>> is there any senator in the debate in the chamber who wishes to change their vote? on this vote, the gays are 51, the name is our 48. the current resolution is agreed to.

>> the house will take up the health care law repealed tomorrow morning. we now go to the white house where president obama is expected to pay tribute to vice president joe biden. this is live coverage on the stand to. >>. >> [inaudible conversation]

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are looking at a live picture inside the white house, the state dining room where president obama is expected to pay tribute to vice president joe biden. he's expected to sharp start shortly. this is live coverage on c-span2. >>. [inaudible conversation]

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>> you are looking at a live picture of the state dining room inside the white house where president obama is expected to pay tribute to vice president joe biden. until it gets underway, we will show you today's white house news briefing. >> all right, good afternoon everybody. good to see you all. before we get started, i wanted to call to your attention and an announcement that was made briefly by the us government. early this morning. this morning at the wto, wto i announced we had filed a case against china for artificially cheap loans from banks and priced inputs for chinese aluminum area that

case to be made is that those cheap loans and low price inputs are contributing to access global capacity and undercutting american workers and businesses. today's action follows numerous bilateral efforts by the obama administration to persuade china to take strong steps to address the excess capacity situation in its aluminum sector. those of you who have been following along know this is the 16th trade enforcement challenge the obama administration has launched against mine by the wto. it's a demonstration of our commitment to hold china to its trade obligations. of course the incoming administration has spoken forcefully about their commitment to standing up for the united states when it comes to global trade. the incoming administration has suggested they will administrate consider imposing high tariffs and build a wall in ways that economists have said would be damaging to workers, us workers, bad for us

businesses, bad for us entrepreneurs, bad for the broader american economy and bad for the american college graduates that are entering the workforce. the obama administration has taken a different approach and as i have on a number of policies , we would invite you to as you consider the policies put forward by the incoming administration, evaluate their performance based on the approach president obama has pursued. i will spare you the long recitation of the dramatic improvements we've seen in our economy because that certainly is the backdrop for all of this but when it comes easily to trade enforcement, we should remember the united states during the obama administration of the last

eight years has filed more cases at the wto than any other country. in some ways that makes sense because the us economy is so large and benefits from our strong relationship with other countries overseas but it's an illustration of how aggressively the obama administration has worked to protect our economy. here in the united states . in the context of our trade relations. 25 cases filed at the wto against other countries by the united states under president obama.of those cases, the united states has one every single one that's been decided. 14 of the 25 cases have been decided. there are six others that have been settled in our favor. that of course means there are five that are still pending including one was announced today. of the 25 that we have filed at the wto, 16 of them have been filed against china. more than any other country. over the last eight years.

and as you expect, those of you who are good at math will predict this, of the cases that have been decided and filed against china we won them all, we are seven and a zero and then included cases we want at the wto protect the american economy related to china policies that impact american grown agricultural goods, american poultry, american-made and factory goods including high-tech steel, airplanes, textiles and the like. so at some point, next year you will hear a robust case from the incoming administration about their proposal to ensure that america and our economy is protected.when it comes to global trade. they will have a very high

standard to me when you consider the obama administration, not just in terms of bringing its cases in the wto but when you consider the performance of our broader economy. so with that, i will go to your questions. it's nice to see you, welcome to the briefing room. good. >> so the transition team, they have not had the hearings that the obama administration has had, moving through the nominees and throughout the whole process so i wanted to hear your thoughts on that. is there sort of a presence in the hearing, do you feel they are not in any way more difficult in terms of obama nominees coming in. >> i think there are a lot of explanations that you can consider for this broader phenomenon. certainly when you consider

the way that republicans in the senate treated obama nominees, the claim is laughable. the president put forward the most experienced supreme court nominee in american history, merrick garland and had more experience on the bench than any other supreme court nominee. since the dawn of our republic. he was recognized by republicans as somebody who would a consistent choice, he was somebody that had us darling legal career and somebody who served this country as a law enforcement official including leading the investigation and prosecution of one of the worst terrorists in american history. republicans did not raise any sort of objection about his credentials .