[ applause ] thank you. Thank you so much. Good morning everybody. Thank you to entire cap team for putting together this ideas conference. Thank you to the staff here at the four seasons for looking after us so well. Im glad we could bring a little bit of l. A. Weather here for at least a couple of days in washington. Enjoy it while it lasts i hear. Thanks to all of you mostly for coming here and being a part of this most urgent and important conversation. For the last few months commentators have been calling this a big moment for the Democratic Party. And they are right. I believe this is an even bigger moment for the American People, a bigger moment for our country. For practically my entire lifetime and maybe yours we have heard politicians at events like this talking about how we are on the cusp of a technological revolution, one that will forever alter the way we work, the way we learn, the way that we communicate, flying cars, solar energy, robots that will make us breakfast. That revolution isnt coming anymore. That revolution is here. 25 years ago our country imported half of its oil that we needed to meet our energy needs. Today foreign oil accounts for just about a quarter of our energy usage. 25 years from now we may not be using fossils fuels at all. 25 years ago aids was the number one killer of men 25 to 44. Today that diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. In 25 years from now we may be able to say the same about lung cancer or alzheimers. Its amazing. The generation ago the only place that you would see Something Like this literally was in a sifimovie. We are living in this exciting future that we have all heard about in so many ted talks over the years and yet for a lot of americans this doesnt feel like an exciting moment. Doesnt feel like a moment of incredible progress. It feels like a time of great anxiety and great great an ziity and great uncertainty. Over the next 20 years, Artificial Intelligence is going to wipe out millions of jobs. If one of those jobs might be you, youre wondering how youre going to get by, let alone get ahead in this new economy. Youre wondering if any of those leaders who talk about this new future actually think theres a place in that future for me. See, i hear these an ziities every day. For 16 years as a local elected official. Ive been knocking on my neighbors doors, Holding Office hours where people from all walks of life can come talk to me about anything they want. Listening is at the heart of what i do. It may surprise some in washington to hear that the concerns that i hear about in las vegas are similar to ones that we hear throughout this country in places like lansing or louisville. Four Million People live in my city. Yes, some of them are movie stars, even a few of them car da kardashians. In the san fernando valley, we had car factors that shut down. Angelinos know what its like for a company to pack up and leave town. Time and again weve had to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and face an uncertain future. So whats happening in my city is in many ways a microdozen m for whats happening around the country. Los angeles has a diverse and driving creative class. Theyre innovating, collaborating and having a great time doing it. Why not . You can go on your smart phone and have whatever food you want delivered to your home. You can get ride share. You can get somebody to pick up your drycleaning with a tap of the finger. We have a Ballooning Service class, people cooking food and doing the drycleaning. Theyre scrapping to stay afloat and hoping one day to get ahead. Meanwhile, our middle class is getting squeezed out. The paycheck for years staying the same. Their Health Care Bills going up, the cost of college for their kids, skyrocketing. A secure retirement, a hope and a dream. These folks arent just anxious and insecure. Theyre angry and impatient. They hear us talk but regardless of whether or not they agree with what were saying, they dont see anybody taking real action to improve their lives, so they dont trust their leaders, any of them. This isnt just about honesty or ethics. People dont trust that we have it . Us to solve their problems. This isnt just a problem for progressives, who believe some challenges are so big that only government is capable of addressing them. Its not just a problem for democrats who watch donald trump win the white house. This is a problem for our countries, because this distrust robs of us the ability to take the action we need to embrace the future instead of fear it. The kind of action we can only take together. How do we win back this trust . I tell the young people that work for me that in order to make an impacts, you have to show people that you can pass tests of the heart, the head and the guts. First your heart. Do people feel you can connect with them around the challenges they feel . Do you get it . Do you feel it . Second, your head. If you can connect with them, do people believe you have smart ideas to address those challenges . And then third, your guts, and this is the most important of the three. Even if you show you can care, even if youve thought of good solutions, do people believe youll do whatever it takes to deliver what you promised even if it cuts against your own political interests . You need all three to lead. Mayors who are directly accountable, who hear from our constituents not just at town halls but at the Grocery Store and diner, it goes back to listening. If you really listen, americans agree on a lot. They want a decent job with reliable benefits, including Quality Health care. They want Affordable Housing in a safe neighborhood. Theyre worried about how theyre going to get these things in an economy that leaves so many behind. They want their leaders to worry less about winning arguments and more about getting results. Ill tell you a secret. When mayors are by themselves, democratic mayors tend to admit that regulations often times do more harm than good. Republican mayors often know that they can raise taxes to invest in critical things without the whole world imploding. Mayors are in the business of getting things done. While washington is stuck or even worse, we see washington moving backwards, cities are moving forward. In los angeles we raised the minimum wage to 15 an hour. Peel already have more money in their pockets. Theyre spending its on main street and its helping our businesses. We dont want just 15 an hour jobs. We want 40 and 50 an hour jobs. Were making investments in infrastructure thats about creating hundreds of thousands of paying union jobs. People without College Degrees who half a century ago were building bombers on the Assembly Line today are building rail cars, improving track and jobs where they live. Thats just the start. We passed the nations largest hieshing initiative. Weve got the highest Graduation Rate than weve had in decades. How . We literally show up at the door of dropouts and walk them back to school as they reenroll. This fall were becoming the largest city to make college available for every school graduate. [ applause ] were evenly taking the lead in health care. In l. A. Obama care insured more than a million and a half an leanos. And health care was meant 50,000 new jobs, 60 billion added to our gdp. Thats why im ready to fight like hell to make sure that trump care never becomes the law of the land. [ applause ] you see, mayors understand its not enough to feel peoples pain or have a laundry list of ideas to help. We need to convince people that they need to trust us to fight for them and deliver for them. And when we do, Real Progress is possible. Let me give you an example. Anyone whos ever been to los angeles knows that we have the worst traffic in america. And everyone who lives in los angeles knows that its more than a pain in the ass. Traffic robs us of billions of dollars to our economy and millions of hours we could be spending with our families. We proposed the largest Infrastructure Initiative in this nations history times two. It would produce 465,000 goodpaying jobs that will stay here at home. To get the initiative, mesh m pass, we had to get twothirds of the residents of Los Angeles County to agree. So i crisscrossed an area surprising 10 Million People, coalitions of business and democrats and republicans. On election day measure m passed with 71 of the vote. It didnt pass because we had the best targeting ads. It passed because we had left hand and because people trusted us to deliver. Los angeles wasnt alone. In november, even on a tough night for our party, cities across this nation passed 230 billion worth of Infrastructure Investments. How long have we heard a trillion dollars being talked about in washington . In one night americas cities delivered nearly a quarter of that. For all of us, this is an important moment. Because the intranny jens here has reduced washington. Here in washington, while people are going install, cities are going big. Which brings me back to the challenge. I know youre pissed off about the political moment that were in. Thats why were here, right . Make no mistake. Our values are under attack and we need to fight back. In los angeles weve set up a justice fund to make sure no immigrant faces deportation without legal representation, because you know what . Im the grandson of a dreamer and if the white house withdraws from the Paris Climate Accord were going to adopt it in los angeles and ive got a dozen more cities ready to do the next day. Its the right thing to do for our economy. Yes, weve got to fight and weve got to win. But this white house isnt going to succeed in dragging us back into the past because i know we have the constitution and we have the American People on our side. Were going to win those fights. But every day we spend playing defense is a day were not making progress. If we define ourselves solely by our opposition to this administration well sell ourselves short and more importantly, well sell the American People short. My friends, our nation is at a transitional moment. The future is here. And American People are waiting for someone to step up to lead us with the confidence and courage we need. So dont see the power you have before you. Exercise it. Dont settle for being pissed off. Dont fall into the trap of being paralyzed with fear and anger. Dont fight pessimism with more pessimism and most importantly, dont lose faith in america. We have done Amazing Things our history, but you know what . We are doing Amazing Things right now. In cities across this country. Take it from me. As a mayor i see it every single day, so lets refuse to settle for letting the future happen and lets resolve to make a future in which every american can find their place, achieve their dream and reach their god given potential and lets prove that we have the heart, the head and the guts to actually deliver. And if we can do that, we can do a lot more than just win an election. We can lead this great country into what i truly believe is a bright and brilliant future. Lets go do it. Thank you. [ applause ] good morning, everyone. Im susan rice. You may have seen a parody of me on certain cable news channels. Since i left the white house, ive become deeply concerned that the United States is squandering one of our greatest skroij assets, americas leadership of the world. Im here to argue for a better strategy, a progressive strategy that will renew our Global Leadership. It seems that the Current Administration looks at the world and sees only threats, immigrants, refugees, muslims, mexicans, even trade. Its America First and the rest of the world last. I fully recognize that we face serious threats. I spent eight years actually reading the president ial daily briefing. And the last three and a half years personally briefing president obama. But the world i see is also filled with profound opportunities. Our relationships are not zero sum. They should be mutually beneficial. Through enlightened selfinterest we can expand opportunity, not horde it for a few. I believe the strategy must be balanced, confronting threats while seizing opportunities. Its a strategy based on the four pillars, a strong defense, skillful diplomacy, Smart Development and domestic strength. First, our National Security begins with a strong defense. The United States must remain the worlds preeminent military power. That requires sustaining a force thats smartly funded, wieszly deployed, and ready to deal with a threat, any threat at a moments notice. Conflict is not inevitable. And bluster is for bullies. But our adversaries from russia to north korea must know that we will confront them with unity, resolve and with every tool at our disposal. When we employ military force we must use it additionally, because weve learned from vietnam to iraq that even the finest fighting force on earth cannot defeat the underlying political, economic, and sectarian forces that fuel conflict. So instead of simply vowing to bomb the bleep out of isil, we must use our full arsenal, including cutting off finances, discrediting extremism on line and helping stabilize fragile states. We must confront terrorists from syria to afghanistan to northern mali and the southern philippines where al qaeda 3. 0 may be germ nating. We cant allow twitter wars to become shooting wars. So instead of vacillating between reckless saber rattling and dubbing kim jong un a smart cookie, we should steadily apply increased pressure on north korea while protecting our allies and our homeland. And instead of excusing russias outrageous behavior and branding nato obsolete, we must defend every nato ally unconditionally and firmly counter russias cold war tactics. Even as we address todays crises, we must get ahead of emerging threats that will endanger us from tomorrow. From rising oceans to the dark web, from conflict in outer space to the manipulation of Artificial Intelligence. Second, an effective Foreign Policy requires skillful diplomacy. It should embrace the mantel of Global Leadership because the United States remains the worlds best hope but we need to be a steady, trusted partner, so that, as Charles De Gaulle said, the word of the United States president is good enough for me. From north america to europe, from israel to asia, our allies and friends must know we stand with them. Not based on a business transaction, but because we are bound by shared values and shared interests. And lets stop pretending that our interests and our values conflict. Yes, sometimes we must work with unsavory regimes, but our values and our interests converge. Democracies in respect to human rights are our most reliable partners. Visit Arlington Cemetery or allied burrell grounds around the world. Our soldiers didnt fight as some part of a protection racquet. They dpied for the rights of all people to live in freedom, dignity, and equality. [ applause ] these are our values. These are universal values, and they are not expendable when inconvenient. To tackle challenges that transcend borders, we must cooperate across borders. As a former u. N. Ambassador, i know well the frustrations of multilateral diplomacy, but International Institutions and collective action make us more effective. We should reject the deconstruction of the Administrative State and update the post War International chur architecture that the United States built because it remains the right framework for promoting peace and prosperity around the world. The fact is, we cannot bomb Climate Change or even violent extremism into submission. Pandemic flu and zika wont stop at the rio grande. Cyber thieves and criminal ca cartels dont respect baujds. We need collective action to achieve lasting security. We also need a well functioning state department. [ laughter ] diplomacy isnt optional but its not cheap. You dont fully fund the state department, then i need to buy more ammunition as secretary of state mattis said. We must value and fully fund the talented career professionals who do the delicate work of diplomacy. [ applause ] third, our diplomacy needs to be backed by an equal dedication to Smart Development. Helping other peoples is near is neither charity nor wasteful spending. Its one of the wisest investments we can make in our security and prosperity. From afghanistan to nigeria, weve seen poverty and corruption stifle opportunity and extremism take root when u. S. A. I. D. Helps a farmer increase her yields in ethiopia, supports microenterprise in haiti or electrifies a village in kenya so that children can study 59 night, thats not just good for them, its good for americas security. When we combat malaria, aids, and ebola, investing in Global Health infrastructure, thats good for our security. When we educate and empower women and girls, thats good for our security, too. So yes, we still need to let girls learn. [ applause ] finally, an effective Foreign Policy must be grounded in domestic strength. To lead the world and protect our people we cant rely solely on military might. We must continue to prosper by growing our economy, creating jobs, raising wages, reducing inequality and lifting americans out o