of people who are big ted cruz fans and a lot of people very involved in grassroots conservative movement. .. but, i have talked to a lot of people who have said, you know,

i was skeptical of him until i saw him speak in person a few times or until i watched more of his speeches, rather than just watching you know, 20 second sound bites on tv. so i know he is working very hard at that. rand, going along with what i said a minute ago i think rand's biggest challenge will be to explain his foreign policy views. the fact he is his father's son both a blessing and a curse at the same time. his father has with good reason, built up a very loyal following around the country over the course of many years and rand has now earned the trust and the support of a lot of that support base and built

upon it from there. there are challenges that go along with that, given that ron paul had some fairly unique idiosyncratic views on certain foreign policy issues that make some people nervous and there are some who automatically assume that rand paul shares those views, even where he down express them, even where he is has expressed sentiments that depart markedly from those of his father. so i think that's challenge that he will have to overcome. but that he is being would hard to address -- working hard to address. just to embrace and identify a foreign policy of his own. i thought it was interesting and unfortunate that he was hit with these attack ads the day of his announcement. and that he was attacked.

it was interesting i launched my book our lost constitution, on the same day that rand nouned his presidency, so it ended up becoming a consistent theme in media interviews i did all day long about this. i told rand at the end of the day, i became quite conversant in rand through that process. but i thought it was really unfortunate and unfair he was hit by these people who were saying rand paul is to the left of barack obama on questions of foreign policy. didn't strike me as a fair argument or as an argument that is even call that insightful. anyway that is something he is wrestlings with. so marco marco because he hasn't announced yet, it's a little bit harder to assess what his biggest pitfalls will be,

but among conservative, among the primary election -- >> please have a seat. it is a great pleasure to welcome my partner and friend, prime minister renzi to the white house. i actually should say welcome back. not many people know this but ma day matteo came to the white house many years ago. he was young dynamic mayor of florence. today he is the young dynamic prime minister of italy. even then i think people recognized he brought an energy and a sense of vision to where he wanted to see his country go and today is an opportunity for me to return the incredible hospitality that matteo and the

italian people showed me last year in rome, one of the great cities of the world. italy of course is one of our closest and strongest allies and anytime italians and americans get together it is also a chance to celebrate the deep bonds of history and friendship and family. as i have said before, i'm not lucky enough to have any italian ancestry that know of but i consider myself an honorary italian because i love all things italian and the united states would not be what we are or who we are without the contributions of generations of italian-americans. in rome last year matteo spoke eloquently of his visits to the american military cemetery in florence and that's a reminder how italians and americans have made extraordinary sacrifices for the freedom we cherish.

i'm also grateful for my partnership personally with prime minister renzi. we worked together on several occasions from rome to our nato, g7, and g20 summits. i know he is deeply committed to our alliance. moreover i've been very impressed with the energy and the vision and the reforms that he is pursuing to unleash the potential of the italian people and the italian economy. his willingness to challenge the status quo and to look to the future has made him a leading voice in europe and we're already seeing progress being made with respect to italy. so matteo, i want to thank you you again for seriousness and sense of purpose you bring to our work together here today. this morning we focused on our shared security starting in europe. we agreed that the international community needs to continue supporting ukraine with robust assistance as it pursues economic and political reforms

along with our international partners we strongly support the minsk agreements. we agree both russia and the ukraine must fulfill all the obligations under these agreements. i thanked the prime minister of italy's strong support for the international coalition against isil. italy, by the way is one of the largest contributors of advisors and trainers to help build up the iraqi security forces and italy is leading the effort to insure the area's liberated from isil's control or stablized with an effective civilian police force. we also spend considerable amount of time discussing our deep, shared concern for the situation in libya where we continue to support u.n. efforts to form a unity government. given italy's leadership role across the mediterranean the prime minister and agreed to work together even more intensively to encourage cooperation on threats coming

from libya including the growing isil presence there as well as additional coordination with other partners in how we can stablize what has become a very deadly and difficult situation. a more broadly, italian forces continue to play a vital role from kosovo to lebanon to afghanistan. our coalition forces continue to train and assist afghan forces. we want to make sure we transition responsibly as we complete our consolidation by the end of next year. i updated president -- prime minister renzi on the framework that we reached with iran. our progress towards a comprehensive deal that prefriends iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. we agreed until any final deal is reached sanctions on iran must continue to be fully and strictly enforced. so that is what we talked about in the morning. after this press conference we'll have lunch and that will

give us a chance to focus on what is clearly the top priority of both our peoples and that is creating a strong inclusive economy that is creating jobs and opportunity on both sides of the atlantic. like me, prime minister renzi is a strong supporter of ttip, the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, which would boost both jobs and exports in europe and the united states and would include strong protections for workers and public health and safety and the environment. now that congress is considering important bipartisan legislation for trade promotion authority ttip negotiations need to make major progress this year. i'm looking forward to hearing the prime minister's assessment of the ambitious economic reforms he is pursuing to make italy more competitive and reinvigorate the italian economy as source of growth in europe. we'll be discussing europe's effort to find paths that build on recent reforms to return

greece to growth within the eurozone. we'll be discussing the importance of all our major economies taking ambition, ambitious action on climate change. during its presence in the e.u. at this time italy showed real leadership as europe committed to new targets for reducing emissions. my work with prime minister renzi is continuing parts of our effort to forge a strong climate agreement in paris this year. finally i want to congratulate italy and the people of milan as they prepare to host the 2015 world expo. the focus is on food, something that italy knows something about along with wine but the expo and our u.s. pavilion is focused not only on outstanding cuisine like italy's but also how we feed a growing planet, how we combat hunger and malnutrition. how we put healthy food on our tables. and that's a cause obviously

that is very close to michelle's heart. so we commend italy's leadership and, i suspect many americans will be visiting milan and sampling the food and sampling the wine. matteo grazie, for your leadership in italy and europe. for your partnership on many global issues. i assure you it is a friendship and partnership that all americans treasure and we are grateful that we have such strong bonds between our peoples. mr. prime minister. >> thank you so much, mr. president. thank you so much and it is really an honor for me and for every member of the italian government to be here in the white house and heard of freedom around the world.

>> translator: i will speak in italian very quickly in order to thank the president of the united states of america for the extraordinary leadership that he has displayed, both in terms of his foreign policy and as well as in the economic and development model. the last time we met was in brisbane during the g20. i can only say that as a partner and as an ally i have to express my appreciation for the work that has been carried out by the united states of america and the very complex cuban issue. this has been a very complex issue. it has been difficult for the american people as well as for the cuban people as well. i would like to congratulate the president for the iranian issues because at least there is a framework, there is an agreement, which we hope will reach a conclusion by

june 30th. i would also like to add when i came to the white house i brought on my behalf and all of the italians the feelings of pride for what the president mentioned earlier. for the role of so many italians in the history of the united states of america from christopher columbus onward. as well as the appreciation and the gratefulness towards the sacrifice of young men and women from the united states whom in these next few days, we will remember for having liberated italy. we're very, very proud of what our fighters, our partisans did, because they fought against fascism. they went out in the mountains and they struggled and they fought but this would not have been possible without the

sacrifice and the commitment of the american army. young men and women who didn't even know italy who died for my grandfather, for my father, for my family and my children. this is why during these days of celebration, italy i will be sure to, since this the 70th year of at liberation i will go to place that i love particularly which is the american cemetery at san cruciano and above of all the american people and i would like to thank you on behalf of all italians. we spoke on a number of topics and i'm quite anxious to talk talk with president obama what has everything to do with the economy from 2008 to 2015 the american economy has had reduction of the unemployed and there has been a growth in the

gdp. the european economy had an increase in its employment unemployed and its gdp went down. something just did not work at home. this is why i believe that the experience of the united states government is a model for the european economy and that we have to be very careful about budgets, about the limitations about our commitments but at the same time, we have to go through a new season of growth and investments. in 2014 we started with the first provisions. there is still much to be done. the american leadership for me is a point of reference. we also spoke about libya as the president said. i just had a meeting during this meeting i am convinced that the united states and i, the president and i are fully on the same page. in the next few weeks we will see we will reach the fruit of all this commitment. everything that happens in the

mediterranean sea is not merely something that has to do with security. of course it is, but at the same time it has to do with the justice and dignity of mankind. this is why the various authoritative, cooperations that the united states the united states can offer is, for italy an extremely important fact. we also spoke about the ukraine we spoke about russia. as the president mentioned. we also mentioned all the issues that have to do with iran and very complex framework in the middle east. i believe that it is very important for to us underscore how, as part of this great alliance guided about i the united states, which is a reference point not just for our choices but for our ideals the cultural battle that all of us

have to fight. this is why dear president dear barack, i decided to leave georgetown university. i went to visit george town. now when i leave the white house i will go to the national gallery because i know that there is an exhibition on the floor ren teend-- floritine italian renaissance. this message tells how culture is important for a young boy, a young girl. this is the engine. this is the basis of our civilization and our future. this is a great occasion the expo of course. and i draw a few bottles of wine to barack because i know he is a great expert. >> italian journalist, when you were a candidate about tuscan wine. i remember very well an important interview about --

[speaking italian] >> translator: i also think it is very important for us quite aside from, we must make sure the expo become as great occasion because of the quality of life, the lifestyle and at the same time to declare war against poverty. it is not just possible for us to have a world in which one billion people died because they're obese or because they don't have enough to eat. this is what the expo will be and the presence of the united states will be of great importance. thank you from the bottom of my heart. if i may finish i would like to say that even if it doesn't have anything to do between the relationship between governments, i said to president obama, that i wanted to thank him for his speech at selma. this is a personal observation but also a political issue. there are moments in which

history can be quite extraordinary, an one of these moments is what this country has lived through over the last 50 years. i think that from those of us who love politics, that speech was a moment of great inspiration and very strong affection. for this, thank you kindly, mr. president. and thank you for your warm welcome to the white house. >> let me just say with respect to the wine, i felt it would be insulting for me not to sample it. and, and, to establish the strong commercial bind, bonds between the united states of america when it comes to tuscan wine. so i will give you matteo, a report on whether it is up to the quality that we expect. with that, let me call on roberto ramden of reuters.

there we go. >> thanks. president obama some congressional leaders yesterday came to a deal on fast track for trade but it's clear that many in your party are opposed including senator schummer. and are you worried that your support for this is going to divide your party going into 2016? will it hurt your party's ability to win? do you need hillary clinton's support on this? and prime minister, how confident are you that greece will reach an agreement with it is he had creditors by the end of this month? how are each of you the effects this could have on the global economy if a deal is not reached? >> on trade first of all i want to congratulate senators widen and hatch for coming up with a bipartisan framework for trade promotion authority. without getting into the weeds on it, i think it is important

to recognize that the trade promotion authority is not the same as a trade agreement. it just gives us a structure whereby, when, a trade agreement is presented it can move forward in a quicker fashion and not get completely bogged down in the usual procedures. and i would be receiving the same trade promotion authority that every president in the postwar era with the exception of richard nixon has received. so it is not exceptional in that sense. what is exceptional is that in this framework for the first time there are requirements for enforceable labor environmental positions. there is clear attention to issues like human rights. and in many ways this is the most far-reaching and

progressive trade promotion authority we've seen going through congress. and that's important because as i have said before, it is entirely understandable that there is some skepticism around trade from working families who live in a town that saw manufacturing collapse and jobs being outsourced. people recognize that there had been circumstances in the past in which trade may have contributed to aggregate growth of the global economy or u.s. economy but hurt workers. and we have learned lessons from that. and this trade promotion authority, thanks to the work of senator widen and hatch, reflects some of those lessons. now in terms of actually getting a deal done? the first trade agreement we potentially would present under this trade promotion authority would be the trans-pacific

partnership or tpp. i spoke of this before but i will just repeat, that 95% of the world's markets are outside of our borders. the fastest growing markets, the most populous markets are going to be in asia. if we do not help to shape the rules so that our businesses and our workers can compete in these markets, then, china will set up rules that advantage chinese workers and chinese businesses. and that will set the stage over the next 20 to 30 years for us being locked out us being unable to protect our businesses from discrimination our agricultural products being excluded from these areas. high tariffs that prevent us from being able to compete fairly. when it comes to services or comes to the internet, for

example, our ability to maintain intellectual property protection or freedom in the internet or other requirements that tilt the playing field against u.s. workers, that is what is going to happen. so we are doing is negotiating the highest level the highest standard trade agreement in our history, with strong enforceable labor provisions, strong enforceable environmental provisions and i will be able to show when the final agreement is presented that this is absolutely good for not just american businesses but for american workers. and it is good for our economy. it is the right thing to do. now, last point i will make on this, the politics around trade has always been tough particularly in the democratic party because people have memories of outsourcing and job

loss. the point i have made to my labor friends and my progressive friends is, that you know, companies looking for low-cost labor, they have already left. we're already at a disadvantage right now and the trade agreement i'm proposing would actually strengthen our ability to force other markets to open, and strengthen our position compared to where we are right now. and, being opposed to this new trade agreement is essentially a ratification of the status quo where a lot of folks are selling here but we're not selling there. japan is one of the one of the negotiators in this, in this deal. now, last time i checked if you drive around washington, there are a whole bunch japanese cars. you go to tokyo and count how many chryslers and gm and ford cars there are. so the current situation is not

working for us. i don't know why it is that folks would be opposed to us opening up the japanese market more, for u.s. autos or u.s. beef? doesn't make any sense. so i'm going to be able to make a strong case but i think it is important when you talk about dividing the party okay, we have got a korean free-trade agreement passed we got a colombian free-trade agreement passed and panama free-trade agreement passed over last several years of my presidency. it didn't divide the democratic party. there will be a set of democratic senators and house members who traditionally have just on principle opposed trade because the unions on principle, regardless of what the provision also are opposed to trade. there are others who like me believe, we can not stop the a

global economy at our shores. we have to be in there and compete. we have to be sure we're writing the rules so we have level playing field. when we do, products made in america, services provided by american first are the best in the world and i will continue to make that argument. and for those who argue that somehow this is contrary to the interests of working families, what i tell them is, my whole presidency has been about helping working families and lifting up wages and giving workers more opportunity. if i didn't think this deal was doing it, i wouldn't do it. i didn't get elected because of the sponsorship of the business roundtable or the chamber of commerce. those are not the ones who brung me to the dance. the reason i'm doing it because i know this is an important thing to do, and i also know that it sends a signal throughout asia that we are out there competing and that we are going to help maintain

international rules that are fair for everybody and not so tilted in favor of one country that, it ends up backed for not only our commercial prospects but for other countries over the long term. that was a very long answer but it's a big question and i hadn't had a chance to talk about. sorry, matteo. >> very briefly i think i'm confident this time obviously the situation in greece is not the situation in europe is not the 2011. it is not around the world like 2008. so it is different time. but, we must absolutely, strongly work to achieve an agreement. to achieve this agreement it is important that the greece government respects, not all of the agreements of the past.

because, in the european council, we except a very normal principle, if there is a moment of election and there is a new leader, it is correct to respect the vote of citizens in this case the vote of citizens in greece but there are a framework of agreements in the european institutions which are very important, greek government must respect. at the same time we must for the future write a new page in the european economies. i absolutely am confident about this. it is finished the time of austerity in europe but to achieve this goal, the local g ernment, the national government, must do reforms. this is important first of all for italy.

we're absolutely committed to realize every problem to our citizens not european union but to our citizens then we can finely open discussion about austerity and growth in the european economy. now it is time to respect the new framework of agreements and we will work in this direction. >> [speaking italian] >> >> translator: mr. president some of your promises already brought investors from the u.s. to to italy. now these investors would like to know when all these reforms are going to take place? could you give us a better idea? you spoke about austerity and growth. the markets are preoccupied.

we have public finances in a difficult situation. how can you reconcillate this ought tater when our public finances are in such bad shape? and i would like to know what you think about the ttip? >> you complained time and again about germany holding europe hostage to its inflationary obsessions. now you have just heard from mr. renzi things are changing in europe. that there are pro-growth policies especially with the ecb taking action with qe action. is that enough? have europe and italy done enough? is your complaint over germany over? and did you agree or did you discuss sale of drones to italy? thank you. >> >> translator: three questions in one you just asked.

three questions in one. >> special offer. >> translator: first of all the timeline for reform, i think that i can safely say that the american investors who wish to invest in italy italian investors as well, finally have a labor market which is more flexible. this has been achieved. let's say that we have -- they have an institutional system the taxation system, structure in the next six months everything, all this reform will be done. so what needs to be made absolutely clear even if the people would like to start from scratch again reforms have begun. they're on their way. and there is know way anyone can block them. people who wish to invest at

this time find a labor market which is more simplified. they also find the quality of the engineers, the people who work, people in italy in general, very, high quality people but i think that what will be necessary in the next few months is that you, is education, education education. investment in this field because in the global world in order to be a leader and italy number of inhabitants we're not that many and perhaps it is not just simply the position even though we are in a strategic position. what really counts whether italians can offer human capital, ideas, development in the future. now in terms of the austerity policies, i think that is important to bear in mind something that is quite simple. i mean if, i know, that we have to be very clear in our counsel

but we have to bet on growth. the united states are our model in the last meeting of the european board of directors. president and draghi showed us slides with the results in the united states and europe in the last seven years. obviously this is, this is a test to the respect for the united states but it proves that just based on austerity in europe, this is not going anywhere. we spoke about this in person and we have discussed this with president obama. we can not just look our budget as of course, a important limit. italy is fulfilling all of its obligations and it is the country in europe that is fulfilling all of its obligations and all the rules but in terms of ttip it is very

important that we believe that 2015 has to be the turning point, the year of the turning point as the italian government, we are pushing for determination because we know that with ttip italy has everything to gain from the trade and economics and also because we believe that when the united states -- establish trade agreements with china, with asia, with other areas of the world i think that it would be fundamental as a key principle, having the same relationship in the logic of our historic friendship and with the united states. now going back to our own party we represent the party in at this time italy which i would like to call the democratic party one day at a european

level. our party also maintains the position even though there are many resince stance from the -- resistance from the german social democrats. i'm fully determined to find the agreement. we will talk about this during our lunch hour as well. >> well first of all let me correct the impression that i consistently criticized germany. chancellor merkel is a great friend and ally. from the time i came into office when we were in the midst of the great recession there have been competing economic theories in terms of what is the best way to pull oust out of a financially-induced crisis of this scale. and it was our strong belief that it was important for us to make the invests to boost

demand, to put money in the pockets of consumers, to strengthen and fortify the banking system so that we wouldn't see a repeat of the kinds of bailout practices and irresponsible practices on wall street. and that the best way to bring down the deficit was not just to cut spending but to grow the economy. as well as an initiate the kinds of structural reforms around health care and education research an development that were going to be important for long-term growth. i think we have largely succeeded in stablizing the economy and putting it on a growth trajectory. we have now seen five straight years of job growth. we've gone from 10% unemployment rate down to 5.5.

and we have done this while reducing the deficit by 2/3 primarily because the economy grew much faster. and it has been my view with respect to europe it is not an either/or but both an and situation. sometimes it gets framed as what is the right answer for europe? is it your tate or is it structural reform? my attitude is that you need structural reforms of the sort that matteo is initiating. if the labor market cans are too stuck, it is particularly hard to hire particularly for young people. if there is too much bureaucracy to start a new business, then businesses will go elsewhere or talented entrepreneurs will start businesses someplace else. so i think, prime minister renzi's government is on the right track initiating kinds of

structural reforms that angela merkel and other economists have called on for a long time. but, what i've also said is that at a time of such low demand and hence, of deflation, that we were seeing in europe over the course of the last several years, boosting demand is also important. having some flexibility in meeting fiscal targets is also important. that this sustainability of structural reforms, depends on people feeling some sense of hope and some sense of progress. and if all it is just getting squeezed, but there is no growth then, over time the political consensus breaks down and not only do you not get structural reforms but you also end up reverting to some of the old patterns that didn't work.

and so, i think that the approach that matteo is describing is the right one. move forward on the structural reforms but have flexibility and a strategy for increasing demand increasing investment. if, and by the way here in the united states we're not done. would i like to see us rebuild our infrastructure across this country. that's a smart investment to make right now. it would put people back to work. it would boost additional demand. more workers would be employed. they would spend money. you get a virtuous cycle. but also something we need to do to stay competitive. so it's a smart combination. this is not just a criticism of europe. i think globally we all have to recognize that global act aggregate demand is weak.

china is making more demands on consumer based but not export based economy. suppliers of raw material to china are seeing their economies soften. what i have said to the europeans is, don't expect that the united states will simply be the engine for everybody. don't want, don't expect you can keep on selling to the united states. but we can't sell anything to you because your economy is so weak. that won't benefit anybody. and those are concerns that i have expressed across the board. this finally, last point i would make this applies to greece as well, i think matteo is right. greece needs to initiate reforms. they have to collect taxes. they have to reduce their bureaucracy. they have to have more flexible labor practices. and, when the new prime minister came in, i called him and i said

, we recognize you need to show your people there is hope and you can grow. we will be supportive of some flexibilities in how you move forward so you can make investments. it is not just squeezing blood from a stone. but you have to show those who are extending credit, those who are supporting european financial system that you're trying to help yourself and that requires making the kinds of tough decisions that i think matteo is beginning to make. we did not discuss drones. we did not. last question from this side is margaret teller. >> thank you mr. president. prime minister renzi. mr. president, i would like to ask you about iran but before i forget i'm hoping at end of your

answer you might also bring up to speed on loretta lynch's confirmation as your ag. >> i won't forget. >> have you done enough? what do you make of republicans most recent moves? where is this thing going? on iran so much has happened. this will be one of my three-part questions. >> just a general? >> no. the cardin-corker compromise this week was really pretty significant concession from you. what i am wondering do you believe you have weathered anymore congressional bids to derail this? or are you concerned that because israel and iran have become deeply polarized issues there will be more to fend off? you have suggested but you have not said explicitly that there must be a phaseout rather than the immediate lifting of sanctions in order for to you agree to a final deal. can you be definitive on that in exchange? might you be willing to release part or all of that 100 billion or so in frozen oil assets that iran has in offshore accounts.

and you seem to be floating the idea that you might want to say something about the russia lifting its ban on the sale of missiles to iran. so i will throw that your way. prime minister renzi, i want to ask you about drones, since that is shockingly didn't come up, there are, there's been some deeply troubling news about some migrants coming to italy. reports of violence by muslims you know, pushing christians off the boats. what i wanted to ask you is, how are you managing this? are you confident that italy is able to control the risk of extremists coming into europe through italy? thank you. >> all right. i wrote them down. on iran, i thought bob corker and ben cardin came to a

reasonable compromise. i had two concerns from the start. with respect to any steps taken by congress, the first was to make sure that their actions did not derail or prevent us getting the best deal possible. and john kerry, when he is in those negotiations not being horribled or his life being made more complicated by congressional actions until we actually have a deal done. my basic argument was, let us show us if there is a deal or not. if there is, you will have ample opportunity to review it and opine on it. but right now we're still negotiating. so have some patience. and, i think the final product that emerged out of the

corker-cardin negotiations, we believe will not derail the negotiations. so that checked off one box. the second concern i had was issue of presidential prerogatives. there were a number of people supporting corker's legislation suggesting that as a routine matter a president needs to get signoff from congress to negotiate political agreements. that is not the case. that has never been the case. this is not a formal treaty that is being envisioned. and the president of the united states, whether democrat or republican traditionally has been able to enter into political agreements that are binding with other countries

without congressional approval. and i still have some concerns about the suggestion that that tradition wasn't in some ways changing but there was language in the legislation that spoke to this being directly related to congressional sanctions. and, that i think at least allows me to interpret the legislation in such a way that it is not sending a signal to future presidents each and every time they're negotiating a political agreement that they have to get them congressional authorization. so, the final thing i will say about the corker legislation is that both senator corker and senator cardin, at least in my understanding, agreed that there is not going to be a whole bunch

of poison pills or additional provisions or amendments added to it and they will be protective of this being a straight forward fair, process for congress to be able to evaluate any deal tlat we may come up with and and then register its views but that it is not going to be tilted in the direction of trying to kill the deal. i take them at their word on that. we'll continue to monitor that. but assuming that whatever lands on my desk is what senators corker and cardin agree to, i will sign it. and, that will then give congress an opportunity to see, do we have a deal that reflects the political agreement that talked about earlier? i expect that it will. with respect to the issue of sanctions coming down, i don't want to get out of ahead of john kerry and my negotiators in terms of how to craft this.

i would just make a general observation. that is that how sanctions are lessened how we snap back sanctions if there is a violation, there are a lot of different mechanisms and ways to do that. part of john's job and part of iranian negotiators job and part of the p5 plus one's job, is to sometimes find formulas that get to our main concerns while allowing the other side to make a presentation to their body politic that is more acceptable. our main concern here is making sure that if iran doesn't abide

by its agreement that we don't have to jump through a whole bunch of hoops in order to reinstate sanctions. that is our main concern. i think that goal of having in reserve the possibility of putting back and applying forceful sanctions in the event of a violation, that goal can be met. and it will require some creative negotiations by john kerry and and others and, i'm confident we'll be successful. and i very much appreciate, by the way the support of that has been provided by prime minister renzi. as well as his former foreign minister who now is the e.u. representative in many of these discussions. he and with respect to the russian sales i will tell you this was a sale that was slated to happen in 2009. when i first met with then prime

minister putin, they actually stop the sale suspended or paused the sale at our request and i'm frankly surprised that it held this long. given that they were not prohibited by sanctions from selling these defensive weapons. when i say i'm not surprised given some of the deterioration in the relationship between russia and the united states and the fact that their economy is under strain and this was a substantial sale, i do think that it sends a message about how important it is for us to look like we are credible in negotiations if in fact a deal

fails and we are needing to maintain sanctions. because i heard some in congress who are opposed to this deal say, either, let's just slap on even more sanctions or, we'll do sanctions unilaterally, regardless of what other countries are willing to do. the reason that the sanctions regime has worked is because painstakingly we built an international coalition that has held this long. and, if it is perceived that we walked away from a fair deal that gives us assurances iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon, then those international sanctions will frame and it won't be just russia or china. it will be some of our close allies who will start questioning our capacity or, the wisdom of maintaining these. we don't want to put ourselves

in that position. we want to make sure that if there is no deal around iran's nuclear program it is because the iranians were not willing to accept what the international community considered to be an appropriate but fair approach to this problem. okay? whew. all right. oh. see i'm still not finfished. let me say this about loretta lynch. we've actually seen seen some outbreaks of bipartisanship and common sense in congress every at last couple weeks. yesterday i signed the sgr fix that initiates not only some real reforms around how our health care system works but

expands insurance for children. we have just talked about what i think was at least a constructive process to repositively the question of congressional involvement in iran. and yet what we still have is this crazy situation where a woman who everybody agrees is qualified, who has gone after terrorists, who has worked with police officers to get gangs off the streets who has trusted by the civil rights community and, by, police unions as being somebody who is fair and effective, and a good manager nobody suggests otherwise who has been confirmed twice before by the united states senate, for one of the biggest law enforcement jobs in the country has been now sitting there longer than the previous seven

attorney general nominees combined! and there is no reason for it. nobody can describe a reason for it beyond political gamesmanship in the senate. on an issue that is completely unrelated to her. this is the top law enforcement job in the country. it is my attorney general who has to inner act with -- interact with his italian counterparts or her italian counterparts in dealing with counter terrorism issues. in dealing with interpol. in dealing with our national security. in coordinating with our fbi. what are we doing here? and, i have to say that there are times where, that the dysfunction in the senate just

goes too far. this is an example of it. it has gone too far. enough. enough. call loretta lynch for a vote. get her confirmed. put her in place. let her do her job. this is embarrassing, a process like this. thank you. >> the situation of my -- migrants in the mediterranean sea, the mediterranean -- the problem in this moment is the situation on the ground in libya which was discussed by mr. president or the president. if you think about 891% of people who came from africa to

italy, come from libya. so exactly as three years ago when the people come from tunisia because of the problem was the lack of stability in tunisia, today the only way is come back to the peace and stability there of libyan institutions. italy it is not easy. we work every day to find a solution with the united nations and then with other partners and friends and allies in the, in the region but i think the only way is, come back to stability in libya. in this period, in this period of transition italy is ready to bring responsibility to make the

leadership in after -- diplomatic and counterterrorism efforts but key point is stop human trafficking, in mediterranean sea, is a priority for everybody in europe and for me it is absolutely crucial. the words of president obama it is a priority for the united states. stop human trafficking is only way to give perspective of justice and also security obviously of course for the risks of this area. i think there are not problem of clash of religions in italy. maybe yes maybe there were one case about this but the problem is not a problem of clash of religions. it's a problem of human dignity.

we are absolutely committed to solve this problem and i am confident, if this become as priority we achieve a great result. >> [inaudible]. [speaking italian] >> translator: you just said that italy is ready to take on its responsibilities in terms of the diplomacy and antiterrorist activities. i would like to ask you who are the protagonists in this region the people that should be the interlocutors in order to reach a stability in libya and what antiterrorist activities mean? are you ready to send 5000 men that you spoke about? how do you intend to do so? and also, perhaps you, will you have the support from president obama, maybe using drones?

>> can we expect anytime soon, counterterrorism action concerning libya. concerning russia. the mr. president, do you think it was useful and did you ask and get a specific commitments for the renewal of sanctions against russia? thank you. >> translator: let me talk to you about the question on libya. i will repeat what i said. obviously all of the countries in this region are interested in looking and finding looking for and finding a solution. barring none, we appreciate the work that certain countries are finally doing in the mediterranean area, northern africa starting by egypt. so all the countries are part of this huge undertaking but please

allow me to be very clear. peace in libya, either the tribes do this or no one is going to do this. no one is going to achieve this. only way to reach peace is that the tribes finally accept that they're going to go toward stabilization and peace. and our work is that of looking for this to favor all of this, at all levels so that this effort does indeed lead to the peace. the diplomatic initiatives you are aware of, they're the ones we are doing and there are the ones that the foreign ministers are also trying to support and to study. obviously is not a job that starts in libya. i would like my italian journalists friend to understand that libya which we considered because they're across from us, they're the main problem but they're part of a more complex,

greater problem that has to do with the risks of terrorist infiltrations in africa. we are feeling the pain for what happened at the university of garissa, but this regards africa as a whole as a continent. a few days ago we remembered that a year has gone by from when someone hundred girls were kidnapped by boko haram. and remember the hashtag bring back our girls. this is a moral imperative for all of us. therefore, the issue of libya is something that we have to place in a wider context. the technical solutions our teams are looking at them every single day and they're obviously technical solutions in which

there is a full awareness for which there is a full awareness. the united states is, next to the united states is europe is next to the united states in a huge challenge that will bring the troops in our country to spend more months, more time in afghanistan. much more so than we had thought because if the coalition with the united states considers that the process has to continue, well, italy will do its part. obviously in terms of the technical solutions that i mentioned, this is not something that has to do with political debates. it has to do with our technical teams, with their expertise. i have to be sure that i have priority and assurance from the united states is not something in which italy is working on its own. i can tell you as far as we're concerned the cooperation and the work together with you both

in the natural diplomatic way and in the constant work which is down every single day which is a job which is done silently, quietly, in everyday life, which takes us to heroism i'm thinking about the coast guard, the men and women that saved those people at sea, at sea. that allowed a young woman to give birth on the boat. she was dying. and they saved two lives. this is what we want to do. but at the same tile we also have to be fully aware of the work that we do together is a job that not only regards libya but all of africa. i might say the whole world. and allow me to say this without taking the floor too long. this is a job that we are doing everywhere, from russia to latin america, afghanistan, to the middle east, the cooperation and work which is done between the

united states and it tally is something out of discussion, that can not be discussed. >> we are consistently looking where terrorist threats might eminate and libya is obviously an area of great concern. isil is very explicit wanting to use chaos inside of libya as potential justification for putting their some of their personnel there. and so, the coordination with italy, and with other of our key partners is going to be very important. we will not be able to solve the problem just with a few drone strikes or a few military operations. . .

to have a government that control its own borders and work with us. that is going to take some time. or we will combine counterterrorism efforts and cooperation with italy and other like-minded nations with a political lather and we are going to have to encourage some of the countries inside the goals who have influence over

the various factions should be more cooperative themselves. in some cases you have seen them fan the flames of a terry conflict rather than try to reduce it. with respect to russia matteo and i agree we need implementation and i expressed my strong belief that the european council needs to continue the current sanctions in place and so we have seen full implementation of the minsk agreement. there will be about coming up up this summer in the european council and my expectation is not only italy, but all countries in europe will recognize it would be a wrong message to send to reduce

sanctions pressure on russia when they are key implementation steps down happen until the end of the year. at minimum we have to maintain the existing sanction levels and so we have seen that they have carried out the steps they are required to honor the agreement. one of the things that matteo and i share and i think the italian people and the american people share is a sense of values and principles that sometimes override political expediency. that is part of our dna. that is part of our memories because of the history of both of our countries. i think we have to be realistic and prior to gold in how we look at a problem like ukraine but

we have to also recall the reason there is a unified or is europe is because enormous sacrifices were made on behalf of adls and on behalf of principles. if those principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty start getting ignored, then that carries a cost for europe and for the world. thank you very much. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> the senate foreign relations committee has unanimously passed legislation that would provide congressional rate you and oversight relating to the arabian nuclear framework agreement. committee chair bob corker says the white house to submit the entire details to congress and allow for a review. stir in which sanctions to rant could not be lifted or the committee now is about an hour and 15 minutes.

[inaudible conversations] >> this business meeting for the senate foreign relations meeting committee will come to order. the only order of business today if s. 615 the iran nuclear agreement not and that is not the pending business of the committee. i want to start by thanking all the members of the committee for the tremendous amount of work that's been done over several to get us to the place that we are. in any piece of legislation obviously there are things members would like to see different but i think we have reached a balance here that is very, very appropriate. i want to thank the former chairman, former ranking member

senator bob menendez for his tremendous efforts on all things iran, but certainly this piece of legislation. i can't imagine a member being more construct is and i want to say to me today, what may occur is the true reemergence of the foreign relations committee becoming more than just a debating society, but a committee that takes up a significant work we have before us around the world and i want to say again to our former chairman and her former ranking member, there is no question over the last two years you have helped bring us to this point where instead of debating things, we in fact may well be taking up in court and legislation that we will have a significant impact on the security of the middle east and certainly of our citizens.

i want to thank tim came for his incredible effort. tim is someone who understands truly the role of the united states senate and issues that this african and has been a stalwart to articulate more clearly than anyone else why it's important for us to take the role that i hope the legislation today will allow us to take into ranking member cardin i cannot thank you enough for your temperament, for your tone for your seriousness on a very, very important issue and i look forward to him in another to him and on other significant issues here today to see where we are no doubt is a

testament to the type of senator you came here to be and i want to thank you for that. look, let's set the stage and spy out what may be being sad by building down the street on the other end of pennsylvania. this legislation is exactly the congressional review we have been working on for day one. i want to thank everyone here for allowing the legislation to be in the form that it is in today with 100% of the integrity we hoped to be a part of this process embodied in this piece of legislation. what this legislation does everyone understands the iran nuclear negotiations are incredibly important to the citizens we represent. i think all of us would like to see a strong negotiated agreement that ensures a rant does not get a nuclear weapon. what this legislation does is

allow us. congress has been a partner in the spirit congress as we know has passed for pieces of legislation since 2010 that most people credit for having brought iran to the negotiating table. many times let's face it this was not something the administration favored by congress prevailed and the sanctions we have put in place by the sanctions that brought uranian economy down certainly a great deal, certainly caused inflation and the destabilizing effect that caused them to be at the negotiating table. what we have before us today is a bill that forces the administration before they are able to lift the sanctions that brought them to the table it forces the administration to

bring to life every detail if there happens to be a final agreement. every detail. we have lifetime friends in here, we have worked through the house to make sure the procedures are appropriate. i note then and i will have a colloquy in a minute to further confirm that. it means that the sanctions put in place by this body by the senate and by the house cannot be lifted without the administration bringing to us every detail of the deal and then the clock will start and there will be a period of time that congress will have the ability to debate and decide whether congress wants to move ahead with the resolution of approval for a resolution of disapproval. during that time, no congressionally mandated sanctions can be elected. after the process is over, there is a fair process that is very

good everybody understands what is happening. in north korea where arrangements were made but there was no follow-through and a very important aspect, a third leg to this agreement is congress stays involved if an agreement is reached if one is not disapproved, congress stays involved. every 90 days the administration asked certified in every way iran is in compliance and if there are violations they have to give that to congress that we have the ability to quickly reapply if the deal is approved would be alleviated. i think this puts congress in its rightful role. i think everyone understands the sanctions negotiated by the nuclear sanctions only. they sanctions relatives to

ballistic missile testing stay in place. the sanctions relative to terrorism, they stay in place. the sanctions relative to human rights, they stay in place. so today we arrow me focused on the nuclear peace. i would say in the event over time the sanctions are lifted because the deal is approved in congress chooses not to disapprove that, i would say everyone here this that gives more reporting on terrorism than we've ever had. more reporting on ballistic missile testing than we've ever had. more reporting on human rights than we've ever had and we will have that entire arsenal of sanctions that would put in place since 2010 to reapply in those areas that we feel a koran is again doing things not in our national interest and certainly not in the countries. so i want to thank the ranking member. i want to thank everybody who has worked with us in this

regard. i know there may be many people may have opening comments, but it has been a true pleasure to work with senator cardin and others for us to be in the place that we are with the entire integrity of the review process staying in place and with that i will turn it to her ranking member who worked with us to get in a place that i hope many people will then join in. he did so toughly that allowed us to move in a productive way. >> chairman corker comment thank you. i agree with you in the role of senator menendez has reached in this point. i don't believe it would be here today on the verge of i hope a strong view at a congressional review of the rainy and of course that we hope will be presented in june.

senator menendez enjoys the strong things for the incredible leadership he has given the senate foreign relations committee as it chairman and as ranking member. i am honored to be the ranking member did not want to become under the circumstances. the foreign relations committee has an extremely important role to play and we want to do that in the best interest of the united states. i represent the democratic members but i think we both represent members of the senate in bringing as much unity as we can to the foreign policy in this country. i look forward to working with you in that regard. it is clear to me there is a strong commitment to the congress of the united states to

make sure he ran never becomes a nuclear weapons state. that is a game changer for the middle east. it is something we cannot allow to occur. it is through the diplomatic means. the strong agreement would prevent a nuclear weapons state. bill had ample time so if they do not comply with the agreement we will know about those breaches and take action to prevent iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state. bottom line is there is no disagreement in this committee or in the congress that we cannot trust her ran and got the agreement must be able to assure her ran does not become a nuclear weapons state. i think we also reach agreement today that's an appropriate role for congress in revealing what we must do in that regard.

i start by saying thank you to senator corker and thank you to senator menendez and thank you to senator kaine. i agree the bill we work on today in a thoughtful and meaningful way could weigh in and review any agreement reached between our negotiating partners in the rain with regard to nuclear weapons. secondly it provides a means that we can get timely notice in the event there is a material breach so congress could take appropriate action. those two principles are in the original bill and they are still there today and i agree completely with those purposes and said so well before the market today. i am pleased we were able to negotiate a member manager's package that has broad support and input from many members of the committee. i want to thank members on both

sides of the aisle for their input into the manager's amendment. it reflects the best thoughts of the members of the committee. provides the framework for the congressional review and potential action. mr. chairman, i ought to post some language in the manager's amendment that is a sense of congress that regime imposed by congress is primarily responsible for bringing a regular table to negotiate its nuclear program. we're the one who impose sanctions as you pointed out. negotiations are critical foreign policy for the united states and its closest allies. the legislation does not require a vote by congress at the agreement to commence. the legislation provides congressional review including an approval disapproval or no action under an agreement. i really want to point that out because people are fast why we

are involved here. we have to be involved here. only congress can permanently change or modify the sanction regime, which is clearly part of what the president is negotiating in regards to the iran nuclear program. secondly, let me point out the manager's amendment has the appropriate role for congress in regards to when we get the agreement and how we act on it. it is clear that we will only act if the administration has presented an agreement. that is when the clock starts. we provide an orderly way for consideration. we will go into the timeframe in a moment. under the assumption we get the agreement on time, they would be an initial 30 day review period for congress to review the agreement. we have checked that out. beck is the committing ample time to have hearings come into his appropriate for congress to take appropriate action.

whether that's no action, resolution of approval, dealing with sanctions, all of that is possible. no pre-judgment on that. we have our committee hearing to determine the appropriate role for congress. there've been no action prior to receiving the agreement. it is also clear the april 2nd framework is not part of that type of the review process. the 30 days could be extended if there is action taken that required presidential approval during the period of the presidential review and veto to be extended. no one can anticipate where we'll end up but it is basically a 30 day review process. i want to thank the chairman because we got in a big debate. we may have an amendment being offered oil covered briefly now. we have eliminated certain presidential certifications that

were not related to the iranian negotiations. i think that was the right thing to do. this is a complicated enough agreement. if we can prevent iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state, that the object. does iran have other issues that the international community? you bet they do and we are concerned about that. i urge my colleagues to take a look because we have strengthened the bill as it relates to getting adequate information about their terrorist activities and violations of human rights said that we had the information and to use the information as we see fit. the manager's amendment strengthens the bill as it relates to the other activities that are problematic to the united states that are caused by her ran but does it in the right way without interfering. i would suggest the bill strengthens the president's

ability to negotiate in regards to the nuclear framework is held. lastly, let me say i think there is an amendment that makes it clear the security of israel and the survival of israel is clearly paramount and i agree with that completely and i'm glad you were able to add that to the manager's amendment. i thank them for their leadership on that issue. i want to particularly thank senator coons for his help and shortening of that. and the framework of how we put this together and all the members on both sides for their incredible work. this is a proud moment if we can get this type of legislation as to how congress can weigh in on this agreement. it's the right thing not only for congress before the american people. >> do you want to do the colloquy? >> mr. chairman i just want to

make one point on some of the substitute amendment agreed to between senator corker and myself regarding the period of congressional review. the original bill mandated during which time the president would not be able to buy statutory sanctions relief. the new text at the agreement is submitted by july 10 the review period would be 30 days and during that the president would be unable to provide statutory sanctions relief. the new text provides 12 days for the president to consider veto the resolution of disapproval antennae for congress to consider overriding a veto. a 10 day period for congress to consider would begin the day after a presidential veto. >> that is absolutely my understanding and i think it is your understanding that the timeclock only begins when the president submits all of the

materials for us to weigh in the classified annexes that the public will never see but are important for all of us to see and weigh in prior to sanctions. >> i appreciate that. you are correct. the president has to submit the agreement. the agreement is defined in the manager's amendment to include the relevant documents. >> at the submits that. time, member should know because of the way congress functions and non-functions during august there is a 60 day process we revert back to you. that is our understanding and certainly it is spelled out that way in the manager's amendment. i want to make sure we have an agreement. i thank you for that. at this moment i think it is important for senator menendez who has been such a champion not only on this piece of

legislation but regarding our mutual concerns with her ran. i would like to call on him to make opening comments. >> thank you, mr. chairman. in the thank you for your gracious remarks. i appreciate having worked with you on the legislation and changes to the legislation which i support. i think this continuation of the bipartisanship by setup or not the have the privilege of chairing the committee rises to the high calling of what the united states senate is all about and particularly opposes the foreign relations committee as it relates to foreign policy and national security. i want thank you and congratulate you. i want to thank senator cardin for his incredibly hard work and perfecting the legislation that brings us to what i hope will be a broad, strong bipartisan vote and i couldn't take of anyone better to take my place during this interim period.

i want to thank senator kay and his thoughtful input throughout the genesys of the legislation was incredibly helpful. in my view the way to send a message to tehran about our expectations as for congress to put politics aside and pass the corker menéndez iran nuclear agreement act with unified bipartisan action that underscores congress' critical role in one of the highest priority, national security nuclear non-proliferation challenges of our time. the fact is the p5 plus one ultimately achieve a comprehensive agreement at a june deadline. at the end of the day congress must have oversight responsibility and the legislation provides it. the bill establishes a managed process for congressional review and a framework for congressional oversight. i differentiate between this agreement and others the administration has cited for

exclusive executive action because of the congressionally mandated sanctions that are law. as the author working with many others on this committee and beyond i can tell you we never vision and a wholesale waiver of those sanctions about congressional input and action. my goal is one goal, to make certain domain does not have the infrastructure to develop a nuclear weapon in the best way to achieve his bipartisan support for strengthens the hand and moving a political pre-mark jay comprehensive agreement ... expectations for raining compliance. to send a message to tehran to sanctions relief is not a given and certainly not a price for signing on the dotted line. iran must fully comply with all provisions of an agreement that effectively dismantle its nuclear weapons infrastructure and verifies compliance with every word of the deal. i have many questions about the framework agreement including

but not limited to the diversion understanding of the agreement difference in what arendt can do on event attributions timing and pacing of sanctions relief the ability to snap that sanctions at this violations of the agreement, lack of addressing possible military dimensions of the program the degree of the iaea's ability to have snap inspections. not regular inspections. snap inspections among others if that's all the more reason for congress to have an in-depth oversight role. what i thank you for your leadership and the ranking member for hayes and i urge her strong bipartisan vote. >> are there additional opening comments? >> effect that i might go this way since we want to stay in balance here. >> mr. chairman first of all i join in with everyone and recognize your efforts on this. the reason this is so difficult is the fact we are negotiating

for two different goals. usually people negotiating to get to a particular point. the united states wants to negotiate to a point where the radiance cannot now cannot ever have a nuclear weapon. they negotiate to get a specific clear path forward to how they get a nuclear weapon. people talk about 10 years 15 years. this is a culture that's been around for five millennia. 2.5 since they were the power the world. under the agreement talked about they patiently can put one foot in front of the other and get to where they want to go and unfortunately that leaves people sitting in the shares in the the future to deal with that and that is what has made this so difficult. having said all that, there are steps we can take to at least slow it down and who knows, maybe the arabian people will throw what they are burdened

with what their government and decide they want to be reasonable at who's in the world and at some point in time get to the point where they do abandon their nuclear ambitions. this agreement does not get them to the point they abandon nuclear ambitions. they destroy and move on. that is not over talking about. there's some good stuff in here that we have to get on board with. >> if i could, just to clarify the comments to make about the agreement, negotiated between the p5+1. not today's agreement. today's agreement puts in place a structure to be able to deal with that once it is presented and hopefully giving us a seat at the negotiating table but to weigh in a way to influence a better place.

>> well said mr. chair. >> on that point i think it's incredibly important to underscore because will a strong bipartisan support for this review process. there may be different views on what is negotiated today. it is clear that this vote on the review process is not a reflection on how members feel on the underlying negotiation and quite frankly i want to see the agreements before i comment on the agreements. it is still a process being negotiated. i want to acknowledge the president says in keeping iran intact during these negotiating peers. the ability to get negotiating partners in unity and keeping the sanction regime in place when the first framework was announced we would not be able to do that. we will reserve judgment on the merits at a different point. right now i hope we can focus on the framework for review.

>> someone on the side. senator boxer. >> thank you so much. i really do appreciate the work that you mr. chairman dead along with the ranking member, senator menendez and so many others, senator mccain. i don't mean to slight anyone. so many people were involved with this. to me it is very very important. i believe the bill has been changed from the point and switch it does not support to a point in which i can. i believe the former bill would have described did end up ended the ongoing negotiations between iran and the p5+1. i believe this new bill will not do that. i have received assurances today all morning i was on the phone with experts saying do you feel if we vote for the bill will up

and negotiations and the answer came back a very straightforward way. now, this bill will not do that. i am very pleased. the reason for that if there is no longer the language no longer language in no longer the language of the bill tying extraneous issues to the agreement. we may have an amendment to ann arbor and has to write to the opinion. that would be a dealbreaker because we know how many problems we face. we could count the ways we could be here all day. we are trying to take care of a problem today. i would urge colleagues to refrain from trying to solve every problem with your man. various years worth of mistrust fear is that terrorism and we are still dealing with them and there is language that state we will deal with that, but let's not tie it to the pledges they shame. also, i am pleased by what is highlighted in that if a section that says we will not be voting

if there is one until after it is concluded. those are very important and i so appreciate senators corker and senator cardin reaffirming the united states commitment to israel, security and its right to exist. we all feel that way, everyone of us. i am proud that it is in there. i am also glad the language i wrote on an expedited procedure should there be a breakout so they can immediately go to the floor of the united states senate, no filibuster allowed an ad that sanctions or do other things on the table. so in its new forum the bill clears a very strong path forward for congress to vote up or down on sanction that it imposes. that is the way i view the bill.

i view a vote on sanctions that we impose. i want to be clear because you know i always ends are you from the heart, straight in the shoulder. if the bill is altered in ways that threatens the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deal with the looming crisis, i will use every tool at my disposal to stop that from happening. this is just too important. i want to thank not only leaders of the committee and that does include another madman is that i failed to mention the four. but also the admin is ration for this extraordinary effort in putting together addressing iran's nuclear future. i look at the framework and what i can say is that does call for intrusive inspections. not only nuclear facilities but of the supply chain. that is critical. this is not a freeze. this is a rollback.

i for one have positive views about the framework and literally pray that the progress will continue because as i look at the alternatives to me -- did you plan this? as i look at the alternative to this negotiation it is frightening to the american people. they don't want another war. we had a colleague on the other side of the aisle call for arming iran now. i feel there is a lot more than one that feels this way. i think by taking control this mini taking control of the process, i think it is the best thing we can do. the very last point i hope people read the letter we got from 50 liters of bipartisan administradministr ations five republican administrations and three democratic administration urging us not to take any action

to derail the ongoing negotiations. i have to tell you they are smart people. they know what they are talking about. that is why i was very very concerned. frankly, if i was on the chair which i am not, i would start off by holding hearings and call up all those experts and look at the framework before we went to today's market. we are where we are and i feel good that we have moved to a place that doesn't threat beyond going negotiations and i thank everyone again for their effort. the mac thank you. if i could have i could've wanted to senator rubio. i want to clarify again it is my understanding that no one is discussing waiting to vote on the legislation after it comes out of committee on the floor. you are referring voted on the resolution of approval or disapproval after the administration presents a bill.

so the clear way for a strong vote on the floor if we pass this out today. >> if i could say what i meant. [inaudible] -- the amendments often on the floor would destroy this very delicate balance that you two have achieved. i want to put it out there that i will not sit back and say go for it. i will use every tool to keep it the way it is. there is no such thing as perfection. i think the two of you have struck the right balance. i want to protect that on the floor when that comes out. >> thank you very much. senator rubio who has contributed heavily on the issues to israel and i want to thank him for his contribution in constructive efforts in that regard. >> thank you for cooperation and help on this issue in senator

boxer. we were able to work together. i am even more concerned about not simply destroy the delicate balance of his ill. i am concerned about the destruction of israel. in july 2014 ayatollah khomeini quoted this barbaric wolflike infanticide of machine of israel spares no crime, has no cure but to be annihilated. in november 2014 they posted this. it is a chart showing on questions about the elimination of israel. why should the zionist regime be eliminated during its 66 years so far the fake zionist regime has tried to realize its goals by means of homicide, violence and iron fist while boasting about it lately. it goes on to say because for some referendum where they cannot participate in the have to go back to their country, whatever that means.

until a referendum this called how can it be confronted. powerful confrontation and resolute armed resistance is the cure of this ruinous regime. the only means of confronting a regime which commits crime beyond one's thought and imagination is the resolute in armed confrontation. here is another quote from ayatollah khomeini. it is the mission of the islamic public of a ranter race israel from the map of the region. at some point when someone keeps saying they want to destroy you, you should take them serious way. our concern is i want there to be an amendment on this or the president was certified to congress that iran's leaders have publicly accepted israel's right to exist that whatever deal he agreed to does not put the existence and security in table ground. i appreciate changes to the bill but it is the sense of the congress the president should

determine the agreement in no way compromises commitment of the united states to israel's security north support her israel's right to exist is better than not having him there at all an issue we have to talk about on the floor and as we move forward today. while can or no data about the national security of the united states and implications of a nuclear iran and you don't build ballistic missiles because you want to do some fancy firework. you want to put a nuclear warhead on it as they move forward not only does that pose a risk to the united states, it poses an immediate risk to israel. the supreme leader has set himself repeatedly so i appreciate the work and accommodations to include the language certainly better than not having it at all. i also appreciate we added the sense of the congress that the sanctions on iran and ballistic missiles remained in place under an agreement.

i thought that was important. thank you for allowing me to work with you. the mac thank you. senator shaheen. >> i won't repeat all the outlook with statements made, but i want to reiterate what has been said about the leadership from you senator cardin, senator menendez relative to an agreement on this legislation because as you have said it's not only important to the future of the foreign relations committee and the important work we should be doing but it also sends an important note to the people of the country that we can work together on big issues to address common problems that face the country and we should be doing that as often as possible in the future. i want to congratulate you again for the great work you've done and i do intend to support the legislation. >> senator johnson. >> mr. chairman, i also thank the chairman and the people who

work on this agreement to understand it has been a tough road home. i realize your challenge and tried to accomplish a piece of legislation that partisan support and overcome a threatened. i understand what you've been working with your understand the challenge. i did offer a number of amendments to provide clarity. we reached an agreement and we can take this to the floor of the senate. i will withhold during this market. i want to talk about what this piece of legislation is and is not. you said it creates a rightful role of congress are at it creates a role about that. i would rather have a role than no role whatsoever from the standpoint of negotiated agreement and i realized the commander-in-chief that has to negotiate this. but this is a role.

it's congressional oversight but is not advice and consent. it is a long way from my standpoint. i think this agreement president obama is negotiating rises to the level of the treaty. there is no set criteria for what he treaty is. there are considerations in the u.s. state department foreign affairs manual list of those considerations and one is the extent to which the agreement involves risk affecting the nation as a whole. this agreement affects and involves the commitments affect in this nation. the third consideration whether the agreement can be given for subsequent legislation by the congress. i think that applies. for my standpoint, what president obama is doing on behalf of america is a treaty and according to the constitution, treaties should be subject to to the advice and consent of the senate. what that would mean if we were

really doing -- engaged in a role of advice and consent that would require 67 senators to affirmatively approved of this deal. that is not what is going to happen here. we will not have 67 senators approving of the deal. that is not what this bill is going to do. basically three types of international agreements. each reader requires the advice and consent. also congressional executive agreements. if you have subject to regular order that would be subject to filibuster and in that case you need 60 senators to affirmatively approving of the agreement. still a pretty high hurdle. there potentially could be congressional agreement under expedited procedures. that would then require 50 senators as well as a majority in the house, congressional executive agreement affirmatively approving the

agreement. in other words allowing the american people to have a say in an agreement that involves commitments to risk affecting the nation as a whole through their elected representatives. but this bill does this turns the advice consent on its head because it basically allows for a voter disapproval. in order for the voter disapproval to actually have an effect of stopping a really bad deal that involves commitment or risk as the nation as a whole would require 60 senators voting for disapproval, which means 41 senators could approve this deal and we would not have you order of approval. if that is vetoed by the president we would need to overcome the beta is 67 senators which means her before senators would be required to approve the visio.

again this piece of legislation which again i appreciate the fact that at least this gives us a role. it is an incredibly limited role. it is a role with very little teeth. it is a far cry from advice and consent of 67 senators voting in the affirmative that this is a good bill for americans. it is still beyond me why democrats simply won't agree to the fact that more than one person should actually feel to evaluate whether this is a good deal or not. right now there is one person president obama will decide for america that this is a good deal for bad deal. i believe the american people should be involved in that decision through their elected representatives. i believe president obama's negotiation rises to the level of the treaty. we should provide the advice and consent in the affirmatively

proving that the 67 votes when in fact this piece of legislation. i made my point. i've provided clarity and i'll support this as long as the deal has been struck as approved year. >> i appreciate the comments. you know, if i could wave a wand or pigs began to fly we could turn this into the type of agreement discussed. i will say this. the administration as you know in a previous hearing has been fighting strongly against this. secretary kerry fighting against this earlier today. i know they have relented because of what they believe to be the outcome here. i believe this is going to be an important role and especially the compliant peace that comes afterwards. a very significant thing i did

not occur under the north korean agreement and give a significant tea if a deal is achieved. >> i agree with that and appreciate that which is why we'll focus out of committee. >> mr. chairman, i don't think we will convince any administration, democrat or republican that congress should have any role in anything they do. we cannot. that is a given. i just want to assure you that in my conversations with the administration it has been a very positive conversations over the last 10 days looking for a way they could resolve concerns they had in a genuine way. i wanted to be clear i think the administration has been open about trying to get to where we are today and i thank you for allowing us to have the open process. >> senator clemens who has also been incredibly constructive.

we made your first trip to afghanistan to gather and appreciate your significant input on the committee. >> thank you for the clear eyed and tough way in which he negotiated a compromise in front of us this afternoon. we have a broad and shared common goal to prevent a nuclear-capable iran. the only question in front of us is what role will this congress and this committee play an important foreign-policy decisions and in particular in consideration of the deal with the rand and the p5+1 partner should there be one. i want to thank senator menendez for his leadership in role as ranking member for laying the groundwork and senator kaine for consistently raising the congress should have a role and i want to thank you for including in this package for a minute i thought a week ago and i look forward to supporting it and moving it out with a strong bipartisan vote. we have a simple question which

path forward the committee will take. by passing this package we can ensure congress has a construct to undefined role to play an opportunity to review the deal and stay engaged in oversight or we can reject it and expose it to unpredictable attempts to prevent that from being implemented. we can embrace this compromise and help our diplomats and negotiators by presenting a unified position in a reasonable process for congressional root you or we can reject the unhurt diplomats by creating another partisan fiasco and sending mixed messages to the world. it is my hope will not reject this agreement. by doing so, we once again have the committee service the minors be bound by the administration and future administrations proceeds to make american foreign policy largely

unrestrained. we can enact this. we can pass this out of committee today and reassert the senate foreign relations committee has an important role to play in our nation's foreign policy decisions. it is my hope on a bipartisan basis we will do just that and take the reason it was awful path forward in thank you to both of you for making this possible. >> senator flake who has been so construct throughout this are the very beginning. thank you so much. tonight i appreciate that. in the interest of voting en masse i will yield. >> any other opening comments? ..

try to find a way through this comebody working together to try to find a way through this come and a sledges congratulate you on doing that. i think chairman corker you have incredible restraint in not getting on that letter that was sent to the ayatollah. and i think once again i just batchelder back for that and i think once again that's in the tradition of this committee trying to do the best bipartisan foreign policy it can. and to the want to think i want to do is come and it's behind the s