ever let you down. thank you very much. [ applause ] ♪ ♪ [ applause ]

vice president mike pence spoke on thursday and discussed the construction of a southern border security wall, north korea and the 2018 midterm elections. this runs 35 minutes. [ applause ] thank you. thank you very much. thank you matt and thank you cpac for that warm, warm welcome. what an honor to be able to address you today. and what a treat to introduce my

husband. and i do want to introduce him today. i want to introduce you to a different side of mike pence that you may not know. for years people in indiana heard his conservative commentary on his radio show. we called him rush limbaugh on decaf. and then for 12 years on the floor of the united states congress, he fought for conservative principles. [ applause ] >> next he governed as a conservative governor in our home state of indiana. and today he will speak to you as vice president. but that mike pence you already know. i'd like to take this opportunity to pull back the

curtain and show you the mike pence that i know. i'd like you to see this man that i'd been married to for 32 years. a man -- a man who has supported me as a teacher. he actually would come to my back to school nights. he also supported me as a stay-at-home mom when i wanted to be home. and i used to do these water color fairs and i would come to my booth and help sell the water colors. and now he firmly supports my initiative of art therapy. but i want you to see a little more about him. here we go. five facts you need to know about mike pence. don't you love those? number one, if it's friday night, we better be having pizza

for dinner, supreme thin crust with ao doul's. every friday night. number two, this is a good one for you to hear about. the feedback that he respects the most comes from his three kids, all three of them. we raised them to be independent thinkers, to climb their own mountains and to not be afraid to speak up and disagree with us. so he knows their comments are honest. and sometimes hard hitting. and their praise is sincere. he values their opinions above all. even above mine because my job as we all know is to keep him

humble. so i don't always give him all of this positive feedback. number three, you may not know this about him. mike pence is a cartoon artist. i know. got you, didn't i? in law school he drew the weekly cartoon for the law school people. it was called law school daze, d d-a-z-e, and daze was the law student featured at yours trully mike pence. i put all of the cartoons in a book so we have a book of all of his cartoons. when i was teaching second grade we used to have my students over for dinner in small groups. and he would draw a caricature of each one of them before they left that evening.

number four, what would mike pence buy if he could buy anything? a horse. he has always wanted a horse. and i think riding horses is really the only place he truly relaxes. and number five, he loves a good book, especially the good book. he is a voracious reader from historical novels to buy og fees to miss trysteries and politica commentaries, he loves a good book. thank you for letting me introduce my husband, vice president mike pence. [ applause ] ♪

[ applause ] well, hello c-pac. thank you to my wonderful wife karen. isn't she something? a teacher, an artist, a marine corps mom and second lady of the united states. would you give karen one more round of applause for all that she does for the cause and the

country? [ applause ] it is great to be back at cpac 2018. the largest gathering of conservatives in america every single year. thank you all for being here. [ applause ] before i begin and talk about the progress we've made, allow me to take a moment to address what i know is on all of our hearts this morning. the terrible attack that claimed the lives of 17 americans and injured more last week in parkland, florida. in america, we mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve. yesterday president trump and i met with the family of poll lack and other students and families reeling from the attack in parkland.

we also met in the white house with families from other communities who have experienced the same violence firsthand. as the president said we'll never forget it. we prayed with them. we listened to them. as they poured out their hearts. as the president said, no child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an american school. [ applause ] earlier this week, president trump called on congress to strengthen background checks and two days ago directed the department of justice to expedite the regulation of bumpstocks. when he meets with the governors in our nation's capital, we'll make the safety of our nation's schools and our students our top national priority.

[ applause ] i can assure you all of this, president trump and our entire administration will continue to take strong action to make our schools safe and to give law enforcement and our families the tools they need to deal with those struggling with dangerous mental illness. as we move forward, we'll continue to work. and we'll continue with all of you to pray for god's grace and comfort for all of the families impacted by this terrible attack. and we'll pray for god's wisdom that all of us in positions of authority might find a way to come together with american solutions to confront and end this evil in our time.

so thank you. it is great to be back at cpac. i stand here today with pro found gratitude to say that because of all of you, because of the conservative majorities in congress that you helped elect and because of the strong leadership of the president, you put in the white house, 2017 was the most consequential year in the history of the conservative movement. [ applause ] and tomorrow, you'll hear firsthand from the man who galvanized that movement. you know, i spoke to him on the phone this morning and i can tell you he can't wait to get

here. [ applause ] the man who won a historic election and delivering on the promises that he made every day since the 45th president of the united states of america, president donald trump! [ applause ] i'm here because i stand with president trump. i'm here because we stand with the conservative movement. and come to think of it, we always stand for our flag and our national anthem as well. [ applause

[ applause ] what a year. when president trump addressed you last february, he declared in his words that our victory was a victory and win for conservative values and so it was. and now he and i are both back here at cpac this week to thank you for everything you've done to advance our cause. because of your support in this past year, it's been a year of action. it's been a year of remarkable results. in a word, it's been a year of promises made and promises kept. when you think about it, president trump promised to rebuild our military and restore the arsenal of democracy and in just a few weeks he'll sign the largest investment in our national defense since the days of ronald reagan.

[ applause ] >> he promised to stand without apology for the men and women of law enforcement and today we're once again giving those peace officers the respect and resources they deserve all across america. [ applause ] >> president trump promised to enforce our laws, secure or borders and today illegal crossings ats our southern border have been cut nearly in half and make no mistake about it, we're going to build that wall. [ applause ] he promised to appoint strong conservatives to the federal courts at every level and pr

president trump came through, appointed justice neil gorsuch to the supreme court and set a record for most circuit court judges appointed in the first year of any administration in history. and president donald trump promised to stand for the unalienable right to life. [ applause ] and from the first day of this administration, he reinstated the mexico city policy and i was honored to cast the tie breaking vote in the senate to send a bill to the president's desk to allow states to defund planned parenthood.

>> on the economy, we've unleashed american energy, approved the keystone and dakota pipelines and president trump put america first when he withdrew the united states from the paris climate accord. and we've been busy rolling back the heavy hand of government as well. this president has actually repealed 22 regulations for every new federal rule put on the books. and finally, president trump promised to cut taxes across the board for working families and job creators and two months ago today, president trump signed the largest tax cuts and tax reform in american history, promises made, promises kept.

>> on the world stage, we've also been restoring strong american leadership and under president donald trump, america once again stands without apology as leader of the free world. [ applause ] our nato allies are contributing more to our common defense than ever before. and for decades after one president after another promised to move the u.s. embassy to the capital of our most cherished ally, president trump made history on december 6th when the united states of america recognized jerusalem as the capital of the state of israel.

[ applause ] so we've stood with our allies and we've stood up to our enemies. nowhere is that more true than in the fight against radical islamic terror. under this commander in chief, we've taken the fight to the terrorists on our terms and their soil. thanks to the courage of our armed forces and the leadership of this commander in chief, isis is on the run. their caliphate has fumbled and we will not rest or relent until we destroy isis at its source so it can no longer threaten our nation or allies or our way of life. [ applause ]

and put the leading state sponsor of terror on notice as well. the united states will no longer tolerate iran's destabilizing activities across the region and this country will no longer certify the disastrous iran nuclear deal. and in the wake of provocations and threats against the united states and our allies, we've made it clear to north korea that the era of strategic patience is over. two weeks ago i was honored to lead the official delegation to the opening ceremonies of the winter olympics in pyeongchang where we cheered on team usa. but as you all know, many in the

mainstream media seem quite taken with another dig nny dign teary. for all of the media fawning over the sister of the north korean dictator, i think it's important that every american knows who this person is and what she's done. sister of kim jong-un is a central pillar of the most tyrannical and evil regime on the planet that starve and sub ju gates and imprisons its 25 million people. even the united nations reported that in their words the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have a parallel in the contemporary world. that's why the united states government has sanctioned her for her role in abetting the

human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. people are routinely jailed and executed for the most mine or acts of defiance. every american remembers the heartbreaking story of otto warmbier. for all of those in the media who think i should have stood and cheered with the north koreans, i say -- the united states of america doesn't stand with murderous dictatorships. we stand up to murderous dictatorships. [ applause ] and we will keep standing strong until north korea stops threatening our country, our allies or until they abandon their nuclear and ballistic missiles once and for all.

so in this white house, it's about strength. it's about growth for our nation. and it's working. america is more secure and our economy is booming. since election day 2016, businesses large and small have created more than 2.5 million new jobs across this country. unemployment hasn't been this low in 17 years and more americans are working today than ever before in american history. after eight years of a stagnant economy and wages that wouldn't budge, american workers are seeing their paychecks rise faster today than at any point in nearly a decade. and more than 1.5 million americans have left the rolls of food stamps and now able to support and sustain themselves

with dignity and self-worth. but i know in my heart that the best is yet to come. because as we speak, our economy is already started to feel the effects of that historic tax cut. about 90% of working americans are going to get a tax cut. millions are already seeing more money in their paychecks and feeling it in their wallets. and we didn't just cut taxes on your income. the obamacare individual mandate tax is gone. [ applause ] since the president's tax cuts became the law of the land, businesses large and small have announced more than $480 billion in new investments in american

jobs and american workers and just the past two months more than 4.3 million americans have already gotten a raise or a bonus and we're just getting started. folks, that's great news. that's great news. but not everybody thinks it's that big of a deal. i don't know if you heard -- but the woman that wants to be speaker of the house again, nancy pelosi said -- she said she actually said the tax cuts would be armageddon before they passed. but just a few days ago she said it was unpatriotic to let the american people keep more of what they earn. most amazing of all, she keeps saying that $1,000 bonus for

working americans is not more than crumbs. well, let me remind all of you. i come from a joseph a. bank wing of the west wing of the white house. all right. i mean, seriously, folks, when our kids were little, we had a term for another $1,000 in our paycheck at the end of the year, christmas. are you with me? these bonuses have meant real money and help working families all across this country with pay raises that are generating opportunities even as we speak. i want to say from my heart, any leader who says that $1,000 in the pockets of working families is crumbs is out of touch with the american people.

[ applause ] >> you know, it would be a zastser for our cause if nancy pelosi became speaker of the house again. but we're not going to let it happen. this movement should know, it's a very real threat because the other side knows exact between now and the end of this year. the far left has watched with dismay as we've dismantled the liberal legacy of the last ad administration and turned this country around. ener doing everything they can to win back the congress next november. we don't have to wonder what would happen if the party of nancy pel ploosi and chuck schu won the house and senate this november? do we? web t remember the last time it happened? i do. i was actually there the last time democrats ran the congress. and they nearly ran america into the ground.

they raised taxes and cut the mill friday and triped ed to pa cap and trade and gave us dodd frank and obamacare nightmare. they thought they could borrow and spend and bail their way back to a growing america. in the past few years, democrats have only fallen further to the left. their platform as we all know can be summed up in one word, resist. resist our plcys, resist our president and resist the results that you and i and our entire movement have fought so hard to achieve. so it's up to us to stand up to them and stand up for the american people and the progress that we've made. [ applause ] but the other side is motivated. they are mobilized. so today to the men and women of this conservative movement i want to admonish you, let this be the day that we as a movement

decided to deliver another victory for the american people in 2018. i mean, we threw out the playbook in 2016 and we're going to throw it out in 2018. if all of us do all that we can from this day forward, i know we'll continue to achieve historic victories for our movement and for america. the choices that we make in the days ahead and promises that we make to one another, the actions we take will shape our nation for generations to come. but today on behalf of president trump and our entire administration, i'm asking every member of this movement to go back home to your communities, to your workplaces and talk to your families and friends and neighbors. tell them what they don't hear in the media about everything that we've accomplished.

tell them how the policies the president advanced are making a difference in the lives of american families and enterprises and in the life of our nation. tell them we've cut their taxes and put more money in their pockets and restoring american strength at home and abroad so the families can sleep safe at night. and tell them that thanks to our administration, confidence is back, jobs are coming back and just tell them america is back. as we prepare for the challenges ahead, let's remember, progress is driven by the people who show up. your president and i need you to show up. defend all that we've accomplished and all we have yet to do. we can't turn back men and women. we can't give anything less than

everything. america is counting on us. but i know in my heart that we'll come through. you'll come through for this country once again. i've seen the courage and conviction that defines the men and women of the conservative movement all my life. and i see it in your faces this morning. my friends, the truth is we live in a time of widening challenges and unknowable threats. a time of too much division. and too much anger in america. you know, it seems like we're becoming more and more disconnected from each other. too often unable or unwilling to meet our fellow citizens where they are to do what the president did yesterday, just to listen to one another in a spirit of humility and respect.

and increasingly it seems like we've lost sight. we've lost sight of who we are as a people, that the truth is that here in the united states of america it's true today and always been true that there will always be more that unites us than will ever divide the good and great people of this country. >> so let's try to reconnect in the days and debates that come ahead. reconnect with one another and reconnect with the communities and lastly, i also believe that we should also seek in these challenging times to reconnect to something deeper. something that speaks to the very heart of who we are, someone who i believe has always been the source of our strength

and more than that. our hope. yesterday mourned passing of one of the greatest americans of the past century, the reverend billy graham. [ applause ] we remembered his ministry, a ministry for the gospel that changed the lives of millions and we remember his matchless voice that inspired our nation during some of our darkest times. i remembered one such time just yesterday. his words at the national cathedral 17 years ago, words spoken just three days after the worst attack on american soil since pearl harbor. i was there. as a first term member of

congress and i'll never forget what he said. on that day, billy graham said to the american people the spirit of this nation will not defeated, but he admonished americans to in his words come together to confess our need for god. he said we always needed god from the beginning of this nation, but today we need him especially, and he reminded us that the bible says god is our refuge and strength and ever present help in trouble therefore we will not fear. so with that admonition in my heart, i close today with faith. faith in the boundless capacity of the american people. faith in the president and the leaders they've elected to

represent them at every level and with that other kind of faith, what billy graham called hope for the present and hope for the future. that in days ahead as we work to advance our cause, but restore our country. let us also remember to claim that hope. remember those ancient words that if his people who are called by his name will humble themselves and pray, you'll hear from him and he'll heal this land. this one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

so to this conservative movement i say today we've accomplished much in a little more than a year but we've got a lot more to do. with the renewed commitment of this rising generation, with the support of strong, conservative majorities in congress, with president donald trump in the white house and with god's help i know we will make america safe again. we will make america prosperous again. and to borrow a phrase, we will make america great again.

thank you very much. god bless you all and god bless the united states of america. ♪ today, the committee for responsible federal budget hosts a series of discussions on the federal budget process, participants include chairs and

ranking members of the house and senate budget committees. live coverage 12:35 p.m. eastern on cspan3. tonight on cspan's landmark cases, a look at the case mccullough v maryland, that solidified the government's ability to take actions not explicitly listed in the constitution and state action against legitimate use of the power. explore this case and the ruling with university of virginia associate law professor. watch landmark cases live at 9:00 p.m. eastern on cspan, cspan.org or listen with the free cspan radio app. for background on each case, order a copy of the landmark cases book. for an additional resource,