>> guest: good morning. >> host: what is the justice network. what are its goals. are you a bipartisan organization? >> guest: absolutely. the criminal justice reform is last frontier where democrats and republicans are coming together. ourun network, is the largest organization working state and federal level to reform our broken justice system. what does that mean? safely reducing jail and prison population. we're throwing a lot. of low-level non-violent offenders with dangerous criminals, what is happening, they're becoming better criminals, notng better citizens.. that is what we seek to address with our reform. >> host: here is one of the headlines the president was part of yesterday. it is h from the "washington times." trump embraces prison reform, vows to help break this vicious cycle. get your take on the meeting yesterday. we know your organization was part of ain coalition that was there.

here is what the president on what he had to say yesterday. >> we support our law enforcement partners. we're working to reduce crime and put dangerous offenders behind bars. at the same time we want to insure that those who enter the justice system aree able to contribute to their communities after they leave prison which is one of -- >> live to the white house where president trump will sign a proclamation to mark martin luther king day which is monday. live coverage on c-span2. >> -- and many distinguished guests for joining us here today. it is a great honor. earlier this week i had the tremendous privilege to join isaac and alveda to sign into law redesignating the martin luther king, jr. national historic site to the martin luther king, jr. national historic park. the new law expands the area

protected and historic sites for the future, generations of americans are becoming so important and this is a great honor for us and a great honor to dr. king. today we gather in the white house to honor the memory of a great american hero, the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. on january 15th, 1929, martin luther king, jr. was born in atlanta, georgia. he would go on to change the course of human history. as a young man dr. king decided to follow calling of his father and grandfather to become a christian pastor. he would later write, it was quite easy for me to think of a god of love, mainly because i grew up in a family where love was central. that is what reverend king preached all of his life, love,

love for each other, for neighbors, and for our fellow americans. dr. king's faith and his love for humanity led him and some other heroes to core rain justly stand -- core -- courageously stand up for rights for african-americans. with his brave sacrifice dr. king opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. he stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. today we celebrate dr. king for standing up for the self-evident truth americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth we are all created equal by god. this april we will mark a half century since reverend king was so cruelly taken from us by an

assassin's bullet but while dr. king is no longer with us his words and his vision only grow stronger through time. today we mourn his loss. we celebrate his legacy and we pledge to fight for his dream of equality, freedom, justice and peace. i will now sign the proclamation, making january 15th, 2018, the martin luther king, jr., federal holiday and encourage all americans to observe this day with acts of civic work and community service in honor of dr. king's extraordinary life. it was extraordinary indeed and his great legacy. thank you, god bless you all, and god bless america. and with that i would like to ask a great friend of mine,

secretary carson, for remarks and we're going to be signing the very important proclamation. thank you very much. ben? >> thank you, mr. president. it is an honor to be here today celebrating this solemn occasion. and i thank you for signing legislation to designate the birthplace, church and tomb of dr. martin luther king as a national historic park. his monumental struggle for civil rights earned his places in life, faith and death, the same honor as mount vernon and that famous humble log cabin in illinois. this april we will observe the 50th anniversary of dr. king's assassination. i remember so vividly that day as a high school student in

detroit. far from silencing his dream debt brought him immortal in the american heart. his message of equality, justice, and the common dignity of man resounds today. urgently needed to heal the divisions of our age. today we honor the legacy of the man who marched on washington for jobs, and freedom, achieving both for millions of americans of all races and backgrounds. but his legacy also causes us to remember where these ideas, equality, freedom, liberty, be get their power. our good efforts alone are not enough to lend them meaning. for by what shall i be called equal to another man? it can not be but by wealth.

for there will always be one richer than me. it can not be by strength, for there will always be one stronger than me. it can not be by success or happiness or beauty, or any other pieces of the human condition which are distributed through providence. so perhaps prove -- providence alone is the answer. we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. with these familiar words our declaration of independence recognizes the true author of our common dignity. one that is beyond every human law and institution. if we forget this source of our

fundamentally equality, then our fight to recognize it in our society will never be fulfilled. this is a truth that dr. king carried with him from selma to montgomery, from a pulpit in atlanta to the steps of the lincoln memorial. from a cell in birmingham, to the entire world. this year we will not remember his slaying as the ending but as a beginning. as a moment when his truth rose stronger than hatred. and his cause larger than death. as a moment when he called to new life with his creator before whom all men shall one day stand in equal rank, bearing with them no riches but the content of their character. if we keep this conviction at the center of our every word and

action, if we look upon our countrymen as brothers with a shared home and a common destination, then instead of meaningless words rolling off of our tongue we will truly create one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. we're going to have a word from pastor isaac newton ferris, nephew of dr. martin luther king. [applause] >> president trump, vice president pence, and to all as separate belled here, if my uncle were here today, the first thing he would say is, what are

we or what are you doing for others? that is why so important our my aunt coretta scott king, returned to congress to ask the meaning of the holiday changed. we did not wan the king holiday just to be a day of hero-worship. as his nephew i certainly think he was one of the greatest americans that we produced but it should not be a day of hero-worship. that is why congress agreed with my aunt, also made it a day of service. so that we on that day, as a matter of fact, at the king center, we referred to it as a day on, not a day off. not a day to hang out in the park or pull out the barbecue grill. >> amen. >> it is a day to do something to help someone else, and that can be as simple as delivering

someone's trash or picking up the newspaper for that elderly person who can't get to the end of the driveway. bottom line, you're doing something that benefits someone other than yourself. that's the proper way to remember my uncle and the proper way to celebrate the king holiday. so, president trump, thank you for taking the time to acknowledge this day. thank you for remembering that we're all-americans and on this day we should be united in love for all americans. thank you, mr. president. thankthank you mr. vice preside. [applause]

>> very important day, martin luther king, jr. federal holiday, 2018 by the president of the united states in america a proclamation. congratulations to him and to everybody. >> thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. [applause] >> mr. president, will you give an apology for the statement yesterday? >> oh, boy. >> mr. president, did you -- >> mr. president, are you a racist?

mr. president, will you respond to the questions about the statement? >> no. >> i'm talking to you. >> mr. president, are awe racist? >> tonight at 6:45 and 8:45 on c-span, interview with house speaker paul ryan. >> i mean we have a, we have a challenge in that they have a razor-thin majority over in the senate and it is extremely hard to pass big things like this. what i regret the most that the fact we have yet to reach bipartisan consensus on comprehensive entitlement reform when all of us know this is necessary to get our debt and deficit under control.

you literally can not tax our way out of entitlement problems we have with the influx of baby boomers. i'm glad we have very excited that we have done this but at the end of the day we'll have to get bipartisan support to fix our entitlement programs. if we do nothing, social goes broke, people get they're benefits cut. we don't want to see that. medicare is on borrowed money 50%. we don't want that either. these are important programs we have to save not just for this generation but future generations that will take bipartisanship. >> will it happen this year? >> not the ones i just mentioned of the i don't think there are ones in the cards. there things we can do to get people from welfare into work, a better job, a better life and paying taxes. >> speaker ryan also talks about his relationship with the white house and political future. see the interview it night at 6:45 and 8:45 p.m. eastern time