change the program. So, no. I think, look. Certainly in the short term it is good news that the growth rate slows down but in the longer term you still face part a trust limits, going to run out of money long before baby boomers are getting health care. You still face the program where the costs are rising more quickly than Economic Growth. You have a program that is not efficient or responding to the needs of its members. Its not very nimble in adopting new technology, new procedures. It is not very responsive in providing the best quality care to its members. Now, medicare has done many important things and so i think its important to continue the program but also important to improve it. So proposals i look forward, for example, the specific descriptions of premium support i put forward would allow both taxpayers and beneficiaries to save money while improving the program. I think the urgency is still there and i think that it will be important for leaders in both parties to come together. I will say if you go back and this is just indulging me to speak a little bit about my history, back in the 1990s with the Medicare Commission there was a willingness to work across party lines. We werent able to get that bill passed but you had senators like broh and frist working together on legislation. You had senators kerry and broh on the commission working the republican colleagues. You had folks like the dlc endorsing premium support. So you had folks willing to work across the aisle at that time. Republicans on the commission at that time were willing there was not a part d. They were willing to add prescription drugs to the medicare program. You had democrats willing to add premium support into the program. Some democrats as part of an overall approach. I think there is a path forward. I do think its going to require strong leadership from the white house and leadership in both parties to work together. That was possible in the 1990s. I think its possible and necessary again. Katy from politico . Thank you, governor. Seven weeks ago you criticized president obama for not having inaudible] hat do you make sure. A couple things. Absolutely i think congresss support of the administrations request for funding as well as authorized the use of air strikes and other force against isis, right now i think there is they are in the process of approving that request especially air strikes against isis whether in syria or iraq. Look, this is a terrorist group that threatens american interests, western interests. I was critical. I am critical of the president s rhetoric and policies. His delays allowed this group to gather strength. His strategy of leading from behind has made america weaker, the world more dangerous. After the barbaric beheading of mr. Foley the reporter he was eloquent in expressing the nations grief but, unfortunately, the president , was very eloquent in expressing the nations grief but grief isnt a strategy. He talked about containing isis, talked about iraq expelling isis. What i wanted to hear him say was we need to hunt them down and kill them. He did not say that. I think that his diggettering, delaying has allowed them to gather land and resources and get Even Stronger and pose a greater threat to the United States and our allies. If speeches were the same as results wed have the best president in the history of the country. Unfortunately theyre not. Wed have the best Foreign Policy in a generation. Unfortunately we do not. The president has been very eloquent. Unfortunately, his actions havent backed that up. In terms of where we are today i think its incumbent upon the president to present a plan i personally think by the way he has the authority in his role to do limited attacks and strikes to defend our country. I think it is right for him to go to congress to make his case to the American People to get the broader authority. So im glad theyre in the process of doing that. I think it is incumbent upon him to share a strategy with the congress, with the American People about how well eliminate this threat, not just contain it, not just degrade it. How were going to hunt them down and kill them. I think theres ban lot of discussion about the international coalition, partners, what theyre willing to do, what theyre not willing to do. Its better to have a coalition than not, better to have allies helping us especially when you look at cutting down the financing available to the group, controlling the borders, providing intel and other resources. At the end of the day America Needs to be willing to lead. I think the more that our allies see america is willing to lead, more than likely they are going to be wanting to join a coalition. The challenge weve got now with this administrations approach to Foreign Policy is our friends dont trust us. Our enemies dont fear us. There is no doubt in my mind that putin, russia would not be in the crimea, meddling in the ukraine if they truly feared, respected the folks in the white house. There is no doubt in my mind at it had an impact when his first year the president unilaterally withdrew the missile interceptors based in poland and wouldnt allow georgia a quick ascension back into nato in the first year, when they offered the reset to russia, when this president later drew a red line in syria and there werent consequences when they crossed the red line. Not the promised consequences he threatened. I think when this administration didnt whole heartedly support israel in their fight against hamas, a recognized terrorist group, all that cumulatively has consequences. I think our allies and our enemies are watching. My greatest concern when it comes to Foreign Policy is what takeaway message does iran take from watching americas approach to Foreign Policy . It is a threat to us, to our allies, to the world for iran to become a nuclear power. We cannot allow that to happen. My worry is what risk for war calculation are they making based on our unwillingness to date to follow through . America must lead. A stronger america leads to a more peaceful world. Ironically, a stronger america leads to fewer deployments of american troops. Thats not just a slogan but actually true. I wish this administration would believe that and practice that. Yes, i do think congress would support the request to fund the training of moderate rebels in syria as well as the strikes on targets and the strikes against isis whether in syria or iraq. I do think they should approve the funding and the resolution that theyre requesting. Howard . Governor, i want to ask a couple science questions. I thought you said at the beginning its been a while. Im a biology major. I know youre a biology major. Did you say at the beginning the administration or are science deniers . I did. What did you mean . I think there are several examples of their approach to energy policy. For example, its been over five years since the Keystone Pipeline theyve been studying their own administration, their own state Department Says there would be no Material Impact on the environment to approve it yet they keep delaying. They keep denying approval to our, one of our closest allies, who simply wants to sell us crude oil then buy back some of that as refined product helping our economy and their economy. There is no scientific no factual basis for this to continue to be delayed other than pure politics. When you look at their approach to funding, the conservatives used to like to say government should pick winners and losers. This administration, theyre just picking losers. You look at solyndra and some of the companies they funded they have an awful record in terms of what type of energy seems like the only type of Energy Sources they want to fund are those that are expensive and wont succeed. Third, you look at their approach to the epa for example and the recent co 2 rules. Even if you agree with the premise of the massachusetts Supreme Court ruling, look at what theyre doing in louisiana. For example they proposed a 40 reduction from our power plants in louisiana. We are about when you look at louisiana a biggest source of electricity of natural gas, relatively clean burning, we have nearly 20 , which is nuclear. Were not a high coal burning state. When we asked the epa where did you come up with 40 . We have one of the highest target reductions compared to other states in the country, they couldnt explain the rationale. Its not like we have low hanging fruit, not like we have older plants we can easily replace, modernize, or upgrade. Again, we already significantly relied on natural gas and nuclear. There was no basis for the 40 reduction. When you look at their approach to the other question about the environment, simply shipping, for example, under this administrations policies, were now exporting 10 of our coal, china and other countries are burning it. Does nothing to help the environment. Its hurting our economy. How is that fact based or science based . How is that a science based approach . Even if you believe their premise that what theyre addressing is a real needs to be addressed . I asked whether you personally believe that human activity well two parts. Do you think that the earth is the climate is changing and earth is warming . Do you believe human activity had something to do with that . One, the climate is absolutely changing. And the question is how much is it changing . What are the consequences of that change . Secondly, yeah. Its not controversial to say human activity is contributing in some way to change certainly. In terms of how much and how serious that is, let the scientists decide that. Politicians dont need to decide that. As we address it, and again ill quote krauthammer. You dont have to be a Climate Change believer or denier to actually believe that it cant be good for us to be if there is nothing wrong in terms of wanting to reduce emissions coming out of our common industry. Do you personally believe that human activity is leading to changes in the global sure. I would hope its not controversial. Im sure human activity is impacting the climate. I would leave it to the scientists to decide how much, what that means, you know, what are the consequences. Isnt there pretty much of a consensus on that among scientists . Again, my plan is not trying to litigate that but saying to the extent were addressing that we should be doing it in concert with International Partners and competitors, that the actions this administration has taken, one, dont actually improve the environment and hurt our economy, simply exporting coal to other countries to burn doesnt change. Even if you accept everything they believe, even if you say, look. I believe everything they believe. Simply exporting coal to other countries doesnt do anything. Exporting Energy Intensive jobs, if new corps makes that steel overseas rather than america theyre going to be making it in countries with looser environmental laws than america. My point is let the scientists debate and figure that out. The political policy perspective should be we should address that in concert with our International Competitors and trading partners. China now emits again more co 2 than america and all other countries in the western hemisphere combined. How in the world does it make sense to export more jobs . That isnt going to help the environment. If anything, its going to make the environment worse when they go my science question is, do you personally believe that the theory of evolution explains the presence of complex life on earth . The reality is i was not an evolutionary biologist. What i believe as a father and a husband is that local schools should make decisions on how they teach and we can talk about common core and why i dont believe in a national curriculum. I think local School Districts should make decisions about what should be taught in their classrooms. I want my kids to be exposed to the best science, the best critical thinking, whether evolutionary biology do you think the theory of evolution is the best scientific thinking on the development of complex life on earth . I would tell you as a father id want my kids to be taught about evolution in their schools. But secondly, i think local School Districts should make the decision im asking what you think. I told you what i think. I think that local School Districts not the federal government should make the decision of how they teach science, biology, other subjects in their classrooms. I want my kids taught about evolution. I want my kids taught about other theories as well. Okay. Go ahead. Im trying to get in a couple more. We have about seven minutes left. Miles . Are blowing an uncertain trumpet, you say let the scientists decide. Doesnt a leader have to take a position at some point . When is enough science enough to make a move one way or another . Are you neither a believer nor a denier but are you an ncertain yourself . Two things, what are the policies we adopt in our country . My point is the policies we are adopting now are bad for the economy and the environment as well. What we have done is we are forcing Energy Intensive industries to consider going overseas. Does nothing to help the environment and certainly hurts our economy. The problem the left has going back to my point about them being science deniers, the left loves energy that is scarce and expensive. Natural gas was the clean burping fuel when it was scarce. My first year as governor it was 13, 14. Then you had the fracking revolution. The left said wait a minute. Were not so sure we like natural gas anymore. My point is we have got to stop with the radical left, stop with this almost religious approach that wants energy to be scarce and expensive. From a political, policy perspective the important thing is we can protect our environment and glow our economy. They are not mutually exclusive. We should want Energy Intensive jobs, good paying jobs. Many dont require college degrees. Secondly to the extent were pursuing these policies lets only do it in consultation with job creators and in concert with the countries we compete against. Otherwise all well do is unilaterally shut down our industry, ship even more to china and to asia and other countries. Does nothing for the environment and hurts our economy at the same time. Mr. Shield . Governor, could you tell us what democratic president of your lifetime you most admire and why . Thats tough. In my lifetime ive really got three choices. Ive got president carter, president clinton, and president obama. Famously ive already ruled two of them out, i famously said during the campaign president obama was the worst president in my lifetime since jimmy carter and after the reelection i apologized to jimmy carter. I say president clinton for a couple reasons. One, he was a former gavin i think it gave him more practical experience. You know, hard to believe i dont think president obama does. I think president obama is the most radical president idiosyncrasy logically in my lifetime. I think he is the most incompetent president. Jimmy carter was incompetent. I dont think he was radical ideologically. I think he did believe in american exceptionalism. By the way the last time this administrations Energy Policies to me look like a lot like carters failed Energy Policies based on scarcity not abundance. I do think bill clinton having served as a governor, i think that was better preparation for being president simply being a senator as you see with president obama, i think, bill clinton had to balance a budget, work with a legislature, set priorities. I think that faced with a Republican Congress whether he liked it or not even though he vetoed at first he signed a very good piece of legislation, welfare reform. That was one of the more successful modern pieces of legislation in terms of decreasing poverty rights as well as helping folks enter the economy. I think it represented a consensus between republicans in the congress and the democratic white house. I think the greatest missed opportunity on domestic policy and maybe im biased because i was working on the Medicare Commission, he had an opportunity to embrace the bipartisan Medicare Commission. There was speculation in the wall street journal and elsewhere he was on the verge of doing it and changed his mind because of the impeachment, the lewinsky scandal. I do know for a fact that two of his appointees were very close to endorsing the commissions product. Very lastminute changed their mind. One later testified to the ways and Means Committee he regretted that and wished he had voted for it. I think that was one of his greatest missed opportunities on a domestic policy. Of the three i think he was he was the better of the three in part because of his experience as governor but also because he had a Republican Congress. His last six years were better than the first two because he had a Republican Congress forcing him to come to the table and compromise, forcing him to do things like welfare reform even if he didnt want to do it in the first place. Weve only got about two minutes left. Zeke . I want to ask you about the race it seems the conservative experiment in that state, severance from a suffers from a back lash and maybe even failed. Could you diagnose the problem . Where did governor browns backing go wrong . I think sam is going to win his election and be fine. I applaud him for being bold. I think the easy thing to do for elected leaders for politicians is take a poll. There is an old saying in louisiana that politicians if they see a mob marching on city hall with pitch forks and torches get in front and call it a parade. Sam didnt do that. He was willing to spend his Political Capital to cut taxes, shrink the size of government. I think thats going to help the economy grow well. Its going to help grow the economy. I think we need leaders willing to use their Political Capital to implement bold policies that shrink the size of government that grow the private sector based economy. I think he will be rewarded with a second term as governor. I think as people see the results of those reforms youll see poll numbers improve. Thats the kind of leadership we need. We need more in d. C. Right now. Unfortunately we have too many politicians here only paying attention to shortterm polls that are unwilling to do things to addresses collating debt. They are unwilling to do anything to grow our economy. We have one of the worlds highest tax rates for our companies. Were seeing companies overseas. Were seeing a very anemic Economic Growth. I think sam is going to win reelection. The lesson to be taken is we need bold leaders willing to do big things and i think the poll numbers only get better as people see results as they see he economy grow. Something is the matter with kansas here. Sam, even when he was in the United States senate took positions based on principle and sometimes took, he was a fierce advocate for human rights on the international stage, surprised a lot of folks with where he spent his Political Capital. I think its great. Hes a principled, conservative leader and i think the people of kansas are fortunate to have him as their governor and i think will for another four years. I think when youre willing to lead sometimes you have to make tough decisions and when people see the results of those decisions then youll see the poll numbers come back and see the Popular Support come back. The thing i think people really crave in leaders is authenticity. Somebody that looks them in the face, do what they say theyll do, and be honest. Sam has done that. Every voter knows up front what he stands for and what he is going to do. You think about how policy has been made in this town recently. The president the president saying you could keep your doctor and health care if you like it. Turned out not to be true. Cut out premiums of 2500. Turns out not to be true. We wouldnt have obama care if it wouldnt be for the lies to sell the program. You contrast that with sam brownbeck, he faced the voters and said this is what were going to do. People know what he stands for. Even voters who dont agree with him i think respect him for being honest up front and saying exactly what he was going to do. I think his support will grow as people reap the rewards as the economy grows. The safest thing to do, youre right. He could have sat back his first four years and done nothing but thats not why, i know sam. I know the reason he ran for office was to make a difference. I respect and admire that. I think its the only reason to run for office. There are too many people who run for office to get the title and the perks. We dont need those folks in office. They need to get out of the way. Im proud he is fighting so hard for his views, his position, to improve his state. I apologize to my colleagues for not being able to get everybodys question in. Thank you for coming, sir. Appreciate it. I look forward to coming back. Thank you, sir. Monday night on the communicators wade baker chief Technology Officer and Security Director for verizon on the recent data breaches at home depot, target, and jp morgan chase. It is truly all of the above. Weve worked with Law Enforcement agencies who have busted down doors and dragged people out of their basements literally. We have also participated in fairly large scale arrests of multiple individual idiosyncrasies individuals who are highly connected together, very well organized. They each have individual special tis and roles. Someone writes malicious software. Others know how to wash the money and all of these things. Just like physical organized crime. Then there are others that definitely are working on behalf of the government. They have an office. There are pictures, recon photos, and all of that kind of thing going in and out to work. They go to that building. Thats their job is to hack into companies and steal formation on behalf of the government. Ive seen photos of some Eastern European towns for instance that, just an insane number of people drive lamborghinis and things like this and a lot of that is the spam, the fake pharmaceuticals, the financial fraud, and just tax fraud, medicare fraud, all of these things. Its staggering amounts of money that are at some point traced back to data that was stolen, scored at a corporation or government. Monday night at 8 00 eastern on the communicators on cspan 2. House Speaker John Boehner recently outlined a proposal to grow the u. S. Economy and create jobs. Part of the plan included maximizing the countrys Energy Resources while also addressing the national debt, energizing the tax code. From the American Enterprise institute, this is 30 minutes. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Im the president of the American Enterprise institute. Im delighted to welcome you all here today for this important address from the speaker of the house, john boehner. Its a distinct honor to introduce my friends. John boehner back to aei, as most of you know he is the 61st speaker of the house. When he was first elected in 1990, he had little idea what high school i his trajectory was going to lead to. He served as House Minority leader, House Majority leader, chairman of the House Committee on education and work force, the chairman of the House Republican conference and on and on. One leadership position after the other. Up to the highest leadership position in the house. Hes known not just as someone who holds leadership positions but who is authentically a good and courageous and fair leader. Today he is here to discuss a fivepoint plan for the congress to reset americas economy. Please join me in welcoming peaker john boehner. Good afternoon, everyone. Let me just say how happy i am to be back at aei. You know, i last spoke here shortly before i became speaker. And its a job i love. Looking back, a job i never really thought id have. After i first got elected to congress, i thought, you know, ill probably do this for about ten years and go back and run my business or do something else. But im still here. And still on the journey for the same reason that many of you are. Each of us was fortunate that we had a chance to succeed, a chance to realize our potential. And our work isnt finished until we pass the same chance on to our kids and theirs. Ive got some ideas about how to do that. Today id like to share those with you. Let me start by picking up where i left off when i was here nearly four years ago. That day i talked about how we would run the house differently differently than the republicans had run it in the past and how democrats were running it then. And today i can report that the peoples house is more open, more transparent than ever. For the first time, legislative data is posted online in xml and in bulk. House proceedings and Committee Hearings are all streamed online. You can even bring your ipad to the house floor, which was prohibited in the past. Earmarks used to crash our covers at the rate of about 10,000 at a time and theyve been eliminated. The cost of the house hat been eliminated by about 13. 7 and weve considered 33 bills under an open process. Consider that my predecessor had no bills on the floor under an open process. So were on the right track. Much of the credit goes to the people in the institution who would do all the heavy lifting. All this is about delivery and what my friend Newt Gingrich calls a 21st century citizen directed government. One thats smaller, less costly, and more accountable to the people we serve. Thats why despite being the Minority Party here in washington, republicans have gotten some very important things done. Weve cut total federal spending two years in a row which hasnt happened since the korean war. Weve completed major trade agreements colombia, panama, and south korea. Made it easier to pay for college by tying student loan rates to the markets instead of some political whim. Improved our job Training System so that more people can gain high quality skills to advance in our economy. Weve protected 99 of the American People from an increase in their taxes. There is a lot more we can do and our focus continues to be what we call on better solutions. Solutions to help get people back to work, lower costs at home, and restore opportunity for all americans. To that end weve passed now over 380 bills that are pending in the United States senate. 380. Almost all of them done on a bipartisan basis. Dozens of those would improve our economy and improve the prospects for jobs in our country. As we speak, the house is considering a big energy bill and with good reason. We have an energy boom going on in america. Oil and Gas Production is soaring everywhere from colorado and north dakota to texas to louisiana to eastern ohio. Pennsylvania, west virginia, too. And the boom is driving real Economic Growth. Youngstown is an example. Unemployment today is half of what it was just four years ago. Its a big deal. Except americans arent really learning a whole lot about it because its happening entirely on state and private lands. The federal government really is not involved in this at all. We take this approach to the National Level by doing things like improving the Keystone Pipeline, opening more of our federal lands for oil and gas exploration. You want to really get our economy humming, that would do it. But lets just not stop there. I think beyond just moving the number is a little bit. In my view Americas Energy boom presents a once in a Generation Opportunity to reset our Economic Foundation from the bottom up. Heres what i mean. North america is on track to be Energy Independent in the next few years. Thats going to mean more growth but its also going to mean lower prices, Energy Prices in north america. Were already paying anywhere from 30 to 50 less than our big competitors around the world, industrial competitors especially the europeans. This disparity is going to grow. As it grows, more manufacturers are going to look at moving their facilities here. Actually it is already under way. If youre in an energy dependent industry, you really are going to have no choice but to move your operation here because you cant produce anything without energy and you cant produce anything without electricity. And so theyre going to be doing this and our job is to make sure that they continue to look at moving their facilities here. The problem is washingtons approach is always top down. Bureaucracy is so lumbering that the government is keeping us from where i think we need to be. Now, just look at the state of things where we are today. Flat wages, higher prices, a sixyear slog to regain the jobs that were lost during the recessions, and millions continue to ask the question, where are the jobs . So we can do this the washington way. We can move some dirt around and see what happens or we can lay a Solid Foundation for Economic Growth and mobility. Not pick one over the other but to do all that we can to reap the benefits of this boom. Bring these good paying jobs home. Get our workers off the sidelines. Build a culture of hard work and responsibility around them. Make america the place to work, save, and invest. It can be done. And there are five things that i think that need to happen in order to bring this about. You know, the first is fix our tax code. Youve all heard a lot lately about corporate inversions and theyre really just symptoms, visible symptoms of a much deeper problem. Our tax code is terrible. Nobody understands it. Not even the irs. People pay accountants hundreds of dollars so they can try to lower their tax bills. And theyve had to because over the years thousands of changes have been made to this tax code. And mostly for the benefit of those who are well connected. So all of this talk about inversions is just making the problem smaller. Its like puffing over a different when the road is loaded with potholes. Lets pick the whole cord, corporate and personal side. Make it pro growth, pro family, and bring down the rates for every american. Clear out the loopholes. Allow people to do taxes on two sheets of paper. 95 of the American People could do their taxes on two sheets of paper. I know i can feel the Blood Pressure going down in the room already. So we do this. We get one of the biggest reasons that jobs are moving overseas. We make it easier for families to do everything from build a house to saving for College Costs for their kids. Secondly, solve our spending problems. For 53 of the last 56 years we spent more than we brought in. Now, this is where people get on me about comparing apples to oranges but hear me out. Would you do this in your own home . Of course you wouldnt. You would never get by with it. Can anybody run a business this way . Absolutely not. Well, guess what . We cant do it as a country either because its bad for our economy. Its stealing from our kids and grand kids, robbing them of the benefits theyll never see, and leaving them with the burdens that are nearly impossible to repay. The question isnt whats driving this debt. Its who. Its baby boomers like me. Retiring at the rate of 10,000 a day. 70,000 this week. 3. 5 million this year. And this is is going to go on for another 20 years. Our entitle mentprograms werent designed for almost all of us retiring at the same time and they certainly werent designed for the fact that most of us are going to live well beyond 80. These programs are important to tens of millions of americans so you cant throw them out and you dont want to but they need to be fixed and put on a sustainable path. We can in fact do that. Thirdly, we have to reform our legal system. You know, we let anybody in america sue anybody any day for a any damn reason they want. This is crazy. We all pay for it in everything that we buy. Listen, the costs are staggering. We spend more per person on litigation like two and a half times more than the average industrial competitor we have ey dont e world and th show up in just higher premiums but literally the costs of everything that we buy. It is inefficient and makes america less competitive. There has to be a better way. Im all for taking care of people who have been injured, having access to the system, but there ought to be reasonable standards and reasonable limits on compensation. Fourthly our regulatory system. The way the federal government hands down regulations is coercive, combative, and very expensive. You take the dodd frank law as an example with its 849 pages. And 21. 8 billion dollars worth of Compliance Costs. Now the interesting thing about this is that dodd frank was passed to end the bailouts and get rid of too big to fail. Not only has it failed to do that. The Compliance Costs are indes crim natalie hitting Small Community banks and Credit Unions. For the small banks and Credit Unions their bread and butter are Small Business loans and family loans. Now you have more uncertainty, more money going into compliance, and what happens . The cost of borrowing goes up. Access to credit goes down. Its the last thing main street needs right now. You know, other countries have a more collaborative process for deciding what is a problem. A more collaborative process for how to address that problem. And the result is that youve got fewer regulations. But the ones you do have are more meaningful and dont unnecessarily drive up the costs of doing business in that country. Even if we did these four things, i dont think were going to maximize our potential out of this energy boom. So the fifth issue is real simple. Weve got to find a way to educate more of americas kids. Aside from Arthur Brooks youre not going to meet a more half glass full guy than me. But some of these figures are really rather depressing. Last year, one of every five High School Students didnt graduate with their peers. One out of five. And among those who did graduate, one in five need remedial education before they can start college. Thats because according to the nations report card only 38 of 12th graders performed at or above proficiency in reading. Only 26 performed at or above proficient in math. Were simply not educating enough of americas kids. Now one thing no child left behind was to require every state to adopt standards and make assessments of progress. Frankly it is there so we can track whether kids are learning. Thats the good news. The bad news is that too many children still arent learning. Many arent learning because theyre sentenced to attend a struggling school. Thats why one of the things that weve done was create the first federally funded private School Choice initiative in america, the d. C. Opportunity scholarship program. Ill tell you what. It has succeeded beyond anyones highest expectations. 97 of these kids are graduating from high school. 92 Approval Rating from the parent. So why wouldnt we go ahead and start expanding this program to the rest of the country . Lets give more poor kids and their parents a chance to find better schools that they deserve . There are other things we can do in the education arena. We all know, were going to have a growing economy. Well need workers. We cant have workers who dont get the basics of a decent education in america. Here is the whole point. To do these five things in a meaningful way along with this energy boom right in front of us you can reset the Economic Foundation in america for the next two or three generations and beyond. Provide a reliable stream of good paying jobs, more stability and security all the way through retirement, more opportunities for americans to get ahead not just get by. Theres one more reason to do that. And not more important than the rest. When fall comes around im reminded of how after the first and Second World War many cities and universities built Memorial Stadiums in honor of the following. One of the classics is the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium over in annapolis. If youve never been there on the facade surrounding the football field, the great battles are listed gaudl iwo midway, cicely, jima. The story goes a few decades ago william marys player looked at the names and said, man, these guys have a tough schedule. Let me tell you, america has a tough schedule in front of it. We cant avoid it nor should we try. Were not just obligated to lead. Were called to lead. Were driven to serve in the same spirit which our parents and grandparents built those living memorials with, humility and desire to do something to outlast us. So for what lies ahead the world needs a strong america. That means we need a strong economy. One in which our people can strive to fulfill their god given potential and show us that theres no greater enterprise than Free Enterprise and that well never settle for a safe route. We will lead for freedom in every sense of the word. So today ive tried to lay out a path that speaks to both parties and, frankly, to all americans. Because i trust them. I know that they could do anything. And i know their labors will justify our faith. Thank you all for being here today. Pplause] thank you, mr. Speaker. Youve agreed to take a few questions from the audience. I look forward to hearing yours. Go to the microphone please. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, i really appreciate the foresight youre showing in the speech talking about taking this energy boom and how we can maximize it. That is a rare and valuable thing. Unfortunately and im afraid ill get in trouble with my boss i am definitely a glass half empty guy not a glass half full. I am worried about this energy boom being cut off at the knees. That there are forces in this city that are going to prevent us from sustaining the energy boom and realize all the gains youre talking about that would be so valuable. Can you talk about how well overcome those obstacles to sustain this program over not just five years but more like 15, 20, 25 . Well, this energy boom is the states ankly, regulate fracking, states regulate fracking. While epa continues to try to stick their nose into this they really cant find a reason to do so. But when you look at where congress is, i dont think congress is going to get in the middle of this. These create good paying jobs. We look at eastern ohio where we have this big oil and gas fine theyve been developing over the last three or four years. Its a really big deal. Now you understand, this was the heart of the socalled rust melt, this is where it started. And whats happening there, the development, all the good jobs, it literally is like manna falling from heaven. I dont think the congress either side of the aisle wants this to go away. Now, what i didnt spend as much time talking about was how much oil and gas do we have in the Intermountain West on federal lands and in the continental shelf. We have abundant oil and gas reserves that can help fuel our economy for hundreds of years. This is a lot different than what was being preached 20 and 30 years ago. Lets make sure that we use it in a way to maximize the potential for our entire country for a long time. Lets go next to joe lawler from the washington examiner. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to ask you about two things you didnt mention. One is Immigration Reform and housing. The Obama Administration says Immigration Reform is a key part of spurring growth over the next few years. Do you agree with that . Also, with the Housing Market ltering this year, is resolving the status of freddie mae and freddie mac an important policy for republicans . There are a lot of things to add. I remember i gave a version of this speech a year ago and somebody said you got to have a fifth point. I was getting this point in the chest. You know, the issue is, reform. I gave it some thought and i thought yeah. Legal reform needs to be part of this. There could be a lot of other pieces to this. Yeah i think Immigration Reform would help our economy. You got to secure the borders first. Weve got a mess and i think Everybody Knows we have a mess. Our legal system is broken. Our borders arent secured. And then weve got the problem of those that are here without documents. It needs to be fixed. Were a nation of immigrants. The sooner we do it the better off the country would be. When it comes to the Housing Market, i dont know that, what is going to happen to fannie and freddie but i dont think it will have a sizable impact on what happens in the Housing Market. Lets go back to this side. You can wait for the mike. Give us, as you stand, your name and your affiliation, please. Thank you. My name is roberta stanley. Im a k12 Public Education advocate. I happen to be from the great state of michigan. The chairman of the house ways and Means Committee hails from michigan, too. He put together a tax reform plan unfortunately with max baucus who had a premature exit. Did you have a chance to go over that and did you think it had substance you would like to support . When you look at the tax reform proposal there are a few things in there ive got my questions about. Let me tell you what. Its been out there since march. I am shocked at how little ive heard about it. Now, there are some quarters, some criticism about this issue or that issue. But for a plan to completely overhaul our tax system i would have thought id have heard more complaints. And so i think its a good starting point. Next chairman may start someplace else but youre not going to get this done by just keep talking about it. At some point you have to lay out your ideas in writing and let people comment and have the people engaged in this. You know, were republicans. We actually think you should read the bill before you vote on it. Ready to come over to this side here . Our friend here right in the middle. My name is barb adeleo and im a nurse. Obama care is a large part of the economy. I want to ask about two comments i heard in d. C. One is to a large degree obama care is a jobs program. One is that there are people on both sides of the aisle that are focused on the economic burden of health care. In light of that and the cuts to medicare are you still committed to protecting the frail and elderly . I know youre one of the great people on this. Do you have a strategy that both the politicians and the American People will support . Well, when it comes to i think the essence of this is medicare. When it comes to medicare, lets all be honest. This program is not sustainable in its current form. Our kids and grand kids dont have enough money to pay for all the medicare were going to consume over the next 30 years. So what are we going to do about it . I think that there have been a lot of small steps we could take if you combine parts a and b. You could change the preinsurance program. There are a lot of things that can be done. But i can tell you, sticking your head in the sand and doing nothing is a prescription for disaster. Bring the mike back here. Right into the middle. Hi. Thank you. My name is michelle sternbaum with the Jewish Council for public affairs. Perhaps a month ago i heard a very compelling speech here by your colleague representative ryan talking about poverty. Im interested in getting your perspective on two points that he made particularly around expanding the earned income tax credit for job child ishadults and the reform. Paul is doing very good work know the issue on the issue of poverty and its going to get more attention. We have a Record Number of americans not working, a Record Number of americans stuck if you will, and i think its our obligation to help provide the tools for them to use to bring them into the main stream of american society. I think this idea that has been born over the last, maybe out of the economy over the last couple years, that, you know, i really dont have to work. You know, i dont really want to do this. I think id rather sit around, this is a very sick idea for our country. Most of you know i grew up in a family with 11 brothers and sisters and my dad in a bar. If you wanted something you worked for it. Now, i dont know there was any moment my entire bringing up that i didnt have some kind of a job whether throwing newspapers, cutting grass, mopping floors at the bar, tending bar, dealing with those characters walking in every day. Trust me, i did it all. But i do think that his idea on the earned income tax credit has a lot of merit. D the other issue was oh, yeah. I thought a lot about this criminal justice reform. I was in the state house when every state house in the country was into this minimum mandatory sentences and decided we werent going to trust judges anymore. I think we ought to have a real, honest conversation about this. We have time for one more. Yeah. Right here. Yes, sir. Thanks a lot. I work and study here in the city, mr. Speaker. You had about 500 or so of your closest friends for a. Iscussion this afternoon if you could give a survey of the remarks and there are a lot of students in the audience today so could you also give a view of the water front of the International State system, syria, ukraine, etcetera. And a bonus question. He wants me to give two or three more speeches. Is president putin making a pretty good case for man of the year or sort of beating out Roger Goodell . Hanks. You know, im sure you can find it at speaker. Gov probably somewhere in the archives. But if you read it, youll find out that everything ive said in 2011 is exactly what hes done. Nd, you know, the message from president borashenko today was very straight forward. America, we need your help. We cant do this by ourselves. We cant. They cant. The president has worked with the europeans, put some anctions in place. But sanctions are not going to bring freedom and security to the ukraine. They need weapons. They need advisers. I think he made the case today if not now when and if not there where . You know, when i talk to our allies in the region, they all ask me, where are you going to draw the line . How much is enough . And so the line has to be drawn. And the sooner the better. When it comes to the issue of the middle east, for over a year i called on the president to develop an over arching strategy to deal with the spread of terrorism. And when isil came across the iraqi border in january, i really got over the president about where is the plan . And the president outlined the mission. The mission is to destroy isil. Well, if that truly is in fact the mission, i dont see the over arching strategy thats going to allow us to accomplish that. Now, having said that, there was no reason not to do the minimum the president has asked us to do. He asked us for the authority to train Free Syrian Army types, to help fight isil in syria. The house approved that yesterday. I expect the senate will approve it today. But i am still waiting to see the Bigger Picture of how we win this war. How we destroy isil. Ive not seen it yet. Thank you all for the opportunity to be here with you. Thank you for joining us. Tonight on cspan, q a, with jenny beth martin. Then, a Un Security Council meeting on combating isis with secretary of state kerry. About rick green talks iowa politics and the future of newspapers. This week on q a, our guest is jenny beth martin, president and cofounder of the tea party patriots. She talks about the idea behind the founding of the organization, its impact, the issues the party stands for and its challenges to gay its challenges today. Personaldiscusses her life including having to file for bankruptcy right before founding the tea party. When didbeth martin, you first get involved in the tea party . And why