On Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) held an administrative update briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, everyone. It's Wednesday, May the 8th.
00:03We've got a bunch of stuff to go over and I'm sorry,
00:07but I've got to go to an SBA meeting and then I've got to go on to Dale Barton,
00:11and so we're going to move quickly here, okay?
00:16Yesterday, we had some pretty nasty weather,
00:20including a confirmed tornado in Hancock County.
00:24Thank goodness that we haven't lost anyone.
00:30We had to transport one person to the hospital and everything.
00:34We're going to continue to keep all those in our thoughts and our prayers,
00:39and we'll get through it.
00:40One way or another, we'll get through it.
00:43The school building authority today,
00:46we've got a bunch of new announcements and everything,
00:49great announcements and everything.
00:52It's going to be at 12 noon and I'm chairing the meeting,
00:57and so stay tuned.
01:00As far as public recognition,
01:04we've got a lot of folks who've worked for the state of West Virginia for 30,
01:09and 40, and 50 years.
01:11I'm going to probably mispronounce a name or two here,
01:14but I want to read to you those that are celebrating 50 years of service,
01:20and that's Edward Goldberg, Katie Galford,
01:26Carol Hefner, Barry Edelstein,
01:31Stanley Kanzari, Larry Six,
01:38and Harriet Fitzgerald.
01:40We thank them so much.
01:42Fifty years of service,
01:44you just think it is amazing.
01:47Congratulations to all,
01:49and all those that worked for us for all kinds of years,
01:5430, 40, and these for 50.
01:56So congratulations.
01:58This week, I'm going to sign a proclamation right here,
02:03but this week is going to be our teacher appreciation week,
02:09and I want to acknowledge many times over,
02:12I've said it so many different times,
02:15but just how great our teachers are in many ways.
02:19They continue to do more and more great work for us all the time.
02:23Our kids are our precious treasures,
02:26and we all know that and everything.
02:28So we just want to acknowledge what great work our teachers do,
02:34and how much they're appreciated.
02:35So this week is National Teachers Appreciation Week,
02:40and National Teacher Appreciation Day.
02:44So here we go, and we're going to sign this.
02:47And so this is our proclamation, and there you have it.
02:54So we thank you.
02:55We thank you from the bottom of our heart.
02:57God bless each and every one of you.
02:59Keep doing great work for all of our great kids.
03:02Thank you.
03:07Okay.
03:10Now, let me kind of get back on track here.
03:20Okay.
03:22Today, I'm declaring May Foster Care Month in West Virginia,
03:29as we continue to do everything we can to protect our children
03:33and provide the best resources we possibly can for them.
03:37You know, Dr. Persily is going to be on later,
03:41and she'll be fielding some questions and everything
03:44in regard to DHHR.
03:47But for right now, I'm going to sign this other great proclamation
03:51here for our foster kids and the Foster Care Month.
03:55And here we go.
03:58And this is our proclamation of declaration,
04:02absolutely that we're going to stand rock solid
04:05and we're going to try to do everything we possibly can
04:08to avoid any type of disaster that we had just recently
04:12and on and on and on.
04:14But we don't want anybody falling through the cracks.
04:17So thank you so much.
04:19And Dr. Persily, thank you.
04:24The Office of our Inspector General.
04:27I'm thrilled to announce that Tammy Cormillia,
04:33you know, with our Office of Health Facility,
04:38you know, has received a prestigious national award
04:42from the Centers of Medicine and Health Care.
04:46And I'm thrilled to announce that Tammy Cormillia
04:50has received a prestigious national award
04:52from the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare and everything.
04:56So, Tammy, you know, this is a big-time deal.
05:00That's all there is to it.
05:02And we couldn't be more excited for the great work that you've done,
05:05you know, under difficult circumstances,
05:08ensuring quality and safety and on and on and on.
05:11So you help a lot, a lot, a lot of folks.
05:14You're recognized and everything.
05:16And what a great, great, great prestigious award,
05:19a national award.
05:21So we congratulate you, Tammy,
05:23and thank you for all the great work you've done.
05:28We've got a West Virginia student
05:30who's named as a finalist for our Poetry Aloud competition.
05:36Today I'm thrilled to congratulate Willa Payton,
05:40a St. Mary's High School senior
05:42represented West Virginia at the 2024 Poetry Out Loud
05:49national finals in D.C.
05:53She advanced to the final round of the competition
05:57and was ranked among the top nine poets in the nation.
06:02I mean, gracious goodness, Willa, way to go.
06:05Very, very proud of you, very proud.
06:09Okay, we've got a new flight
06:11that's getting ready to crank up on May the 10th
06:14right here at Yeager going to Myrtle Beach.
06:17You know, there'll be rates as low as $49 and everything,
06:21and we're excited for Breeze Airways
06:24to be continuing to do great stuff in West Virginia.
06:28It just makes things better.
06:30It's all there is to it.
06:31Brings more folks to West Virginia,
06:33gives us more opportunities and everything.
06:36People in West Virginia want to be able.
06:38If they live here to go places and everything,
06:41right now we've got it.
06:43And so just another step, a stepping stone and everything.
06:46So y'all remember that May 10th is when this is going to start.
06:50Call and book your flights.
06:52It's good stuff.
06:54We just went through a Jobs and Hope graduation recap and everything.
06:59Now let me just touch on the high spots here.
07:04In fact, I don't know if I've still got my thing.
07:07I don't have it with me.
07:08Okay, but here's the deal.
07:11Jobs and Hope has now graduated 508 folks.
07:16508.
07:18The absolute economic impact of what these people are doing is off the chart.
07:23You know, there are thousands, thousands of people out there
07:27that have been participants in Jobs and Hope
07:31and now have found employment.
07:33I think 1,800 driver's licenses have been reinstated,
07:381,300 and some folks are now completely off SNAP benefits.
07:43And it goes on and on and on.
07:45The annual payroll is $17.3 million.
07:49If you use a multiplier effect of 10 times that, that's $173 million.
07:55It's going in our economy now rather than going the other way.
07:59You know, the job that these folks have done in Jobs and Hope
08:02is really, really something.
08:05It started with a dream.
08:07We called it Jim's dream in the beginning.
08:10We've said it so many different times that the easy stuff
08:15is always the toughest stuff to find.
08:17We knew we had to have treatment, but what happened is we did treatment
08:22and then all of a sudden people were turned loose.
08:25Nowhere to go, no training, nobody following up on them and everything else,
08:29and right back, you know, slid off the wagon.
08:33Okay, and so now what do we do?
08:38We find the easy stuff.
08:40We find a solution, and then we run the play.
08:44And the solution was just this.
08:46Yeah, put some money in this.
08:49Yeah, do the treatment.
08:52But along the way, have people willing to, you know,
08:56people there holding people's hands, following up on them.
09:01And then train them to do something.
09:05Give them the proper training.
09:07Don't train them on a pickup truck if they're going to drive a great,
09:10big, giant rock truck.
09:12Train them to be able to do something that when they get out
09:18and they get cleaned up from their addiction and they get out,
09:23they'll be able to go get a job.
09:26And then help them.
09:27Help them get their driver's license back.
09:29And then continue to have folks that are standing there monitoring them,
09:36following up on them and everything else.
09:38And lo and behold, what do you have?
09:40You've got real life success.
09:43Is it the answer to everything?
09:45No.
09:47But is it a big step?
09:48You're dadgum right.
09:50And what we need to do is keep absolute funding.
09:52We need to absolutely keep doing everything we're doing and running the play.
09:58Running the play of the original Jim's dream,
10:02this job's in the hope, and lo and behold, it's making a real difference.
10:06And it's absolutely changing lives.
10:08And so we're really proud of these people.
10:10You know, today we had Josh McCoy and Sierra Mullins,
10:15and Josh is a heavy equipment operator now,
10:19and Sierra is on her way to being a nurse.
10:22I mean, come on.
10:23It is amazing stuff.
10:25Amazing, amazing stuff.
10:26Good stuff.
10:28Yesterday I was at James Monroe with Kathy,
10:31and we gave away or brought another dog into the school,
10:36and this was a Golden Retriever, 12 months old, you know, just a beautiful dog.
10:44You know, at James Monroe, the James Monroe mascot are Mavericks.
10:50Its name is Maverick.
10:52It is absolutely just fitting beyond belief.
10:54And it's the 28th therapy dog that has been placed into the schools,
11:00and we all know what great work these dogs are doing, how well trained they are,
11:05and how disciplined and just how comforting.
11:08And they're Maverick is with baby dog, and they're buddies now too.
11:13And so all good stuff, and, you know, it was just a great day at James Monroe.
11:21And the other thing I want to tell you is just this.
11:24We took time to do this, but Kathy told me as we were driving out,
11:30she said at all the schools, you know, where Communities in Schools is now,
11:36they have a room, and in that room they have just needs that kids may have,
11:42whether it be clothes or, you know,
11:47just average everyday things that they need in their lives
11:50and everything from whatever it may be.
11:54You know, and so she said at James Monroe their room is amazing.
12:03And, you know, if you've got time, run around there with me and let's go look.
12:09And so there we are.
12:11And we're with a lady that just is doing phenomenal work
12:18and right there at James Monroe.
12:21Now, if you'll look around, you know what you'll see?
12:25You'll see, you know, you'll see jeans and you'll see prom dresses.
12:30You'll see T-shirts.
12:32You'll see toiletries.
12:34I mean, you'll see so many different things.
12:37You'll see, you know, what she's holding there, you know,
12:40her name is Rebecca or Becky Johnson.
12:43And she was a coach a long time ago.
12:47She coached in Alaska, and she just went back to Alaska
12:52because one of her graduates was receiving a great big honor and everything.
12:56She just went back just for that.
12:58But now think about this.
12:59What she's holding in her hands there just a second ago,
13:02she's holding stuff that as kids are leaving for the weekend,
13:08she's basically, she has, you know, in her right hand there,
13:12you can see the little plastic bag.
13:14She just took this out.
13:15And there's still stuff in the plastic bag.
13:18But all this is is some kind of little bit of snacks or food for the weekend.
13:23I mean, God, it's mighty.
13:25It just rips your guts out to just think, you know,
13:29that we got kids that really need food to get through the weekend.
13:36And all the great stuff that she's doing there, and it's all communities and schools.
13:44You know, it's just helping kids and making things better.
13:49I've told you a thousand times, and I mean it from the very bottom of my heart,
13:53there is no program that I've seen, and I'm in the schools a lot,
13:59there's no program that I've seen that is working like this.
14:03I mean, it's really something.
14:07And so, you know, from Rebecca or Becky Johnson and all the great work she's doing,
14:16to all the good stuff, and there's the prom dresses there.
14:22Heaven to Betsy, you know, this changes lives,
14:26and this is really and truly what we ought to be all about.
14:29We thank Kathy for the initiative and the program and everything,
14:33but all those that are involved, thank you so much, and just keep doing good stuff, please.
14:39We've got a Juneteenth celebration that's coming up.
14:43I've encouraged the vendors and the performers and the artists all across the state to apply and participate.
14:50Applications are due on May the 31st, you know,
14:54so please get out and make this a reality and everything.
14:58Make it a day of celebration, and it should be in every way, so please step up.
15:07You know, next Tuesday is the day in which we vote.
15:13You know, early voting continues to go on through May the 11th.
15:18I encourage you, please, exercise your right.
15:22Exercise your right in this great country, this great state.
15:26Vote. Get out and vote.
15:28I mean, take just a second, and it'll make you feel good.
15:32It'll touch your heart, and, you know, a lot of politicians I know are driving us all crazy.
15:39Some of these ads on TV, you know, have just gotten completely out of control,
15:45and I don't like them and everything, but at the same time, exercise your right.
15:52Get out and vote.
15:53You know, please do that.
15:56Early voting ends on May the 11th, and then you can go to the polls next Tuesday
16:01and, like I said, exercise the right that we have in this great country.
16:07Okay.
16:10Before our questions, the last thing I've got on my list is a Mother's Day message.
16:16You know, I just think about all the situations that are around us.
16:26I think about a kid that I coached, you know, for a long time, you know, on my basketball team,
16:35and his mom we just lost, you know, in a tragic drug situation.
16:44We know that all the pouring of all these bad, bad drugs across our border is a real issue.
16:54I know the value of moms.
16:59You know, there was lots of times in my life growing up that my mom was pretty doggone tough,
17:04and she had to be, and so I miss her.
17:10I miss her like you can't imagine.
17:13I miss my grandmothers, you know.
17:19I called my grandmother Mamaw, and, you know, she was really, really a big part of my life.
17:30You know, our moms are always there, and they've always been there for all of us.
17:38Absolutely take time to really celebrate this really precious day.
17:43Mother's Day is right around the corner,
17:46and so, you know, give thanks to those that have passed on,
17:53but absolutely give big giant hugs to those that are with us.
17:58So we thank you in every way, and I think about Kathy and Jay and Jill,
18:05and I think about these beautiful grandkids that we have, and what a real blessing.
18:11So God bless all of our moms, and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday,
18:16and that's all I've got for right now.
18:19All right, thank you, Governor.
18:21Let's now turn to questions from members of the media.
18:23Our first question today is from Charles Young with WV News.
18:27Hi, this is Charles Young with WV News.
18:29Governor, I wanted to ask again if we are any closer to determining when our special session will be.
18:34You know, we're about 10 days, a little more than 10 days away from our interim meetings.
18:40Is that your anticipation to have them coincide?
18:42Thank you.
18:44Charles, naturally we're closer.
18:48Everybody's running in 50,000 different directions, you know,
18:51with the election right around the corner and everything,
18:54and so we'll make that decision.
18:57We'll make a decision, you know, in the first days of next week and everything,
19:02but, Charles, you know, I'm really hopeful that we can get it in in May.
19:06That's for sure.
19:12All right, thank you, Charles.
19:13Let's now turn to Randy Yowie with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
19:17Thanks.
19:18This is Randy Yowie with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
19:21Just wanted to say that this will be my last administration briefing as statehouse reporter.
19:27I'm going to retire from this position next week,
19:29and you'll still see me down the line maybe in some part-time work,
19:33but I wanted to thank Press Secretary C.J. Harvey for always answering my calls, emails, and texts.
19:39And I want to thank my colleagues, Brad and Steven and Mark and Leah and Lori and Amelia,
19:45for helping me along the way.
19:48And, Governor, I want to thank you for this witty repartee
19:51and for not exiting me out of these when I called you out for time management.
19:55Let me follow up on Charles' question.
19:58What are some of the tidbits that we're going to see on this special session?
20:02You've committed to Medicaid and child care.
20:06Give me four or five others on your laundry list, sir.
20:10The bottom line, Randy, first of all, let me congratulate you.
20:13You know, you've always got a great big smile on your face, and you're an upbeat guy.
20:21I think you've been really fair, and really I hope you think I've been the same,
20:26and we've been gentlemen in the way we've addressed one another,
20:30and I think that's the way it should always be.
20:32I mean, there's times, you know, that I thought,
20:35well, what in the world is Randy, you know, saying this and that to me about and everything?
20:39But at the same time, that's your job, and I welcome it.
20:43And so with all that being said, I congratulate you.
20:47And, Randy, the thing I would say to you is just this.
20:51I mean, I don't know why we did this.
20:55You know, I was with people the other day at Parkersburg,
21:01and these were, you know, people that had gotten IDD waivers,
21:06and they were really concerned about what was going to happen.
21:13And, you know, in a lot of situations they had kids with them that were, you know, having a tough go.
21:21And literally, we absolutely, we didn't have to do this,
21:29but we stripped money out of the budget that was in my budget
21:35that really and truly was there to help, you know, the IDD folks or, you know, whether it be Medicaid.
21:47You know, we absolutely had, there's so many people that are in need in this state,
21:55and we just stripped money out of it, and we'll put it back for sure.
22:00You know, there's no question the legislature won't go out of the special session.
22:04No way. They haven't got enough guts to do it in any way.
22:08Absolutely, they'll never go out of the special session without putting the money back.
22:13But why? Why in the world did we do this?
22:17Because all we've done is created a bunch of anxiety to people that didn't deserve it.
22:24That's all there is to it.
22:26And I don't understand stuff like this. I don't understand these tricks.
22:31And an awful lot of this falls right back in the lap of the finance chair on the Senate side
22:38that ran up and down the halls, you know, preaching the sky is falling.
22:43And then he got enough to follow him and everything that the sky is falling, the sky is falling and everything,
22:49and, oh, there's going to be this unbelievable clawback, you know,
22:53and we're going to have to send, you know, $350 million back to the federal government and education and everything.
22:58And all of a sudden, we kept saying, what is this about?
23:03What in the world is all this about?
23:06The sky is not falling.
23:08We know. We know what's going on here.
23:12And lo and behold, the sky didn't fall, did it?
23:15And so now all we've done is bring a tremendous amount of anxiety and issues to those that are absolutely hurting the most.
23:27I don't get it.
23:29And I hope to goodness we'll never, ever do this again.
23:32You know, I won't be here.
23:34I won't be here, but absolutely this, these kind of antics are ridiculous.
23:41Now, we have 60 days to get a budget, and it ought to be the number one thing that we do.
23:50Everybody remember, please remember, on the 60th day, we didn't have a budget,
23:57and we were up there talking about raw milk.
24:01We did not have a budget after 60 days, and we're up there arguing about raw milk.
24:08We're better than that, and I'm not going to be your governor,
24:14but I am here to tell you we don't need that to go on.
24:18That's all there is to it.
24:20I'm here for the people, and that's what I've been from day one.
24:25I don't want anything. I never have wanted anything.
24:29I'm here for Toby and Edith out there, and Toby and Edith don't need that.
24:35That's all there is to it.
24:37Anyway, Randy, thank you. Congratulations.
24:40You've always been fair.
24:42You know, the number one thing that I want to see is just this.
24:46I want to see that we take care of our kids, we take care of our seniors, we take care of our vets,
24:52we absolutely take care of issues like child care and everything
24:57to where we can bring more and more and more folks that are coming into this state and everything
25:01that need us to step up.
25:04We're doing all the other stuff.
25:09Somebody absolutely just wake up to the fact that we didn't create these incredible surpluses,
25:16first and foremost the thanks to God above,
25:19but they didn't just get created by falling off the pickle truck.
25:23I mean, we absolutely know what we're doing here,
25:27and we've got a lot of great people that are inputting great information and everything,
25:32and we delivered the greatest tax cuts in the history of this state
25:37and still having incredible, incredible surpluses.
25:41We need to do the right stuff, Randy.
25:43Thank you so much.
25:47All right, thank you, Randy, and congratulations on your retirement.
25:50Next up is Leah Willingham with the AP.
25:57Hey, Governor, and congratulations to Randy on all of his hard work.
26:04Governor, you're a supporter and a friend of former President Trump.
26:10He endorsed you in the Senate race.
26:12You guys agree on a lot of things, but on the few occasions where you have disagreed,
26:18you haven't been afraid to disagree with him publicly.
26:22It's 2024 now, and he says that he remains convinced and concerned that the 2020 election was stolen.
26:34Do you agree with him, and do you think that Biden won that election legitimately?
26:44What does it matter? I mean, what in the world does it matter?
26:47All that matters, you know, in growing up, you know, I, of course, I listened to my dad so much.
26:56It's unbelievable, and I still remember everything he's told me.
27:00But dad said over and over to me, because at one time, believe it or not, I was skinny and had brown hair,
27:07and I was a pretty hottie-tottie golfer, and I was getting recruited by people to, you know,
27:12go play college golf and all this stuff and everything.
27:15And dad would, and, you know, I was playing in golf tournaments all across the country and everything, all that.
27:21But dad would tell me, son, the only shot in golf that matters is the next shot.
27:27You know, if you made a hole-in-one with your last shot, well, so what?
27:30Or if you hit your last shot in the middle of the swamp or the middle of a lake, it's gone.
27:36It doesn't matter now. It doesn't matter at all now.
27:41All that matters with President Trump, with me, is one thing and one thing alone.
27:46I want him to be our next president. I think he will be our next president.
27:51Absolutely. We've got to stop the craziness that's going on right now in every way.
27:56It is the only reason that I ran for the Senate, to some way, somehow, flip the Senate back into Republican hands.
28:03This is craziness what's going on right now. We all know it's craziness and everything.
28:10But from President Trump's standpoint, you see him going into a courtroom every day and for crying out loud.
28:17You know, it's all a political everything. Everything is politically driven, and it's a shame.
28:24It's a shame, really and truly. This is our president. This was the president of the United States.
28:31You know, sure, he makes mistakes. We all make plenty of mistakes, but he did a great job,
28:37and I hope and pray he's going to be our president in not very long.
28:43All right. Thank you, Leah. Let's now take a question from Curtis Johnson with WSAZ.
28:51Good. Happy day, Governor. I want to chat with you about the Boone County neglect case.
28:58It's been about two weeks since we last talked about the death of a 14-year-old girl in Boone County.
29:04That is when you told me that CPS, quote, had no idea about this child, no idea whatsoever.
29:10Since then, your agency has refused to verify that statement, and I'm not sure if you saw my story on Monday,
29:16but we reported federal law requires that West Virginia publicly disclose information on child neglect fatalities,
29:22including any prior history CPS had with the child.
29:26So two questions, and they're really both directed for you, and I'd appreciate your answer on each of them.
29:31First, do you stand by what you said two weeks ago, that CPS had no idea about this child, no idea whatsoever?
29:38And second, given that state and federal law requires public disclosure of case-specific information and child neglect fatalities,
29:46will you direct Department of Human Services to follow the law and turn over those records?
29:53Curtis, you know, I don't dodge any questions.
29:57First of all, I would tell you what I told you two weeks ago,
30:01to the very best of all the abilities that I have in me, was 100% accurate.
30:07Will I stand behind what was said two weeks ago, now that I know the information that I know today?
30:15No way.
30:17You know, we've got Secretary Persily that's on, and I think, you know, she'll give you a more direct answer,
30:23but what we had happen, and it shouldn't have happened.
30:28You know, we've got basically attorneys that are with DHHR, and they screw it up.
30:35And then when they give us information, you know, then we've got to act on the information that they give us,
30:41and that's exactly what I told you that we would do.
30:45Now, Curtis, the second part of your question is, well, I mean, please come back and tell me the second part of your question.
30:53Given our reporting that state and federal law require public disclosure of case-specific information in child neglect fatalities,
31:00will you direct the Department of Human Services to follow the law and turn over those records?
31:07Curtis, here's what I'll do.
31:10I'll absolutely direct them to follow the law.
31:14You know, without any question, do I know every intricacy of the law? No.
31:20But will I direct them to follow the law? Absolutely.
31:25Am I disappointed that the information that they gave me that I gave you was in error?
31:30You're doggone right in everything, but absolutely they should follow the law.
31:35And now if Secretary Persily would come on, you know, she can maybe clarify a little bit more.
31:44Thank you, Governor, and thank you, Curtis, for the question.
31:47I did want to just review our response.
31:53Basically, it's that our lawyers have traditionally interpreted the state and federal statutes as us not being allowed to disclose any information,
32:04except to very limited groups,
32:08and that information is for those groups to be able to do their duty related to prevention of child abuse and neglect.
32:18And we advise the governor as such, and we take full responsibility for that.
32:23We are now and have been looking at other state laws that allow other states to disclose public information in different ways than we do.
32:34I will also say, and Curtis, you brought up the federal regulations,
32:39our interpretation of fulfilling the federal requirement about reporting fatalities has been that our critical incident report that we provide annually
32:50fulfills that federal requirement.
32:53That report, which we referred you to, Curtis, in our FOIA response to you, is posted on the Bureau for Social Services website.
33:04It's posted annually and provides a full review of any child-related fatalities that occur and fulfills the state requirements.
33:16That report, of course, has not been reported on in the media,
33:19and we would just encourage everyone who wants to have information about child fatalities in the state to look at that report,
33:29and that information is contained there.
33:32But we are undertaking a review of other state statutes,
33:36and we will work with our partners here in the governor's office and the legislature in making any changes that could allow for additional disclosures.
33:52All right, thank you, Curtis.
33:53Let's now turn to Brad McElhaney with West Virginia Metro News.
33:58Hi, Governor.
33:59Hi, everybody.
34:00Congratulations to Randy on a career well spent.
34:03It's been fun working with you.
34:05Governor, it's election time next week.
34:08Joe Manchin famously said of the U.S. Senate, this place sucks.
34:13If you win the vote next week and then again in the fall, do you intend to serve out a full six-year term?
34:20Thank you.
34:23I surely hope so, Brad.
34:26At the end of the day, and maybe another six and maybe another six, but I sure hope and pray so.
34:36I feel great, and I've got a lot of energy in what I do, and so I surely hope and pray the good Lord gives me life and good health for a long time to come.
34:51We sure do need a lot, a lot, a lot of things up there.
34:55We need new ideas.
34:57We need, you know, Brad, and I'm not tooting my horn in any way, but when I came into this job,
35:06a lot of people thought, well, you know, justice is not working this job really hard and everything,
35:13and it's because it was just that my style, my delivery, my things were just different.
35:23You know, I'm not a bureaucrat.
35:27You know, I'm not a politician.
35:31Please, you know, anyone, argue with our successes.
35:36It's hard to do, isn't it?
35:38You know, what's happened in these two terms is amazing beyond belief, and I'm not patting myself on the back.
35:46I'm patting on the back all of us, all of us that pulled the rope together, and look what we've done.
35:53Look what we've done with a guy that walked in the door with a lot of great big ideas,
36:00with a guy with a folksy presentation and everything, and lo and behold, look what we did.
36:05I hope to be able to go to D.C. and shake up the world.
36:10You know, will I for sure be able to do that?
36:13Well, who knows, but I'm sure not going to just, you know, ride along.
36:18You see, just having the title and having somebody pat me on the back, that's of no interest to me.
36:25All I want to do is goodness for Toby and Edith, and I've said it a thousand million times.
36:32I said over and over, you don't have to do anything for me.
36:35I don't want anything, and now in all that, what did we do?
36:41What did we do?
36:43We shook up the world in West Virginia.
36:45We became the place in worldwide travel magazines that said West Virginia is the place to go.
36:52Are you kidding me?
36:54West Virginia?
36:56Absolutely, and look what has happened.
37:00Look what has happened all around us.
37:02Tax cuts, roads being fixed, diversification of our economy, tourism exploding.
37:09It didn't all happen by an accident.
37:12It happened because somebody had a dream, and then somebody empowered all of us to pull the rope together.
37:21You know, we did shake up the world, West Virginia,
37:25and I truly believe that I can absolutely bring, and I hope and pray I can,
37:30maybe a little bit of that folksiness and reason to the federal government,
37:36because really and truly, what is going on today is nothing but an 18-carat dog's mess.
37:44You see absolutely everybody fighting amongst themselves, a 7% approval rating of Congress.
37:52How in the world could we possibly think that's going good?
37:57You know, there's so many things that need to be done, you know,
38:01whether it be really just stepping back and bringing some dignity in a lot of ways
38:07to the fact that we are gentlemen and we are ladies and we should respect one another's views and everything.
38:15Should we absolutely not understand that this nation needs an energy policy?
38:23Should we not become the Saudi Arabia of the world?
38:28Why should we have a $34 trillion deficit?
38:33You know, there's so many whys, and they are not that hard,
38:38but we absolutely have just keep them entangled to where we can't do anything.
38:45And if you think today the Biden administration is on the right track, I say you're completely crazy.
38:53You know, look what's happening at our southern border.
38:56Look at the crime. Look absolutely with inflation.
38:59Absolutely look what energy, what we're doing with energy.
39:03Look what we're doing all over the place with our allies and wars cropping up all over the place.
39:10I mean, do you really believe that this country is on the right path?
39:16And with all in me, I would tell you just this.
39:20There's nothing that excites me about going to D.C.
39:24I'll have to do it in my style.
39:27It'll be different. It'll be really different.
39:31You know, but with all that being said, you know, I'll stand by my deeds.
39:37I absolutely will stand exactly by my deeds.
39:41And D.C. needs something really different.
39:45So, Brad, it'll be different for me, and it'll be a challenge and everything,
39:51but it was really different when I walked in the door here.
39:56I stood up in the first day of the state and said, we've got to change our image.
40:01I stood up in this first day of the state with whiteboards everywhere and sweat running off of me all over the place.
40:08It was so hot in there, and I was bouncing here and there and trying to do the best I possibly could do.
40:14But a lot of people looked at me and said, there is no possibility.
40:22There is no way under the sun that we're going to pass a road bond referendum
40:29that is absolutely going to be five times bigger than anything we've ever done in the state of West Virginia.
40:35There is no way.
40:38And then we saw the power, didn't we?
40:41Didn't we see the power?
40:43Seventy-three percent of the people said, I'm with Jim.
40:48And from that day, we've gone through different gyrations to incredible tax breaks,
40:56to thank God, you know, shutting down this Amendment 2 nonsense
41:01that would have destroyed our counties all the way across every board.
41:05We have absolutely seen the new corps and everybody else under the sun coming
41:10and the travel guide that I just mentioned already.
41:14Everybody said there was no way.
41:17Everybody said no way.
41:20And look where we are.
41:22We're about to close this year out with something that's going to approach an $800 million surplus.
41:30Last year, it was $1.8 billion.
41:32We gave $750 million back to the people forever.
41:40You know, it's been a good ride.
41:47It's been folksy, hasn't it, Brad?
41:50It's been a lot of situations to where I'm not spending every night at the mansion
41:55or sitting in this office and everything patting myself on the back everywhere you turn.
41:59I'm with the people.
42:01We turned the power of the people on everybody.
42:07We turned the power of the people on the legislature and on everybody.
42:14We said, Toby and Edith, you have your power on me.
42:19You have your power on the legislature.
42:23Show them, Toby.
42:24Show them, Edith.
42:28Look what we did.
42:30We shook up the world.
42:32I'll never forget Muhammad Ali when he knocked out Sonny Liston.
42:37And nobody said he had a chance.
42:40And he absolutely jumped up and said, I shook up the world.
42:44Well, that's the only reason I'm going to D.C.
42:48I want to shake up the world because I truly believe that God gave me the ability to get things done.
42:57And that's what I want to do.
43:00All right.
43:01Thank you, Brad.
43:02Governor, back to you.
43:03No, I've said enough for one day.
43:05You know, let's keep this thing going.
43:08I'm headed to the SBA, and then I'm off to a bathhouse in Del Barton.
43:14So God bless each and every one of you.
43:16Thank you.