has been asked over time. but he be open to voting for that independent? the first time we asked that, 59% of voters said they would be open to vote for that ticket. why is that so important? it is because they do not have to get anywhere close. host: brian clancy was on this program last week. back to your phone calls. we are talking to indepents only, asking your thoughts on

the campaigns had in 2024. this is jerry and -- in florida. what does it mean to be independent today. -- independent today? caller: i'm looking for a record, someone who has done it before. >> we will leave this to take you to the congressional conference for cities with joe biden. [applause] >> thank you mr. mayor. i didn't realize that guy is a phd. he's a pretty smart guy. [laughter] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> please, have a seat if you

have one. . it's great to see you all. the mayor mentioned i started off in the county council and that's where he learned early on that if you want to get something done locally, send it to the local officials. [applause] >> you don't have to pass go or go to the state legislature to compete for the money. i ran for the center because local government was too hard. [laughter] >> you think i'm kidding. they know where you live, the thank you can solve every problem and they think you have the authority to do it and they hold you accountable for it so god love them. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you for being here and congratulations to the national league of cities, one of her years. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] i want to make >> >> it clear, i've been up strong supporter but i wasn't at the first meeting. [laughter]

>> i wasn't, swear to god. [applause] >> kids been a -- it's been a while but they first came together on a college campus in american kansas. our economy was changing. it was a push for transparency and reform and efficiency and helped one another deliver four folks ever since that time. look, think about it, people come to you first. they knock on your door and expect you to help them. will the bus be on time, can i get to work on time? my kids are going to have the good fortune to stay in a town and make a living? you do it matters to people. my dad used to say, a job is a lot more than about a paycheck, it's about dignity

that is what official, like councilman tom perez, he runs the show for me and in the white house. secretary buttigieg, we know, what you will do. and what a measure of success is and how many partisan points to score it's a base of thing we all got involved for, can we fix the problem? can we be responsive? we are here for one reason. it's a matter of families in the country, we have been the central partners delivering historical results for the american people. when i ran, i know it's silly, i promise to be president for all americans whether they voted for me or not and we are making that real progress in red communities, blue communities.

there are more investments going to write communities some blue communities. it is about politics of many people spies but not mine. it is about investing in all the americans and all of america so everyone has a fair shot. [applause] in leaving nobody behind. i came to office the economy was raging, communities everywhere phase devastating budget cuts. we turn things around. three years ago i signed the american rescue plan. [applause] instead of just hopping through big cities we provided 350 billion to state and local governments for you to decide how to spend. the money went directly to every single time in america so you could decide how about was to be spent. without going through the state of the governors. we turn to you.

the trust was well-placed because you have done a hell of a job. [applause] use those funds to vaccinate your communities, keep essential services going. keep scott on the beads and teachers in the classroom and small businesses on their feet of families in their homes. i propose the most significant investment our country has seen in a generation, 47,000 new projects modernizing american roads, bridges, ports, airports public transport amort. creating jobs now and jobs for the next decade. remember we had, infrastructure week for four years? we have had dinners -- infrastructure week for 10 years. i stood with mayors while you are rebuilding the bridge in

wisconsin, the bridge in ohio, is not only changing the economy for those communities and up and on the coast, up and on the country. it doing something else, is generating really good jobs and bringing communities back together. i worked with many of you where every child can drink clean water. in raleigh, north carolina, where we are investing $3 billion to connect the entire state to affordable high-speed internet and by the end of the decade. we are doing it in all 50 states. it is critical for children to be able to do their homework. small businesses to sell their products. folks to have access to telemedicine without driving to

see their doctors in the countryside. we have already saved 23 million families $75 a month on internet bills. congress needs to reauthorize our program now by the way, i need your help. [applause] we are also taking most significant action to fight climate change ever. you know i've mentioned, don't get me started on all that. i feel pretty passionate about it. i have visited benny again for your talents and we have worked together to respond and increased reliance of resilience, the resilience is the important part. we can't go back to the way it was, we have to build back better and everything we're doing. the climate is already changing. resilience to extreme weather, the revitalization's mother by pollution.

a future for the future america. back in the 30's when they were talking about communities doing this the roosevelt administration. the mamba cup pass. any money sent to the president, was spent on the federal project should be spent with american products and american workers. here's what happened a lot of folks they didn't pay any attention to that but not anymore we build america, we buy american we are american. folks, thanks in parts of the ships and science act we are now investing more money in research and development that ever before. we ensured semiconductor chips the size of your figure and it

drove price up for everything including automobiles. private companies are investing billions of dollars to build ship factories here in america. -- chip factories in america. we are creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of dollars a year the do not require a college degree. 650 billion in private sector investment for companies bringing jobs back to america, back to the communities where they belong. for the longest time both parties said jobs overseas because the labor was cheaper and now we are sending product overseasnd forgive the job back here. look folks,nd thousands of cities and towns we are seeing

great comeback stories. nearly 15 billion new jobs created so far, that is the record. growth is strong, wages are -- wages are rising. providing 16 billion new businesses since i started office. active hope, along the way it reduce the federal deficit i might add. it's not gone out, it's not gone out, is gone down under us. we cut up by a trillion dollars already in another trillion in my goal is to cut by 3 trillion by baking the wealthy of corporations finally pay their fair share. [applause] i am a catholic and if you make a billion bucks, just pay your fair share. not a .2%. -- 8.2 percent. we would have 500 billion over the next 10 years, cut the

deficit, provide jobs. all the things we need to do. for example, i know the cost of housing is critical to families nationwide. inflation comes coming down and mortgages will continue to come down as well. i'm not waiting. for those seeking to buy their first home or trade up i will provide $400 a month for the next two months. because every family, every family deserves a place to call home and a place to have your american dreams come true. millions of renters also out there are in trouble. we are cracking down on landlords who break the laws by privatizing those rents. landlord should be competing, not conspiring to charge higher rents. we also cut rate type -- red

tape, so they can construct 1.7 million new houses nationwide because of you, and the federal budget i am releasing today has a plan for 2 million more affordable homes including housing and elevation climates to help communities like you convert empty housing -- office space and housing. look, we realized many of you are dealing with homeless encampments in their cities and towns. we are providing a billion dollars to allow you to provide alternatives. to move on housed peoples off of the streets, get them into homes. the bottom line is we have to build, build, build. that is how we bring housing costs for good. at the same time american deserves the fame -- freedom to

be safe from crime in america safer today than what i took office. starting with the american rescue plan, all of you have done a tremendous job of putting this resources to work. using federal money to hire more officers, accountable effective community policing, violence and original programs to prevent crime. today comet rates are down nationwide. nearly every major category. the lowest levels in over 50 years. there is more to do. we are making american progress, serious progress. there is another piece of unfinished business on the border. from the border we keep talking about. in november, i begin serious negotiations with the bipartisan group of senators led by a conservative republican senate

as well as democrats. the result was a compromise bill with the toughest border reforms this country is ever seen. it would hire more security agents and officers, 1000 more immigration judges to tackle backlog of cases waiting to be heard. 4003 hundred asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years. 100 more high-tech drug detection machines to stop fentanyl from being smuggled into america. no one questions those numbers. there are no insane lies about the border, the funds that are cities probably need as well. temporarily shut down the border when the number of immigrants is

overwhelming. the borders -- and i believe given an opportunity the house and senate have the votes to pass it if they bring it to the floor and vote on it. [applause] up to now, politics is intervene. folks, we have to end the games. this deal is about to win for america, your cities and towns. gil face these issues every day, what matters to you, your communities. tell your members of congress to show up show a little spine and pass the bidens border security bill. i've already cap to you too long but let me tell you this, last week i delivered my stated the union address where i said i

stated what i believe the empirical truth, the state of the unionist strong and getting stronger. that is what i see. as i see. as a child the country, folks often tell me, and 2020 they were down cold lost their business, loss of faith in the business. and then, balls are passed on the work we have done together got them back on their feet creating new jobs, new businesses and a new cycle of hope. we have a long way to go and public confidence in the economy is coming back. when you see shovels on the ground and people coming to work, i hope you feel the work we do and feel with a sense of pride. time in your hometown, prior to making a comeback. pride in america. pride in knowing we can get big things done when we work together.

[applause] folks, as i've said i've been around a few days. i have never been more optimistic about our future and i mean that sincerely. we have to remember who we are. we are at the united states of america for god sakes. there is nothing beyond our capacity when we work together. like you all do so let's work together. god bless you all and may god protect our truths. -- troops. thank you, thank you, thank you. you been great. ♪

in the weeks that lie ahead, the famous and intellectual men and women that occupy those seats are going to have a lot to say about the society in which we live today in a solution for the ills of our times. saturday, american history tv will air the tempered season, free to choose with milton friedman. he coproduced a series with his wife and fellow economist wrote friedman and at first aired on public television in 1980. they also wrote a book with the same name. they take us to the location imported to the u.s. and world economy. the advocate free-market principles and limit policy and economics. watch free to choose, saturys