i also want to welcome our c-span and public radio audiences and remind you you can also follow the action on twitter. use the hashtag npc live, that's npc live on twitter. well, to put it simply and directly, the u.s. navy faces an awful lot of challenges. there's the south china sea where the chinese have been building island bases. there's a growing russian naval presence in the mediterranean sea. there are isis and al-qaeda terrorists who are being bombed with the assistance of u.s. navy aircraft carriers. and, closer to home, there are always humanitarian missions, counterdrug efforts. the navy faces issues on cybersecurity, recruiting and retention of the forces, and, of

course, budgetary challenges. at the center of all this, is admiral john reich ardson -- richardson who, since september, has served in the capacity as the 31st chief of naval operations. he is a 1982 graduate of the u.s. naval academy and a career navy submarine officer. he served on several boats, and he commanded the uss honolulu. he served as commodore of submarine development squadron submarine group eight as commander of the submarine allied naval forces south, as commander of naval submarine forces and as director of naval reactors. admiral richardson will discuss the u.s. navy's role in this global maritime environment. he will lay out his strategic guidance to the fleet and how

the u.s. and its partners can maintain maritime superiority. ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm national press club welcome to admiral john richardson. [applause] >> well, thank you for that very kind introduction, mr. hughes, and i'd also like to just pay my respects to our distinguished members of the head table. senator warner, i know i'm in good company. we've all been schooled by you in so many ways, and i appreciate everything you've taught me. senator dalton, thank you so much. and, john, thank you for that kind introduction again and also for your tenure here as the president of the press club which comes to an end on friday after a year of distinguished service. so i think we all owe mr. hughes a round of applause here. [applause] and i'd like to thank everybody

for just having me here. it's a real honor and a privilege to be in these halls for the very first time. you know, it has been -- i took over as the chief of naval operations in september, as has been mentioned, and so we're past 100 days now, so certainly the honeymoon is over. but i will tell you that i still remember very vividly the moment that secretary of defense carter called me and said, hey, john, i just want to tell you that the president is going to nominate you to be the chief of naval operations. and i will tell you that my mind flashed back in an instant to my very first, you know, assignment, reporting aboard to my very first submarine in california in 1983. and i just remember, you know, there's ensign richardson reporting aboard his very first boat, and, you know, who could have thought at that time that

it would have led to this? who could have looked forward, you know, 33 years and thought that i would ever be getting this call to be nominated to be the chief of naval operations. and my commanding officer on that submarine who was just an absolutely fantastic guy, he certainly was surprised, right? [laughter] i mean, he, in fact, he's been calling me up surprised for every promotion i've had since lieutenant commander, right? [laughter] are you kidding me be, you know? and i found out today that this is captain pete graff who i am still in very close touch with, was a shipmate of secretary dalton on the blueback, right. and so, you know, it's just a commentary on what a small world we live in. but, you know, as i thought about back, and it's shaped my thinking going forward as the chief of naval operations, when

i entered the service a mere 33 years ago, we truly did at that time live in a different world, didn't we? i mean, it was different in so many ways. our enemy, the enemy at that time we were focused on was the soviet union, right? it was a bipolar world in so many respects. we loved e.t., the extraterrestrial, at that time, and we listened to michael jackson, you know, starting to really become the pop star that he was, and we listened to him on those cassette tapes in our walkmans. and, boy, i'll tell you, you know, when you were underway, you know, that thing was a cadillac. if you had a walkman, you were styling, right? because you could listen to your tapes, and, you know, not disturb everybody else, particularly on a submarine. the commercial internet did not even exist at that time, right? and, in fact, the inventor of facebook, mr. zuckerberg, had not even been born.

he was still a twinkle in his mother's eye, as they say, having been born in 1984. and so, you know, the world has changed in so many ways. one way that i like to talk about how things have changed, you know, maybe from a technological standpoint -- and it's timely, because we're sort of getting into playoff season and the super bowl. as a navy guy, as a submariner, how we enjoyed the super bowl. a lot of times we talk about, hey, how many christmases are you away, holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, you know? that's all true but, you know, everybody knows how many super bowls they were away for. [laughter] and, you know, my first super bowl in 12983 -- 1983, the entire game would go on, you know, i had no awareness of it at all. and at some point later on down, you know, after the game had finished, ld get a one-line message in the next sort of news broadcast, and it would just give you the score. and that score was, you know,

washington redskins 27, miami dolphins 17. and so it truly was a different era, wasn't it? [laughter] and so, so that's kind of, you know, my first super bowl underway in 1983. fast forward to another pivotal time in my career, was, you know, the early '90s, late '80s, early '90s. at that point the soviet union had collapsed, the wall had come down. and about that time i was xo on a submarine in 1994. and what we would do is we still couldn't get, you know, the live feed for the game. we just didn't -- but we had sega genesis, right? and we had madden nfl on sega genesis, and we would just get the two teams and put it in auto mode, and we would just watch the two teams on a big screen as much as we could. and i'll tell you, it was like it was real, right? there was no hint that there was any pretend, and people were

cheering for their teams, and people would make good plays. it had nothing to do with the game, but that was pretty real for us. and, you know, you would get all the whole smack talking and scuffles and everything else that would go on. so we watched the cowboys and the bills duke it out in complete simulated cyberspace. and then, you know, later on down we would get the score. you know, it was by the time i had command and to this day, if you're in the right place you can, you know, put an antenna above the water, you can now watch the super bowl play out in realtime. i mean, it is just like you're there in your living room. so, you know, just sort of one kind of vignette in terms of how things have changed over time. you know, and that world that we grew up in has changed so dramatically and not just from technology. you know, i would say -- i like sports analogies, and it's very timely. you know, we've got the game tonight. you know, not only have the teams changed on the field, but

i would say just like in the nfl, you know, the character of the entire game has changed. and that's the thing that captures my attention as i began my tenure as the chief of naval operations. and in particular, you know, the pace of things has become so accelerated from even a time in the early '80s that if we do not respond to those changes, if we do not recognize and anticipate to the changing character of the -- adapt to the changing character of the game, we are at risk of falling behind our competitors. now, i'd like to just sort of set the stage if i could a little bit, knowing that, you know, i'm fully mindful of the crowd that i am addressing. you know, national security professionals speak very plainly and often about the teams and the competition. and we will know them. and i will say a few words about them, russia, china, they've

already been mentioned, north korea, iran, isis. but there's much more to the story, as i said. the character of the game has changed, and i'm focused on three forces that for the navy are, you know, sort of defining our way forward. three forces that are causing our world to be more used, you know, more trafficked, more stressed, more important and, you know, perhaps most interest ingly, more competed than ever. and i'll lay out, you know, these three forces. one is the maritime system itself, which is becoming increasingly important and contested. the second one is this information system, a global information system. also, you know, just exponentially more used and contested. and then the third force is the introduction of technology, the

pace at which it is being introduced and adopted. and so, you know, when i was an ensign back in 1982 when i graduated and through my first tour, certainly the maritime system, the physical system of oceans and seas much looks -- it looked then like it does today, right? the oceans are still in the same place. there are still the same geographic chokepoints which define our sea lines of communication. there are, you know, there were the same resources that were available on the seabed, and, you know, there was plenty of shipping that transited on those sea lanes through those chokepoints. and today the physical part of that is about the same. nothing has dramatically changed, except that, you know, the use of this system has changed in spectacular ways. increasingly used. in 1992, sort of the middle point, the cold war had just

ended, as i said, soviet union had dissolved. since 1992 maritime traffic has increased by a factor of four. you know, leading up to today, okay? this far outpaces, by the way, the change in global gdp which is just, you know, shy of doubling. it's increased by about 80%. and so it gives you a sense of how much this maritime system is being used, how accessible it is. and it's becoming more accessible, right? for a number of reasons. we are seeing new trade routes open as the arctic, climate change affects the arctic. this past september, for instance, the extent of the sea ice in the arctic was 30, almost 30% less than the average over most of my career, over those 33 years, okay? and it was the fourth lowest it has ever been since we started keeping those records.

today the maritime route north of europe, north of russia is open to water about two weeks a year. and by 2025 climatologists predict it's going to be open three times as much, six weeks a year. so you know that is going to be exploited. this is going to be something to which we must pay attention. that route shapes the transit from northern europe to asia in half. so this is going to be something of great interest to commercial partners throughout the world. and it's not just accessibility due to climate change, right? technology is also making previously unreachable parts of the ocean floor now accessible. so for undersea resources like minerals, oil and gas, these deepwater oil production, for

instance, oil and gas production is expected to grow by 50% in the next 15 years as technology just makes it more and more easy to access those resources. you know, as those resources present an alternative to land-based resources and the technology matures, the idea of offshore exploration becomes more and more feasible. and it's not just the natural resources, right? as we go into that part of the world, as we explore the ocean floor, then there is a result in infrastructure on the seabed that arises. and so you can think of, you know, the piping and the structures that are going to be necessary to get at those oil and gas mineral resources. and then there is a growing network of undersea cables that connect us, you know, from continent to continent.

part of this oceanic internet. this is the information system. and it's a nice way to sort of transition or segway into talking about the next system which is this global information system. before i leave that, you know, there is, as i said, there is infrastructure to this system. when we log on to your computer, it's all there, you know? at your fingertips. but the truth of the matter is that there is an infrastructure to this. there are chokepoints, there are nodes even in this global information system which must be acknowledged because they can be exploited. and on those undersea cables roads 99% of the -- rides 99% of the transoceanic internet traffic. and so something that we've got to pay very close attention to. so this information system now is comprised, you know, not of the technology and the hardware so much as the data and the

information that rides on all those servers, undersea cables, sat heats and -- satellites and the wireless networks that increasingly envelope and connect the globe. and it is pervasive, and it is changing fast. all right? according to ibm, 2.5 quinn -- quintillion bites of data occur every day, and 90% in the world today was created in the last two years. so you get a sense of the acceleration. you can almost sort of, you can feel yourself, you know, being thrown back in your seat when you hear data like that. and the cost of entry is getting lower and lower and lower. back in the early '90s again when i was a lieutenant commander, just finishing my tour as executive officer, in

that year, 1995, a gigabyte of memory cost $625, all right? and if you wanted to buy a hard drive, that was about as big as you could buy at that time. okay? now in 2014, let's say, a gigabyte of data costs five cents, and you can get a hard drive that's six terabytes, you can just buy them on amazon off the internet. the cell phones, as you all know, carry a tremendous amount more computing power than the entire system that landed on the moon in 1939. and the link -- 1969. and the links between the different nodes on this system have multiplied as well. the first server came online in 1993. you can see what a rich time that was, when the wall came down, right? so much of this had its origins at that time. and in just a first quarter of last year, 2.7 million servers were shipped worldwide.

satellites now envelope the globe. there are more than 1300 satellites in orbit today monitoring everything fromwet, communications -- from weather, communications, sensors, space exploration, really kind of, you know, covering the globe. but if you look at a picture of, you know, the satellites as they orbit the earth, again there, you know, it is not homogeneous. there is structure, there is form there. and, again, just like the cables, just like the physical system of the season oceans, you know, that structure provides opportunities and vulnerabilities. the third force that i think is very important for us to consider is technology itself, the introduction and the rate at which technology is being introduced and the rate, even more importantly, at which it is being adopted. and this goes far beyond moore's law in information technologies.

things are changing stunningly fast in that domain, for sure. but as you all know, i'm also talking about rapid advances in material science, in robotics, in genetic science, in artificial intelligence. it is coming at us faster and faster. and they are being adopted by society just as fast. so when the original telephone was introduced, this was alexander graham bell's telephone, it took 46 years before 25% of americans had a telephone. okay? for the smartphone, that was seven years. and for facebook, within three years 25% of america was on facebook. and so not only are these tools coming at us faster and faster, but it seems, you know, the usability and the rate at which they're being adopted is also accelerating as well. so you get more people in the game using those tools faster

and faster. so those are the three forces that have captured my attention. certainly, the physical maritime system. no surprise there, i think, to anyone who's, you know, in the navy, right? be a navy guy talking about the seasoned ocean should not be surprised. this information system, certainly not exclusive to the navy, changes everything that we do. i'm speaking, you know, i'm preaching to the converted here in the national press club. but it does change things for us as well. and then this increasing rate of technological creation and adoption. these forces, i think, are fundamentally important to being effective as a navy and, as i said, i think change the character of the competition. all right? but as i mentioned, the teams have changed as well, right? back in 1982, '83 we were at the height of the cold war, the

chips were down, and it was that bipolar world, right? how easy -- i mean, how easy is that, right? to appreciate. today i really, it's much more multipolar, as you know. and i think of our challenges, our competitors really in terms of three groups. in one group you have russia and china, in another group you have competitors, threats just like iran and north korea, and then there is this pervasive threat of international terrorism. for the first time in what i would say is roughly 25 years, the united states is back to an era of great power competition. when i was deployed in 1983 in support of the soviet union, it was a different world. but when the soviet union dissolved, cold war ended, we really entered a period where we

were not very, you know, we were not challenged at sea, okay? not in a very meaningful way. that era is over. today both russia and china have advanced their military capabilities to be able to act as global powers again. their goals are backed by a growing arsenal of high-end war-fighting capability, many of which are exploiting those three forces that i mentioned and are focused specifically on our vulnerabilities. and so this is a competition where every competitor, every team is learning and adapting. and they are increasingly designed from the ground up to exploit the advantages, the opportunities of those three systems, of the maritime system, the information system, and for incorporating new technology. they continue to develop and

field information-enabled weapons, both kinetic and nonkinetic that result in increasing range, increasing precision, increasing effect and potentially

>> and while the recent internatiol agreement with iran is certainly intended to curb its nuclear ambition, tehran's advanced misis ills -- missiles, proxy forces and other conventional capabilities continue to pose threats to which the navy must remain prepared to respond. and then finally, there is the

international terrorist groups, and they have proven to be adaptive and resilient and pose a long-term threat to stability and security around the world. so the competition has sped up. it is moving faster. i will tell you the thing i'm trying to communicate to my team is that we must respond, we must speed up. the margins of victory in this environment are razor thinker but they are -- thin, but they are absolutely decisive. so we have to turn to our task and fight for advantages with a sense of urgency, because this is truly a game of inches. all of these actors that i described seek to exploit all three forces that i mentioned; speed, precision and reach that the maritime and information systems now enable, bolstered by new technologies, to counter any u.s. advantages, to threaten the rules and norms that have really been the basis of prosperity for

everybody who, you know, would want to engage for the last 70 years. and these forces don't, they're not independent variables, right? they interact and combine to create a maritime environment, as i said, that is increasingly used, increasingly stressed, increasingly important to us as a nation and, as i said, increasingly contested. and then, as mr. hughes mentioned, there is a fourth force, if you will, out there. for the foreseeable future, our resource environment will be challenging, all right? we are not going to be able to buy our way out of this challenge. and, you know, if you're a student of history, you know that the reality is we never have been able to, right? we have always been working with finite resources. so what is the role of the navy in this changing world? well, i think as always our mission remains, by and large,

the same. it's to keep the homeland safe, to protect american interests around the world, to protect our prosperity, that trade on which our prosperity is founded and which so much, 90% of goods still travel over the sea. it's to guarantee and insure our strategic influence around the world through our presence, through our high-end competition and, if necessary, through conflict. but we are going to have to answer the strategic challenges and posture ourselves to effectively compete. so if you think about those four forces that i mentioned, we have laid out, i have laid out a four-vector response, okay? in response to the growing importance of the maritime domain, we are going to challenge ourselves and focus back on high-end operations in

blue water, and we will focus on addressing those challenges just below the threshold of conflict, that gray war or, you know, that's been referred to in many ways. in response to the growing importance of the information system, we will double down on becoming an informationallized force, a mainstreaming -- and mainstreaming information warfare into our navy. in response to the growing rate and adoption of technology, we will adopt as well faster looking for ways to speed up our acquisition approaches and develop and field technology more quickly. and then in response to the fact that resources are going to be what they are, finite, we are challenging ourself to look at combining existing things in new and creative ways to develop

capability that was hereto unforeseen such that the system delivers something that is more than just the sum of the parts. now, one aspect of this that's, you know, a main theme through my guidance is that when things happen at this speed, you've got to fully exploit your advantages to fully capture the fleeting opportunities that will be presented. we've got to operate in a roughly decentralized manner, right? and to do that, you know, we've all got to understand what the commander's intent is. and so we spend a fair amount of time putting this design for maritime, maintaining maritime superiority -- this document here -- together. and by virtue of that collaboration, that inclusive approach, in the end we build

the familiarity and, more important, the trust and the confidence that's based on a clear understanding of that guidance amongst peers and up and down the chain of command. we understand through detailed engagements, through detailed conversations, you know, how much risk can be tolerated. and, in fact, you know, the discussions of the design, the most fruitful part of that has been bringing together navy leadership and putting this together as a team. and it's not all about understanding the design too, right? i mean, one of the things that is fundamental to us having trust and confidence in one another is that we are a profession that is bound together by core values; honor, courage and commitment. and so there is a fair amount of discussion in this design to enhance our professional identity. i list four core attributes

that, if we abide by these attributes -- integrity, accountability, initiative and toughness -- then our behaviors should align with our values, and we are a force of integrity across the board. and then, you know, with those four core attributes guiding our decisions, guiding our behaviors, we've laid out our plan along four lines of effort. first, as i said, we're going to strengthen our naval power at and from the sea. keyword there is at the sea, right? we've been from the sea for some time, now we've got to sharpen our skills for operations and conflict at sea. we must modernize, first and foremost, the undersea leg of our strategic deterrent. if i go back to the sports analogy, if we don't do that, we are not even in the league. all right? we are not a great power. and so we must get that right. but we also need to urgently respond to coercion that falls short of traditional conflict,

and we need to get back in the fight in blue water, and we need to find ways to fully exploit the capabilities of the information system. and we will. and we'll do this, learning as we go, through a program of war games, exercises and fleet experiments. second line of effort is focused on our people, right? everything we do comes by, with and through our people. this is the most important thing that we must focus on. so hiring, training and retaining a creative, professional team, one team of sailors, navy civilians and their families is going to be absolutely key to our successful you know, if you think about it, that technology is the brain child of very smart and clever people. and it is built in exquisite manufacturing plants that are also designed and run by people. and then we turn those tools

over to our fleet, and they are operated to their fullest potential by people. and so we're working to to make navy careers more attractive to attract -- to the most talented people that we can find. and i've just got to pause here and tell you that it is a stunning privilege to be able to go out and see our navy. i just, you know, one of the first things i did was get into -- take a trip around the world. and we visited the navy in the seventh fleet and fifth fleet in the central command -- seventh fleet is in asia, as you know, and then the sixth fleet inç te mediterranean. and everywhere i stopped the talent, the focus, the enthusiasm of our navy team blows me away. and, you know, these are people -- and, you know, admiral carter here inducts about a thousand of those young people into the naval academy every

year. they're so, they could write their check and go anywhere they want. and yet even after a decade or more than a decade of conflict, this team raises their right hand and takes an oath to support and defend our constitution, and they know what that means. right? and so i have tremendous respect for them. and we need to make our navy as adaptable and attractive to that team as possible. third, we're going to expand and strengthen our network of partners. you know, we have never fought alone as a navy, and we're -- going forward i don't see that being the case either. the united states navy, as focused as i am on that, i realize it is just a node in many networks. and so we are going to become, enhance our participation as a member of the joint force, as a member of the government, the interagency process. and if you think about expanding that out to industry and

academia, and then certainly overseas to our allies and partners, all of those people play a role in our success, and we need to be focused on being better partners to all of those different teams. and finally, underpinning all these efforts, we're going to tune our processes to learn faster. we're going to focus on that, this learning process. we're going to become smarter and accelerate learning as individuals, and there's plenty of, you know, research and technology that's come into the system that is focused on learning faster as the goal of that effort. and also, you know, the system and the technology, the simulators, those sorts of things are becoming high enough fidelity that we can even bring teams and expand that out so that we are able to simulate so much more. i'm kind of a science fiction geek a little bit, and for those

of you who share that vulnerability, you know, if you've read ender's game, it's sort of where i'm going, right? even if you saw the movie. you can't tell the difference between reality and simulation. we're getting there in many, many ways, and i think that there's an awful lot of gains there. so, and we're going to be mindful that we do need to learn which means that we've got to admit up front that we don't have it all right, right? that there is actually something to learn. and is so as we move forward, we're going to insure that we have assessed, self-assessment baked in. are we having the impact on the environment that we set out to have? tremendously complex environment. we're not going to get it all right, but we can't sit and study it forever, right? this is not an academic institution. we've got to act and influence that environment. but we're going to be mindful that it may not turn out the way we thought, and we'll assess and adjust as we go.

and in the end, my hope is that we'll have a naval force that develops leaders and teams, that learn and adapt faster than any adversary and that achieves the maximum potential that the system will allow. they maintain -- achieve and maintain high performance standards to make them ready for decisive operations and combat. it's a strong commitment. it will require a lot of hard work on the part of many people, but our navy is on the right track. i'm looking forward to the privilege of leading it for the next four years. i thank you all for coming today and hearing me, and i look forward to answering your questions. thanks very much. [applause] >> thank you, admiral. several questions about the south china sea. do you believe the navy should be doing more routine passages by the chinese-built islands?

if not now, when? and what steps are you taking to insure that those patrols stay peaceful? >> well, certainly this is an important part of what we do as a navy. and while the south china sea has everybody's attention right now, it should be understood in context that these types of operations -- freedom of navigation operations -- have been the business of the navy fo a long time and have occurred fairly routinely throughout the world. and so, you know, there is a internationally recognized system of rules and norms, and we abide and operate in accordance with those rules and norms. and if there are challenges to those rules and norms, then we will do these freedom of navigation operations to make sure that, you know, we respond to that challenge and behave accordingly, right? and so, you know, with respect to the south china sea it is no different than anywhere else.

and so we need to establish a presence down there that enforces and reinforces the importance of those international norms, that, you know, kind of challenges any sort of claims to those normings. and so as you've heard from, you know, the president and the secretary of defense, we'll continue to fly and operate wherever those international rules permit as we continue to advocate for that rule system which, again, has been the basis for prosperity particularly for those nations around the south china sea in that, you know, part of the world. and so, you know, i look forward to working with our partners in the government to be as, you know, forward leaning in that area as we can. so, you know, i look -- again, we want to make sure that what is understood as normal in that part of the world includes abiding and advocating for those

international rules and norms. >> has china's introduction of the dong feng21 hypersonic missile been a setback u and has it, in fact, rendered our aircraft carriers obsolete? >> no. [laughter] [applause] i actually -- it's tempting to just leave it at that. but, and that is the answer. but, you know, a sophisticated analysis and understanding of that would, you know, i'm 100% confident because i've seen it, will give everybody confidence that, you know, the aircraft carrier, the surface fleet is as relevant and important today as it ever has been. and so is it causing us to think about, you know, employment

options, you know, force offerings, fleet design, you know, we are going to have to adapt to that threat. but it really is not a matter of whether we employ surface forces and carriers, but how we will employ surface forces and carriers. and so that, you know, that's just a little bit more than just my simple one-word answer. [laughter] but there's a great future there. >> how about north korea? are you planning any additional steps to monitor the situation there? any thought of sending an aircraft carrier into that region? >> well, you know, certainly there's always that question about what sort of operational response are you going to take. and as you all have heard, i am, you know, not going to talk about specific operations, specific responses. but as i said in my remarks, you know, that type of provocative action just continues to destabilize. and so we'll work with our

allies and partners, the republic of korea and japan, you know, sort of very important partners in that region to continue to monitor and respond appropriately to that, you know, persistent, unpredictable situation. >> what's the greatest challenge to the effectiveness of the air campaign against isis? >> you know, it's really, as always, how do you connect the information. i mean, the kinetic part is actually not the very challenging part. it's how do you get the situational awareness to know where the meaningful targets are so that we can do this as precisely as possible, having the greatest effect on, you know, eliminating this enemy, destroying this enemy and then leaving, you know, the rest as

intact as possible. and so it's always a matter of the information that leads us to those types of digs. thank you. those types of decisions. >> several questions about russia. russia is a growing naval presence in the mediterranean, and through overflights how can you and the navy help be prepared in this area? another person asks, will there be additional navy deployments to europe, black sea, mediterranean? on what timetable? [laughter] >> another great one. [laughter] you know, this is sort of as the russians themselves have said, they're operating at a tempo that has not been seen since the mid '90s. they're operating in different places, you know, the eastern med train mediterranean. during that trip that i took, you know, the last stop was in italy, and there was a regional sea power symposium there. of the eastern mediterranean and black sea nations, the heads of

navy -- and they were very focused on, you know, that rising challenge, the russian maritime challenge. they just put out, the russians just put out a maritime strategy which is very forward-leaning. and so, of course, you know, we must, i think, respond to that. to not do so would just be negligent. the details, of course, remain to be seen, and you'll see those unfold. and then there is this sort of persistent activity under sea which has been, you know, a signal that has not gone away as much as many would think. it's been kind of steady business for the russians in the under sea domain, and we're mindful of that as well. >> there's been tension between the navy and overall dod over ship purchasing, and this questioner notes that secretary carter has directed cuts to the

literal ship combat program. does secretary carter's order to buy fewer ships in favor of jets and munitions hold watersome. [laughter] >> well, it happened, right? i mean, it was a matter of time, i think, before that question. first of all, the specifics of that are still to be determined, right? so that budget has not been locked down yet, and so it's premature to comment on the exact shape of that going forward. and so, but what it gives rise to is, you know, there's been a lot of questions about, okay, is it going to be capacity, or is it going to be capability, right? what are you folks focused on? or is it going to be present or is it going to be posture, you know? and particularly for naval forces, i think a more sophisticated appreciation would say that, you know, i'm responsible for delivering the nation, and i think the nation rightly holds me accountable

that achieves a balance of all of the above. and so these are not either/or decisions, these are sort of both/and decisions. we'll always strive to balance, you know, within our available resources to deliver the navy that the nation expects. to execute our mission to protect america, protect our influence around the world, protect our sea lanes and our prosperity. and so that's the real art of it, is to sort of, i think, try not to get drawn down into these either/or decisions. there's real traps associated with that. and to try and achieve the best balance. thanks. >> this questioner wonders how the navy is doing in recruiting and retention, especially in high technology and high demand assignments such as seals, cbs and cyber warriors. and what about women? this questioner points to comments by general john kelly and raises the question of

whether the navy will be able to recruit enough women for some combat jobs. >> well, i think with respect to bringing the talent in to the united states navy, the goal particularly lately has always been that we want the very best talent that we can get our hands on. and, you know, for those of you -- i met a number of people in industry today. you know how competitive that environment is, right? i mean, it is just intensely competitive. particularly for those high-end, talented people, men and women. and, you know, to artificially sort of restrict ourselves in that area through, you know, we're going to exclude women or some population, you know, part of that population, is to deny us access to that talent and not to be the greatest navy that we can possibly be, okay?

and so that's sort of my overall approach and my overall thoughts in that regard. as i said, i am very optimistic. given the signs that i have seen, that we will continue to attract and train some of the very best talent that the nation has, men and women. and we've been making great progress in that regard. you know, after we're done here, talk to admiral carter about the journey he's been on to bring women into the naval academy. it is a good news story. then it's a matter of once they're in, you know, do our behaviors -- they're attracted to our team, i think, by virtue of our values. they're attracted to our team because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. and so once in, we've got to insure that we have the

integrity such that our behaviors align to our values. if there's disconnect there, if there's a mismatch, that's going to be detected instantly. and the smartest will leave first, right? because they don't want to work in an organization where there's a say/do mismatch or a climate of cynicism. and so we've got to work very hard. that's why those core attributes, i spent a fair amount of time talking about those and the design, because it's absolutely critical to keeping that talent on board. that's what attracted them, i'm convinced. and is so we've got to follow through with that. >> one questioner wants more details on your plan to implement faster learning. how will you to that? and this questioner says, i don't quite understand what problem you are trying to solve. can you lay out some specific examples of times the navy hasn't learned fast enough and

why you think the navy isn't learning fast enough now? >> okay. it's been only a few months, and so we're -- and we're just getting started. but in terms of being agile, let's just talk about that. with respect to the, you know, how we're going to get after learning, i think i mentioned that in my remarks. there's tremendous amount of science that's been done recently about, you know, how the brain works, how do people learn. not everybody learns the same, you know? and we have the technology now to really tune a learning environment to the most receptive channels, if you will, of each of us at an individual level. and so i look forward to exploring, you know, that science, bringing it into the navy. we have in many ways an industrial learning -- training process that hasn't changed fundamentally since well before i, you know, we sort of pegged this in 1982 when i entered the navy. this system goes back much

further. and so we're actually piloting a program right now that is looking to explore how we bring shipyard workers in and make them effective workers in the shipyard. so you've got this cadre of people. and actually, as some of you know, we've been hiring like crazy to increase the capacity at our shipyards. and then, you know, so you're bringing people mt. door at a great rate -- in the door at a great rate and great commitment by the nation, and you run into a training program that, you know, really hasn't adapted, you know, for decades. and so there's this, you know, how long does it take to bring that new person in through the door, get them processed and then make them an effective worker down on the shop floor, in the dry dock, whatever their job may be. and so we've got, you know, a pilot -- a program now using some people who are very attuned to high velocity learning to go

down and check out those processes to make sure that we are getting people into the productive work force as fast as possible. so that's just sort of one example. i'll tell you another kind of mundane example, but it hints at, you know, the potential. when i arrived in my job here, first of all, i got that confess it took me about three days to actually get to the back side of my desk, right? that's where the cno sits, and it's going to take me a little while just to get used to the fact, you know, the respect for the office that i had. but what i would get every morning was a, you know, my tailly read, my daily intelligence brief, my daily operations brief, that sort of thing. a number of different products. and they were all delivered in a binder that was about, you know, probably two to two and a half inches thick and many, many, many pages. so i said, you know, how about if we throw all this on a tablet, right? just give me an ipad or a tablet computer in the morning,

and i'll page through all of that. and, you know, the initial be response was -- the initial response was you're the new guy here, let yes must explain to you how -- let me just explain to you how this works and what's possible and what's just insane. [laughter] so we went through that phase, and i currently have a tablet -- [laughter] and, you know, it has all of that sort of functionality and capability that a tablet has. and so now i don't have to -- if i want to explore more deeply a particular development during the day, i want to look at a particular ship class or a person or whatever more deeply, it's all right there. just sort of -- you know, you know how it works, right? just touch, touch, touch, touch, touch, and i'm reading somebody's bio or the specifications for that particular ship. and so it's all there. the classification, we've come through those issues, and so we've got it all down, right? and i wasn't the only one

getting that binder, right? most of my direct reports were getting that binder as well, so there was this library of 25 binders that would go around on this big cart every morning, and then they'd be collected dutifully at the end of the day and go back into the machine. so by virtue of that small earth -- and this is just a tiny effort -- first of all, the most important thing to me was to respect the intellect and time and talent of the person who had to put that binder together, right? so you can only imagine the agony each night for throwing that thing together; the printing, the punching the holes, oh, it's jammed, you know? the whole deal. and then so that's now you plug in, you download it, and it's done, okay? just vast amounts of time returned to that work force. and we're saving -- it's already paid for itself, by the way. we save $5,000 a month in paper and toner and, you know, all that sort of stuff, con soup

assumables -- consumables, that were going into that. tiny, tiny example. i don't mean to say that this is the revolution. but, you know, it's nice to kind of dive into the 2000s here and bring this capability onboard. you know, my compadre in so many things is the master chief presidentty officer of the navy be -- petty officer of the navy, mike stevens. he's doing the same thing at boot camp. so we did a pilot program where instead of this gigantic library of books, you know, training manuals, rating manuals, etc., we put it all on a tablet, okay? and we're finding that, you know, those young recruits are learning so much faster by virtue of doing that. not only because that's kind of the way they've come to absorb information, but also because they can carry that thing everywhere, right? and so you can't carry library of books to chow, but you can carry your tablet.

and there you are kind of eating and read, and it's, you know, these folks are focused on doing the best job they can, and this tablet allows them to do that. so, you know, we've kind of decided we have a pincher strategy, hammer and anvil strategy here, where he's going to kind of populate our recruits and, you know, junior sailors with these tablets, i'm going to come in over the top, getting the top-down focus. and over time we'll get this throughout the navy. and i think that, you know, that's just one example of how we can leap forward. >> before i ask the final question, admiral, i would like to present you with the national press club mug, highly valued, precious gift. [laughter] and for the purposes of today -- >> we do have to leave the last couple of minutes of this. you can find it online, c-span.org, as we take you live to the u.s. senate. today lawmakers will debate the nomination of a federal appeals court judge in philadelphia. a confirmation vote scheduled

for 5:30 eastern time. . the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty and everlasting god, the creator of new beginnings, thank you for your constant love and for the opportunity to learn from each other. as we turn to a new chapter in our labors, illuminate the path of our lawmakers with your holy light. may your

sacred word provide them with a lamp and light in this world's darkness, keeping them from the detours that lead to ruin. give them a humility that seeks first to understand instead of striving to be understood. lord, guide us all with your powerful hand until the kingdoms of this world acknowledge your sovereignty and might. we pray in your holy name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to

the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a president's veto message on s.j. res. 23 which the clerk will read and which will be spread in full upon the journal. the clerk: veto message to accompany senate joint resolution 23 providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5 of the united states code of a rule

submitted by the environmental protection agency relating to standards of performance for greenhouse gas emissions and so forth. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the veto message on s.j. res. 23 be considered as having been read, that it be printed in the record and spread in full upon the journal and held at the desk. the presiding officer: without objection. the chair lays before the senate the president's veto message on s.j. res. 24 which the clerk will read and which will be spread in full on the journal. the clerk: veto message to accompany senate joint resolution 24 providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 title 5 of the united states code of a rule submitted by the environmental protection agency relating to carbon pollution emission guidelines and so forth. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the veto message on s.j. res. 24 be considered as having been read, that it be printed in the record and spread in full upon the journal and held at the desk. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 2434, a bill to provide that any executive action that infringes on the powers and duties of congress under section 8 of article 1 of the constitution of the united states or on the second amendment to the constitution of the united states has no force or effect and to prohibit the use of funds for certain purposes. the presiding mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 i would object to further proceedings. the presiding officer: objection having been heard the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i'd like to welcome back to a new year and a this new senate that's back to work for the american people. it was clear we had a successful 2015. committees began functioning

again. senators began having more of a say again. we got important things accomplished for the american people. we're looking to build upon this progress in 2016. there is of course much to be done, but i'm optimistic what can be achieved with a bipartisan dedication to moving back ting regular order -- moving back to regular order not just this year but in the years to come. the scale of what any congress will be able to accomplish in a given year often depends upon the willingness of the president to cooperate and engage in good faith. when president obama comes to address congress tomorrow he'll have an important opportunity to demonstrate that to the american people. the question is will he rise to the moment. based on what the white house has been saying in the media, it's unlikely we'll hear a unifying message for o country tomorrow. that's really unfortunate. i think the american people can expect to hear a positive message from governor haley.

many are looking forward to hearing what she has to say. i'll have much more to say on all of that tomorrow. for now, let me again welcome all of our colleagues back. i think they'll join me in remembering former senator dale bumpers, who passed away over the holidays. some called dale bumpers an improbable senator. others have remarked on his humor and wit. but what's clear about this former senate colleague is that he was larger than life in many ways. i'm sure his name will continue to be remembered by arkansans for many years to come. the senate sends its condolences to the family and friends senator bumpers leaves behind.

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. reid: while the chaplain is in the building, i want to say a brief word. i have the good fortune to have for many, many years to come to the floor every day and listen to a prayer offered in sincerity by our chaplain. for the crowds that watch us on tv, they think that's all he is is -- he does every day is walk in here and give a prayer. the fact is i received information of the things he has done this past year.

he represented the senate in 27 out-of-town speaking engagements. those speaking engagements are tremendous. he's been in nevada on a number of occasions and he's a tremendous presenter of what he does and what's good for the country. he delivered the invocation and benediction in 17 different senate ceremonies, spoke at 10 different senate functions, visited with 20 different school groups that came to visit the capitol, delivered the invocation of 12 local events, hosted 11 guest chaplains, hosted 3 jewish programs, administered premarital and marriage enrichment counseling, mentored 27 staffers in a spiritual mentoring program. he facilitated the wednesday morning weekly prayer breakfast, hosted two men's prayer breakfast for senate staff

featuring michael fransus as guest speakers. hosted a program at easter and a holiday open house for the senate community, prayed for the senate from the senate floor, offered the convening of most senate sessions, taught 44 bible studies for approximately 150 senate staff, taught 44 bible studies for approximately 15 staff in the postal square building. he taught 40 bible studies for the senators in senator inhofe's capitol office. he taught 44 bible studies for 15 chief of staffs. he engaged in hospital visitations on frequent occasions, and gave weekly updates about the sick and injured at the senate breakfast. delivered a eulogy for former senator brook at the national cathedral, administered to senate office staff members

during times of grief, spoke to senate staff during staff meetings. and this is not all. he also, in his -- in relation to acting activities -- to his activities and duties he hosted a ladies small group bible study every monday consisting of senate staff. he had a small group of men consisting of other senate staff from bible study every week. mr. president, everyone should know that he does more than give his prayer opening the senate every day. in fact, if that's all he did, it would be well worth the functions of the senate chaplain, but he does much more, and i congratulate him and express appreciation in the entire senate of the good work and good representation this fine man does representing our country. remember, he's a retired admiral of the united states navy. mr. president, on another

subject, i had the good fortune to attend yesterday the funeral of dale bumpers in little rock, arkansas. the ceremony lasted almost two hours, and it was a stunningly spiritual, humorous and historical occasion. dale bumpers performed on that desk back there by the exit of this building door. an extra long extension cord like i have -- he had an extra long one, and he would traipse around back there, walking back and forth speaking only as he could do. it is what we do here in the senate. everyone, based on seniority moves forward. he served here a quarter of a century but never wanted to

leave that space back there because that was his place to inform the public about how he felt about different issues. coming from the presiding officer's state, he is, was a man who didn't fit a mold necessarily of what a lot of people expected of a senator, but he was a, really a giant killer politically. he defeated orville farvus, a nationally famous man. he beat him. four years later he beats william fulbright, long time member of the united states senate, one of the most prominent, famous members of the united states senate. then he started 24 years of service here in the senate. i had great admiration for dale bumpers. the speeches given, the eulogy

given yesterday were remarkable. his son, brent, spoke for just a short period of time. former senator david pryor spoke and talked about the things they did together, the work they did on behalf of arkansas. they're doing a little, at the pryor center, they're doing a recorded history of how people feel about senator bumpers. and i had the ability to give my view. and i said did not know of a senate delegation with more power than what bumpers and pryor had for the state of arkansas during my more than three decades of service here in the capitol. i've never seen two people who had so much power and prestige for a state than bumpers and pryor had.

so i'm very fortunate that we were able to attend that funeral, listen to the eulogies given by prior and of course by bshes -- given by pryor and president bill clinton. it's too bad that couldn't have been recorded, that entire service because it was hilarious. he was an extremely funny man and a man who taught me a lot about the senate. i've missed him for a long time and will always remember him as his -- for a number of reasons, not the least of which is his ability to speak. mr. president, in less than 300 days the american people will head to the polls and elect the 45th president of the united states. election year places the state of our union under intense scrutiny. at this time it's important to remember how far we've come through the leadership of

president barack obama. i can remember the first time i heard that word, barack obama, those names. i was in the house gym where i worked out for many, many years, being an alumni of the house, and former members had a little room in the back there. and abner mikfa, a long-time congressman from illinois, a top lawyer for president clinton, appellate court judge, just really quite a remarkable can career in itself, and he's there and we're getting dressed and he says to me we have a senate race in illinois. i said who are you supporting? he said barack obama. i thought i was trying to be funny, mr. president. barack obama. come on. and that's basically what i said to him. but i was wrong and he was right. this man with the unusual name was elected president of the united states.

it's important to remember just how far we've come through his leadership. after eight years of disaster under president bush, the american people embrace president obama's message of hope and change. on january 20, 2009, barack obama became the first african-american president in the history of our country. instead of working with the president, though, to repair our economy, strengthen the middle class and help working families, republicans have chosen a path for seven years of relentless destruction. in fact, during the president's first term, the republican leader publicly said, and i quote, the single most important thing we want to achieve is for president obama to be a one-term president, close quote. as we look back over seven years of the obama presidency, one thing is clear -- republicans have failed in their radical crusade against him. president obama inherited the worst recession since the great

depression. he acted immediately to address the economic crisis to begin rebuilding our economy. because of president obama, our economy has fought back. from the brink of destruction really is what it was. last month, record sales were announced of cars during the year 2015. and how did it come about? because of president obama. going against the republicans every step of the way by saving chrysler, g.m. and giving ford a great boost. the most significant car sales, truck sales in the history of our country occurred last year. millions of americans now have health care. the president has made sure that he fulfilled his promise that he would get osama bin laden, and he did. he was killed.

the president has taken bold action to address our broken immigration system, doubled our country's protection of renewable energy, expanded access to higher education for millions of americans. i have a lot of affection and admiration for president obama, and most everyone knows that. i've had the good fortune to work with him in the past nine years in the senate and as president. his rescuing the nation of a crisis, his bold legislative achievement and his refusal to back down in the face of republican obstruction have made him one of the best presidents of all time. no state was hit harder by the recession foreclosure crisis than nevada. president obama provided the resources necessary to stabilize shattered housing markets, keep responsible borrowers in their homes, reduce foreclosures. through efforts made, the president and his administration were able to provide about $200 million to nevada's hardest

hit homes, and there were lots of them. didn't take care of all the problems, but it certainly helped a great deal. these are programs that provided underemployed home with financial assistance. nevada's unemployment, mr. president, reached almost 14%. across the country, about 10% of all were unemployed. today we've seen over 70 consecutive months of job growth, and our economy has had more than 14 -- has added more than 14 million private sector jobs during the obama years. now, take in mind what was happening during the last of the bush administration. the first two months of the president having been elected but not sworn into office, 800,000 jobs were lost two months in a row. it's hard to comprehend that, but that's what happened.

now, we've seen evidence that our nation's job market has continued to bounce back. last week alone, almost 300,000 jobs were announced in the preceding month of december. a recent report shows that businesses have added 5.6 million jobs in the last two years alone, the most since the end of the clinton administration. this certainly wouldn't have been possible without president obama's leadership. nevada's unemployment rate, i have already mentioned, was the worst in the nation. made an ongoing struggle with the state of rhode island for years as to who had the worst unemployment, rhode island or nevada. neither state wanted to win, but we both won on many occasions as to who had the highest unemployment rate. things to president obama's leadership, we're finally coming back in a very strong way. in december, the president signed a tax bill that includes one of the biggest antipoverty

rules in a generation. it will help lift 16 million modest and low-income working families out of poverty, eight million children, and move them closer to getting out of poverty. renewable energy is taking off like never before as a result of that legislation. president obama and senate democrats have brought our economy back from the brink of destruction. i've already talked about the auto industry. we took on wall street to ensure that greed and corruption that produced the great recession would never happen again. republicans said no at every turn, every turn. we succeeded in spite of their obstruction. health care. before president obama took office, tens of millions of americans were denied health insurance. thanks to the hard work of president obama, democrats here in congress, the affordable care act has banned insurance company

discrimination, requiring coverage without regard to preexisting conditions or health status. that's just a little bit that they -- that had been done. since the law took effect, 17 million uninsured americans have now gained insurance coverage. the success of obamacare is undeniable and made health care available to millions, slowed the rate of health care cost growth, and it did not -- and it did not cause any of the horrible problems that were talked about, prophesied and suggested and told what happened by the republicans. in effect, what they said is all wrong. now, immigration. immigration was a problem before president obama took office. he tried to do something about it. the republicans, of course, blocked that also. and he told us that the -- at the state of the union address

two years ago i have worked with you, i have tried, i have pleaded and i'm tired of doing this. i'm going to have to do things on my own now because you won't do it legislatively, and he has done that. we failed to pass the dream act in 2010. president obama acted to protect dreamers by announceing daca, -- announcing daca, deferred action for childhood arrivals. today almost 700,000 individuals have been protected from deportation. since then, democrats have led the charge for comprehensive immigration reform to fix our nation's broken immigration system. the senate passed bipartisan immigration reform in 2013. it was important but we now have people, for example, like the senator from -- the junior senator from florida who helped pass, someone says he decides to want to run for national office and says that everything he did to bring that bill to the senate floor was wrong.

he has taken a 360-degree turn and said i did all that but i guess i was wrong. so we haven't been able to get it out of the house, and now we have people like the junior senator from florida that's denigrating his own bill. so president obama acted within his legal executive authority to unite and strengthen the immigration system, including protecting some adults with children of the united states from deportation. it's had a longer story than that, but that's the short story. energy and environment. climate change is one of the greatest if not the greatest the federal government has seen. the president's crafted a version -- and it's really a vision for our country on clean energy and climate change by negotiating a historic paris climate agreement. establishing carbon emission standards on vehicles that help consumers save money on fuel.

for the first time eliminating carbon pollution from power plants. he established or expanded 19 national monuments. why? because the republicans, bills we pass matter of factually here, they have refused to allow us to have votes on them. he moved forward as he said he would do on executive action. 19 national monuments in nevada including the 750,000 acres of basin range national monument, which is something that is great that all americans can share. the president believes that these lands belong to all americans, and that our children and grandchildren should be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of our country. education. when president obama took office, our nation's education system was in desperate need of reform. no child left behind cripples schools around the country and graduation rates were at historical lows. one of the most important actions president obama took through the recovery act was nearly $100 billion for k-12

higher education. today students across the country have made tremendous progress. more students are graduating than ever before. particularly low-income and minority students. president obama also took historic steps to address extreme levels of student debt in this country. by working with democrats, president obama created new programs to help college graduates manage their student debt by capping their loan payments by 10% of their income. but we wanted to do more, but obstruction raised its ugly head and republicans refused to allow us to do even more. guns. mass murders have taken place all over. nevada is no exception, there also. from the time he was elected president, republicans have tried every means possible, working arm in arm, hand in hand, with the n.r.a. to stop everything the president has tried to accomplish. even though more than 80% of the american people said there should be background checks for people who are crazy, who are criminals, it's not good enough

for the republicans. they still have stopped us. the president tried to work with republicans and they refused. this is -- this has brought about his efforts, new efforts to use the executive action. last week, he did this. he addressed the epidemic of gun violence in this country through legal executive action. this action republicans blocked, even in the wake of cold-blooded mass murders at schools, at schools, at schools and houses of worship, movie theaters, many other places. tomorrow, the president will deliver his final state of the union address to the american people. i look forward to hearing the ways in which he plans to continue pushing our nation forward during his last year in office. we will do everything in our power as democrats to build on the strong legacy that president obama has established. we'll continue fighting to strengthen the middle class and working families by addressing the mountain of student debt that saddles americans seeking higher education and their families. we'll continue fighting the

increase of the minimum wage. we will not rest until the wages of women match their male counterparts. we'll continue keeping wall street accountable by prioritizing main street and protecting the good work that the dad-frank legislation did. as we begin this legislative session, i hope we'll find a willing partner with the republicans to protect and strengthen our nation. i hope it's not wishful thinking. it probably is. but we stand ready to work with our republican colleagues to do what's right for the american people. mr. president, for years, i have supported responsible audit of the federal reserve system. the american people deserve an audit of one of the most vital parts of our government. in the wake of financial crises that cripple our nation's economy, i came to more fully understand how important it is that the audit respects the independence of the federal reserve. the federal reserve was crucial to our economy recovering after the disastrous debacle on wall

street. there were emergency provisions to address economic catastrophes. only the federal reserve could respond. they did it faster than congress could do. if the federal reserve had not stepped in, the consequences of of the great recession would have been tremendously worse. in fact, it would have been worse than the great depression. this federal reserve could act quickly to safeguard the u.s. economy because of its independence, and it did just that. one of the lessons we learned from the great recession remains clear today -- the federal reserve because not be hamstrung by any political restrictions. the federal reserve is a cornerstone of our global economy. we must maintain a federal reserve that is transparent, but we must respect the independence of the federal reserve for the well-being of the global economy. that's why we included an amendment in the wall street reform bill to responsibly audit the federal reserve while respecting its independence. the amendment passed unanimously. the bill in which the senate will vote tomorrow sponsored by the junior senator from kentucky would critically undermine this

delicate balance. wall street reform ensured that the government accountability office could audit the fed, and in accordance with the law, the government accountability office had carried these audits out. in the year after the passage of dodd-frank, the federal reserve was audited 29 times. since that time, it has been audited 102 times. you g.a.o. have to take my word. the federal reserve audits are available to anyone. all they have to go is look at the federal reserve web site. proponents of this now that their calls for audits have been answered. this bill is not about auditing the federal reserve. it is not about transparency or keeping good books. that oversight already exists. this is about giving tea party republicans and their billionaire donors the authority to control even more of the economy of the united states. it is on tack with policies that are designed to stabilize the u.s. economy, help the middle class bounce back. political parties cannot and

should not run monetary policy at the federal reserve. that would be as does -- disastrous. i am disappointed that the senate will waste its time on this. these attacks are partisan in nature and it is unconscionable to think that the republican leader would begin this year attacking policies that benefit the middle class. some republicans agree. senator bob corker, chairman of the foreign relations committee, a member of the banking committee, said this of the audit the federal bill. "it is obvious to me that audit the federal effort is not to address -- i'm sorry. it is obvious to me that the audit-the-fed is an attempt to allow congress to be able to put pressure on fed members relative to monetary policy. and i would just advocate that that would not be a particularly good idea and would cause you us to put off good decisions for

the future." i agree with senator corker. injecting politics into the federal reserve is a bad idea. the bill is a sham and we should dispense with it quickly and should do it -- if there's any word quicker than quick, let's do it that way. i'll vote against the bill and would encourage my colleagues to do the same. the presiding officer: under thprevious order, the leadership tim time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. reid: i than apoll gistapoly friend, the assistant democratic leader, for taking so much time.

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, tomorrow evening president obama will come before congress to deliver his annual state of the union address. america has changed a great deal since president obama delivered his first state of the union address seven years ago. we remember. he inherited an economy in freefall. there was a real danger that the united state would face another great depression. instead we slid into a great recession, and the president -- president obama -- did all that he could to bring our economy back to life. recent economic indicators show

that his strategy moved us in the right direction. more americans are working. we are seeing prosperity and opportunity return. o there's still challenges ahead. we still face income inequality, and there are many things that we must do to make this a fairer nation when this comes to our economy. but we avoid add great depression because americans are resilient, and because our government under the leadership of president obama had the courage to take bold action to help put americans back to work and to invest in america's future when the private sector would not or could not. our union and our future are undoubtedly stronger today than when the president first took office, and i look forward tomorrow evening when we hear this president tion hope presids for his final year in service to our nation. but this afternoon i'd like to take a few minutes to talk about

another president and an he recal-- andan he earlier state n address. it was on january 6 you 1941 when president franklin delano roosevelt traveled from the white house here to capitol hill to deliver his annual emergency to the nation. f.d.r. will been reelected weeks earlier ton unprecedented third term as president. despite historic reforms and progress, america was still battling the great depression that he had inherited. apparel whherited.many americane that the war that was consuming europe and beginning p in the pacific could remain their problem over there. franklin delano roosevelt sensed that would not be the case. he concedes that america would inevitably be drawn into this

conflict. in addressing congress, f.d.r. proposed to make america the -- quote -- "arsenal of democracy." he also urged congress to create a new lend/lease program enabling our historic ally, great britain, and theirilize to withstand the assault of nazi germany and imperial japan. he did something else. f.d.r. knew that in order for the nation to face world war ii, america needed to know not just what they would be fighting against but what they would be fighting for. and so in some of the darkest days of world wa world war ii, f hitler vowing to impose a new order on europe at gunpoint, franklin roosevelt spoke of a moral order founded on four essential human freedoms that would be the right of every person everywhere.

those four freedoms: the freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. norman rockwell was an amazing american he was a great illustrator. it was interesting that he did so many cover drawings for great magazines like "the saturday evening post" of his time. the and when he heard the speech, f.d.r.'s four freedoms speech, given to congress, it inspired him to create images. that images emerged months and sometimes years after the original speech was given, and many people credit those images created by norman rockwell with allowing americans to visualize what each of the four freedoms meant in very human terms. he brought copies of them to the floor today because they so

gravingly illustrate the message which f.d.r. delivered in his four freedoms speech. freedom of speech. this norman rockwell illustration shows a working man standing and speaking his mind in a town hall meeting. freedom of worship. it shows a group of people from different backgrounds, each praying to god, the god of his or her understanding. freedom from want. this classic illustration shows a family gathered for a thanksgiving feast. the last of the four freedoms, freedom from fear. showing a mother and father looking at their sleeping

children tucked safely into bed. in the coming struggle, president roosevelt said, america would defend itself not just arms but also with -- quote -- "the stamina and courage which comes from unshakable belief in the manner of life that we are defending." that is exactly what they d during world war ii, 16 million americans, one out of every eight, put on a uniform and fought for the promise of the four freedoms. tens of millions more americans back home joined the fight, planting victory gardens, recycling everything from bacon grease to continue cans, severing as soldiers in the working koarks and working in factories as rosie the riveter. after the war, the greatest generation, as tom brokaw characterized them, they have

given up their uniforms but they continued their fight for f.d.r.'s four freedoms. from the h he he recalliest dayf the administration, thighed worked to rewrite the rules of the average american economy to give average workers a fighting chance against powerful corporations and entrenched wealthy special interests. they strengthened labor unions to improve workers' pay, working conditions, safety in the workplace, health care, retirement, things we take for granted today. after the war, the same americans who had endured the hardships of the depression and who had saved the world from tyranny went to work and laid the foundation for the creation of the largest middle class and the strongest economy in the history of the world. they built new schools, new homes, new towns an interstate

high system. at the same time, more americans began to challenge long-standing injustices based on race, creed, gender, and other distinctions. as the historian and author harvey kaye writes, under the leadership of franklin delano roosevelt, america freightly expanded the "we" in "we the people." you understanamericans saved ous economy from ruin, saved the world from tyranny, and they did all this while making america freer, more equal and more democratic than it had ever been p. the promise of the four freedoms would inspire not only americans but it inspired the world. the four freedoms became part of the preamble to the united nations universal declaration of human rights. that declaration draf draft ieda committee chaired by eleanor roosevelt represents the first time that nations around the

world agreed to a lace of human rights to be universally protected. my wife loretta and i are honored to include among our friends anna eleanor roosevelt, f.d.r. and eleanor's granddaughter. she lives in maine but spent most of her life living in illinois. like her grandparents, anna is full of optimism, energy, and a fierce love for this nation. she is done so much to advance her grandparents' empedz 20z make america freer and fairer. i want to say to my freandz, anna, america remembers and honors your grandparents' legacy. we are a better nation because of what their leadership and sacrifice meant to us. as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of f.d.r.'s four freedoms speech, it is clear we still have a lot of work to do to make the promise of four freedoms real. income inequality in america is greater today than at any time

than just since before the great depression. there are many reasons for america's growing economic inequality, including globalization and technology. but the biggest reason is nearly 40 years of deliberate political decisions to undo the progress of f.d.r.'s new deal and concentrate more and more income and wealth in the hands of a few. f.d.r. was right when he said that -- quote -- "economic laws are not made by nature but by human beings." i hope this year we can work together to pass laws that will increase economic opportunity for all americans, rebuild america's middle class, and free more americans from the fear of want. f.d.r. said that we americans believe in the four freedoms, not just for ourselves but for our families. for those who vote as we do or look like we do, who live in our neighborhoods and attend our same hours of wore ship, we

believe in the four freedoms for every one everywhere. and an mechanic that believes in freedom of worship doesn't allow one religious group to deny basic rights to others. think bel our constitution which each of us in the senate has sworn to uphold and defend p. there are only three references in that great document to the you issue of religion. first in the bill of rights, the guarantee to etch 00 of us the right to believe as we wish or not to believe. second, that our government will never establish a religion. and, third, that there will never be a test for qualification for public office involving one's religious beliefs. making a religious test for public office or even a religious test for immigration is inconsistent with those basic values, inconsistent with those four freedoms, and yet even in this presidential campaign said

we hear candidates making to proposal. freedom of speech means allowing others to speak, too, not shouting down those who think differently than we do. democracy works better with dialogue, not monologues. years ago when we had our first baby, we faced some terrific medical challenges. sadly, we had no health insurance. let me tell you, as a new father, i was never more frightened in my life. thanks to the affordable care act, obamacare, 17 million americans and many millions of american parents are now free from that fear, and they know that if this act is eliminated, as has been proposed by some politicians, there is no alternative. there's no protection. they will face fear, the kind of fear no family should ever face. this year, instead of voting over and over to kill the

affordable care act, i'm calling on the other party to work to strengthen the law. this law isn't perfect, but together we can make the affordable care act work better for all american families. freedom of fear also means that americans shouldn't have to worry about being shot while they're playing in a park, sitting in a movie theater or attending a bible study class. even in an election year, we ought to be able to find commonsense ways to protect americans from the fear and reality of gun violence. we ought to be able to find a way to keep guns out of the wrong hands without undermining basic second amendment rights. we owe it to america's families to try. 75 years ago president roosevelt saw that america would soon be drawn into war. while he didn't live long enough to see america's ultimate victory until world war ii, his promises of the four freedoms helped achieve that victory. as we know, the war ended

officially with japan's unconditional surrender board the u.s.s. missouri in tokyo bay. a member of japan's delegation who attended the surrender went to the ceremony fully expecting to hear how the allies intended to take their vengeance on the defeated japanese people. instead you heard general macarthur speak about the future of freedom for japan. years later he wrote that it was at that ceremony that he understand, -- and i quote -- "we weren't beaten on the battlefield by the depth of superior arms. we were defeated in the spiritual conquest by virtue of a nobler idea. that idea, the inherent human dignity of every person, is the belief at the heart of the four freedoms. those freedoms remain as powerful a weapon for peace and progress today as they were 75 years ago. i hope we will remember that this year. mr. president, i'd like to ask

consent that the next statement i'll be making be placed in a separate part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i rise to speak about the issue of gun violence and to commend the president for announcing last week a set of commonsense steps to make our country safer. the need for action to reduce gun violence in america is urgent. about 32,000 americans are killed by guns each year. 32,000. every day on average 297 men, women, and children are shot. 89 of them fatally. last year by one count, there were at least 372 mass shooting incidents where four or more people were shot. more than one a day in america. in the city of chicago alone, last year 2,939 people were injured by gunfire.

and at least 88 people have been shot so far this year in 2016. the 468 gun deaths in chicago last year, sadly led the nation. a number larger than the number of fatalities in the cities of new york or los angeles, much larger cities. there is an epidemic of gun violence in america. can you imagine if 32,000 americans were dying each year from ebola or from tainted drugs or at the hands of terrorists? lawmakers would pull out all the stops to bring down that number of deaths. compare the death toll from gun violence with death toll from terrorism in the united states. according to the new america foundation, since 9/11, a total of 93 people have been killed in terrorist incidents in america. 48 have been killed by

right-wing extremists. 45 by islamic terrorists. americans are rightly concerned by the threat of isis terrorism, but we cannot ignore the threat posed by gun violence to our citizens and our nation. sadly, for years many members of congress have shrugged their shoulders as each day we hear another heartbreaking story of the victims of gun violence. it is baffling to me that congress refuses to do anything about gun violence, especially since the american people overwhelmingly, on a bipartisan basis agree on commonsense steps that we should take. for example, about 90% of americans agree that a background check should be conducted before a gun is sold. background checks through what's known as the f.b.i. n.i.c. system help make sure that the buyer is not a convicted felon, a domestic abuser, a person with

a history of serious mental instability or otherwise prohibited from buying a gun. did it work? over two million gun sales have been denied to prohibited purchasers over the last several years. over two million. you think to yourself why would a convicted felon be so stupid as to buy a gun when he faces a background check? and he does it anyway. they do it over and over, and two million times we've denied them weapons because they were prohibited by law because of their felony records. there are still loopholes, though, to allow many sales to take place without this basic background check, especially at gun shows and over the internet. think about how you made your christmas purchases or holiday purchases this year. so many of us went to the internet. that's exactly where people are going now to buy firearms without background checks. when you have loopholes like

this, it's easy to understand that dangerous people can get their hands on guns. look at the way these loopholes have affected the city of chicago. there is a flood of illegal guns coming in to chicago from indiana, especially from lake county, indiana, right across the border from my state. last friday a chicago tribune newspaper quoted sheriff john bunsuch of lake county, indiana saying the following -- quote -- "individuals are skirting the law especially at these gun shows. whether they want to admit it or not, there's a lot of illegal gun sales." the "tribune" article went on to say bunsuch stressed he supports second amendment rightsant doesn't want to take guns away from people. he noted, however, that hundreds of guns from lake county, indiana, show up in chicago crimes every year.

bunsuch said we need to do something to stem the violence. it's not going to hurt the law-abiding citizen." last year i met with the head of chicago's field division, the batf, the federal agency charged with enforcing our gun laws. he told me that in the highest crime neighborhoods in chicago, when they confiscated the crime guns after the act, they found that 40% of those crime guns were coming from gun shows in indiana. here's an example of how it happens. in 2014, a man named david lewis hy of south holland, illinois, was sentenced for illegally trafficking hundreds, hundreds of guns from indiana to chicago. the u.s. attorney's office said over a four year period lewishy -- quote -- "routinely traveled to various gun shows in indiana and purchased dufl bags full of

guns. lewishy used a forged signature to secure an indiana drivers license to fill up the trunk of his car with ammunition and guns to drive over into the state of illinois and to sell those guns in chicago to kill innocent people. during just one 48-hour period in 2012 lewishy bought guns in indiana and delivered them to a convicted felon on chicago's south side. does anyone, anyone believe that he had a second amendment right to buy 43 guns with an illegal i.d. and sell them to a convicted felon in chicago? i hope not. if everyone who sells guns for profit at indiana gun shows and conducted background checks it's highly unlikely a trafficker

like this would be able to get away with this for years. the system would have caught him. but because of the loopholes in the system, weaknesses in the law, this individual was able to avoid detection and literally supply hundreds of crime guns in chicago. of course we know what happened to those guns. it turned into tragedy and havoc in the neighborhoods around that great city. i listened so many times when critics say well, there's chicago with the toughest gun laws in the nation, and look at all that gun violence. here it is, 40% of these guns coming across the border with no background check, being sold in alley ways and dark corridors of our city. that isn't because of weak or ineffective illinois and chicago laws. it's because of our inability to make the federal law stronger. let's be clear, background checks aren't a heavy burden for

law-abiding gun owners. at most they just cause a short delay in buying a gun. but when we have gaping holes in the background check system, we're basically handing guns to criminals on a silver platter. this is unacceptable. sadly this congress has so far failed to even address this problem. we were unable to overcome a republican filibuster of the manchin-toomey legislation of 2013. we tried again last month and fell short again. the president decided to do what he can within his lawful authority to close the gaps in this system. last week the president put forth guidance that makes clear that you can't be engaged in business of selling firearms even if you are -- that you can be gauged until the business of selling firearms even if you aren't a storefront operation. for too long people who sell guns for profit at gun shows or online have been able to avoid the requirement to conduct

background checks. they were claiming they were just selling guns as a hobby. this man bought 43 guns at a gun show as a hobby and sold them to a convicted felon in chicago. the president's guidance makes it clear that if you repetitively are buying and selling guns for profit, you need to get a gun dealer license and do background checks, or else you're breaking the law. of course the president's action won't close the gun show and internet loopholes altogether. that will take an act of congress. but the president has made a move in the right direction. it will help. the president took another important step last week. clearly within his constitutional authority it will help save lives. he's working to make the background check system faster by adding more f.b.i. examiners and improving the system's technology. a faster system could have stopped the charleston church shooter who killed nine worshipers last year in a horrific terrorist attack.

this person was able to buy his gun under another loophole in the law because the background check hadn't been finished in three days. you see, the default position if you haven't cleared a background check is that you're sold the gun. and that meant this man picked up a gun when the background check wasn't completed and without cause, this mayhem that took so many innocent lives. the president is also strengthening the report requirements the law enforcement will know when guns are lost or stolen during shipment. the administration's redoubling its efforts to improve mental health services and make sure the background check system has complete records on those found to be mentally instable. finally the president is sponsoring research of the gun safety technology. this is critical. right now we have security features on our phones, on our computers and our cars to prevent thieves and unauthorized people from using them. similar technology is available today that can make it so that an unl authorized user will

never be able to fire a gun. this means a thief can't steal a gun and resell it and a kid can't play with a gun and hurt himself or someone else. the gun lobby for reasons they can not even explain opposes gun safety technology, even calling for a bicyclist of any company -- for a boycott of any company that uses it. now this administration is going to use its research dollars and purchasing power to proavment safer -- to promote receiver gun technology. this could be a game changer. i want to commend the president for reasonable commonsense steps he's taken to combat the epidemic of gun violence. the steps he's announced won't prevent all gun deaths. no single measure can. but they will help. i hope my colleagues in congress will not take a step backwards and try to undermine these basic commonsense reforms with riders or appropriation restrictions.

i'm going to fight hard against the gun lobby if they try. i hope congress will instead move forward, finish the job on background checks and do all we can to reduce the high toll of gun violence in our communities. madam president, over the weekend, i was visiting with friends and former colleague mark pryor of arkansas. i went down to stuttgart, arkansas. anyone who is a duck hunter in the midwest or in america knows that name of that town, stuttgart, arkansas. it is probably the capital of duck hunting in the midwestern united states. a local radio station's call letters are kwak to give you an idea of their commitment to this duck season, 60 days a year when stuttgart comes to life with hunters from all over the united states and all over the world. i went there saturday afternoon to the largest sporting goods