. this was an extremely important topic. every parent something about her son the college was to no we're doing everything we can to make sure they are protected command you have given us great insight. i look forward to working with you as we would have reauthorize. >> thank you. this has been a priority from the day we started working together, and she will continue to focus on campus safety. we're thinking about hearing coming up soon. i have three questions i like to ask the panel. the answers can come later. if you have something you'd like to say i welcomesay, i welcome it. question number one goes back to what i said earlier. the government has a way of expressing its concern and laws,laws, rules and regulations that are not as efficient as the concern is

real. we sometimes duplicate and cause campuses to spend more time filling out forms and working with students to have a session in forming incoming freshmen about what the responsibilities are. but each of you be willing to give us specific suggestions about how you see title ix and its rules and regulations clearly the knew regulations allow they can be improved, where the conflict how they can be made more clear so that campuses have the flexibility you talk about. i'll call you present. would you be willing to do that and to give it to us and has specific a form as you could.

>> welcome the opportunity to do that. >> and i no you are so large and it is such a good system that you are bound to have plenty of people waiting through rules and regulations. we don't know what this means and this duplicates this and you have been in so many different positions that you know exactly what i'm talking about a particularly when he that by around september in order to included in the reauthorization act. >> chairman we would absolutely welcome the opportunity. if i could go a step further we should pay close attention to the department of education and make sure as the reauthorization process goes forward that they do not issue additional guidance without the comment

which is standard rulemaking process to allow stakeholders the time to ask questions, clarify as well as provide important expertise to ultimately shape the outcome we want. >> that is a reasonable request. several of us ask our distinguished groups to look at generally simplifying our education rules and regulations and making them more effective. every one of our 6000 colleges and universities. on average every average every workday one new guidance will. i will ask the department not to do that where we are in the midst of reauthorization. the otherthe other observation to make is that only 15 percent of the colleges are private universities. we often think about those.

and there's a difference between nashville and ucla in terms of what we might be thinking about doing. we need to keep that in mind one college president, and accomplished one said what i asked her what we should do about the issue, you should focus on helping campuses better coordinate with law enforcement agencies but do not turn colleges in july enforcement agencies. any comment? >> i absolutely agree. there is a reason for campus

process, and campuses have a place in the process. i do not want to see them become law enforcement. students have the right to choose whether or not they want to move forward. if they do law-enforcement is they're for that. campuses provide an alternative, and we have actually continued to strengthen the process. i fully support not making campuses try to take the place of law enforcement. law enforcement has a specific place and they will do their job is called upon. >> i would concur. the goal of the student disciplinary process is different than the criminal process. i think they're can be greater linkage between campuses and law enforcement in appropriate cases and

there are ways to do that. >> the last question i have is this, how do you -- what can we do or not do to make sure colleges established procedures dealing with sexual assault that our fair and protect the due process rights of both the accused and the accuser. what should we keep in mind as we work on that issue? >> that is something that we are looking into right now. what should be the rights of the accused. it illustrates. illustrates the difference between a student disciplinary proceeding in the criminal proceeding the confrontation rights. it should be different. we're working our way through the.

it is a difficult issue. >> all right. >> go ahead. >> the only.i would's title ix already requires schools to be fair and equitable. knowno your nine sent a letter to the university presidents asking for fairness and that they follow the law. it is critically important that that is the case, and at the end of the day we are on the same page.page. there is a way we like to pick people against each other but this is about access to education and this is clearly demanded of all parties. >> thank you. >> i was going to make the same.and dad in the legislation through the reauthorization process we need to make sure new training requirements don't

contradict what is currently and law with respect to fair and partial process.process. training requirements is an area we need to pay particular attention to. >> sen. white house slipped in under the wire, so i will call on him and them will conclude the hearing. >> thank you, chairman thank you for this hearing and thank you very much to all of the witnesses who have been wonderful. given the late stage of the hearing what i might do is offer a few thoughts and ask each of you if you would respond to them for the record rather than extend this and run over my time.

my 1st thought is that there is not good enough coordination between the query title ix process and the ordinary and proper course of the law enforcement investigation and that we need a way to disentangle those two processes so that they are not working at cross purposes. too often we have heard about cases in which evidence is unnecessarily lost because law enforcement was not brought in a suitable time. we have heard about instances in which the universityuniversity process creates opportunities that are prejudicial to the victim in a later criminal justice process by opening have is a cross-examination and, and i think thoughts you have on how we better accommodate the law

enforcement process in this given that the violent felony that this actually is we need to bring law enforcement in which brings me to my 2nd point. in my view the sooner we get law-enforcement engaged better. the counterargument is that in the past they're have been times and circumstances with law enforcement iabout a lousy job of participating in these investigations but the fact that law enforcement has done a lousy job on occasion is not a reason to keep law enforcement out. it is a reason to improve law-enforcement in this area we have a model with domestic violence. it was not too long ago for enforcement was not helpful. driving around until he so result as the victim what

she did to provoke him. we learned a lot. the violence community has something to teach us about the integration of victims advisers, and law enforcement early in the process. the 3rd.i ask you to respond to is that the primary concern here on behalf of victims is that if law enforcement gets involved right off the bat there is the risk that the victim will lose control over the proceedings. at a. at a time when victims are feeling that have lost control and are feeling vulnerable, that can be a considerable threat. victims are often poorly informed about the reality of the law enforcement intervention. secretary napolitano and i were us attorneys and attorneys general together. we don't have much of the

case if you don't have a cooperating victim. the likelihood of a criminal case being a vehicle for running away with an unwilling victim is very small and can probably be addressed. the concept -- and i will close with this the concept that i am going is that an early stage in the report of an alleged assault law enforcement would be involved with the police department would be involved. at a time before unless there was some kind of immediate public safety emergency they're are times when you need to react and obviously you should not prevent that. absent that that there could be a conversation and what for want of a better terma

better term you might call law-enforcement vestibule with a law enforcement officer comes out into the vestibule, sits with the confidential advisor whoever is handling the query in the victim and together they walked the victim through what his or her real prospects are in the real likelihood is a being run away with by a law enforcement investigation gone berserk and the real risks of not reporting law-enforcement timely in terms of cross-examination vulnerability, the real risks of using electronic and biological evidence as time goes by and figure out a way to make that happen. i worry we will be in a situation in which the fears that have been justly provoked by clumsy, untrained, not informed, and experience law-enforcement interventions in these cases

are becoming an obstacle for a process where we can create experienced trauma informed sensitive effective law enforcement intervention an early stage. i have run out my time, but i hope as a useful thoughts and useful enough to provoke a response under our questions for the record for the committee. you're probably too busy to do this yourself, so i am delighted to receive at uf our response from whoever you don't get to handle this thank you very much. you have known me to. thank you. >> thank you. i would like to ask consent to include statements in the record. we received a number

of comments on that.that. harvard law school professors and others. the hearing record will remain open. members may submit additional information for the record. the committee plans to hold the next hearing on wednesday, august 5 to discuss the status of student success at american colleges and universities and how to improve it. thank you to the witnesses for coming. we appreciate it very much. i thank my colleagues in the committee will stand adjourned. >> may i make one final remark for the record? my attorney general at home has convened a group of folks from domestic violence victims organizations. rhode island has a rich and robust higher ed community, community command i want to go on the record command the attorney general and the higher ed and victims community for the terrific local what there doing to inform what i'm doing.

>> thank you in the committee is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the us is currently in the midst of an outbreak of avian flu. the federal government plans to pay farmers.

the centers for disease control warned last month it considers these viruses as having the potential to cause severe disease in humans. the house agriculture subcommittee hearing is live at 8:30 am eastern. later in the morning a senate subcommittee hearing claims of patient abuse also on c-span three. >> c-span2 brings you the best access to congress for a live debate and votes from the senate floor, hearings and current public policy events command every weekend book tv and a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing industry. the best access to congress and nonfiction books.

>> the voters 1st forum is days away from a partner in the new hampshire union leader and other news organizations. so far 14 candidates are scheduled to be there. live coverage on monday on c-span the c-span radio, and c-span.org followed by your reaction by phone and on facebook and twitter. [applause] >> new jersey governor and republican presidential candidate chris christie spoke about national security and foreign-policy taking questions on the iran nuclear agreement with defense funding. the university of new hampshire. this is an hour. >> my 2nd speech of this national conversation on tax and regulatory reform.

i think the folks for their continuing courtesy and cordiality. i want wantcordiality. i want to thank my friend. it was my to come here and conveying for you the number of times i did and give support. your campaign is one we are extraordinarily proud of and one that made a real difference because of the conversation that new hampshire voters not to participate in. i know that while new hampshire is doing okay new hampshire would be doing well. [applause] >> the 1st lady of new hampshire. [applause]

it is great to see judy as well. home with their children. i don't wanti don't want to speak too long. i want to leave the majority of time for questions to talk about our role in the world and the opportunities that are here as well. in a presidency that has been generally disappointing, overpromised and under delivered of the worst thing is pres. has done for seven years now nearly is present is the agreement he reached two weeks ago yesterday. i say that because i believe that it will lead to a fundamental a bending of nuclear deterrent in our world over the last 70 years. what the president is done

the secretary kerry has done is decide that a bada bad deal is better than mobile. when this started my view was america want to deal with iran needed a deal. the way negotiations have ended it appears america needed a deal in iran just want to deal. there are different things we could talk about. the five-year lifting of conventional weapons embargo, the eight-year lifting of the technology for ballistic missile development is contained within this agreement, but the worst part is the pres. stood in front of us and did not tell us the truth. the fundamental underpinning

of this agreement pres. himself said is that it was not based upon trust the verification. he stood before us and said we can have inspections anytime anywhere. it turns out his idea of anytime anywhere is significantly different from the common understanding of those words in our language. let me give you an example. if there is a place or location we believe they're may be cheating going on and request an inspection, if you listen to anytime anywhere you would think that means anywhere, this place, anytime, right now. the irradiance can object and if they do it goes to arbitration, and that panel as up to 24 days to make a decision. it hardly seems like anytime

anywhere. my experience as a prosecutor it is analogous. if as us attorney for new jersey i have evidence that someone in this audience was committing a crime and there was probable cause the crime was being committed the judge reviewed and approved the search warrant and i came near home and knocked on the front door and said i have a search warrant to search your home families criminal conduct is occurring here in the way back in 24 days to search your home. [laughter] even the stupidest criminal in new jersey, if i gave in 24 days would be able to figure out how to get it out of the before i came back. and this is an aside,aside having some of the stupidest

criminals in america but even there even there the stupidest criminal would find a way to move the evidence out. the bad news for america's national security the iranians are far from stupid far from stupid command they will use these opportunities pres. has willingly given of this agreement to thwart any effective verification of this agreement and put them on the threshold of nuclear weapons. it is best for three reasons in my opinion. iran is still the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. there is no common sense reason why you would willingly give these folks the opportunity to become a

nuclear power. it is bad because the middle east is already in turmoil and this we will lead to a nuclear eyes middle east. if you are the saudi's were egyptians or jordanians were immoralities and see this agreement you are going to start to pursue a nuclear weapona nuclear weapon yourself if you have not already. developing on your own through purchasing technology to other states or combination which is bad because we don't need it even less stable middle east with now folks who have thousand -year-old conflict with each other possessing nuclear weapons to use in attempting to resolve those thousand your complex. third, it is disastrous for his room which is our best and truest ally in the region it is amazing to me that the israelis without

the table. it is amazing to me that the concerns that the prime minister would have given greater weight but his frustration, and it is shameful that this president decided the only world leader is willing to stand up to and parade in public is the prime minister of israel. this deal is directly to those through problems3ç9-xñ and indirectly contributed to our part. the president during the new line. the façade used chemical weapons take them out. you can agree or disagree with the pres. empowered to make a decision and makes it

if those weapons are used to most back of the threat is made. if this president is used chemical weapons and had 220,000 people murdered 220,000 people murdered did not. it makes no sense. the only way it makes sense to put feel -- the real she was subterranean supporters support aside, if your more concerned with making a bad deal that you are keeping your word is president and you look the other way. syrians are killed in cold blood and have literally hundreds of thousands stream of the border and jordan and leave their home country middle east is always been a complicated and difficult place.

the pres.. the president has done is very close to a manageable which is what we need to do with the vp for us. the 2nd thing is that absolutely interwoven into any discussion in these days national security and military has been discussion of national intelligence capabilities. it has become a complicated and difficult world. i am about to have an historic from you.you. one of the only times you will ever here this about to quote jimmy carter. i feel uncomfortable about it. it gives me a little bit of a twinge in my neck.

pres. carter is right once or twice. #given interview a couple weeks ago kindly asked about the obama foreign-policy. here is what jimmy carter said i cannot think of one country that we have a better relationship with today that the day he became pres. thatpresident. that came from a president of his own party. the world has become a more complicated and difficult place because of the lack of american leadership as personified by this president. the need for accurate real-time intelligence in our country is even more acute. in this world in terrorist

activity by groups like al qaeda and isis and hezbollah we need to interdict before they act. it is not good enough to gets them afterwards. a single indispensable part of that is being active, engaged, well-funded intelligence committee. the report democrats put out last december regarding the intelligence efforts was an awful, partisans to put out by the democrats in the waning days in control of the u.s. senate that hurt morale and contained outright falsehoods. the pres. has continued to this path in my opinion with his conduct and added to some members of congress for

the nsa and the efforts we are making to interdict terrorist activities before it starts. let me be clear. i am in the only person who has reviewed and approved applications of the patriot act, the only person who has reviewed and approved matters before the foreign intelligence courts. investigated, indicted prosecuted, and convicted terrorists who were attempting to kill americans on our soil. ..

>> >> and i would say to my attorney general if any intelligence officers in the

united states of one of our citizens could be prosecuted but do not throw the capability out because you fear someone might miss use it you police the use of the capability. so we need to be serious about our intelligence capabilities ladies and gentlemen,. advocate to build up the military can build around the world and to be clear with the adversaries about the limits of our patients but that will only partially do the job if really have a vigorous intelligence capability around the world. those are the things we need to do in my view to begin to rebuild america's image around the world with our ability to defend ourselves and the ability to be a

positive force for our allies around the world. i have no interest in the young men and women of the united states of america to be the world's policeman but i have no interest to be president of united states where we are not the world's leader in there is a difference between the two. our allies around the world once american leadership and needs american leadership. we need to work with them and lead. because that is what a great nation does. as for adversaries around the world of i am president of united states generates 2017, nothing will happen in this role that will lead to a misunderstanding. its people can say things about me bed being misunderstood typically is not one of them may speak in plain and direct english and

the translator could translate very quickly. thought that is not meant to intimidate our adversaries but to inform them. so they know the true limits of american patients and what our willingness will be to help if that is a way that promotes freedom and security around the world. that is why i was excited when walsh gave me the opportunity to speak to who are concerned about the issues of our country and look forward to taking your questions as we move forward. thank you for your time. i appreciate it. [applause] >> thank you governor it is my pleasure to introduce our

moderator for today. jefes known to everyone in the granite state and i am delighted he is here at the forum. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is a pleasure to cover your campaign last year. and we do have an alternative for your news we have cabman's the gramm here and now governor christie. i'll start with iran driving into work this morning i heard acres christie commercial. we have heard a lot of those lately for you were

criticizing it as you just were. if you were president right now what would your deal be like with iran? >> we would have walked away months ago first of all,. [applause] >> negotiations are not linear. the president is trapped to defend a bad deal and his offense is tell me what your deal would look like. that is not the way things work is not either/or because negotiations are not static but this should have changed six months ago when they were not showing a willingness to do a fair deal with the united states for the president should have said to the secretary of state, cold and deliver the message to the foreign minister of iran which you are serious about wanting a fair deal that is fair to

the rest of the world and accomplishes what we need to accomplish. then call me. you have my number. reagan walked away from reykjavik. he got criticism here for walking away but he understood no deal is better than a bad deal. what happened? one year later gorbachev was back for a better deal for the united states to help preserve peace between our two countries since that time. that would not have accepted this deal after every extension i would have walked away to keep the sanctions emplace if not strengthen them.

the premise of this from the beginning because of the damage to the economy by worldwide sanctions. so i would have walked away from the table. negotiation is a dynamic thing. king iran they know they have you. they may take you a little more seriously. >> we have a lot of great questions from every buddy here. ready stand in the way of

israel to stand in the way of the nuclear facilities? >> acting in the national interest their allies and their friends. that is what good friends to but do i believe the united states should stop israel? know. because it has of right to defend itself. as president with the prime minister did conneaut through. >> before i go to another topic a couple of your rivals have announced the nomination to scrap said deal on day one. what is your thought? what we do with this deal?

>> it is awful. from what we will do january 20th. >> let's be smart. but the events are changing so rapidly and how you would go about doing it i can tell you this. if the iranians into it, i suspect that they will there is plenty of reasons to walk away. and not just pound our chest. because it is much more serious than that. >> people coming over from -- over the border, who is

the bigger threat china or russia? >> russia. there are a bigger threat because their economy is in such bad shape. ioc any reason at the moment why prices will go up so as a result the economy will continue to be in bad shape so then they often act out to keep the people at home distracted from their own economic problems over the next 10 years russia is a greater threat four years ago mitt romney said in the debate with the president that russia was a great threat and the president mocked him and said that the '70s were calling asking for their policy back. that is a cute line but the president could not use that now. he was right to richet have listened to him we would be a lot better off if we had

governor romney. >> why does the united states not provided defensive weapons like the ukraine who was attacked by extras forces coming from russia? >> i think we should are more folks around the world like the kurds and the folks in the parade we should be having serious conversation with them about their need for additional weaponry around -- from the united states. there is no reason not to have this conversation and we need to send some clear signals to president putin. some of his actions may indicate we have reached a limit of our patients. >> would you continue the president's policy to build business relations with

india that could be the next superpower? >> about seven months ago i had the opportunity is in new york city to meet with the prime minister. very interesting. my impression is he is very forward thinking modern thinker trying to move india into greater economic development to be connected with the world and seems to be someone who understands how important participation in democracy is and his election was one that was participated in by a record number of indian citizens. i think there would be worthwhile to continue into conversations on those issues. but those interested in having a strong relationship to make that even stronger that is that huge market for american products as well.

>> back on your initial comments of the of military funding. you are as a native of new jersey? correct? given the problems of the u.s. what about the defense needs? >> reapportion defense spending in takeout and time is. right now entitlements are 71 percent of federal spending. if we continue down that path we will have no money to spend on anything else. by the way remember when debt service is charged as a record low interest rates. of interest rates go up it will get really interesting. that is why we put out a detailed plan of one plane to a trillion dollars over the next 10 years to

reapportion the spending that we have now. we cannot spend any more we have now we cannot afford to we have to reapportion. i believe to spend more national defense and national intelligence also the national institutes of health and national science foundation to partner with private sector's share bring getting - - cutting edge development rather medicine or weaponry to continue to do that. that is what america eddies to invest in but we have an entitlement situation as a measure of control. >> to questions on cybersecurity. what is the role of the federal government to make sure the private sector critical infrastructure is safe and secure? >> both on the intelligence side and law-enforcement

side of the operation we need to make sure interacting with our major infrastructure operators in this country to try to protect what is going on. it is a real threat going forward. and in new jersey the first day in the country to set up a separate cybersecurity operation to protect both the state government assets and partnering with the federal government, and strategy where the joint terrorism task force to work with state and local folks it is important to focus on this because the next war the president has to deal with could be over computer systems and the infrastructure that runs our banks, our power companies and that could become very

dangerous and destabilizing for the united states for a pro the need to work very closely with the private sector because so much infrastructure is under the control of the private sector. >> covered campaign politics i am not an expert but even i understand this seems to be coming from china. beijing it seems has a hand in all of it. what do we do? >> we need to continue to work on our relationship with china. i don't want to see them as an enemy i don't think they are but they are a potential adversary for influence in the world and we need to make sure we're working with them in a way that makes three things really clear. number one we have a relationship over time we want to be your friend.

[laughter] [inaudible] [laughter] >> hiv-2 grow their economy they need access to american markets. second, of we need to make sure we are continuing to have regular to indications with the chinese that very clear they what those objectives are.

listen to what the chinese told us the objectives are. and third, i use this again we have to be very clear that they need to understand that what we have to do is have respect for each other and cyberattacks is an attack on american sovereignty. we are not chinese sovereignty and to make clear those type of things will not be received well. so they need to measure twice and cut once. but all three have to be an approach to chided you are just belligerent that will not help if you don't offer specifically about things that are out of bounds you

leave yourself open for misunderstanding. >> i am frustrated. [laughter] that is not a good thing. [laughter] >> a horrible incident of chattanooga about whether we should garment military personnel. and what the governor said it. >> we should be. we trust these men and women with the most sophisticated weapons that man has ever developed yet we will not trust them with a handgun and sidearm? that does not make sense to me.

and the world has changed and evolved since the decision was made in the early '90s. that is before the first world trade center bombing so the world has changed. it is just an acknowledgement the world has changed but merely the wearing of a uniform thought of american military now makes you a target. weekend acknowledge it and allow these men and women who defend us to defend themselves. that is common sense. [applause] >> national security talking about border security in this country so water

earshots yes, sir. thoughts on a comprehensive immigration going forward. >> first on the border for things need to be done to make the border more secure. the first is we need to build a fence in the areas that makes the most sense. when i say that the very clear, i am not for building all the entire 2000-mile border it doesn't make costa ensor common sense but in the end what we want to do is build walls or fences in the areas where it makes the most sense to do so but not over the entire 2000-mile border. i have never seen a fence

sitters even being could not go around or under over so it is a false sense of security some in places yes bed across the whole border now. not only to beef up the agents but involved a much greater depth the etf and the a and fbi. this is for criminal activity. gunrunning and drug running across the border affected by a professional law enforcement. third of we need electronic surveillance using drones thank cameras along the border around the more difficult parts then to use those to deploy human assets

to those areas. and most important every business in america should use e-verify. that came here to vote. it is not the goal. almost every undocumented person i have spoken to has come here to work.

if that worker is no longer available they will not come over the border to seek it. you have to you all for to secure the border if not there is no point without all four of those items that is comprehensive reform for us to do what we need to do with just under 12 million people that are already here. the american people will not let up with talking about that and tell the first five are done. you cannot add to that problem of that 10 and 12 million problem? we should agree to help guide us what to do from here. they have children who are now american citizens. they're not leaving voluntarily. second, i can tell you from

a law enforcement perspective there are not enough law enforcement federal/state county combined in the entire country to enforce and deport 12 million people. so of those make sense if you like them or not are happy or not that is the truth. so that is the narrow lane what is left as availability for us. so have an agreement on border security and an agreement adoptions for those setter here. and as a republican party let's not be the anti-immigration party. we are not. we're not anti-immigration party. in fact, we believe is an opportunity for fox in one to come here on the legal basis.

my great-grandfather was a mason in sicily. he wanted to come to the united states. he went through the process legally. when his ticket was called to go my great-grandmother was nine months pregnant. and they got on the go. -- on the boat and she gave birth to my grandfather in the middle of the atlantic ocean on their way to the united states. i cannot imagine. so my mother costly teases her father you are nothing. you are not itel yen you are not american and you are born in the middle of the ocean. [laughter] my grandfather died when i was nine years old so i have very few memories but that is one of them. his reaction is he would

give it read in the face do not say that in front of my grandson i am an american. i got there and i got to ellis island. my grandfather was very proud his mother and father took the risk they took to come over to help build this country to make a better life. my grandfather was a mason as well for a good part of his career. they believed in hard work and help to build literally build jersey city with their hands. we cannot use that in this country we need people who come here legally though i continued to believe the truth about our country that you can become anything you want but think about that. to a generation is removed from the guy born on the

boat on the layover his grandson is running for president of united states. we don't want to lose that in this country. >> we have a few minutes left. let's tackle some other topics would be your plan to tackle i says? >> i guess the president has figured out there not tb he said he had no plan to destroy isis. but then he came back to say they're not savages. again, this type of vacillation and indecision in public emboldens our enemies. i will make it clear what i would do about i.c.e. is. we have for allies in the middle east who have a real motivation to bring the fight to isis the egyptians

as jordanians and the saudis they know the existential threat to their nation. they want to bring the fight to isis said we should encourage them to do so in four ways. first, we should arms them with the weapons that they need. second, we should be treating them down to the county level to the battalion level to make sure they are prepared and ready to fight. third, make sure we give them the type of air support that they need to do the things they need to do to working in conjunction with their air force. and we need to make sure we provide them with the capability to let them know where the best and most effective targets are.

they're not working within a set of borders there in iraq and syria and to spread their capabilities to other parts of the region. so we have to have a large part to support these allies the last part is american boots on the ground. this is their neighborhood we need to give them the opportunity to clean it up themselves. [applause] as president you cannot take the option off the table to say i will not. not under any circumstances said american troops to find i says. it can change or deteriorates and isis' becomes even more immediate threat you should at least consider that as an option. given the concerns of the

folks in the region, and we do not want to make that on this effort. we want them to take the lead but they need to know we will not back off the support and i think that is part of their concern with the conduct of iran and syria their confidence is low. >> you mentioned syria what is the national interest and how could you achieve that? >> we can see the address the syria has led to isis. soul is not necessarily done in a linear way. it is dynamic as world events upper and other people reacted then you have all whole new circumstance of what you read deal with

before. also the american people have an interest to prevent genocide around the world. to under 20,000 syrians have been killed by their own government after the president of united states said he would not let that happen. we need to understand that america's role as leader in the world also calls us to try to make sure that most of the subject of genocide is protected and we deal with those countries in the way to make it clear to others it is unacceptable so our interest is not only to contain and rollback prices by acting aggressively with syria that is opposed to the government and the isis activity, but also to send a

clear signal to the world that americans do not want to see this happening in the world. if you look at jordan, a serious situation hundreds of thousands of syrians poring over the jordanian border. they chose:significant iraqi refugees and over the course of time palestinian refugees. we have to be careful what happens to jordan. they are a great ally of this country and we cannot expect them to continue to take this hundreds of thousands of syrians pore over of their border to disable-- -- to destabilize the a jordanian regime then what happens to that? this is why we need a more

strategic approach to foreign policy. despite the fact the president has not kept his word he has been very tactical with no overarching strategy to head thank syria as genocidal press on that but today a lot talk about the iranian saddam on the israelis to like me the now let's go back to that. his foreign policy is like a pinball in a bad pinball machines it bounces all over the place because he does not understand apparently that when you shoot the pinball up into the machine it bounces off one of the bumpers it doesn't know where it is going sometimes it bounces back down at you were all the way back up the

president doesn't understand that that's what he has no strategy it is not a tactical one of strategy that he has all over the world so the national interest of syria is the region and the syrian and rest has led to an effective other countries in the region of the emboldening of isis and allies like jordan. >> moving to europe this is a question that has a lot of play in the u.s.. what is the thoughts of what is happening over there and the threat to us? >> the threat over there is ourselves we better not become priests every year headed in that direction.

given the present -- percentage of jet -- debt to gdp so greece should be a cautionary tale to get our house in order to deal with economic growth by helping to that economy is a bigger threat to be a threat to us but if the european union desirable greece to the deal a further downgrading of the european union and its economy would have an effect on the american economy so i think greece is the canary in the coal mine. to others of the european union so it is in the american interest to talk to the leaders to make sure that they just got the

greeks to agree to that has a greater sense of stability that is eric is a threat to west and we should take a good hard long look a what is happening in greece. we don't want to go down the road at the effect of the world economy. that is the significance of greece for the moment and something to pay close attention tarot -- to. >> 10 years ago remember the massive power outages in the northeast from the midwest through new england. how good use secure hour electric energy? >> the matter what you'd do it has to be between the private sector and

government because one of the ways is that so much of the economy is based upon the ability to provide constant and reliable power. there is a significant way to have fear inside our country. and immediately we thought terrorism when the lights went out. but the fact is the way to secure this is to have a strong stable partnership that administers that grid to make sure we continue to invest with research and development tuesday half a step ahead of those who try to shut us down. that is the big investment so that is a good question.

the investments that we need to make to national security are broader in like this if we don't reconfigure spending and how we do that we will leave ourselves to be added even higher tax nation that will have the inevitable drag on economic growth. or we will leave ourselves wide open to truly destabilize our country. has to be a partnership of private sector and that we invest to have money in the development of technology to keep us half a step ahead of those who try to injure us. that is a constant fight that will not end anytime soon. as the fibers because of more sophisticated. but is the investment of resources.

but it is to bring focus to the mission and. what will i do to protect the electric grid? you better pray i have no capacity. [laughter] i went to law school but what the president is doing is that kennedy had no idea how to get a man to the moon and back in 1960 but they were focused to a mission and those who did know did it. don't misinterpret. i cannot perfecta the grid by would inspire the people of the public and private sector to make sure we stay ahead. that is really what the president is able to do in

eight the understandable way to say to their elected representatives let's do that. that is what leadership is with those issues and dozens of others in the time. >> and he can restore diplomatic relations cuba has ben in the news had you feel about the president's actions? would you continue their relations? >> first of the president is dead wrong to do this not to negotiate but if cuba wants to be part of a civilized world then they need to be civilized. they are not. i will tell you it is personal to me. 40 years ago a new jersey state trooper was shot and killed in cold blood. she was arrested as a member of the black panther party

and a tried and convicted for murder and sent to jail the black panther party was she was transferred to another prison broker out issue escaped to cuba she is a fugitive for the last 40 years supported and paid by the cuban government. somehow held up as an example but she is a murderer and the top 10 most wanted domestic terrorist from this president's fbi. while she is on the list living in that country, this president takes a cue ball off the terrorist watch list. well that family of the murdered state trooper still sits at home warning their husband and father so american tourists can spend money to put it in the hands of the castro regime that supports this. with the president wants

them to be serious about being civilized then send her home. let have opened ownership of property by your people every american tourist site goes down the you give money to the castro regime the hotels, restaurants, they're all owned by a the castro regime. if you think he will do a great thing for those who are working down there remember they will be paid in cuban pesos. the difference will be kept by the castro regime. so i am for having real discussions with cuba to bring them back into the group of civilized nations but give us some indication that they will be civilized. the last piece is think about the fact all this goes

on with the cuban government that does not allow access to the internet for their people and has taken the position is now to what guantanamo back and they want reparations for the economic embargo. [laughter] this is the president's negotiating spot he gives to his church and then they ask for your pants. [laughter] and he has given that. it is outrageous to we could use the that coming? if you give formalization of relations without anything in return? they say we have a live one year. let's see what else we can get. i have any reason to continue to isolate cuba but has to stop isolating itself

with its contact progress president of the united states i would end it. you bet and i would send home the a fugitive is that they are harboring purpose of you want to be civilized country then participate the way they do for those who break the law and commit murder. [applause] >> president carter says he cannot think of one country had better relations today's man-made did when obama started we should amend that to say cuba. we do have better relations i cannot imagine that he will be proud of that legacy with their harboring murders of american law enforcement officers down there.

>> thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate you joining us on behalf of new hampshire manchester we appreciate you being here. [applause] >> well done. >> thanks for coming. enjoy your summer. go get them. [inaudible conversations]

>> thanks for coming. we love it. we love the way that you handle that with regards to spending. nice to meet you. >> great to see you. >> i babysat yesterday could not spend another day.

>> thank you very much for your executive action. >> you may debate difference for us in the way you got us the information. >> that is great to worked out very well. thank you. >> thank you governor. >> my brother was san hoboken and the supported you. >> nice to meet you. lots of luck.

>> it was so interesting. you convinced me. i was not convince before. >> thank you. [inaudible conversations] >> that is great. thanks for coming. >> good to see you again. >> great. good to see you again. thanks for coming. i appreciate that.

[inaudible conversations] thanks for coming. >> that is important. >> it just makes sense. >> very nice to meet you, governor. >> how are you? >> we're very happy to see you in the race. >> i am happy to be back. >> thanks for coming. >> we will keep bond. nice to see you. >> thanks for the question and the answer.

>>. >> that would be great. thanks. >> thanks for coming back. >> i appreciate your answers >> thank you very much. >> how are you? [laughter] governor i am not of the order of new hampshire but i want to shake your hand in support. >> of course, would you rather have the rebate?

>> but look at kansas city. >> bad is better. >> let's get that. >> thanks very much. [inaudible conversations]

ep in our negotiations. as mr. netanyahu says, this is a historic mistake. host: one issue i want to get to, that is an emotional >> host: en at the hair shirt one to get to before causes the motion that your

colleague as a motion to remove the speaker of the house. do you support this? >> guest: we will see how much goes down the road i told them we have talked about this since then and we will see how with plays out. this is like any family with internal conflicts i think we will handle this internally to see how it turns out. >> host: this sounds like it will be made public. >> guest: there will be a lot of talk about it. >> host: will you get a vote before you leave? what is the plan? >> guest: i and the stand he has not filed day yet i heard reports he has and has an or the rules committee will not let it come up so there is a lot of speculation. >> host: what do you waiting for to decide? >> guest: if it goes forward. >> host: day you agree? >> if netanyahu could do better on direction and things brought up. when things are run on power and money instead of principle.

though the will of the american people that sent disappear if you are chastised to vote your conscience from the people they represent then that is wrong because you are the voice of that segment of the population. this is what i sent you up there to reduce. >> host: have you voted for him in the past? >> guest: no. >> host: then why not support mark meadows? >> guest: i probably would >> host: what is your hesitancy to vote no? or what would make to say i will not vote for that? >> guest: if he files this i will go with it. >> host: what happens from there? >> we will play out the best we can. we will see what happens. >> >> credit you put any end to

this just to bring it up to call for a vote? >> listen, this is one member i have broad support. amongst my colleagues and this does not even deserve the attention. >> can be spoken with the congressmen? >> i have not want to welcome to our table, resident commissioner of puerto rico, pedro pierluisi. good morning, thank you for being here. guest: good morning, greta. host:

>> host: good morning. talk about the situation of $72 billion. why? >> that is the total debt that the public entities in p.r. have and the financial markets. . . assistance as the states do. part of it is mismanagement, bad decisions. in defense, some of the debt has to do with offering deficits of the central government that were financed. and we shouldn't do that. we should live within our means. but the first thing i should say is that this is not one that not one sovereign debt. puerto rico is an american territory. and, again, there are debts from , let's say, the puerto rican electric authority, one of the entities. any the central government of puerto rico that has >> it's another one. and you have the central

government bonds. our constitution protects those bonds. pretty much gives them first priority in terms of paying them. so that is themacro, the broad picture -- the macro, the broad picture. host: can puerto rico pay it jack of -- it? guest: yes. there are some authorities that are having difficulty in meeting their payment obligations. that entity has already a forbearance agreement with its major creditors dating back about a year. so that is an entity that definitely -- it needs to restructure its organizations -- operations, as well as its organization, to make it if it fills its obligations. host: you have introduced legislation to allow perjury go to file bankruptcy. there is this headline, though from yesterday -- congress won't grant puerto rico bankruptcy

protection. guest: the first thing i should say is what i'm asking for in my bill, and there is a counterpart bill in the senate, is that puerto rico begin in exactly the same treatment as the states get in terms of bankruptcy. we are not talking about the central government of puerto rico the current bankruptcy. that is not available to the states, so it would be available to puerto rico. but it could allow it if the bill is passed -- if the bill is passed, that the water and sewer authority could reorganize themselves before the bankruptcy court, the federal bankruptcy court. that is a mechanism that is available in the states, cities, utilities have used it. so to reorganize themselves in a proper legal, safe manner. and that is what i want for puerto rico. it makes sense to have it. and i hope that when the time comes, congress will approve the

bill. host: what does puerto rico not get that states get? he said the island does not have as many -- does not get as much federal assistance that the states get. guest: lots of areas. one that comes to mind immediately is health programs. for example, there are huge disparities in the way puerto rico is treated under the medicaid program. that is the program that is available to provide access to medical care to people citizens of the nation. in puerto rico, we get half of the funding, even less than we would get as a state. and that brings a lot of fiscal pressure to our local government. we have a health insurance card program in puerto rico and the federal government is basically paying less than half its cost and we are not covering people even up to 100% of poverty level. so it is a very different

environment to operate in. the medicare program -- this is really amazing -- and puerto rico, we don't pay federal income taxes under local income, but we pay payroll taxes. i mean social security and medicare, yet there are huge disparities in the way the program applies in puerto rico. it is the only place where for subpart b of medicare, the part of the coverage that deals with outpatient services, we don't get it automatically. hospitals in puerto rico do not get the same payment hospitals in the mail and get and they offer the same level of care -- in the mainland get and they offer the same level of care. the reimbursement rates that the entity administrating the medicare program pays in puerto rico are a lot lower than in the states. so that aspect, the health sector in puerto rico, there are other programs in which we do not get the same deal. people with disabilities in

puerto rico do not -- are not eligible to participate in that program. tax credits. the earned income tax credits in the states, which promotes people to go into the labor force basically incentivizes people to work, even though puerto rico has a very low labor participation rate, we don't get that it -- benefit. so i could go on and on. it is unfair. we are 3.5 million american citizens residing in puerto rico. why treat us differently? it is un-american. and i have not even talked about political rights we don't have also. so just simply giving us you quit treatment than federal programs make us -- makes sense. you moved to puerto rico tomorrow and you lose all kinds of rights. and you are an american citizen. you were not born in puerto rico, not that that makes a difference, and yet you would move tomorrow there and you are

not going to get the same treatment from your government the federal government. it frankly makes no sense. host: and you're right in the "having to post," -- "huffington post uncle -- guest: but of course because you are talking about quality of life, you are talking about resources that the government and puerto rico would have that right now we are using our own resources to provide decent care to american citizens living in puerto rico. why not the federal government? it is doing it us or in the nation. and that is why. i do believe that the permanent solution to the problems facing puerto rico is to treat the american citizens in puerto rico with equality. equal rights for the american citizens in puerto rico. host: is what you're asking for statehood? you are running for governor. guest: i am running for governor

and i'm advocating for statehood. actually, the people of puerto rico, we held a vote and statehood got more votes than any other status option. and the people rejected the current territorial status. what is democracy? democracy is basically the people treating their leaders, their elected officials, and the people deciding their political future. it is otherwise called self-determination. well, in puerto rico, we already spoke. and i have a bill pending before congress that basically provides for an up or down vote on statehood, the same vote that hawaii and alaska had before they begin states of the union. and then the admission process in a body for your -- in about a four year period. we have to make sure that in puerto rico have fiscal

responsibility, that we balance our budget, that we change our budgetary system so we make sure we are not overspending. and then at the same time, we want tools. tools to do with this excessive amount of debt that some entities have piled up in puerto rico. the same way that it happens in the states. here in the states when a city a county, or let's say a water and sewer authority gets into financial trouble, it reorganizes itself. the same happens in the private sector, chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. which is available in puerto rico. that is available when any corporation get in financial trouble. you be organize yourself. it is part of the american capital system and it should be available in puerto rico. host: we are talking with pedro pierluisi, the resident commissioner of puerto rico. first elected in 2008. let's get to calls. the fourth line is set aside for puerto ricans this morning

(202) 748-0003 for. good morning. caller: good morning. my question is, why is unemployment so high in puerto rico and why is so many people on disability and puerto rico? guest: great question. our economy has been lagging when you compare to the economy in the states. our income per capita is about one third of the state average. and the same' employment. we have always had 4% or 5% percentage points or higher unemployment than in the mainland. we are lagging. this data is that we have is not performing well anymore. it doesn't work as a platform for puerto rico's economic development. when you ask the people of puerto rico, american citizens what do they prefer? do they prefer joining the union or going our own way and then becoming a sovereign country and

in a session with the u.s.? the overwhelming majority will say they would rather join the union on an equal basis with their federal -- fellow american citizens. so a lot has to do with the fact that the status is not working anymore. the unemployment we have, the lack of good jobs we have is happening as a territory. and we should focus on that. host: this is some statistics put together on puerto rico and it says about unemployment that the single most telling statistic in puerto rico is that only 40% of the adult population versus 63% in the mainland is employed or looking for work paid employers declined to hire workers because the u.s. federal minimum wage is already high relative to the local average. and it says in a more binding constraint unemployment is that in puerto rico, -- local

regulations pertaining to overtime, paid vacation, and dismissal are costly and more onerous than on the mainland. guest: be disability rating puerto rico might be higher, but it is basically a reality. people, when they have disabilities, they seek assistance. and they do, in the case of puerto ricans, who are american citizens of puerto rico, they go to the social security office and they file claims to get assistance. but as i said before, any supplemental security income program does also not apply, so we are disadvantage. in terms of the 40% labor participating, in the mainland the average is 63%. there are all caps of reasons for this. again, good jobs, lack of good jobs and opportunities in puerto rico under the current status. that is the main reason. you also have the fact that you

do have a lot of population under the poverty level. and that brings incredible challenges. some of them are receiving assistance from the federal government -- nutritional assistance, it could be housing assistance, section a public housing. and to that extent, it could be that some of those programs do not incentivize work. i am the first when who says the solution cannot be that puerto rico then it not have the federal minimum wage. that is not the solution. in puerto rico, you what decent wages. you are people who get a job to basically make sure -- you want to make sure the salary they earn allows them to meet their basic necessities. puerto rico is part of the u.s. and the fact that we get the federal minimum wage is a positive. you want our labor force to be productive, to be well motivated, and to be able to

have a decent quality of life. so that is not the solution to reduce the minimum wage in puerto rico. the solution is to assist puerto rico and we can assist puerto rico, giving it better treatment and federal programs. and again, i will repeat, and treating american citizens are equally. allowing puerto rico to be a part of the state of the union. host: -- because the welfare system provides generous benefits in puerto rico that often exceeds what minimum wage employment heels. -- yields. caller: good morning. first of all, congratulations on your program. i would like to tell the commissioner that -- when he started talking, he said about the status of the welfare or the programs that puerto ricans don't get.

i think that is the wrong view. that is a lot of the problems for domingo has. the 40% unemployment is that it is not unemployment, it is because people get more money from welfare to go -- than to go out there and get a job. so we have to wait for the federal government to bail us out. we don't want that. jeb bush said yesterday that puerto rico has to solve its problems. before talking about changing the title of the island -- status of the island. host: ok, we will get a response. guest: nobody is talking about a bailout. nobody is asking for that. we simply want the same treatment as the states get. the federal programs you are referring to are federal. in the case of puerto rico, it makes no sense to reduce the

minimum wage because, if anything, then that is going to give them a bigger incentive not to work because if what they are going to be getting paid, a lot less than the value of the benefits they get if they are not working and they are having difficulty, you cannot blame them. then they wouldn't work. they would rather receive the assistance that they need to survive. so it is not right to say that we are advocating for more welfare benefits. that is not it. we are advocating for the same treatment, the equality. puerto rico is part of the u.s. people sometimes forget appear that we are american citizens. and so we should be treated with respect. now more than ever. now everybody wants a all over the world, why not for the american citizens living in puerto rico? host: we will hear from allie next in california. caller: hello?

host: good morning. you are on the air. caller: yes, i have just a few questions. the last 10 years, i was just wondering, how many military bases have been shut down there? that could cause a big, big problem with employment. and then, you also get a -- [indiscernible] and are you regulated by the same epa rules that we are here? and if not, can you get somebody to help build your industry? then you have to be careful with the minimum wage because that will go up and then everybody's rent will also go up. if you could just ask those questions. host: all right. guest: ok, about 12, 13 years ago, a major navy base was closed and shut down in puerto rico. it was located in ceba. that base was used because in

the echoes -- in vieques, the navy did military exercises shelter the island for decades. -- shelled the island for decades. so the navy got out. we do not have any other base except for to buchanan, which is for the -- fort buchanan, which is where the retired military service and so on. it is not an active military base as such. but our people, the american citizens of puerto rico, join the armed forces as much if not higher than most states. and we have been defending this country consistently in all world wars in the past century. wherever it is needed. and our veterans deserve equal

treatment. they don't get it in puerto rico. they cannot vote for the commander-in-chief. they do not have congressional representation. they cannot vote in both the house and the senate up here. they don't get the same benefits and puerto rico as they would get if they were living in the mainland. epa rules, and federal law in general applies in puerto rico. banking laws, environmental laws, and so on. we want that. we want that security. again, we are proud puerto ricans, but we are also proud american citizens. host: from largo, florida, a democrat. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: my question to you is, you say that you are an american.

you say that you are taking all the benefits that we give you. we have given you plenty of benefits, because i am a landlord. i rent a lot of homes to puerto ricans be a housing authority. my biggest question to you is, why don't you become a state? why the you take everything from the u.s., but yet you are not a state? therefore we should cut off everything that goes to puerto rico señor. whenguest: i like your attitude. that's what i'm all about. my quest in life is to change the status of puerto rico, make it the 51st state of the union. that makes sense and that is what i am fighting for. the bill that i have before congress called for an up or down vote on the admission of puerto rico to statehood. the same boat to hawaii and alaska had before they joined

the union. everybody for can vote for, everybody against can vote against it, make it very democratic. then congress of have to treat puerto rico on the same terms and conditions that they admitted other states. we are not asking for special treatment. we are asking for equal treatment for puerto rico. now remember one thing. you mentioned that we have all these benefits. we don't get all these benefits. in the u.s. lots of people do not pay federal income tax and get benefits from the federal government, the same should happen in puerto rico. again, we are american citizens. we should be treated fairly. host: in april, republican presidential front-runner jeb bush endorsed statehood for puerto rico. do you know where the votes are for your legislation in the house? have you done a with cap? -- with cap -- wip count?

guest: the bill already has 110 cosponsors. it has more cosponsors the 99% of the bills before the house, and it is bipartisan support. i have 13 or 14 republican sponsors joining me even know i am a proud democrat, as they believe that this is the right thing to do. have a vote, a democratic vote and then assuming the majority of the people want to join the union, then provide for the admission. this is a quest. it is not going to happen overnight. as i said, we held the play the site 12 and puerto rico. -- plebecite. 54% of people rejected the current status. at state have got more votes than all the current status. -- statehood got more votes.

if people are not satisfied with the territorial status we have, one change and statehood is the answer. host: exodus from puerto rico could sway the election. joseph in rio grande, puerto rico. republican. go ahead. caller: good morning. i'm calling just to say that i am a proud american citizens that defended our great nation for 20 years. i am also of proud -- a proud puerto ricans. i don't understand why and puerto rico we have 78 mayors for 3.5 million residents. why haven't political personnel made the adjustments needed to beat this crisis? guest: actually joseph, we do have 78 municipalities, but we

have no counties. we should not have counties in puerto rico given that we have so many municipalities. what we have to do at the municipality level, the city level, is to make sure that small cities use resources from bigger cities. that we do not have as much bureaucracy and each and every one of those musicality. that is something that we need to be looked -- to do looking forward. but the central government and the municipal government of puerto rico is too large for the size of our economy. we need to grow our economy grow our private sector, and make sure that our government does not grow. we have to use technology and make sure that we do not have as much bureaucracy as we have right now. but the answer would be to streamline the government of a lot of those municipalities you are referring to. it would not be, though, to start creating counties or other

government structures and puerto rico. that would be even more expensive and bureaucratic. host: let's get a has a, also -- also for -- jose, also from puerto rico. a republican. caller: thank you for your service. my question is, i have been hearing that the people of puerto rico have a lot of dependent on welfare or government assistance. but what it is is that we have a moral responsibility with our elderly people and our kids. i'm a service man, my folks, a servicemember from vietnam, i served in kuwait. we have a passion for our nation. we serve with pride. we have sometimes seen that we got treated like second-class citizens. not only that, i have been told sometimes that i'm from another

country. i tell them about my military service and they say, are you a mercenary? if i go put my life on the line it is because i love this country. i love the liberty and justice for all. not only i, all people do that. we are noble in the sense that we go -- we have deep roots of morality. i think that we have, over hundred 20 years -- 120 years, the flag of the united states. we want statehood. we can do it with the tourists. the tourism industry is

something that we have two due to level the field. host: jose, i am going to have our guest respond. but how are you watching us this morning? caller: my tv, yes. guest: we are proud puerto ricans. proud american citizens. you can call us puerto rican americans. nine out of 10 puerto rican americans are very proud of their american citizenship, and they don't want anybody to mess with it. at the same time, we have issues like the aging of the population. the same thing is happening and a lot of other places. we are losing population. you mentioned it greta, before. why are we losing population? is when you are an american citizen living in puerto rico and you cannot find a good job or you do not get the level of health care that you want, or you are not being treated fairly by your government, you can

quickly hop on a plane and moved to the states. go to florida. go to texas. go to connecticut. anywhere in the states. all of a sudden overnight you get rights and opportunities we don't have in puerto rico. that's why i say this makes the sense. jose mentioned that some people here sometimes confuse port -- puerto rico with costa rica our other countries and think we are a foreign country. it is an ongoing education process. puerto rico is part of the u.s.. we are american citizens. you cannot ignore us. we are part of this country, and when puerto rico prospers america prospers. when frost -- when puerto rico does well, america does well. we are in the midst of the caribbean were lots of things are happening. we should be a bridge between the u.s. and latin america central america. more so than we currently are.

let's have a common vision that make sure that we put puerto rico on the path to equality. on the past real progress. host: pedro pierluisi representing the territory of puerto rico. no other member of congress represent that many people. mary, an independent. caller: hi. i was just going to make a comment that right now you don't pay federal income tax, and as you point out you do receive benefits such as social security disability, food stamps, housing supplements medical assistance on some levels, for which you are putting in nothing. first of all, if you can't make it when you're not paying any federal income tax, how do you think you're going to be able to balance your budget when you start paying tax jacket?

second, we don't want to take on your debt if we can't pay our own. third, you actually have a unique situation where your bonds become more valuable in other states. no other state can do that. everyone else's triple tax in their own state. good question. -- guest: good question. you have a lot of people in the mainland getting federal government -- federal support and not pay any income tax. we do get social security. but we don't get the same deal as citizens in the state. with respect to exceptions for our bonds, that is an exception puerto rico was given. that's a question. it was given out of the same

federal tax rate and we got because we are not getting the same assistance in federal programs we would get as a state. that is why we need to change the model. change the platform. it is not working anymore. host: dennis in windermere, florida. a republican. caller: hi. i'm an american veterans. congressman, i have listened to a lot of your speeches on the house floor. also i have listened and also seen all of your writing. sir, i think you are a patriot. we american veterans salute you. this is also a case of equality for puerto rico. it is a problem, and action must be taken. but also, the federal government must do its part. i was also with governor jeb bush on monday.

i served on his transition team for american veterans. his position of puerto rico for 35 years, has been for statehood. he also wants the fiscal problems to be taken care of. one it does not take from the other. we can do both, because for a hundred 17 years puerto rico -- 117 years puerto rico has been oppressed. it is time that we have equal treatment. my question for you sir, with a lot of respect and a lot of admiration, what can you see the federal government doing for the debt restructuring? what is -- it is the duty of the federal government. what steps you think they can take. also supporting statehood, yes or no, for puerto rico? guest: you