that rally was for george washington's birthday. there was an active american fascist movement in the 1920's and 1930's. earlier than people think. >> university of london literature professor looks at the history of the terms america first and the american dream. sunday night at 8:00 eastern on -span's q&a. earlier today, president trump signed an executive order establishing an opportunity and revitalization council with the aim of creating opportunity zones in distressed communities. ben carson is set to lead the new council which also includes treasury secretary steve mnuchin. and commerce secretary wilber ross as members. this is 20 minutes.

>> there was a sense they wanted it out. >> i never heard of that song. inaudible] >> i know rudolph -- [inaudible] -- >> don't you wonder what the world is coming to? >> i know, right. udolph, wow. > i light up a room.

>> good to see you. president trump: hello, everybody. good, tim. it's a big day. thank you. in a few moments i will sign an executive order launching a new white house opportunity. this is a very big thing that tim and i and everybody have been working on for a long time. and revitalization council. this council will coordinate earth as i cross the entire federal -- coordinate across the entire federal government. with the creation of today's council, the resources of the whole federal government will be leveraged to rebuild low-income and impoverished neighborhoods that have been ignored by washington in years past. our goal is to ensure that america's great new prosperity is broadly shared by all of our citizens. our country is doing better than ever economically and we're able to do that. i'm thrilled to announce that

our new council will be led by secretary ben carson, who is here with us today. where is ben? [applause] also with us is secretary steven mnuchin and secretary wilber ross, who will both serve on the council and play a critical role in its work. the down shrill focus its efforts on opportunity zones, a crucial part of tax cuts that we passed last year. under our new tax cuts, any distressed area that is designated as an opportunity zone will receive massive incentives for private sector investment, including zero capital gains tax on any investment held for at least 10 years. we're honored to be joined today by the person who led the fight to include opportunity zones in the tax cuts and jobs act, and that is senator tim

scott. thank you. [applause] thank you, tim. we're also joined by roger campos of the minority business round table. along with jimmy kemp. thanks, fellas. appreciate it. that's great. pastor darryl scott, friend of mine for a long time, where's darryl? >> right here. [laughter] president trump: darryl. bishop perry jackson. that's great. and local officials from baltimore, maryland, norfolk, virginia, and allegheny county, pennsylvania. for decades job growth and investment have been concentrated in a few major metropolitan areas. this has created a geographic disparity, a very big one in many cases, where some cities have thrived while others have suffered chronic economic and social hardship. with opportunity zones, we're drawing investment into neglected and underserved

communities of america, so that all americans, regardless of zip code, have access to the american dream. governors know their local needs best, following the enactment of our tax law, america's governors designated nearly 9,000 neighborhoods as opportunity zones, from communities in the rural west virginia to suburban arizona, to inner city chicago. the treasury department has estimated that as a result of these tax incentives, private businesses will invest $100 billion in opportunity zones. and that will be incredible. this council will support communities like east baltimore , where pastor dante hickman is helping lead a groundbreaking project in the newly designated opportunity zone. i'd like to invite pastor hickman to say a few words about today's initiative. he's been an incredible leader, a man of faith, and somebody

that we all believe very strongly in. pastor, please. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president. i am here today thanking you in advance for funding and resources that you will direct to the urban and distressed communities like baltimore. the executive order you signed today will make it possible for us to work with your administration on a common goal of investing to restore people as we rebuild properties in neglected communities. as pastor of the southern baptist church, and throughout mary harvin transformation center, in partnership with other faith-based stakeholder institutions, developed the east baltimore revitalization plan, addressing the development needs of over 100 acres of, just north of johns hopkins hospital. and was recently approved and adopted by the city planning

department of baltimore. our area has been federally designated as an opportunity zone and this bipartisan legislation can leverage public and private funding towards community revitalization. your influence on federal agencies and private entities through this executive order will enable distressed communities like broadway east in baltimore to obtain investment needed to capitalize and bridge funding gaps to create sustainable health, wealth, housing, educational, recreational, grocery and employment opportunities. it will strengthen small, emerging and other businesses, as well as enable financial support of historically black like es and universities, a college in marshall, texas, where i attended. mr. president, i want you and every agency and potential

investor to know that in baltimore, and in particular broadway east baltimore, that we have the plan, we have the property, we have the people, we have the professional expertise, and we have the prospeck tus to jump-start your urban initiative. baltimore is prepared to be a demonstration project for a national urban revitalization strategy. we look forward to working with your administration on rebuilding opportunity in our urban communities that have suffered from disinvestment and delabdation for decades -- delapdation for decades. and we welcome to you come to baltimore to see the potential transformative impact of your leadership and investment through this executive order. thank you. president trump: thank you very much. [applause] thank you, pastor. today we are also proud to be

joined by one of america's mosted a mired business leaders -- mosted a mired business leaders, the co--- most admired business leaders, bob johnson. bob, please. hi, bob. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president. i'm here to applaud you on two things. one, you may not even know about. but tim scott does. just recently, your department of labor signed a historic document that created something called auto portability. auto portability is designed to reduce retirement leakage among low-income 401 k account holders -- 401-k account holders who tend to cash out. mr. president, you should know this, 60% of african-american and hispanic americans cash out of their 401-k accounts. when this program, the policy that secretary costa initiated, along with my company, is

implemented along with the big financial record keepers, the fidelities, the van guards, this program will put close to $800 billion back in the retirement pockets of minority americans. so i just want to applaud you for that. [applause] now, getting to the most important thing. most of all, most of you probably know that i started b.e.t. on a half a million dollar loan from a guy named john malone. malone ,000 that john put into b.e.t. allowed me, along with a lot of other minority employees and others, to build a $4 billion business. what this proves is the efficacy, mr. speaker, -- mr. president, of a program that allows capital to flow to places where people are seeking opportunity. and i am convinced that this

program, where the tax incentives flowing out of the treasury department to business people, will cause people to invest money where before they saw risk, now they will see opportunity. and that combination of putting money into communities will allow for those communities to become vibrant, to become safe, to create ownership, and, most important, to contribute to the well-being of this country. i'm a fundamental believer that there are business solutions to social problems. the opportunity zone program is that and i applaud you and tim scott for taking the leadership on it. thank you. [applause] resident trump: appreciate it. thank you very much, bob. under my administration, we're fighting every day for all americans. african-americans and hispanic

american poverty rates have reached their lowest levels ever recorded in the history of our country. african-american and hispanic american unemployment have recently achieved the lowest rates ever recorded. african-american youth unemployment has reached the lowest rate ever recorded. that's pretty good, bob, isn't it? pretty good. last year alone we lifted one million americans out of poverty. which is a record. we have launched a cutting-edge campaign to provide skills and job training to nearly 6.5 million americans. we are fixing disastrous trade policies that gutted middle class communities. and we are expanding real educational choice for our students. as part of our commitment to building safe and prosperous communities, the senate will soon vote on our landmark criminal justice reform package that we've all been working very hard on. you have been working very hard on it. the first step act it's called. this legislation will give

former inmates and nonviolent offenders the chance to become productive, contributing, law-abiding citizens. but we have much more work to do. the white house opportunity and revitalization council will drive our ambitious agenda and drive it very, very powerfully. no citizen will be forgotten, no community will be ignored and no american will be left on the sidelines. to achieve our national destiny, we all must unlock the potential of all of our people. not just some of our people. together we will take our nation to new heights, by realizing the full promise of america for every citizen in our magnificent land. with that, i would like to invite secretary ben carson to the podium before i sign the executive order. i'd also like to ask tim scott to say a few words. great senator. and then we'll sign. thank you very much. ben first.

>> thank you, mr. president. for that introduction. for all of you for joining us today for this most important executive order signing. today the nation's unemployment rate is at a 49-year low. jobless rates among african-americans down to a record low of 5.9%. wages on the rise. while we can all be proud of these achievements, one challenge has remained. there's still communities in our country that have seen little or no new investment in generations. during his inaugural address, president trump declared that the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. it is critical that every american shares in the gains of the past two years. today the president is establishing the white house opportunity and revitalization council through an executive

order. i'm pleased to chair this council, consisting of members across 13 agencies whose mission is to jump-start the development and urban and rural communities through the creation of opportunity zones. located in economically distressed communities across this country, opportunity zones are home to approximately 35 million americans. the department of treasury estimates that the opportunity zone legislation could attract over $100 billion in private investment. which will go a long way to spur on jobs and economic development. this kind of medicine is precisely what a doctor would prescribe to heal communities, where nearly one in three people live in poverty and unemployment is nearly twice the national average. too often new investments into distressed communities are here

today and gone tomorrow. by offering incentives that encourage investors to think in terms of decades instead of days, opportunity zones ensure that development is here today and here to stay. this long-term approach means that new growth becomes consistent growth and new jobs become steady jobs. the result is an innovative market and place-based approach that creates a win-win for investors and distressed communities alike. the down shrill help improve the efficacy of this process and is ready to consider more than 150 actions to better target, streamline and coordinate federal programs and opportunity -- in opportunity zones. these are still the early days in terms of the work of the council and opportunity zones, but the groundwork has been laid.

the seeds the president has planted are growing and the promise they hold to improve places long forgotten and the lives of those who call these places home. and ith that, i in fact -- with that i invite senator scott who was instrumental in these zones, after which time the president will perform the deed. [applause] >> i just want to take the time to thank the president for his hard work and his dedication to people living in distressed communities. as a kid who grew up in a single parent household, meyered in poverty, living in one of these distressed commuents, i know firsthand -- community, i know firsthand the value of hope being brought into communities. under this administration, mr. president, under your leadership, what we've seen happen in the last several months is unprecedented. you can think first about opportunity zones. we had a conversation about the

zones over a year and a half ago. you immediately jumped onboard and took the lead. because of your leadership, opportunity zones that will help distressed communities, over 8,700 throughout this country, is a reality. the average poverty rate in those zones is 31%. because of your leadership, because of your foresight and your vision, we now see hope descending on these zones. number two, when you think about what bob johnson spoke about, the ability to positively impact retirement security in communities of color has increased because of your proactive stance on keeping those dollars in retirement accounts. number three, you think about the power of education, the greatest chasm in this nation is caused by two primary issues. one is family formation. we can't do much about that in government. but number two is education.

your focus, sir, is changing lives that you may never meet. but it's happening every single day in america. and finally, your strong advocacy for criminal justice reform, to come to the floor of the united states senate -- [applause] -- without any question, without your leadership, our senate would not have made the decision to take it up in 2018. o when it passes, the credit starts at the white house and starts with president donald trump. [applause] resident trump: thank you. thank you very much. i think that means tim gets the first pen.

>> the leader should get the first pen. president trump: ok. a -- [inaudible] this is a great day. [applause] thank you, everybody. reporter: mr. president, your reaction to -- [inaudible] -- michael cohen -- [inaudible] reporter: mr. president, your reaction! [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] >> c-span's "washington journal" live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up thursday morning, republican congressman tom cole

from oklahoma talks about the upcoming government funding bill deadline. and the tax foundation's daniel bunn discusses what's in the house republicans' end of the year tax bill. then democratic congresswoman from california talks about the possibility of a government shutdown. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning. join the discussion. >> tomorrow, remarks from white house national security advisor, john bolton, on the trump administration's new strategy in africa. he'll speak at the heritage foundation and it starts live thursday at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. also tomorrow, a hearing looks at oversight of nonprofit organizations and restrictions to political activities. with a focus on the new york-based clinton foundation. a house oversight committee holds that hearing and it starts live at 2:00 p.m. eastern, also on c-span3.