prepare for our next presentation. please welcome to the stage, governor roy cooper and carmel vartin. [ applause ]

[ inaudible ] >> is mine on? okay, good. [ inaudible ] >> okay, can you hear me now? great, great. i'm going to give the governor an extra minute given that little snafu. we're excited to have the governor here with us today. there's a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time. governor, i thought since you've been elected and you've had relatively short tenure, since it was just november your

opponents have worked hard to throw obstacles in your way in the way of north carolina citizens in terms of their ability to exercise their right to vote. just yesterday, we heard that the supreme court decided not to review a case that would have -- [ applause ] a case regarding a -- one of the most comprehensive anti-voter laws we've seen in a very long time. maybe we could start with you talking a little bit about the dynamics around that but the other efforts that you've seen in north carolina to restrict people's right to vote. >> sure. north carolina is an epicenter in the country for the fight for the right to vote. when you look at what the north carolina republican legislature has done over the last few years, it's been disastrous. the fourth circuit said the north carolina republican

legislature discriminated against african-americans with surgical precision. they actually asked for data on the habits of african-americans and how they voted and drafted their legislation accordingly and the court, thankfully, saw through that. but this general assembly doesn't stop. this was a temporary win yesterday. my republican governor's pr predecess predecessor appealed this to the supreme court. i withdrew that appeal which helped us to get the supreme court not to hear it. but this legislature probably within ten days will pass another kind of law that will probably eliminate again, same day registration, will still have some type of voter i.d. requirement. do you know in their voter i.d. law that you couldn't even use a campus i.d. card from the

university of north carolina at chapel hill, a state supported university. that i.d. wasn't good enough. we know where that was coming from. but what they've done for my position has gor, they tried to take away the ability of the governor to administer elections. because what i want to do is to make it easier for people to register and vote. not harder. we want everybody to participate. [ applause ] in the process, so they passed legislation taking that authority away from the governor. i vetoed it. they overrode my veto because they have super majorities in both chambers. i sued them, the court struck it down. so, they, again, repackaged it put lipstick on it, passed it again. i vetoed it again. they overrode it again. and the court, again, slapped it down. and you're going to see that

with this voter law, too. and i'm certain that the courts will deal with it. i feel confident that they will, but it is important for us to realize what is happening in north carolina. in 2018, we're going to make some changes in this legislature. but until then, we are just going to have to keep fighting. >> this is an issue that -- a battle that's going on, not just at the state level but also the county level as well, right? they're tackling election commission -- >> that's what they were trying to do by taking the authority away from the governor, who appoints the majority of the county boards of election. and they wanted to make it bipartisan, where each side had the same amount, what was going to happen, though is the default if there's a tie, the default is for more restrictive voting requirements. so we know what their mission is. and we just have to fight it in the legislature, we have to

fight it at the ballot box, we have to fight it in the courts, until we get it into a position where everybody has that right. we make it easier for them to do. we need online, we need to expand people's abilities and we can't have state legislatures discriminating against certain people because who they are or what color they are. >> and this issue, really, does highlight the importance of the judiciary which is another area where you've had to battle similar changes by the legislature? >> they've try todied to take t authority away from the governor in numerous areas, and we have sued them in those areas. we believe that we will be successful at the end of the day. the bottom line here is we're working hard to move north carolina to a position where we know it should be. north carolina for decades was a beacon in the south. we were the first state in this

country to open our doors to higher education supported by the public. we had the first early childhood initiative with smart start, a public/private partnership that recognized that it was important to get to kids early in their life in order to get them the opportunity to be ready to learn when they went to school. but over the last five or six years, with the republican super majorities and a republican governor the last four years, they have tried to take north carolina in a different direction. it's time for us to get it back. we took the first step with my election for governor. and we are winning some battles and i'm -- for example i can appoint a secretary of the environmental quality who actually cares about clean air and water. we can appoint people to positions who can have influence over the process. but you're continuing to see this legislature with what they're doing with their concentration on tax cuts for

the wealthiest and for corporations on worker's compensation, unemployment insurance, hurting the every day working people with these right wing social issues. that has been the order of the day. they just passed an amendment that took away a number of people's ability to enter the s.n.a.p. program when it doesn't cost the state a dollar. we just turned down federal money that will hurt kids who would qualify for school lunches. that's just wrong. >> governor, you mentioned education and that has been a cornerstone of your governing agenda. i've been impressed by the way you've looked at that in a comprehensive lens in investments in early childhood education and teachers, community college, workforce investments, could you talk a little bit about what your priorities are in that area and what your overarching goals are? >> the economy overall has gotten better.

unemployment has improved. or the middle class family or a family that's working to get into the middle class. a mom who has two kids she wants to educate them. their wages are stagnant. things really haven't gotten better for them. and out of frustration a lot of them voted for donald trump, hoping that some change would come to their lives. i think what we have to do, as democrats and democratic leaders, we have to have a positive pocketbook message for them. i want to make sure that we do that. i'm going to emphasize education. early childhood all the way through our great community colleges and universities. the ceo's that i talk to about coming and expanding in north carolina, their first question is not what is your tax rate? do you have people that can perform jobs i create? we can put more money in their

pockets with those better paying job physical we have the training and the skills. i'm going to make north carolina a top ten educated state by 2025. you can do that with empirical data, you can do that by getting more kids in pre-k. my budgets reflects. we want to get to 55% to the 22% where we are now. by getting more kids graduated from high school. we need to be in the 90s. more people with advanced degrees and certificates that can help land them these better paying jobs in the new economy. because it's chicken and egg. these economies will come if you have the workforce. and our state has the second largest banking state in the country. we have the benefit of the foundation we have built in north carolina. we're fighting off the plbs we've had the last five or six years. we can get it back. we can speak to those middle class families and those working families who are trying to get into the middle class through

education as the cornerstone and more money in their pockets. plus we need to take advantage of all the help we can get from the federal government. our state has yet to expand medicaid. i tried to do it, they sued me in federal court. we could insure hundreds of thousands of north carolinens, create tens of thousands of jobs. we could lower insurance premiums for businesses. when you reduce the indigent population you're going to have better results and we're going to have a healthier north carolina. but they've refused to do it and we've got to fight that at every turn. >> yeah, the last panel talked a lot about needing to help those who don't have any college or haven't graduated from college to get better paying jobs, two pieces of your initiatives is to make community college free, but also to provide additional non-college coursework for those who want to upskill and just

want to get a sense if you think those are ideas that could have traction with your republican legislature, similar proposals have made it through with bipartisan support in other states, tennessee is one that comes to mind. >> free community college is way for middle class and working class families to get the education they need, to get the better paying job. college affordability is critical. i proposed it and argued to the republican legislature, this is being done by republicans because they see the economic benefit that results from it. we're also going to work to try to get kids to understand that there are certain certificates now that can help them with advanced manufacturing, and with other good paying jobs. a kid who is having hard time affording that two or even that four year degree, could step into a job making $50,000,

$60,000 with a certificate. we have to have colleges that are nimble, that are ready to customize training for these kinds of companies they want to come and expand in our state. and it can be a very positive thing. investment in education has got to be all the way from birth through higher education. north carolina has been known for that. we've got a lot of catching up to do. we were at the national average in teacher salaries, we dropped significantly. i have a plan to get back there our early childhood has been successful but it's dropped significantly since republicans took over. we're going to get back there. because now more than ever, it's a strong economic development argument. and we've got to get there. >> absolutely. you mentioned that your political opponents have focused on some socially divisive issues

before your tenure as governor. the state passed hb-2 which was a highly controversial law that limited transgender individuals' ability to use the bathroom of their choice. it was a big issue in your campaign and something you have prioritized seeking a repeal of that law and were able to get a repeal through the legislature. the ultimate legislation has been controversial. i wonder if you could talk us through how the issues have played out in your state. >> how bill 2 was wrong because it wrote discrimination into the law. to tell a transgender kid that you have to go to the restroom that corresponds with your birth certificate is not only discrimination, it's humiliation. what house bill 2 did was take away every right of lgbt citizens. and prevented local governments from enacting anything.

since that law was passed, and actually, while it was being debated for the eight hours it was debated, i have fought that law every single day. because not only is it wrong, not only does it discriminate, but it also hurts the reputation of my state. it has hurt our economy and our people. but it all stems from the fact that this legislation was highly discriminatory. my goal is state wide lgbt protections in north carolina. and i'm going to keep fighting every day until i get to that goal. [ applause ] with the super majority legislature that's operating on the hastert rule, that you got to have a majority of your own caucus in order to be able to consider anything on the floor, even though i wanted clean repeal with no compromise, and a

lot of people wanted that, it was not going to be possible. over the next at least two years. so i had a choice. do i continue to make a statement and pound on the table and nothing happened? or do i take a positive step, make progress and continue to fight. i chose the latter for my state. because we got rid of the birth certificate requirement. we opened up the ability of local governments to provide some protections now and some in the future. i'm going to issue a executive order that is comprehensive that helps in lgbt protections. we've had supporting events and others to come back because they know we have taken a positive

step and they know my commitment for this in north carolina. and it would have been politically and probably emotionally easier for me to keep pounding the table and not accept a compromise, i knew it wasn't right for my state, i knew it wasn't right for lgbt citizens in my state. although i have had hard conversations with a number of my friends about this, who would have rather us go two years with house bill 2 instead of taking the compromise. as governor and as the leader of my state, knowing what it has done to the reputation of my state, the signal it sends to lgbt citizens and everyone, i knew we had to make a step. that's why i did it. i think it's the right thing to do. diversity is our strength. north carolina's a welcoming state. we just got to make sure our laws catch up with our people. and we're going to get there. we're going to get there. >> all right. thank you, governor. [ applause ]

we could talk for 13 hours, not 13 minutes. we really appreciate you being here and you're at the front lines there fighting the fight on our behalf. >> i want to thank everyone out there for what you are doing, fighting the fight. i know it's hard to see what's happening in our country, kristin and i were at the national governor's association hearing the president. in the state dining room and i gazed up and there's a portrait of abraham lincoln. and i thought where are we? where are we? but, you know, that night, when my wife and i were back at the hotel, she said, you know, then our country was more divided than it is now. and we made it. we're going to make it because of people like you in this room. and all of us working to make sure that we have a north carolina and a country that works for everybody. and i think that's important. thank you all. >> thank you. give yourself a round of applause and the governor. [ applause ]

>> please welcome to the stage ambassador susan grest. [ applause ] >> thank you for your strong leadership of c.a.p. which promotes our progressive priorities. good morning, everyone. i'm susan rice, and you may have seen a parody of me on certain cable news channels. since i left the white house, i've become deeply concerned that the united states is squandering one of our greatest strategic assets, america's leadership of the world. i'm 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. it's america first and the rest of the world last. i fully recognize that we face serious threats. i spent eight years actually reading the presidential 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 self-interest we can expand opportunity, not hoard it for the few.

i believe that a responsibility national security strategy must be balanced, confronting threats while seizing opportunities. it's a strategy based on 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 world's preeminent military power. that requires sustaining a force that is smartly funded, wisely deployed and ready to deal with a threat, any threat at a moment's 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 judiciously because we've learned from vietnam to iraq, that even the finest fighting force on earth cannot defeat the underlying sectarian forces that fuel conflict. instead of vowing to bomb the bleep out of isil, we must use our full arsenal, including cutting off its finances discrediting extremism online. we must confront terrorists globally from syria to afghanistan to northern mali and the southern philippines where al qaeda 3.0 may be germinating. we can't aware twitter wars to become shooting wars. so instead of vacillating

between reckless saber rattling and doubling kim jong-un a smart cookie, we should steadily apply increase pressure on north korea while protecting our allies and our homeland. and instead of excusing russia's outrageous behavior, and branding nato obsolete, we must defend every nato ally unconditionally and firmly counter russia 's cold war tactics. even as we address today's crisis we must get ahead of emerging threats that will endanger us 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. we should embrace the mantle of

global leadership because the united states remains the world's 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 let's stop pretending that our interest and our values conflict. yes, sometimes we must work with unsavory regimes, but our values and our interests converge. democracies that respect human rights are our most reliable partners. visit arlington cemetery or

allied burial grounds around the world, our soldiers didn't fight as part of some global protection racket. they died for the rights of all people. to live in freedom dignity and equality. [ applause ] these are our values. these are universal values and they're 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 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 and violent extremist into submission. pandemic flu and zika won't stop at the rio grande. criminal cartels don't respect national boundaries, in today's interconnected world we need collective action to achieve lasting security. we also need a well-functioning state department. diplomacy isn't optional but it's chief. as general mattis said if you don't fully fund the state department then i need to buy more ammunition. for america, to remain the

unrivalled global leader, 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 neither charity nor wasteful spending. it's one of the wisest investments we can make in our security and prosperity. from afghanistan to nigeria, we've seen poverty, conflict and corruption stifle opportunity. and extremism take root. but usaid helps a former increase yields in ethiopia, or

electrifies a village in kenya so kids can study at night, that's good not just for them, it's good for america's security. when we combat malaria, aides and ebola, investing in global health infrastructure, that's good for our security. when we educate and empower women and girls, that's 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 can't rely solely on military might. we must continue to prosper by growing our economy, creating jobs, raising wages, reducing

inequality. and lifting americans out of poverty. we must pursue trade that is fair and free. and not cede the asia pacific, the world's fastest growing region, to china. we need to catalyze american entrepreneurship and remain the global leader in r&d and higher education. these advantages don't just make us competitive, they, too, make us safer and stronger. ultimately, of course, the greatest source of american strength is our people. the extraordinary skill, spirit, diversity, and audacity, of americans. our founding ideals, including the inherent quality of every

human being. our commitment to free speech and a free press. our welcoming of immigrants from every corner and calling them simply americans. make no mistake, the world watches very closely what we do and say. so we must ask, what message are we sending now? because at this moment, our single greatest weakness as a people, as a country, and as a global leader, is our profound political polarization. it hasn't always been like this. i grew up in this city, and i'm old enough to remember when loyalties and even major legislation crossed party lines. when civility was the norm, and politics mostly ended at the water's edge. that seems like lifetimes ago.

but it wasn't. we need to shake off this national funk and remember that first and foremost we are all americans. we must honor our constitution, our founding values, and each other. surely, we will often disagree. but we sure as hell need to agree that a hostile foreign power has no business messing with our elections. [ applause ] because here's the truth. if we cannot find our way to put country over party, democracy

over demagoguery, even in the face of such a dangerous external threat, then we might as well hang up our leadership cleats and resign ourselves to becoming a second rate power. that should not be our future. we are so much better than that. at our best, we are still the bright beacon to the world of hope, creativity, justice, and opportunity. when americans of every race, religion, and class, stand together for the rights of all, for women as well as men. for our immigrant heritage for lgbt citizens, for the belief that we are equally god's

children, when we recall that we all love this country deeply. when we remember what america truly means, then and only then, we'll be strong at home and a still stronger leader in this complex world. the choice is ours. we can either squander our greatness, or build a common future based on respect for the dignity and value of every american and all mankind. together, let's insure we make the right choice. thank you. [ applause ]

>> please welcome to the stage senator amy clobeshar and jennifer palmieri. >> good morning, everybody. >> hello. >> good morning. >> thank you. >> thanks for joining us today. you are from minnesota, and it is a politically diverse state. >> thank you, one person. >> and you're not the only -- as it turns out you're not the only person from minnesota. >> no. >> politically diverse state, a state that clinton won, didn't do as well in the other midwestern states. it can be treacherous territory for democrats. you -- there is a minneapolis star tribune poll that had your approval rating at 78%.

begging the question why are you so awesome? but how do you, you know, tell us a little bit about how you navigate that state that is pretty divided and do you think there's lessons that are applicable at large? >> i think first of all, you see, a number of people like heidi hidecamp in north dakota, tommy baldwin in wisconsin who are able, despite their states voting differently in the presidential election, are able to navigate it. and i think one of the things that we do is first of all, not be afraid to go anywhere or talk about any issue with our constituents. we don't leave people behind. i actually visit all 87 counties in minnesota every single year. i'm on my 12th year. i've gotten to the point where some counties i've been visiting places just recently called insect inferno. let's kill bed bugs with heat. that was one of the businesses.

i use that as an example, we were out of places to visit in the county. and they did make me go inside a semi that had let's kill big bugs with heat on the outside. and then they turned up the heat, but only halfway. where they put the mattresses and things. and it reminded me of what actually a republican candidate for president who didn't make it once said, you go not just where it's comfortable but where it's uncomfortable. i think a lot of what we need to do in the democratic party is make sure we're reaching out to people in every town. and not just considering them to a place where oh, you don't win those counties or regions so we don't go there. that was a bit of what we learned from the presidential race. it certainly has been a strategy of our winning candidates in some of the rural areas. i think talking to them and figuring that out and having an economic agenda that includes everyone is going to be very important in the coming

elections. >> do you find -- if you've been doing that for 12 years, people feel they've been heard or listened to. do you find -- you do actually have these uncomfortable moments? >> right. you get to know them. you get to know all the elected officials some are non-partisan. maybe people think their republicans, but they just are people you get to know as friends. it's a way different way of relating to people than we might in more partisan settings. >> yes, you seem to make a lot of progress using humor. >> that's right. >> and you're on the rural economic subcommittee of the committee. and i know that you and your staff take this very seriously, do a lot of -- spend a lot of time, different parts of minnesota and doing tours on the rural economy. say a little bit about what you think those elements are? because i think in the -- you know, traditionally people hear

rural and they just think ag and minnesota is a very diverse state. what do you think those elements are? >> i'm on the agriculture committee and our state is fifth in the country for ag. i've spent a lot of time on the farm builds, successful farm bills, under two different presidents. and that's been very important. and i think people should think about that, not just because of the ag aspect of it, but also the child nutrition aspect and some of the conservation programs in those bills. and our democratic party has to get strongly behind them. but it is so much more than just talking about the farm bill, when you think about rural america. it's rural economic development. and as i look at what's coming at us with technology and robots and some of the changes that we're going to see, i think how do we resolve that and how do we make sure there's jobs in the future. the first, obvious answer is training people for the jobs that we have now and that we will have in the future. but the second one is continuing this great entrepreneurial

american focus on new businesses, small businesses, startups. and this is where i get to rural. one of the easier places to start some of these new businesses are . . . had home of the world's only spam museum or as we call it the gugenham. or whether it is like new more modern companies like ep cure yan that makes cutting boards up in duluth. to try to harness that energy and entrepreneur spirit as a lot of younger people want to move places like a do loout wheuluth. you have to have wi-fi. you can't have this digital

divide. you can't have doctors that have to go to the mcdonald's parking lot to look at x-rays if they don't want to go to the hospital. you cannot have kids on tribal lands where one house has wi-fi and the other kids are doing the homework in the front yard. that's a true digital divide. that's one thing we need to resolve. world hospitals, hurt with the medicaid cuts out of the health care bill and house. the third would be making sure we have educational opportunities available. i would also say that the whole budget, you have to look at it in terms of rural america. one of my suggested budget cuts to point to is the limit on home heating. d tom daschle would tell you in

south dakota and north dakota, it gets kind of cold. not everyone can afford to go to florida every weekend. looking at how we do the budget that includes everyone in the country. there are understandable reasons why there is so much anxiety. we had 9/11, two wars, the great recession, big changes in demographics, digital economy and globalization. there is reason for people to feel extraordinary aeng zooit and we have had a good recovery in terms of duration. not everybody feels it. the approach you have articulated flips the question on its head as opposed to what are the opportunities for people. it is not as if everyone in

duluth is going to become an engineer or a coder. we are all looking for ways that you can harness, this is what we do in america, we face big forces. a lot of disruption. we figure out how to make those forces work for us. what you are suggesting is, not everybody is going to be an engineer or a coder in duluth. you can attract talent that is an anchor and the community grows with that. it is the first to be articulated and from that perspective, you can see how it would work, which is encouraging. >> i commend cap for the new martial plan you have put out. it gets to some of those ideas. when, as democrats, we go into areas and say, hey, everyone needs a four-year degree. that's just not true. there are people that don't want to follow that path. we have to allow for different paths for people to follow.

my marco rubio moment. >> so much more grace. >> we have to allow for different paths for people to follow. in my sister's case, she never graduated from high school. she ended up moving down to iowa, worked in some plants and finally went on to get her g.e.d. and a two-year degree. she went on later after that and got her four-year degree and ended up being an accountant. those stories are all over america. they don't always end with the four-year degree. sometimes they end with a good job in welding. sometimes they end with someone who has a job repairing robotics equipment. as a democratic party, i think it is really important we stand up for this simple idea that not all paths are the same. right now, we have all this need for welders and people to do some of the jobs in the trades where we have an aging

population. that's one way, when you look at the cap report, to reach out across all kinds of divides, whether they are geographic, racial, whatever they are to include everyone. >> that's really encouraging. we've learned some more pretty disturbing news about the president in the last 24 hours. i haven't texted. >> we'll just go with the last 24 hours. you're on the judiciary committee, a former prosecutor. i know you supported a special prosecutor for russia squeas wes an independent commission. how are you processing the latest news as a senate democrat, where do you take this? >> on the latest news, i think it is really important if clearly there is a readout from that meeting and a transcript, there is probably a tape unless

they had someone in there. we need to get a hold of that. obviously, the classified information should be redacted. when you have the president of the united states disclosing allegedly, disclosing secret information, our function in the senate is oversight of intelligence agency, oversight of judicial, the justice department. we need to get ahold of that. it is a risk to our intelligence and our agents in the field. two, it is a risk to our relationship with allies. three, it is putting people in danger. one of the reasons presidents are so careful when they look at disclosing classified information, is that you never know the next level down of where that source came from or how it was done. that is why when president reagan disclosed that the russians had shot down a plane and decided he thought that would be better for the country to understand that, he actually worked with our entell generain agencies to figure it out. we have to get to the bottom of

this. how does this relate to the bigger picture of what's going on? always echoing in my mind what former director clapper said before our judiciary committee last week. he said we are sem pimply emboldening russia when we don't take this seriously. by giving this classified information to them that they didn't give to the senators at the laptop briefing i attended at 8:30 in the morning, that emboldens russia. i get back to where i start, that we need a special prosecutor appointed by the justice department to get to the bottom of what happened. all of the standards of that rule have been met. we also need an independent commission. if you want to stop this from happening in the future, look at what the 9/11 commission did. they were able to put out some rules of the road so that if there is a breach in the middle of a major presidential

campaign, there are some suggestions and maybe even agreement on what people do when they get that information. what does the media do? look at how the media just handled it in the french elections. they didn't immediately put things out in a radioactive manner, because it was a cyberattack from another country. getting to the bottom of the connections between the trump campaign and russia, when we have 17 intelligence agencies telling us that russia tried to get involved in our election and influence it is critical. it is equally critical we put some rules of the road in place so this doesn't happen again. >> thank you. that's all we have time for. really appreciate you coming. please welcome to the stage

donald sussman. i am thrilled to have the chance to introduce our next speaker who really needs no introduction as people say. in june, nancy pelosi will complete 30 years of service in the house of representatives. she has achieved some remarkable things. she was the first woman to ever serve as speaker of the house. she oversaw the passage of the lily ledbetter fair pay act and the repeal of don't ask don't tell. it was nancy pelosi who passed the affordable care act through the house of representatives. believe me, it was her effort. i don't have to tell you how critical that piece of legislation is, just how hard leader pelosi is fighting to protect it now. there is no one i would rather have in her role leading that fight. joining nancy to the stage will

be mira tenant to lead the conversation. >> there is nobody i would rather have here. good morning. >> thank you so much for being here, leader pelosi. >> good morning. >> it has been an eventful couple of months in washington. let me just start off with health care. when we started off in january, we thought the republicans would pass their health care bill within weeks and their plans were to have it passed into law by now, scary as that is. i would love for you to talk about how you managed to change the conversation, what really happened and what do we have to do from here? >> good morning, everyone. it is an honor to be here at c.a.p. thank you for the intellectual resource that c.a.p. is to our

country, to our party but in a larger sense to our country. thank all of you for being so much a part of it intellectually, politically and supportwise in terms of when you are in the trenches, it is wonderful to know people are out there caring, pushing, thinking and supporting. so the affordable care act, here we are. i always like to have a market, place ourselves in time. on saturday, it will be four months since the inauguration of the president of the united states. four months of absolutely nothing in terms of jobs, nothing in terms of the job he is doing and this is what we have to be talking about, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. everything we do we have to see through that prism, including the affordable care act. the affordable care act is the honor and commitment of our founders to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. a healthier life, the liberty to

pursue your happiness, not to be job locked or policy locked because of a pre-existing condition. that's good for the economy. it encourages entrepreneurship and the rest. people can own a business, be self-employed, be a photographer, an artist in any way and reach their fulfillment, pursue their happiness. so we have the promise that they made that they were going to repeal the affordable care act seven years in the making and they come up with nothing. what they have now just to cut to the chase, what they have now is deadly. people out there on the campaign, as recently as last night when i was at cnn, they said, i will die if the affordable care act is repealed. what the republicans are doing now is they are going to do terrible things. i call them pontius pilate.

it seriously jeopardizes all the essential benefits, including the pre-existing conditions. i think it is important for everybody to understand, this is part of -- to enlarge the issue, this is about the deconstruction of government, which they have always been about in the congress. when people say, how much longer will the republicans put up with trump? no, no. they have been there longer on these issues. medica medicare should with they aer o vine. medicaid, they want to more than decimate, really undermine it so thoroughly. we have seen their efforts before to privatetize social security, something supported by the vice-president of the united states when he was in the house. so it is part of that. so to have a public/private sort

of arrangement for the affordable care act. they want to get rid of that. that's what they are doing. costs will go up, services, benefits down. 24 million people will no longer have access to health. 24 million. that's more people than got health insurance. they are taking us backward from pre-affordable care act. we have put on 21 million people. they are going to take off 24 million people. age tags. if you are 55-64, young person tax. if you are moving, kids are mobile. if you change policy, a 30% tax, undermining medicare, which is part of their, let medicare wither on the vine. tax care breaks for the wealthiest people. if it trickles down, so be it.

that's the free market. what they are doing is not a health care bill. it is a tax bill disguised as a health care bill. over $600 billion, more than $700 billion will be sucked up to the wealthiest people in the country, corporations, at the expense of middle income people and those to aspire to the middle class. robinhood to the reverse. it is one of the most damaging, if not the most damaging bill to women in legislative history. 7 million veterans will lose their tax credit for their families in this bill. children will be hurt severely. people with disabilities, seniors, you name it. it is part of the deconstruction of government, not even philosophical. it is idealogical. so that's it and we will lose 2 million, our four letter word,

jobs. we're going to have to give all the gratitude in the world to the outside groups who are participating in our town meetings and creating some to make sure that people had a place, a platform to speak about their own stories and what this meant to them. that is how we defeated the bill the first time out. they won the bill by making it worse, by picking up some of the conservatives to make matters worse and now they want to make it worse in the senate. it's possible they could pass the bill in the senate. a great deal is at stake. we don't want to be fear amongers. we have to mobilize. the mobilization outside from the groups has been spectacular. any of you that have participated in that, thank you. our inside maneuvering can only go so far. the outside mobilization makes all the difference in the world. lincoln said, public sentiment

is everything. with it, you can accomplish almost anything. without it, practically nothing. so that is where we see our strength as we go forward with this. may i just say? many honors are afforded a member of congress but being introduced by donald sussman as high among them, thank you, donald, for your kind words. where did he go? did he leave? >> he is there. >> i would just like to note. we have a number of leaders of a lot of the online groups that have formed since the election in the audience. we want to also pay tribute to the fan it is tick work they have been doing to defend the aca and also they have been doing a lot of work on my next topic, which is to ask you a question about the recent events related to russia. i know you did a cnn town hall.

as the way we live in washington these days, the president can tweet between events. the president did seem to confirm "the washington post" story. you have handled intelligence before. i think i would love you to talk about what you think happened here but also just really raise from your perspective what's at stake in the issues here related to russia and why are you so concerned about it? >> well, in terms of there are many facets to this as the president. is he fit to be president of the united states when he would do such a thing? there are other takes on it. with almost over 20 years of experience as the top democrat on intelligence or in the leadership with the gang of eight, this is a dedication.

you really have to read your stuff, know your stuff, be briefed constantly. you cannot connect the dots if you are helter-skelter. that's what he has been. he hasn't taken his briefings. we try not to be it. what the president did was totally outrageous, totally outrageous. if it was unwitting, that would be pathetic and dangerous. if it was intentional, that would be worse. i don't know what's worse. the fact is -- >> intentional is worse. >> you think? >> well, intentionally, he might be able to stop himself. unwitting, he is a loose cannon. this russia thing, the reason he has admitted he was tired of russia/trump connection investigation, that's why he went to where he did with

director comey. it hits us in three areas of security. we are about security. we take an oath to protect and defend, the security of our country. seriously, jeopardized by the trump/russia connection. economic security affected by his actions and the security of our democracy. proven that they have hacked, leaked, disrupted our election. the question is, what is the connection? that requires investigation to get the facts to prove the case or not. what are the republicans and the president afraid of? the truth. when it comes to our national security, here he is putting putin on a pedestal, undermining nato, questioning whether we should sanctions vis-a-vis europe? that is not in our national

security of interest. that is undermining our trans atlantic pillar of strength for us but casual about it. what do the russians have on him politically, personally, financially. go to the next step. you can't see his tax returns. show us your tax returns. we can see what the connection is between you and russia. by the way, the connection between yourself and the cost to the average person in our country. this is about our economy as well. as i mentioned about the security of our democracy, this is intrinsic, fundamental, systemic, very important we get to the bottom of it. there is so much evidence. i, myself, do not think the attorney general should be the attorney general. he has already violated -- [ applause ] >> so, again, what is the price that we pay? what does the opportunity cost?

all of the above. we want to be talking about jobs we are retail people, the house of representatives. we go home every weekend, put our hand on a very hot stove of people saying, when is it my turn? why is it i see the rich getting all of this? when is it my turn? we have to be, and i know you all are working on job creation. i heard glen and the senator talk about jobs and technology and the rest of that. we have to -- all we do is fight for working families in our country. all we do is walk that walk. we didn't talk the talk. we paid the price. we have to remove all doubts in anyone's mind that these people they voted for are there to undermine their interest, whether it is their health security, their economic security or the pension security and the rest of that. it is for the good of the

country. there is a middle class, the backbone of our democracy. so for the good of the country, forgetting politics and the democratic policy. for the good of the country, it is essential we understand that hot stove as we are making our policy and how we go forward. i'm looking at the clock so i know you have a very tight schedule. so many ideas to hear. so we will have a discharge petition, cummings and falwell will be introducing it tomorrow. over 70% of the american people think there should be an outside investigation. we support all these independent counsel if we can get that, special prosecutor. certainly not sessions but rosenstein, i don't think he should be making the appointment either. it has to be somebody not appointed by donald trump. in any event, to get something going. our intelligence committees

trying to do their best. the power of subpoena, it makes all the difference in the world. the majority owns the power of subpoena. when you have an incumbent in the white house of a particular party and the congress owns the power of subpoena, it deters it. so we come back to lincoln. the public sentiment of it all. the groups are out there helping to protect the affordable care act to talk about jobs, raise the minimum wage, build fre infrastructure and the rest. while we address these other issues, make sure people know we are thinking about them. we are not just having a washington conversation that doesn't relate to their lives. all of this does but we have to show them the connection. i'm very proud of my caucus. they are very unified. people say, oh, you keep them all together. i don't. our values are what unifies our caucus. they have been brave and courageous and out there fighting for the affordable care

act in terms of that current battle. this is really almost an all-out war. i don't like using those kind of belligerent terms. an all-out war on the values. we do not share the same values. i have been there 30 years. this isn't the way it used to be. this is a different breed of cat. a great deal is at stake. what i hope for the country is in the course of the debate the american people come out the winners. whoever wins the election, of course, i have my priorities there, not only house, governors, state houses, the senate, however that turns out, that we have a debate as to whose side people are really on. he is going to open up the coal mines and bring jobs back from china. oh, really? oh, really? what is it that we are doing. by the way, i have a coal miner card from coal that my father gave me. he had it in his office in the

'30s and the '40s. i have the coal miners in my office all the time. i think clean coal is the oxymoron of all time. i love the coal miners. they love coal and don't want to deal with pensions and health care and all the rest for the coal miners. this whole thing about people voting for them because they are going to open the coal mines is emblematic of the challenge we have from a message standpoint. we have no problem from a value standpoint that unify us. again, the humility to accept new ideas, fresh ideas, entrepreneurial thinking about subjects. even solomon, when he was going to be king, he was so humble. he was following david. he prayed to god, how can i have the wisdom to succeed david? that humility is what god came to him and said, solomon, because you did not ask for

great wealth or longevity or vengeance against your enemies, i will give you such wisdom that you will be renown for that wisdom. that humility led to that wisdom. we all have to be humble enough to accept all the new ideas, whether they are left, right, middle or wherever they are from for the good of the american people. hopefully, that debate will either change who is in office or change the minds of who is in office on the other side. nothing less is at stake than the great middle class, which, again, is the backbone of our great democracy, the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the world. thank you for the support. >> we will now take a very brief pause to refresh the tables. the program will begin very shortly. thank you.

a brief break in this progressive conference. we will get remarks from senators gillibrand and a panel on national security in russia with senators murphy and congressman, adam schiff. that will be followed by california democrat, camilla harris. live coverage on c-span3 coming up shortly.

roll call has a new story looking at pretty's apparent sharing of classified information with russian officials. the story says, president trump appeared to confirm a report that he discussed highly classified information with senior russian officials contradicting his top aides, while claiming an absolute right to do so. at about 7:00 a.m., he dispatched h.m. mcmaster to partially deny a washington post report that he relayed highly classified information about passeng passenger airliners to russian officials. mcmaster's told them that the article is false. the president appeared to boast about sharing information and the country that provided it to the u.s. intelligence officials had asked not to be widely d

disdiscussed. you can read the rest at rollcall.com. here are some of the remarks during his press briefing yesterday. good evening, everybody. i just have a brief statement for the record. there is nothing that the president takes more seriously than the security of the american people. the story that came out tonight as reported is false. the president and the foreign minister reviewed a range of common threats to our two countries, including threats to civil aviation. at no time, at no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed. the president did not disclose any military operation that is were not already publicly known. two other senior officials who were present, including the secretary of state, remember the meeting the same way and have

said so. th their on the record accounts will weigh those of anonymous sources. i was in the room. it didn't happen. thanks, everybody. thank you. by the way, h.r. mcmaster will be briefing reporters this morning at about 11:306789 y. you should be able to watch live on c-span. president trump sent out tweets about the information story this morning. as president, i wanted to share with russia at an openly scheduled white house meeting which i have the absolute right to do. facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety, humanitarian reasons. plus, i want russia to greatly step up their fight against