change things. one more thing can never. to raise these expectations let them know we have not forgotten. you go out there care.

when i look around sincerely. we are going to win battle. not able to do it together, it's not beyond our capacity about politics, you set up, kid ... ba

[applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ mr. warnock, aye.

>> the subcommittee will come to order. i want to welcome everyone to a hearing today. the united states for control system personnel and safety. this theory is of importance to ensure safety of her national aerospace i want to thank our chairwoman cantwell, ranking member coons the ranking member more and for the help in making this hearing happen. too much of our our nation's air-traffic control equipment, technology and infrastructure is outdated. today we'll have an opportunity to hear from stakeholders about the challenges these aging systems great for our air-traffic controllers and what needs to be done to keep our airspace safe. we will be hearing from the government accountability office information technology and cybersecurity director kevin walsh. thank you for being here. special air-traffic control association chief of staff dean iacopelli. hope you said that correctly. thank you. captain jason ambrosi, welcome. official aviation safety

specialist president dave spero. thank you. and reason foundation seemed transportation policy analyst marc scribner. thank you for being here. before i i proceed to my openg statement i want to make the comet that it am saddened to learn of faa administrator whitaker's plan to resign next month. his leadership has been invaluable during this critical time in aviation safety pick his oversight of boeing production and essential and help the equity spearheaded on that front will continue. our aviation system is safer because of the service and we are grateful to him for it. i will never get ssl for an opening statement. in the years following the pandemic we witnessed an alarmingno series of close calls in commercial aviation. last year we saw a terrifying image of a jetblue fighter jet and attempt to land a bostick and 40 feet of a jet taking off. in austin we saw fedex cargo plane tend to land on the same

runway were a southwest 737 was about to take off. the aircraft came within less than 200 feet of each other. our committee held hearings and worked a bipartisan manner manner to pass an faa reauthorization act to make our skies safer. the new law which is implement it makes important investments in air-traffic controller staffing in-service detection technologies. but we cannot rest on our laurels. safety requires constant vigilance which leads me to today's hearing. the safety of the flying public depends upon well-equipped aircraft control systems, air-traffic controllers worked tirelessly to manage our national airspace but they rely on increasingly outdated facilities and equipment. following the chamber 2023 outage which resulted in 1300 flight cancellations, nearly 10,000 delays and a shutdown at the national airspace, the faa conducted an operational risk assessment to evaluate the

sustainability of all aircraft, l air-traffic control systems. in september drawing upon that work the government accountability office gao conduct a detailed analysis and issued a report warning faa actions are urgently needed to modernize aging systems. 501 of our nation's 138 air-traffic control systems are unsustainable. that's more than one-third. according to the gao 17 are critical for safety and efficiency to faa will not be to modernize some for ten to 13 years and as a may 2024 that not, not even have investments planned for four of them. some equipment is getting so old service replacement parts are no longer available. for example, replacement antennas are no longer available for beacons used to determine the location of some aircraft during the and route portion of the flight. manufacturers supports no one availed for the most common type of instrument landing systems

which faa maintains at our airports. worse, when faa replaces aging equipment the process sometimes takes a long new equipment is outdated by the time it gets deployed. to be clear, keeping faa properly equipped is not entirely new issue. it is childish lawmakers and administration from both parties for decades. what's new, however, is the context in which we find her cells. our air-traffic control equipment and facilities are aging water system is still under post pandemic stress and continue with rising today. a few notable examples of this you demonstrates the type of safety risk we are seeing. in april a jetblue one night had abort takeoff at reagan national airport when a southwest 737 was about to cross the same runway. inmate and american jet had to abort at after return of mosul because a small plane was on a final approach to an intersecting runway.

in september and alaska air 1737 aborted takeoff in nashville to avoid a southwest 737s that was about to cross the same runway. alaska plane breaks or its tires blew out reportedly. there is a growing consensus across a wide range of aviation stakeholders that congress needs to address this issue. we need modern systemic air-traffic control systems to keep the flying public safe and up forward to hearing from her witnesses about a best we can achieve that. since ranking member starter for statement of the recognized our chairwoman cantwell for her opening statement. oh, senator cruze? senator cruze. >> thank you, madam chair. before i begin i want to, on the announcement this morning that michael whitaker will resign on january 20. i want to thank him for his service picky was confirmed without a single no vote, testament to his experience, his

judgment and is a political nature. when he took the job i asked him to focus on keeping the flying public safe and to stay out of politics. and he is able to lead agency during a challenging time and want to thank him for his public service. on january 11, 2023, the nation experienced its first nationwide ground stop of air travel since 9/11. this ground stop resulted in roughly 10,000 flights being canceled and days of delays for travelers. what could prompted this grounding of air travel? it wasn't the weather or some airline expensing operational difficulties. it was because the faa's notam system which delivers crucial safety information to pilots, experienced a technical glitch. notam has been used since 1947, and whether technology has evolved from the original

telephone system, the current system has not been updated in over a decade. in fact, the most recent change to notam was when the biden administration changed notice to airmen to notice to air missions. i think the american people would have preferred the administration focused on modernizing the antiquated system over obsessing on gender language. in response to this massive failure, the faa conducted a review of more than 100 critical systems for air-traffic in this country. notably, of the system cfaa evaluated, roughly a third of the systems were unsustainable. even more concerning the government accountability office, gao, looked at the faa's assessment and discovered the faa didn't have plans to modernize 17 systems that were quote most at risk. this is completely unacceptable.

air-traffic facilities and radars need improvements. based on faa data the reliability of the faa's radar fleet is declining. they are online less often, unscheduled and scheduled outages last longer, and it takes longer to restore service when radar does break down. the united states should be a leader in aviation technology. sadly, this is often not the case. not only does the report delivered a harsh assessment of decades of sustainment efforts. it also presents a bleak picture when one considers the funding wasted on doomed projects. for example, the gao identified one att system that need additional funding for modernization just two years after it was completed.

other projects took more than ten years to complete. becoming obsolete almost as soon as they were deployed. the faa has long been plagued by difficulties in maintaining and modernizing atc systems, especially the nextgen projects. nextgen was first developed in early 2000 and has largely failed to deliver on the promised benefits. as projects finish they quickly become outdated, underscoring the problem of such slow modernization. the faa reauthorization act of 2024 addresses the problems with nextgen, requiring the faa to finish the nextgen and two sons at the office by the end of next year. before the faa can embark on another wholesale modernization project, the law requires the faa to present the business case for the project to congress, ensuring the faa conducts the analyses necessary to identify

feasible benchmarks for the nas before starting the next big project. the breath, scale, and should number of these challenges should cause us to question the fundamental structure and operations of the faa. is this the right model for air-traffic control? experts across the political spectrum agree there is a need for stakeholders to come together and discuss the path forward. in november 2023 the national airspace systems safety review team appointed by the faa submitted and that event report to the faa and the congress focused on improving safety in the nas, which included evaluating the reliability of the air-traffic organization and the nas. administrator whitaker has also said the aviation community should be evaluating

alternatives to insulate the agency from political disruptions. i agree. congress should discuss and consider creative alternatives to ensure that the national airspace system reliably works for all users, particularly as new aviation transportation technology enters the market. the conclusion from the gao report are numerous but they all point to one clear conclusion. the status quo of how the faa modernizes our atc is unacceptable. our nation should be the leader in the field, and instead we'ree stuck with technology that is outdated almost as soon as it is introduced into the airspace. i applaud the thousands of air-traffic controllers who safely manage thousands of flights but broader conversations about how we modernize our air-traffic system are desperately needed. the american people deserve an operation that uses its funding

wisely, is innovative while ensuring safety, and is also world leading in reliability. as chairman next year i intend to focus heavily on the status of the airspace and what changes may be necessary to enhance its efficiency and reliability. >> thank you, ranking member cruz. i now recognize chairwoman cantwell. >> thank you, senator duckworth for having this important hearing this morning on aviation safety. like you, i am saddened and surprised to hear of administrator whitaker's the decision to step down in january of 2025. i know this, that if you want to be the leader in aviation you have to be the leader in aviation safety. i think administrator whitaker was living by that model. i hope that the next administrator to live by it as well. the next administrator needs to be ready day one to continue the

job of restoring the faa safety culture and providing real oversight of the aviation sector this committee has done good work looking not just what manufacturers must do but making sure that the faa does its oversight role and responsibility. so we look forward to this opportunity to continue to work with chairman to be ted cruz in january and with you, senator duckworth, on this very, very important technology challenges that we faced in the faa. and i will have more to say about administrator whitaker later today. last years outage of the faa notam system underscored that the faa, like airlines, must have a backup system and redundancy. we need to have the faa meet the

same standards. so this hearing, i do want to again thank you for leadership in the 118th congress, senator duckworth, because serving as an aviator yourself and certainly the intelligence that you bring to the technology issues have helped us solve any issues. getting aviation infrastructure right, whether it is the air-traffic controller system, sustainable aviation fuel, next generation, or important issues like thermoplastic composites, all of these are about winning the next 100 years of aviation. our country has been blessed to be leaders in aviation but we can see the competition coming and we can see the challenges of implementing safety. according to the airport council north america, every dollar invested in aviation infrastructure gets $2.5 in aviation infrastructure growth. and importantly it helps us stay

on top of those aviation safety priorities. we have been spurred to action obviously by the horrible crashes that we witnessed with both ethiopians flight 302 and the lion air flight 610 which pushed us to pass angst appeared in aftermath of that the alaska airlines 1282 flight blowoff bring to the focus even more on production quality. i'm general votel, one day after saturdays several days of this at the faa administrator chose to strengthen its oversight of manufacturing and initiated an audit. four days later senator duckworth and i made sure we petition the 77 max 70 icing system and boeing with two at the place to work on fixing that

and we're still seeing this play out. today's remarks the 12th hearing that argument has had building on seven hearings in the 117th congress pics so it's safe to say with senator cruze remarks and we will continue to be laser focused on aviation safety and technology. ntsb chairman hominy and others testified on the spike of near misses, close calls that we were seeing and chairman hominy has been before the committee several times to discuss the continued investigation of the alaska airlines the were plugged blowouts. we brought in airline ceos,, labor leaders and talked about the success that we've seen but what we need to do to keep going past our covid-19 pandemic considerations. with butter money where our mouth is and set a table for an faa reauthorization law and all

of the committee worked very diligently to get that over the golan. again what you think senator cruz for his work on that. faa law reauthorize both the faa and ntsb for an additional five years to upkeep safe 3 million daily passengers in the united states pick against the faa for resources it needs and make sure that the nation's aviation safety regulator has set the gold standard. the law provides ntsb, the nation safety watchdog, with highs funding authorization it has received to make sure that we hired the investigators needed to complete their mission. and the reauthorization and best in the well-being of our aviation workforce giving the new tools, training and platforms to thrive. so senator duckworth again thank you for holding this hearing this morning. i look forward to your continued leadership in this very important role of aviation,

technology advancement and meeting our safety standards. thank you. >> thank you, chair cantwell. we will now proceed to witness testimony. first electorate does mr. kevin walsh from the government accountable to office for his statement. >> chair, ranking member, members of the subcommittee thank you for inviting gao to testify on this important issue. the faa. >> of the controls rely 138 systems that monitor the weather, conduct navigation and surveillance and manage communications. more than half of the systems are older than 20 years. so more than fashion some are more than 60 years old. as reminder 20 years ago facebook was launched, 60 oh systems may have been active when jfk was president. not surprising these systems of long-standing issues with the building of parts and the retirement of knowledgeable technicians. generally legacy systems contribute tok: on that staffing issues and increase costs.

it matches with what we're seeing at the faa. further, their prior modernization efforts have been fraught with unrealistic baselines, cost and schedule overruns, unanticipnd pr oversi. the expected growth in air travel over the coming years will not help those issues. as part of a recent report we reviewed modernize doesn't systems and found that on average the faa took more than four years to create a baseline. that is expected cost, schedule and performs every project. we noted such pre-baseline pre-e assessments received limited oversight from faa. after establishing the basin these plants take it for the 122 and half years to complete deployment on average. prolonged time frames like this will impact faa's mission. for example, the input automation modernization was completed in 2015 after a ten year effort but it was deployed without data taken to a new car

a major refresh soon thereafter. back to the 138 air-traffic control systems. to its credit the faa reviewed the systems to gauge how easy they are to maintain as well as the operational impact of those systems. the faa expects use this assessment going for to prioritize its modernization efforts. that assessment found 33 of the air-traffic control systems, 24%, had adequate funding and spare parts. the remaining 105 had differing degrees different degrees of shortages or potential shortages in spares and funding. many of them also limited staff expertise, did that meet mission needs. confirming this issues, mr. spero kindly asked members question on our behalf and their top issues were also obsolete systems come difficulties funny parts and staffing shortfalls. worryingly, faa's assessment showed 58 of the system with shortages had a critical operational impact.

we identified 17 we felt were especially concerning given their age, , sustainability and operational impact. of those, the earliest of the 17 modernizations was planned to finish in six years. some are planned to be completed in ten to 13 years, and four do not have ongoing modernization efforts. we also found that the faa's acquisition oversight council had not insured investments delivered functionality in smaller segments and is not consistent monitor high risk that we noted the council made a decision based on incomplete data. despite this, flying is safe but continue to rely on these legacy systems diminishes the margin of safety and adds stress to the national airspace. to that end, faa needs to break modernization modernizations into smaller pieces, delivered functionality quicker and improve accountability. i hope this hearing is a catalyst for action, there is an

easy answer or quick fix. a snap of iron man's fingers cannot fix this. this'll be the work of many years and billions of dollars. this concludes my statement i look forward to your questions. >> thank you mr. walsh for i recognize mr. dean i from national air traffic controller association. >> good "morning joe" duckworth, chair cantwell, and ranking member cruz. thank you for the opportunity to testify before you on this important subject. my name is dean iacopelli and achieve a step in national air traffic controllers association, and i'm retired air-traffic control with over 30 years of expense having been assigned to a facility responsible for separating aircraft in and around the new york city area. we take pride in her role as an aviation safety organization that stand shoulder to shoulder with congress, the executive branch and industry stakeholders to ensure that the financial airspace system maintains a safe

is a most efficient in the world. the 20,000 air-traffic the 20c controllers and other aviation safety professionals represented by natca, department defense and the federal contract tower program are vital to use the economy, entry safe and efficient movement of billions of passengers and tons of cargo every day. our mission is to ensure the flying public provides home to their vacation, the business destination without delay and while maintaining the highest margins of safety. i know much of the city will be focused on safety in technological funding for facilities and equipment but of a given this if i did not first mentioned air-traffic control staffing which is a is then of the air-traffic control system. fashion is based this requires sufficient number of trained air-traffic controllers to meet the operational statutory and contractual requirements. certified air-traffic controllers are also vital to participate in the modernization

equipment procedures. we would like to thank this committee for passing the reauthorization act of 2024 with overwhelming bipartisan support. that law includes many critical provisions on hiring, training and staffing including the directing the faa to direct maximum hiring for controllers for its duration. congress has consistently provided the faa with resources it requests for both authorization of topline numbers and annual appropriations process. currently one of the highest priorities is to address the outdated faa telecommunications infrastructure network known as fti. fdi. the fda network effects later displaced air traffic in real-time in error to grant frequency used to indicate with pilots. the network is largely comprise a copper wiring which can no longer reliably meet the demand of the national airspace system. recently crowned stopped at airports at the newark city and washington, d.c. areas highlight consequences of a field of the fti network.

the faa must transition 4600 sites away from copper wire to avoid extensive flight delays. we operate more than 300 air-traffic control facilities. the faa 21 their route traffic control centers were built in the 1960s and have an average age of 62. fort worth, seattle, kansas city, chicago and houston centers are each between 59-64 years old. our terminal facilities require attention. the average operator tout is 36 years old. dallas-fort worth airport has three air-traffic control towers which serve as one of the daisies airports in the country. the oldest of which is 50 years old. many edifices have exceeded their expected lifecycles. others require numerous, windows, hvac systems, plumbing and elevators. when major systems fail or facilities have structural problems that can lead to flight delays are to break airspace

shutdown. these impossible to build a governmental system with the future and outdated and inadequate buildings. the national airspace system needs and deserves the best facilities and equipment to move this nation's passengers cargoes. this is a many of our legacy systems as well as to enhance the deployed new safety and modernization program faa project it will need $6 billion annually for facilities and equipment which is significant increase compared to recent years. without this funding along with continued focus on air-traffic controller staffing the faa will struggle to maintain its capacity of the system let alone modernize and expand for new users and emerging technologies. our continued involvement as a productive and collaborative partner will ensure the faa continues to deliver these initiatives to industry stakeholders and the flying public on time and at a cost saving the american taxpayer. natca express and trained birds that were not about many modernization programs would be

delayed and cost overruns because they would need to go through cossey and time-consuming revisions following the development, testing and even after implementation. we look for to working with this committee the appropriations committee and the incoming administration to build on our successes and continued the safest time in aviation industry. thank you. >> thank you, mr. iacopelli. i will now record highs captain ambrosi with air line pilots association. [inaudible] >> helps if i push the button. chair cantwell, ranking member cruz, joe duckworth and members of thea, subcommittee, thank you for dot's to testify come present the perspective of 79,000 commercial airline pilots of the air line pilots association, international to my name is jason ambrosi and a curled a qualified 767 captain and since january of last year i've been president of alpa the largest pilot union and the largest nongovernmental safety organization in the world.

our associations history of safety and security advocacy spans more than 90 years and am honored to continue that tradition by participating in today's discussion. congress as guided by this committee is important investments in the future of our aviation system when it passed a strong safety focused either faa reauthorization bill. by furthering the federal commitment to modernizing our system, enhancing the air-traffic control and aviation workforce and investing in technology we are positioned to remain the global aviation leader. as operators in the system, pilots with a vested interest in the faa sustains legacy system and it is a technological and infrastructure improvements to ensure the national airspace system remains safe and efficient. one of the biggest modernization initiatives in recent history is nextgen. the cave of those that the government with nextgen have

increased situational awareness and provided tools to help pilots make safe decision in performance-based navigation, data communication and ads-b implementations are however, the system potential isn't being fully realized. in part because many airliners are not properly equipped to take advantage of these updated capabilities. as result pilots and air traffic controllers are forced to use workarounds that allows to operate aircraft without good equipment in today's complex system, all of which runs counter to the anticipated benefits of nextgen. if limiting communications to navigation and surveillance with air-traffic management, data medication systems and automation systems will allow controllers to monitor aircraft, improved to drainpipes and controllers for clearance and reroutes and it sure aircraft lineup on the correct runway. alpa displease the reauthorization addresses need for terminal airspace automation

display at small airports that have traditionally operated without these technologies. as i testified previously before this committee, we have seen several near miss incidents including a particularly close call at as you mentioned in austin february last year which the pilot was finalized in defense and ensuring safety. time and time again similar examples highlight that the presence of at least two highly trained and well rested pilots on all commercial airline flight decks at all time is a major factor in what airline travel remains the safest form of transportation. the human paladin of pilots working together on the flight deck is irreplaceable. we are able to see, hear, feel and react issues in real time as the austin incident showed. we save lives. to respond to these concerns and augment the critical role of pilots on the flight deck the

committee has self-insure legacy systems including remain fully operational to provide air-traffic controllers with timely alerts that prevent accidents and near misses. similarly, the committee has responded to these incidents with greater focus on runway incursions with the establishment of a policy or no tolerance for near misses which expands faa's focus on improving the ground operation of aircraft at upper scum establishing the safety council and supporting discretion in airport grant programs for one way safety projects. unfortunately, under investment including for facilities and equipment account is affecting the systems pilots and air traffic controllers use to ensure safe and efficient operations. while congress has provided the funding requested each year by the faa during the annual appropriations process, there remains a significant shortfall in numerous maintenance and

modernization effort. resources have not kept up with inflation and effectively require the agency to prioritize sustainment to the detriment of modernization and infrastructure needs. the faa must act under ask congress for its true needs or to sustain the legacy systems and make greater headway i nextgen to prove for pilots and all users. as a current and qualified airline captain with ongoing first-hand experience in the national airspace system i can tell you that are commercial aviation system is a safe and look forward to working with the committee and the faa to continue to improve aviation safety. thank you. >> thank you. i now recognize that today spirit from the professional aviation safety specialists was opening statements. good morning. chair cantwell, ranking member cruz, subcommittee chair duckworth, thank you for inviting -- inviting me to test

on behalf of pass, , 11,000 faa and department defense employees throughout the united states and abroad. these employees can install,, maintain, supporters are air-traffic control and national defense equipment, spec and oversee commercial and general aviation industries come to the flight procedures and perform quality analyses of complex aviation systems used in air-traffic control and national defense at home and abroad. everyday there worked to ensure the safety and efficiency of an aviation system that transport over 2.9 million passengers across more than 29,000,000 square miles of airspace. their airspace. their work is essential to the safe and effective operation of the aviation system. unfortunately, , challenges and related to employee expertise are limiting that effect. pass appreciates the recognition regarding air-traffic control systems, personal and safety.

the largest pass bargaining union is air-traffic organization in a tactical operations unit. there are approximately 4000 technicians responsible for installing, operating, maintaining and repairing more than 74,000 radar communication automation navigational aids airport lighting come back to power and hvac systems at faa facilities in support of the national airspace system. in february pass was asked to pass the gao with information regarding when hundred 35 faa programs and services. to provide accurate current information, pass sure that list with tech tops employees nationwide and ask them to complete a survey. their feedback was extensive and concerning. the challenges are technicians face range of dealing with aging equipment, navigating through cumbersome procedures and limited availability two parts. complexity of the systems,

compounded by staffing and training inadequacies further exacerbate the situation. for instance, outdated technologies like time division multiplexing hand of the swift implementation of new systems while reliability concerns plague critical system such as the advanced lighting systems are aircraft runways and vipr optic transmission systems. maintenance is increasingly challenging ssas become obsolete, necessity specialized training and expertise. that being said, technicians also interface with highly technical state of the art cloud-based solutions which is often overlooked. the most significant result of our survey is a clear indication faa employees, if adequately staffed, are capable and willing to perform the work to ensure successful implementation of new systems and equipment while also maintaining the aging systems as

efficiently as possible. biggest challenge from our perspective as a lack of vision on behalf of the agency. compounding this challenge it's a lack of an appropriate technician staffing model. the faa has been developing a staffing model for over a decade yet their fully aware that today they are short 800 technicians. while pass does not agree the model is factoring in all the necessary data, to determine the optimum number of technicians, it clearly reveals and understaffed workforce. the directors outlined in the bill are a roadmap for improvement. however, highly implementation is critical to their success. pass thanks to lie because of including a link in a 2024 reauthorization bill directing the agency to install 15 instrument landing systems that are in storage in missouri. pass technicians are ready and capable of doing this. while the language in the reauthorization directs faa to

install the ils within 18 months of the loss passage from our attempt to record it with the agency have gone and returned. as far as pass knows the equipment paid for by taxpayers still not in service. the faa is simply not effectively using a key resource to address some of these challenges. agency is ignored the skill level and potential of more than 4000 employees. resources for the faa to be effective are there. the faa is not taking advantage of them. pass thanks the subcommittee following this important hearing. as always they do need simply to assess lawmakers and the agency to ensure the safety of the american flying public. >> thank you, thank yo. i never recognize as to marc scribner from the reason foundation was opening status. >> chair duckworth, check it will come ranking member cruz and members of the subcommittee good morning and thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. my name is marc scribner i'm a a senior transportation policy

analyst at reason foundation, national vital when nc3 puy research and education organization with expertise across a a range of policy ar. including aviation. about is 46 you history reason foundation has conducted research on air-traffic management, emerging aviation technology, and their interactions with public policy. my testimony focuses on institutional problems at undermining efforts to modernize the infrastructure needed to support the continued air traffic volume growth in the national airspace system. gao september report as to the reams of studies document a wide-ranging problems facing faa's air-traffic control modernization efforts which been plagued by delays and cost overruns for decades. i can be gao for excellent analysis and support its recommendations. however, i believe the problems facing faa run much deeper. a decade ago my reason foundation calling robert poole conducted an in-depth study the relationship between innovation

and the structure of and coach at faa. 50, the nays are 45, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action.

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>> if there's only one pilot, the first officer would not identify the software shipped on the runway. let's take the alaska was still investigation can you imagine having a door panel come off and your plane in flight with only one person at the time to manage the situation? let's take ground operations, service operations where you have to back at least international operation councilmen come some the nays have it icehouse at all times, your part you understand that. i sense i was so what else may be looking down at a chart collateral get from eight to be? we don't work at the same port

after everybody. somebody said that another five newspeak heads up looking out and seeing where we are going and monitoring the technology. this technology around the corner that will give us more situational awareness on the ground but if someone is looking at the situation awareness to see where other a pledge of the meet someone else needs to be looking out the window. >> the alaska airline incident one of the pilots -- from the wind gust. if we're stuck with leica discusses him a critical air-traffic control systems, for many more years, , how much harr will it be for your personnel to maintain to them and are you confident we'll have enough parts in workforce with enough expense to do so? >> thank you for the question. i'll start out by saying i like the way captain ambrosi talked about workarounds. that is essentially what our folks to every day when they don't have spare parts. they find ways to make the

systems work. they look for the spare parts. they had to dig into the faa system to see if they can get them refurbished. it will become more difficult as time goes on moving forward. you have to have the ability and training pick the staffing is opened with its incidence in various places where we have the equipment. we have spare parts that we don't have the right people in a place at the right time to restore systems. in chicago earlier this sure we had a ground stop because we did not have a trained technician available on shift to be able to exclude a software problem that effectively caused the controllers to not know where the aircraft work. once that person came in they fixed it in two minutes. but all of these things altogether it's going to become more difficult as time goes on. we have to have the personal, the parts, the training. it breaks our members hearts to not be able, to sustained

air-traffic control system the way they want. >> thank you. i never recognize ranking member cruz for his minor question. >> thank you, madam chair. thank you to each of the witnesses for being here today on the third important topic. mr. walsh might be start with you. they gao report paints a grim picture of the faa sustainment plans for the air-traffic system. more than 100 systems to meaning rater, software and hardware. were unsustainable or potentially unsustainable. with air travel expected to continue to grow, breakdowns and disruptions will only get worse. mr. walsh, your expertise is in procurement and modernization of legacy systems. how would you summarize the current state of air-traffic control? >> the easy summary is this is what happens if you take, if it

isn't broke don't fix it, or perhaps if it still somewhat working, don't fix it, just sustain it over many, many years. so we're saying the ramifications of that. we need to invest more money,, more funds to get us back on track. >> how do you fix it? i suspect the answer is not going to be just more money because that answer has often failed to solve the problems. >> you are correct. for with money at the probably won't fix it if you need adequate oversight, the right people in my place, training we need to have more of the good people that are keeping things running with band-aids and patches here as i sit in my opening statement this is not a quick fix. there is no silver bullet. this is going to be the work of years and billions of dollars and thousands of people. >> mr. scribner, , in your testimony you mentioned the former faa employees responded

to your analysis of the gao report that one stakeholder about the ongoing reliability of existing surveillance technology like radar and ads-b is in jeopardy and the replacement for these existing technologies likely will not be deployed for 15 years. why do you think faa employees reacted so powerfully to be gao report and your analysis? what does it say about the faa's acquisition strategy that it takes 15 years to deploy a new surveillance system? >> thank you for those questions, senator cruz. on the first i think the reaction that reason foundation receipt from faa's decors on the gao report, it wasn't really anything new. a lot of these types of complaints we have heard for many years. i think they saw the thorough and a think the excellent analysis in the gao report as an

opportunity for congress, for faa, for department of transportation leadership to take another close look at some of these issues that they give are not new. when it comes to the delays that they are specifically complaining about, again those are not new. as document by gao, quite literally, this is quite common. especially stakeholders who have contractors who have worked abroad with air navigation service providers outside the country and then they come back and work with ato concedes the night and day situation when it comes to technology procurement and technology development. a lot of these some of the larger are able to develop their own technology effectively in-house and then market it globally. that is something the faa used to specialize in in developing technology in-house but

increasingly it's relying too much on outside contractors without adequate internal controls and that is helping add to the delays and cost overruns for a variety of systems. >> my disdain is the faa has concurred with the majority of the gao's recommendations ranging from better reporting requirements and budget baseline practices to more regular reviews from the joint resources council. all those recommendations in your judgments sufficient or should congress consider more creative solutions to ensure that the use air-traffic control system is the best in the world? >> as i said in my opening statement and as i i detailedn my written testimony, i think the problems run much deeper. it is structural. it is institutional design that is ultimately the root cause here. there is a reason why the vast majority of countries of air

navigation service providers globally have moved toward the public utility model, self-supporting public model to avoid some of the political problems that the faa continues to experience and we've seen a lot more success outside the u.s. in modernizing air-traffic control technologies and practice than we have here. and get i think it's institutional. >> and finally, mr. iacopelli come in your judgment what is the biggest challenge outside of funding facing the faa's air-traffic control system? >> thank you, senator. i would say we have recently, we've recently met with the co of the ato and we talked about these equipment. right now the way it is set up is unfortunately there's a program office that goes out and looks for and acquires new technologies indicate that, that

equipment idea in bring it over to the ato to say hey, we have acquired this. how do you want to use? doesn't make a lot of sense. we would rather as experts in running the air-traffic control system and the coo has agreed we should get together to talk what do we need to look at all of the systems that are out there, prioritize what would become mat better, go through that and move forward together and say this is what the ato needs, this is what air-traffic control needs to maintain the safety and approve an increase the efficiency. >> what you say makes a lot of sense is or anything that prevents the faa from doing that now? >> there is not. it is a goal that were going to start doing in the coming weeks and months and certainly 2025 to move, this is not a united states-ish, faa issue, to go out

and acquire technology under come for air-traffic control under the ato that we are acquiring systems that make sense to a traffic control. >> thank you. >> chairwoman cantwell. >> thank you, madam chair, and following on senator cruz line of questioning because i think the issue here is we want to know what modernization takes. and we obviously have seen a lot of events, and so the workforce training in hours also matter to us. the experience of those air-traffic controllers, if you listen to the alaska flight audio, it's really critical that the communication between the pilot and the air-traffic

control system has the best you could possibly have in that situation. so captain ambrosi, let's just say you are the most active user of the air-traffic controller system. you are the most active pixie said something in your statement at the very end. i don't see it in your written statement but you were referring to the faa's tendency to do what's required within their budgeting, but not come to the table with the right amount of technology investment. am i making sense there? in talking budget resources. i don't know if you have that might and you could we read it again. >> if you like. >> yes please. because i thought it was a very telling statement about this

dilemma. >> see. while congress has provided the funding request each year by the faa, during the annual appropriations process, the remains a a significant shortl in the numerous maintenance and modernization efforts. resources not kept up with inflation and bechtel group identity to prioritize sustainment to the detriment of modernization infrastructure needs. the faa must ask congress for true needs need to know tn legacy systems and make greater headway on nextgen and approve for all user. >> sustainment to the detriment of -- what -- >> modernization. >> okay. that is what i wanted you to focus on. so how do deal with this dilemma? because sustainment, you know, that was much debate between i think natca and others about what the faa should do.

but if the faa city overlooking at sustainment instead of modernization and modernization is absolutely capable as ntsb chairwoman has said on numerous technology at the airports or the systems, how can we be better informed that that is no trade-off when safety is concerned? trading off sustainment for modernization is no trade-off when safety is concerned. how do we better understand this? >> i would use this second to do shot up for administrator whitaker and thinking for his leadership. as we will be sad to see him go. ..

want to know the top safety trend. we also have is the failure and acting administrator hurt her. technology and deployment the united states. a lot of times it's down and

captured it. what else can we do the lies safety congress needs to understand prioritizing. >> highlighting the. and people are sitting there arguing over formula.

now so that we can prevent xy and z and whatever that risk was. over staffing models. and we have norms. and it is aggressive.

and so far to say the watchdog. and it is a competitor. and in front.

and the other side you have the air traffic expert and any way. i talked about this building in front. you have to have the physics around it work while modernizing it. it is the modern issue.

and it is for his leadership and all the systems we need and i would say it is to give this

debate and model what you need to do. to rely on this. and put them on the spot. they are in the middle trying to help. more to do in the modernization will continue for this important hearing.

and appreciate you being here. the chair of the tourism. and the world. it is the modernization because air traffic controllers are working on this.

it's own staffing partners for the next three years and it is sufficient. and it is all working order. it is a relatively new turnover.

overwhelmingly positively administrative whitaker, often talk to the folks there -- mr. president, earlier today i got to spend a little time with a close friend of mine, sam

sailor. and as i was talking to sam -- resident of hartford, connecticut, the city in which i live -- i was thinking about who his son, shane, might be today. shane -- shane had a tough life. shane was born with a birth defect in which one of his arms was essentially inoperable. he group in really poor circumstances. he was often bullied. but shane had a spirit about him, a fighting spirit sometimes that the gao him in trouble -- that got him in trouble, but a spirit to rise above his circumstances, to do something with his life. his mom -- strong mom. sam, his dad, clearly gave him a vision of what his life could be, such that when he was 20 years old, he had started a small business. he was buying cars that needed to be rehabbed and fixed up. he would doll that. and he would -- he would do that

and he would sell them to make a little bit of a profit, an extraordinarily endeavor for a kid who had lived that kind of life, who had had those kind of obstacles. and i think about is it years later shane -- about 12 years later, shane would have been in his early 30's today. what would shane have been doing? would he be running an auto body shop, would it he an active member of his community, would he be making a dmifrps the way his father and mother have? shane could have been a life chairmanning. but he's not, because on october 20, 12 years old, shane died. shane died when he was selling one of these cars. he was meeting a prospective buyer. he brought his girlfriend along and one of the group of kids who was with the buyer said something mean or cooarse about shane's girlfriend. some words were exchanged.

shane, as he sometimes did, threw a punch. the other group's car, there happened to be aen illegal -- an illegal gun. they were furious. they got that gun. they got shane dead in cold blood. shane's mom got there before he died at the scene. he died at the hospital. i just think about who shane would be today, what great things he would be doing. two months later the entire world woke up to the pandemic of gun violence in this country. shane's murder happened on october 20, 2012, and then on december 14, 2012, the massacre at sandy hook elementary school happened, 20 first graders and six educators lost their lives. i never really know what to say

every year when i come down here to give this speech, but because this is the year that those kids would have been going to college and voting for the first time, this year of transition into adulthood, it's worth thinking about who they would be today and what amazing things they might be getting ready to do in their adulthood. katherine hubbard, as early as preschool, just adored animals, and she knew, even when she was 6 years old, her purpose in life was to protect animals. she would catch butterflies and put them in her hand, and whisper to them, tell your friends that i am kind, then she'd let them go. she made business cards -- she's 6 -- she made business cards for katherine's animal shelter, because she knew that's what they was going to do. she was going to save animals as an adult.

chase gowalski was a jock. he loved to run, swim, bike. so much that that year that he died, when he was 6 years old, he asked his parents to find him a triathlon to compete in. he's 6. you wonder -- he wanted to train for a triathlon. he ran in that triathlon, swam and biked in it, and he won that age group. that kind of indomitable spirit, the willingness to tackle challenges so big, that's a recipe for success in life. what would chase gowalski be getting ready to do right now? what big challenges would he see as an opportunity to confront what a difference might he be making in the world, having displayed those really rare characteristics as a 6-year-old? emily parker was a super talented artist, who didn't

travel anywhere without her colored pencils and her markers. she wanted to do art wherever she was. she was very attuned to kids around her, who weren't feeling well, who were feeling sad, and her immediate instinct when she would run into a friend who wasn't feeling well that day was to paint or draw them a picture to make them feel better. this month, the katherine hubbard animal sanctuary broke ground on what will become katherine's learning barn. over the last ten years, the not-for-profit her parents set up in her name have conducted thousands of opportunities and workshops for kids to commune with animals. there is a race for chase kids triathlon today, and so there are children all over connecticut who are learning how to overcome obstacles by racing in their first triathlon, named

after chase. the emily parker art connection has helped support arts programs that are under siege with local budget cuts, not just in connecticut but all over the country kids are getting to experience art because of the emily parker art connection. that's a lovely story, the triathlon, the animal sanctuary, the arts programming, but what would katherine, and what would chase, and what would emily have done with their lives had they lived? what would all of these other beautiful girls and boys, their teachers have done with their lives, had they been here today? it's just unthinkable how many lives are cut off, how much genius is extinguished, how much change could have benefited all of us because we live in a world in which 100 mainly young men

and women in their teens and 20's lose their life every day? i'm here to tell you that that's not the extent of the story. because it's not just those who die who have their potential extinguished. i live in the south end of hartford. presiding officer lives in a neighborhood with high rates of violence. he knows as well as i do the biology that impacts kids who wake up every single day fearing for their lives. i have a group of middle schoolers that i sort of call my neighborhood kitchen cabinet, and i go and meet with them every month or so to get their feedback on what needs to be better about our neighborhood that we live in. they regularly tell me for them school is the safe place, it's their walk to and from school, it's the weekends where they

don't feel safe. when you have millions of children in this country who experience that exposure to violence on a daily basis, in birmingham, alabama, 58% of people live within a quarter mile of a recent fatal shooting. in new haven, same in your opinion, 58% of -- name number, 58% of people. when that's your daily reality, whether you survive the year or not, your brain is impacted, as a child, in a way that robs you of the basic skills for life's success -- resiliency, grit. it's not a coincidence that all the low-performing schools in this country are in the violent neighborhoods. it's hard to learn, impossible to learn, for those kids who see gun violence on a daily basis.

so i wish i knew what shane would be as an adult. i wish i knew what all of these kids ended up to be, where they were going to college, what their dreams were becoming. but make no mistake, the potential that we are losing in this country because of the choices we make here, not to make combating gun violence a priority, it is exittinguishing the potential, not of a hundred people a day, those that lose their lives, but literally of tens of thousands, and it's just a choice we make. shane's first small business was a water selling business. he asked his dad one summer if he could set up a little stand and sell bottled water to people in the neighborhood. his dad fronted him the money, bought him one of those costco packs of bottled water. shane set out his little stand

to sell the water, in a neighborhood where whether he knew it or not he was already exposed to levels of trauma due to the loss of life happening almost every weekend that summer in hartford, connecticut. he put a sign in front of his table. he named his business shane oliver sells. and he wrote the acronym, sos. when you send out an sos call, right, it's your last chance, right? you're on that boat, you've tried everything, everything -- tried bailing it out, you tried restarting the engine, you tried plugging the hole. you're done. the only thing left is to signal that sos call so that somebody in charge will come and rescue you. i don't know if shane knew or

didn't know what his acronym meant, but shane oliver sat out there every day in a neighborhood plagued by gun violence with a sign that said sos. it is representative of the millions of kids all across this country who every single day are sending out an sos signal to the adults that are supposed to protect them, that are supposed to show up here every day and make it a priority that something like this never, ever happens again. where the kids that live in my neighborhood never fear for their lives walking from home to school. that sos call is being sent 0u69 from -- sent out from thousands of neighborhoods all across this country, here. that call is being delivered to us. it's been 12 years since we lost

these beautiful children and the adults that protected them, and it's about time that we respond to that plea for help.

afternoon, everybody. jake sullivan here today about the. the sun projects in the region lebanon continues to hold and engage to establish a transition and continue to make progress in a cease-fire deal and hostages can be reunited with their families humanitarian assistance

so this can come to an end. making clear our commitment in the process so that aspirations can be realized. we discussed the national security team continues to develop tomorrow he will virtually discuss the range of issues dispersed $20 billion to a world bank fund and support for ukraine to billing dollars extraordinary revenue will

continue to explore ways. seventy seconds drawdown and in the united states to provide additional packages at the end of this administration and it can be expected discuss ongoing developments and defend itself. i'd be remiss if i didn't highlight an important milestone for allies. in the program began in 2009

leveraging technology consolidating processing steps and working hard to verify employment status do that. we have no evidence national security or public safety. and local law enforcement to provide resources and a numerous detection methods to better understand origin to get it boundaries. we have not been able to corroborate and citing.

it appears any of those are operated lawfully in providing support and confirmed no evidence of involvement from coastal vessels. there are no confirmed from settings in any circuit airspace. law enforcement and other agencies continued to support jersey and investigate reports even though activity or content to stage and they do highlight a gap in authority and urge congress to pass legislation that will extend trump authorities so we are better

prepared to identify and mitigate the potential threat of force other infrastructure. in response as abstracts. in the future we don't in the national security council. and the inauguration of who will be there. including recently and it was a

peck. we believe as we get ready to turn over in the u.s. china relationship. >> any foreign leaders? >> i don't know. >> are you aware he was being detained in syria before? >> i'm not aware of any indication we have set this gentleman was in syria. we are trying to confirm identity working hard, and not aware of any our notification that he was in syria.

>> is there anybody uncovered? >> not that i'm aware of events of the weekend but working very hard.

>> we are concerned about finding out more the president said want to do everything we can to get them back where they belong, will be like more information than the last 48, 72 hours? you but you and we are in touch and and outside syria to get as much information as we can but i don't have anything in addition to report today. >> you want to compel your relationship.

>> it's not my place without doubt, the single most bilateral in the world. it is a relationship opportunity for their is a lot to get this ship on stable footing and up to them determine what they want to carry that bullet. that means a conversation with resident xi jinping that is his prerogative.

>> protecting taiwan, there is more security concern. >> i think taiwanese leaders know very well will biden understand we don't want to see the results are violent or worse. we are committed to our obligations so not aware specific conversations that have happened days but i think it's apparent to everybody including prc where stand on the issue. >> what is your response to president-elect trump time

magazine to let ukraine fire? with president biden's guidance we can today so so if and when zelenskyy is in the best position that but the most leverage possible success. for some long-range.

>> i didn't know that happened. >> and this is what happened this morning. u.s. military presence syria signed two help us. that is why they are there and the only reason we don't have information about his whereabouts and condition develop home.

help will get the opportunity. >> on the ground are in syria. >> it is largely around counterterrorism. i have policy options right now finding. we met many times to make sure and aid workers in gaza.

aware of what is happening? >> we talk to the israelis everyday about the operations and how we want to see them more careful minimize. jake sullivan national security advisor and this was part of the discussion with the national security team. he it up today. i have no doubt bring it up. >> i think it is a little too soon to make a comment.

only thing i would say is we recognize. and how to maintain. >> i'll get back to you on that one.

>> they partnered with us and we have seen in the past and the big suit of threat. we don't want to see that. clear and close touch to maintain focus on those missions and we are in touch with turkish counterparts to make sure understand what they are trying to do and that we take steps that help preserve the effectiveness.

>> have you hope to ensure this? >> this is what we are doing today. >> that have been reports. can you say anything to that. >> we just don't have enough context right now. that's why we are so hard.

and i think it is safe to assume given the events over the weekend it is a all pressed to find out including a lot of conversations with a lot of different else. >> and acosta finish line. >> what dynamic different? >> if you are hamas and you look at the world today, the options are good. your military capabilities, humane gone.

hezbollah in a cease-fire still holding with israel. this is the time that think that's what he is alluding to. there's a lot of pressure put on anybody supporting hamas this is the moment make this deal and i believe we are getting close. >> a negotiating table between israel and lebanon and operate a little bit more on that.

>> the situation for hamas has radically changed. not only unwilling but more proof or should be but there is no calvert coming to the rescue so moment of weakness and desperation whether they will do it or not, we can't fully believe there is an opportunity. >> have you seen any intelligence trying to exploit those?

you can expect, we have to expect they are going to look at happening. russia is worried on how that will look and you can expect a group so we are watching closely and any additional cases we are laser focus on it. >> together in the area and work push for cease-fire. his a having an impact? >> no that is why.

the concerns are exactly the partnership is so important. >> over the past and one of those over the weekend. it is an this. >> following the events closely and the former prime district and we do work district to

enhance the capability of law enforcement services. very clear on engagement. it is absolutely critical and they have repeatedly committed on bangladesh. >> very proud of the relationship with india and the indo pacific. there is an awful lot improve medication and defense partnerships and india and the indo pacific large.

there has been an awful lot. >> what is the expectation? >> it will be up to them determine. we can only get to the way biden -- >> for support. >> policy anything that indicates change. there is support for this relationship and are expected to continue. >> a new director, the president has the authority?

>> this is nonpartisan agency. >> , going to get into names that president-elect is going forward. that is for him and his team to week two but what i can the administration will in the work you do here and around the world which is been good absolutely vital. it in certain people around the world the fact that they are independent and do good solid

reporting on their own and how valuable they are make sure the information gets the audience around the world. >> has forces in. >> discussions with israelis as you might expect. standing close as jake did today presenting their goals and objectives i will are you where they said which is a temporary measure.

we recognize that they recognize. >> on the throne, is any imagery? >> not aware of any government produced we have done. >> no national security threat or anything involved. >> an investigation that is

ongoing is not revealed national security or criminal activity. we are working with state and local authorities. a sense of energy to figure out what we can do to learn more about this. what we so far. there is no indication this is criminal.

>> democratic senators who wrote to director right and mayorkas and handle this with a sense of urgency. what is the benchmark about determination? >> it is now the 12th of december. if the president commander-in-chief based on the information given a national security threat at play or even look safety threat at play, he would issue there's been no

evidence of any of this activity and restricted spaces. a seriously injured patient. >> i stand by my opening treatment. >> i think people in new york, new jersey that doesn't make sense. >> being concerned about it, we are concerned about it, to. we are taking it seriously and we are understanding that will

are concerned with got questions, too and we are working hard to get the answers. as we hear today 2:16 p.m. on the 12th, we haven't seen any indication thus far that there is a public safety risk. >> i cannot characterize what these sightings are. we can't corroborate using sophisticated techniques but it doesn't mean we are putting our and down and calling it a day. we are continuing to investigate through federal agencies and coast guard and law enforcement officials.

>> is our level determined for the administration? it is regulated for drones figure out who they are and anxiety. >> we are going to keep an open mind here. whatever else the options we determine appropriate informed by investigation. there's no national security. we will see where it goes.

>> in israel and related to ukraine and russia much you feel it will cooperate with this? is it coordination, compensation or what you describe it as? >> we are fully aware and what we are thinking about doing so there is nothing a public domain.

>> asking for phone calls or anything on what you might try to do. >> i think of answer this before. i certainly don't have anything. >> the facility over the weekend. ...

the israelis bombed that facility over the weekend. maybe avoiding target for other prisoners. >> a full court press to get more information about austin. we are actively in touch with interlocutors and counterparts throughout the region and that includes israel. >> thank you very much. >> i was asked by one of my colleagues to flag rodney sweater. [laughter] amazing christmas gear that you have going on. it looks good. i hear that this is a normal thing during the season. okay. all right. [laughter] this is why he is behind the camera. [laughter]

i meant that nicely. please don't talk to me. that is what i met. [laughter] i appreciate that. thank you for what you do. >> thank you. on the pardons, i was wondering if there is been pardons for clemency by the president. i wondered if we could expect. in particular related to the death penalty which the president had said during the campaign trail in 2020 he wanted to get rid of. i think that there are 40 people on federal death row. the president elect has made no

secret of his desire to continue the death penalty. you know, whatever, and any other possible categorical. >> i will say that during the president's remaining weeks, he said this in his statement. i set it up the top as well. he will continue to talk to his team to review any steps that he will be taking. he wants to take steps to provide meaningful second chances. this is what this is all about. he and his team and normal course and certainly further they want to further the justice reforms and equity and justice promoting public safety and all of the things that i said at the

top. again, meaningful second chances so when we have more to share, we certainly will update all of you. i think if you look at what the president has done over the past four years as a just laid out, in addition to what we announced today granting pardons or commutations. the president takes us very, very seriously. on pardons still, just about americans improving president biden's decision to pardon his son in particular.

wondering what the message would be to americans. i think that that it is directly to the american people for the decision. as a president and a father, as i would say more broadly, you heard it from legal expert specifically in analyst who have said they have all agreed that no one would be criminally prosecuted with felony offenses with these facts. the underlying facts that we have gone back and forth on. i have quoted many times and i will do this again. the former attorney general eric holder who said no u.s. attorney would have charged this case had his name ben joe smith. the resolution would have been more fairly a declination pardon warranted.

the actions he has taken over the last four years shows a presidents commitment when it comes to i hope that they will understand the decision that he made and, you know, what he will continue to do in these closing weeks as president. >> do you think you should apologize? >> i think that the president hopes that the american people hear him out. going to that vast part of his statement, and i feel i should continue to reiterate that they should take a look at the president own words, his

statement, how much he wrestled with that decision and how circumstances did not change for him in his view and i quoted many times when he spoke to the president two weeks earlier about making this decision. when he saw the republicans were not going to let up, when he, you know, we talked about the recently announced trump appointees for law enforcement of said themselves that they were going to seek retribution and there was no reason to not take them by their word. all of these pieces led to circumstances changing. so he made a very difficult decision. i just hope in time the american people would see why he made the decision to move forward. in the meantime, i think the statement from the president, this announcement today that we are making nearly 1500 people

getting their commutation, i think it is important. that is what the president certainly will continue to focus on. >> thank you, guys. >> convicted of a crime. there was conversation at one point about preemptive pardons. maybe targeting the incoming trump administration. is that still on the table? the president will have more to announce. i will not get into the president's thinking. he loved conversations with his team. he will review options on the table. that is where i will leave it. 1500 individuals, as you all know who where placed on home confinement during the covid-19

pandemic and to have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and pardoning 39 individuals is a big deal. i think it is important to those individuals and families and communities and they have reintegrated into those really important pieces of their lives. i think that that is really important. and just building on what the president has done over the past four years. i think today is a good day for many of those folks who deserve that second chance and to have proven to be able to take that on. >> absolutely. such an unusual extraordinary step. we have seen liz cheney, doctor fauci. >> preemptive party. >> right. are any of those names wrong?

>> it would be a bad move on my behalf if i preempted the president or previewed anything that the president was thinking about, considering. this is something that he will talk with his team about and i just do not have anything beyond that for you. i think today is a very important day as we talk about the criminal justice system. talk about giving people who have shown that they can reintegrated into their community back into their families a second chance. i think it is a big deal and i think that it shows the presidents commitment to this. the president talks a lot about what this country has to offer and possibilities and you see that in every action that the president certainly has taken when it comes to this issue and so many other policies that he has put forward. >> i will ask this question one more time. you have been working on a

strategy that would partner with a strategy that you have already released to counter anti-semitism. you've been waiting for for a long time. do you have any further updates on when that could be released? do you anticipate on it coming before the end of the year. >> i would say stay tuned. something we are very committed to when it comes to protecting communities across this country. you saw that in our anti-semitism strategy and we have obviously been talking about the islamophobia strategy as well. talking about coming up with a way of protecting communities. certainly, that is a presidents commitment. i don't have anything to share right now at this moment, at this podium behind this lectern, but i would say, stay tuned. >> the former president span on entry for people from muslim majority countries, also known

as the muslim van. [inaudible] >> we repealed and dealt with that. there were many, many people on the no-fly list and there still people in the no-fly list. is there any preemptive action that the administration can take to guard against that kind of, you know, mass move? >> you know where the president stands on this in this administration. i don't have any policy announcement to share with you at this time. i will just leave it there. >> numerous groups have asked the administration to go even further to be even more bold in terms of saying there's something like 9000 additional commissioners, some of whom are chronically ill, some are aging, some have very young children.

i know that you are still reviewing these things, but can you say something to that scale? is this the big move that we will see? and then we will see individual pardons coming forward? do you anticipate there will be another larger -- >> i will not get into the strategy. i will not get into numbers. i will not get into what the president is currently thinking through. i said this at the top and i just want to reiterate. we are talking about americans to receive relief that are decorated metairie veterans. a nurse who has led response for a number of natural disasters, an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people. that is just naming a few. that is important to note. these are the folks that we are talking about who are, again, reintegrating back into their communities in a way that is effective in a way that is incredibly important giving them second chances. let's not forget all of the

other ways that the president hasn't been able to give second chances to americans over the past almost four years. when he has made these types of important decisions. i will not preview, i will not get ahead of this president. it would not be wise for me to do so. he has to make the final decision and he has to review what is in front of him. >> one more real quick. an anniversary coming up on saturday for the sandy hook shooting. i know this is something very near and dear. is he planning any kind of action or statement? >> i don't have anything for you during his presidency and over the past couple of years he spoke to this tragic tragic day. you are right, when it comes to sandy hook and any devastating horrific events like we saw that day, you know, the president has

always spoken up to it. this is a president that understands loss. understands what that means to a family. understands what that means to a community and sandy hook was one of those moments that tore us apart. i think if you think about that moment and if you are just a human and you remember that day, it is a heartbreaking day. our hearts go out to the families and certainly their loved ones who are still dealing with, every year dealing with a difficult moment, a difficult anniversary. i know the president thinks about them almost every day. i do not have anything to read out to you on how we will be acknowledging the day, but i'm sure you will be continuing to hear from this president. >> thank you.

>> talking about the clemency actions and the real relief that is being taken. >> i think we've gone back and forth. the president put a statement out 12 days ago. it was a decision that he wrestled with. i think we talked about the politics around this. the decision that he made. he put out a pretty comprehensive statement. he wrestled this and as i have stated many times, for him there was a consequence that changed his decision. i just laid that out moments ago >> pending for thousands of individuals. why not bring the relief to them before.

>> far from this being the first i think we cannot forget that. or the act of clemency. he has issued more, i cannot forget this. more at this point in his presidency then any other recent predecessors at the same point of their first term. and, so, i talked about what he was able to do in april when he issued historic categorical pardons as well to address marijuana convictions. in the lgbtq+ community. these are actions that this president has taken. again, today's historic, but he has been taking these types of actions for some time now. this is far from the first pardon that the president has taken. we have gone back and forth. i have laid out with the president is thinking. he has talked about it directly in the statement in his own voice told you about 12 days ago i do not have anything beyond

that, but we cannot look at today as being only the first action that he has taken. he has taken many actions to try to deal with giving an opportunity to people who have shown that they deserve a second chance. giving them an opportunity to out that second chance. >> the seniormost communications at the white house very critical of the president's decision to pardon his son. she called it extraordinarily bad time. clear that the white house is not part of this process. she called the president's rationale and attack on the judicial system. the argument is one that i think many observers are concerned about. upholding the rule of law to defend the rule of law kind of saying, well, maybe not right now. >> i will respond in this way. she also agreed that hunter biden, and i quote, absolutely deserved a pardon. deserved a pardon is her own

words. she supported that action. and, i do not want to take away the record that the president has made on providing the most individual commutations in a single day. i think that that matters. he will certainly have more news to share in this area and the clemency space, obviously, in the near future and we will have more to share and certainly more to speak to. >> what i can say is that, obviously, i would continue to refer you to the present statement. twelve days ago key laid out his out process i think in a very comprehensive way. we have gone back and forth about how the circumstances have changed. but let's not forget that she also said that hunter biden absolutely deserved a pardon and i think that that matters as well.

>> what was president biden's reaction to the fbi director christopher ray's decision to step down? >> i will say that the president certainly appreciates the service of christopher wray, the fbi director and all that he has done in his role. i do not have anything more to say beyond that. he wishes the fbi director well. >> was the president disappointed that ray will not be serving —-dash b mckay don't have anything else to share besides the service that the fbi director has been able to provide nt respects his service and i do not have anything beyond that. >> has president biden spoken to fbi director ray since the director made that announcement? was the white house given a heads up? >> i would say that i do not

have anything to share of a conversation between the fbi director and the president since the decision was made. but the president is grateful. grateful for the direct service to our country. i just do not have anything else beyond that to share. >> given the breath of the pardon, can you describe something about the president's process, did he read into the cases, did he accept a list from those working on this on his behalf? how much did he personally dive into particular stories and did he decline on any of the ones brought to him for his time or was it the package presented to the president. >> step-by-step of this process. this is a president who certainly takes this very seriously. understands the importance of when an individual is able to show that they can reconnect with their community. reconnect with their family.

be part of a community in a way. when you think about military veteran you think about a nurse that has been very helpful in disaster response. he takes at all into account. he wants to make sure that there is specific criteria's that are made, if you will. in this case, the bureau of prisons obviously was very involved in looking at, when i say very involved i mean they make the decision on the home confinement of these folks. i will not get into the

nitty-gritty. these are important facts that i just laid out to certainly look at when you think about getting back into the community and showing that, you know, it is meaningful to get that second chance because what these individuals have been able to do >> thank you. on the pardons today, can you say whether the president has signed all the paperwork and it is completely finalized, the with the signature on it? >> my assumption is that this is ready to go since we made the announcement. we have announced it, obviously, overnight. and, so, this is ready to go and we are moving forward. we would not have made this announcement if we were not. this is something that the president has decided on and we are certainly taking the steps to make this happen.

>> you know precisely when he signed it? >> i do not have specifics on when it was signed or how the process even works. i know we just made an announcement overnight on this really, you know, this clemency of nearly 1500 people. i think that that is a big deal. thirty-nine individuals were certainly pardoned, who were convicted of nonviolent crimes. i think that this is important to not forget, but i do not have the specifics of the process or how it works. obviously it is out there we are moving forward with it. >> you have been asked several times about whether hunter biden would receive a pardon. can you tell me whether the president is considering a pardon for his son? >> look, what i can speak to is the president made that decision about hunter biden. he put it in his own words. i do not have anything to share beyond that.

what i can say is not that i am where but i don't have anything more on that. the president, as more broadly speaking, as we move forward to the next couple of weeks, he will obviously review with his team about other clemency decisions. they are taking additional steps that is what i can speak to at this time. >> thank you. >> talking about most of the time the recipients were nonviolent, you know, drug offenders, low-level drug crimes there were a couple of here. a judge that participated in the scheme that sent juveniles to for-profit jails, medicare fraud , real estate fraud, i guess what i'm wondering is what was the crime that was committed a criteria here or was it the mere fact where if you were somebody on home confinement, despite the crime that you committed, just the fact you are on home confinement -- >> two different things.

1500 folks that were placed on home come by meant. >> okay. i did not know. those are commutation. okay. so you are saying pardon so i just wanted to ensure. >> those listed. >> okay. okay. i do know there were 39 people that were pardons. two totally different things. i just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. this is definitely related to the home confinement. does not forget the care act of 2020. this is all connected certainly to that. those are the individuals who had home confinement and they successfully reintegrated into their families, into their communities. that is a group of people, that category if you will that we are looking at. >> just the fact that they are on home confinement, they received a connotation here. in the process you also factor

in the individual cases. >> i think what is important is they were successfully able to reintegrate into their communities and back into their families. they showed that having a second chance is something that they should be given. so, that is what is important. let's not forget successfully reintegrating. i think that that is a huge factor. that matters as well. the home confinement, that is a category that they were in during that care act of 2020. as you know, there was a decision because of coping 19 pandemic to move forward back in 2020 before the president was obviously in office. and these folks, this 1500 that we are talking about, they were able to successfully reintegrate the i think that is a criteria that we cannot forget and that is a criteria incredibly important here as the president made his decision. >> i know you don't want to go step-by-step on the process, but

can we say accurately that the president reviewed, looked at any of these applications. >> this president made the decision. this is the president that made the decision to move forward on this. >> what was his involvement? >> obviously the president was presented from his team. granting the clemency, right, of these approximately 1500 americans in the 39 betty pardoned. he presented that by his team and he made the decision. this would not have happened, you cannot forget, this would not have happened if the president did not sign off on it the president did not decide to move forward. we cannot forget what the president has done. energy, in economic development. we have passed an extraordinary number of bipartisan bills, but we're not done. we have about a week left, and we have a number of bipartisan bills that have to get across

the finish line. so i'm going to summarize four bills and try to pass them out of the senate, and then we will do more work next week on a bipartisan basis to finish out this congress strong, to make sure we do everything we can for native people from hawaii to florida and everywhere in between. and so s. res. 2783, the mikisuka reserve area amendment act will amend existing law to add culturally important land to the mikisuki tribe legislation, authorize up to $14 million for flooding caused by federal projects to restore the everglades national park ecosystem. this is a commonsense bill that passed the indian affairs committee unanimously. s. res. 2908, indian buffalo management act introduced by senators heinrich and mullin, would improve the capacity of

tribes and tribal organizations to manage buffalo and buffalo habitat and clarify applicability of state and federal law. it would establish a $14 million annual grant program for seven years within the department of interior to help tribal nations to play a pivotal role in this recovery effort, especially on their own landcosukee. s. 4635, veterinarian services is the vice chair lisa murkowski's bill it would allow u.s. public health officers to allow some veterinary services to prevent the spread of rabys and other -- rabies and other diseases to children. the tribal forest amendment act, it would help to mitigate wildfire threats, it removes an

existing requirement for mitigation work to take place on federal lands next to tribal lands. it expends -- expands eligibility to include federal lands with specific geographic, historical significance to a tribe and offers $15 million annually through the fiscal year 2030. we have a couple of other bills that we're not quite done negotiating about, in particular a bill introduced by senator-elect g giago to protec children victims of abuse and to help families to recover and we have to do some final clarifications with our counterparts on the republican side and i am hopeful that we will land that one as well. with we also have a couple of bills from senator cortez masto

having to do with law enforcement and finally a bill that is arguably the most important out of all of these in terms of its national impact and that is to establish a commission to reckon with the shameful legacy of boarding schools in which children were basically incarcerated, removed from their tribal communities and forced to speak a language they didn't speak, sometimes forcibly their hair was cut, many times they were punished for speaking in their native language or singing native songs. this is a legacy of abuse at the hands of the federal government. and this would simply establish a commission to start to delve into this history and come

through it to a place of healing, but wear not there -- we're not there yet on those bills. so here comes the lawmaking part. as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 560, s. 2783. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 560, s. 2783, a bill to amend the miccosukee being act. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it, the ayes do have it.

the bill is passed. mr. schatz: mr. president, i ask that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection. mr. schatz: mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 561, s. 290 # of 8 -- 2908. the clerk: a bill to assist tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendments be withdrawn, that the heinrich substitute amendment at the desk be considered greed to and the bill, as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. schatz shat i know of no further debate on the bill, as amended.

the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all those in favor sai aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill, as amended is passed. mr. schatz: mr. president, i ask that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schatz: finally, mr. president, as if in legislative session, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc, calendar number 574, s. 4370, and calendar number 5673, s. 4365. mr. schatz: i ask that the committee-reported amendments be agreed to and the bills be read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schatz: i know of no further debate on the bills. the presiding officer: is there

debate? if not, all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bills, as amended, are passed. mr. schatz: i ask the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schatz: mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quiet. [laughter] [cheering and applause] in the intermission, were you all dancing and everything? get a little movement. you've been sitting for a while. thank you for standing. you get a little movement. that is what it is all about. please that down. please. if you feel all stretched out by now. before i begin, i just want to say that i'm so glad you got to come here today because the white house is decorated.

[cheering and applause] the theme this year is peace and light. so, i hope that you all feel that sense of, you know, he's and light and just for a moment when you leave here today, little sense of joy. we all need to feel joy now. during this time. anyway, okay. [laughter] you are all reading into that. [laughter] anyway. for decades, for centuries even, at dinner tables and in waiting rooms and whispered conversations, you know, when we meet our friends for coffee, women have been talking to each other about our health. isn't that true?

today we brought that conversation to the white house. [cheering and applause] today, we are saying to women everywhere, we hear you and we will get you the answers that you need. so, thank you for joining us for the white house conference on women's health research. the united states is the best health research in the world. research is underfunded. so many of you have said this. losing $1.8 billion in working time every year to menopause sy lives. that is what maria shriver and i talked about on that saturday afternoon maria keeps his quote

next to her phone. you have a stationary phone? [laughter] in her office. it says why go to the moon. we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things. pushing for breakthroughs that are never easy, but possible. thank you. [applause] a little more than a year ago, president biden launched, thank you, joe, the first-ever white house initiative on women's health research. building on the foundation of decades of work in women's

health from many of you in this room. carolyn made sure yesterday when we were doing speech prep that i understand. she said, jill, i know we are doing this now, but there are some women who are doing this research forever and ever and ever. i just want you to say we recognize that. you heard from carolyn are incredible team here. that means designing studies and separating the data which everyone has said and recording findings to create treatments specifically for women and men. we are not going to leave you guys out.

we have invested $1 billion in this research on women's health. [applause] over this past year, i have traveled across the country. i have met honestly some really incredible researchers. and i've been to universities in the new york stock exchange to bring people together and create connections across industries. the women of this country are paying attention. we brought all of you into this room to elevate all of this information. discoveries that will change how we treat menopause symptoms. we talked about this all this morning. research that uses genetics to find the cause of extreme morning sickness.

i heard this a couple weeks ago. i was particularly interested because my only granddaughter was going through the same thing we will be great-grandparents. [cheering and applause] funders in founders seeing the market for women's health products triple. advocates are making sure that women know the solutions are at our fingertips if we just keep fighting for them. to gather, we have laid down a new line. a marker of our progress towards closing the gaps and women health. it is been so informative and fascinating. i love these because i always learn something new. it is just so inspiring. because this is our new normal.

today is not the finish line. it is the starting point spirit we, all of us, have built the momentum. now, it is up to us to make it unstoppable. it has been the honor of my life to serve as your first lady and to join you in this work. but my work does not stop in january when joe and i leave this house. i will keep building alliances like the ones that brought us here today. and i will keep pushing for funding for innovative research. [applause] being the researcher that make sure every proposal you work on considers women from the

beginning. bd investor who searches for the next breakthrough product of treatment. the the voice in every space from boardrooms to classrooms to laboratories who ask what are we doing to advance women's health. let's make a promise to all of those women out there right now sitting in the parking lot somewhere after a doctors appointment wondering why you are not being heard. maybe feeling, you know, like you are all alone. i will just have to stop here for one second. i did hear during that little intermission thing, we are not putting our doctors down. right. a dock in the back said it sounds like you're putting the docks down. we are not putting the docks down. i do not want you to feel that way. i think that the docs are

joining us and saying, hey, we want the answers. so, i just want to make that 100 % clear. so, the white house, all of us here, we will keep fighting for you until your worries turn into answers. your symptoms into solutions. until women everywhere benefit from the lifesaving and world changing research that we know is possible. a new future can ring out from this conference. one that answers the call from women who have been waiting for too long. let this be the moment that we push harder. the moment that people say change the world of women's health forever. [applause] thank you. [cheering and applause] thank you.

[applause] thank you. [applause] thank you very much. so i am so grateful to have a president who heard us. [laughter] and took action quickly. so, without joe, really, this would not have been made possible. that is the power of someone who understands how to make things happen in government because god knows, joe, you been here for what, 50 years? [laughter] so, someone who is fundamentally shifted how our nation approaches women health research so, please welcome my husband, your president and champion i think of all of us. my husband, joe biden. [cheering and applause]

>> thank you thank god she said yes the first time i asked her to marry me. [laughter] please, have a seat. as i used to say in the senate, a point of personal privilege. when no man deserves one great love let alone, too, when i was introduced to jill, youngest brother said you'll love her, she hates politics. [laughter] my name is joe biden, i am joe biden's husband. [laughter] let's be honest, we would not be here today without joe.

across our administration, cross congress, across the country, the work we are doing on women's health research is some of the most important work this administration is ever done. i have always believed that our nation is at its best when we plumb the endless possibilities that exist for all women and girls. that includes their health, half of our population state the obvious. for too long they have been underrepresented when it comes to health research. that is real. you know, that is why over one year ago, we launched the first ever white house initiative on women's health research. the goal is to fundamentally change and improve how we approach and invest in women's health research. to pioneer the next generation of scientific research and discover care for women across the country. because, the fact is the health of our moms and grandmothers, sisters and daughters, friends and colleagues, not just women's

well-being, but the prosperity of the entire nation. that is a fact. we have not gotten that through to the other team yet. [laughter] i mean it. across the board. anyway, i will not get into that >> that is why, i called on congress to invest $12 billion in women's health research. [applause] communities all across america. folks, my administration was not going to wait for congress to secure the funding. we look for other ways to prioritize. they are already in the government. getting important work started. i knew where to start. stand up. [cheering and applause] i am not joking. you all think i'm kidding, i am not kidding. [laughter] she is incredible.

every important thing that i tried to get done, you were there for me. i mean this sincerely. what she did on the child tax credit, across the board. women's health is something that matters so, so very much. along with members here today, she will keep this effort will we leave. when jill and i leave. we are no longer going to be president and first lady, but we are not going away. [laughter] [applause] diane and lauren, where is diane stand up. [applause] lauren, thank you. so, i am so proud. today, we have secured a billion dollars or women's health research. different covered agencies. our new agency, part h which is

pattern after vance research projects and agencies for health , it's based on the defense department program for advanced research and projects at the agency. the defense department from the internet to gps. it had a big budget for doing everything else, but it also had the specific individual budget. it does for biomedicine what it does for technology. driving breakthroughs to prevent detect and treat diseases including cancer, alzheimer's, diabetes and so much more. using their funding to drive breakthroughs in women's health and menopause, high blood pressure for pregnant women, the national institutes of health is using funding to break down the silos. a lot of silos in government. a lot of silos across america. to make more progress and do it more quickly. we know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. what we don't know, we don't

know enough about how menopause may affect heart disease. that is going to change now. we are going to learn so much more. the department of defense is dedicating funds towards arthritis, cancer, chronic fatigue that affect women in the military. this research will benefit all women. all women. our work does not stop here. the addition to women's health research earlier this year, i signed an executive order that directed the most comprehensive actions ever taken, ever taken in the history of this country to improve women's health issues [applause] it ensures that women's health is integrated, prioritize all across the entire federal government. all research projects and budget plans across the entire government. new research and innovation in a wide range of women's health needs throughout their lives.

it does so much more. so much more. folks, there literally has never been more of an effort from the federal government to spur innovation in our entire history thank you, by the way, kiddo. [applause] if i can digress for a moment, i have been the beneficiary of the research being done. i had two aneurysms, two nine-hour operations, took the top of my head off twice, cannot find the brain the first time. [laughter] but all kidding aside, research going on across the entire world i visited every single solitary major health center in the world in the world. seven of them. you know, what happened even not just women's research, but, you know, docs are great. they walk by the year in they see a nobel prize about to be

one better than sharing the data , but that is all changing. that is all changing. this lays the groundwork for discoveries in research for generations to come. mark my words. the benefits that we gain tomorrow will happen because we made the decision to do something about them today. today. now. all of you in this room are leading the way and that is not hyperbole. you really are. a helluva combination of people to make things change. let me close with this. my daughter is sitting here. she works for women's health center shelter in philadelphia. this holiday season is time not for gratitude, but reflection. gratitude is important. we have to reflect on what is going on. let me say to you, it's been an honor of my life to serve as president for the past four

years. i am grateful. i really am. [applause] it is not a joke. we are blessed to live in america. i have been over 140 countries. by the grace of god could have been born a lot of other places. literally, the greatest country on earth. that is who we are. but we have to raise up even more than we are now. often saying america can be summed up in one word. i was on a tibetan plateau. can you define america for me. this is all on record. i said, yes, one word, possibilities. think about it. the only nation in the world where people think there is arrogance and that but we never failed to get things done we set our mind to. it's all about possibilities. anything is possible. that is what the initiative is all about. possibilities. that is what this conference is all about.

researchers, innovators, investors, businesses, advocates , elected officials. unleashing the drive and discovery of the imagination that you have in this room. the spirit of innovation of who you guys are. think about it. turn and look to the people of your left and right. it is all about the possibilities and belief we can do things. we can change things, fundamentally. i think the american conscience said in a bold vision taking concrete steps to make our dreams a reality. hold on to one more thing. we can never lose, hope. hope, hope, hope. because what we need, raising the expectations of the american people. we have to let them know we have not forgotten. business or labor or politics. we have not forgotten.

you guys go out there and you take care of all of these folks. how many are forgotten. because of you and your fearless determination, you are making real progress. real progress. still so much more to do. taking all of us to get it done. i know it is a battle, but i know i have a hell of an army here. [laughter] when i look around at all of you here today, and i mean this sincerely, i know that it is a battle we will win. we will win this battle. we just have to remember who the hell we are. we are the united states of america. there is nothing we have ever set our mind to do we have not been able to deal. you are all working together. i want to close by thinking my wife. like i said, when we got married

, my brother said, don't worry, she does not like politics. i tell you what, you stepped up, kid you'd you stepped up. [laughter] in case you're wondering, when she speaks, i listen. thank you all so very, very much [applause] let's get this done. ♪♪ >> distinguished guest please remain in your seats after the president and the first lady depart. [applause] ♪♪ [cheering and applause] ♪♪ ....

reached a. in making the assad regime prison schaad al-assad is no escape to russia and he had won the war as he reestablish control in most of the country. not all of it. most of it so the central corridor where most of the main cities are located in serious starting with aleppo in the north coming down through damascus he pretty much reestablish control of all of that. exceptions to that rule were primarily the northeast which is largely desert where our friends the kurdish groups were essentially in control and that number made turkey happy because turkey has occurred its population.

it's been a complex relationship there but in northwest the more extremist sunni movement. they evolved and took their name and they were centered around the north of aleppo. that's where and that's where his group established a small form of government in control in and a military district of population of a couple million over it period of ears and i didn't really assess the strength of that movement with developing and most people were surprised. that popular resistance existed in the northwest and complements the kurdish rebels or the movement in the northeast and small movements here in their tiny pockets of land in the south. that came together in the last

few weeks as president assad's traditional reporters hezbollah from lebanon and iran and russia could have lost their ability to help them and the regime would dissolve before our eyes. >> it what do you know about the leader of this organization that now is holding damascus essentially and seems to be leading most of the country. the leader is named elsa ronnie as you mentioned before and what do we know about him? they push and pull in opposite corrections and he's obviously a very effective military leader leader. he is managed to pull together a coalition in a way that for 13 previous years nobody had come close to doing and second he has extremist roots and links to al qaeda and isis. third he has claimed to be a moderate in the sense that he will reserve minority rights and women's rights and not sharia

law or these capricious beheadings and tragedies that isis was known for so he is established a government to the north like i mentioned before that seems to back up his claim that he wants to lead this coalition and a course that is part of what explains his battlefield success because other insertion groups were willing to cooperate with him in overthrowing the regime rather than to fight each other which has often been the case in the syrian civil war so we will see if that continues to this is a big transition point but he's a very effective battlefield leader and he's a more moderate governor essentially her military leader of government in the region and he has extremist roots but he claims to be moving away from them. >> it that group does have a terrorist designation from the united states. do you think it's too soon to

lift that and you think that should stay in place and what does that mean that designation isn't? and my instinct would be to remove it provided we see the these next few days and weeks and months consistent with the claim about gillani that he is moderated and have been inclusive leader and he will use of violence sparingly and legally so he holds up his promises on those issues that i think we should leave that appears designation there's a reason to think just because it was correct five years ago but it still cracked today but i think as the u.s. government spokeswoman had said up until now actions speak louder than words so it depends on what kind of a arrangement and monitoring we can establish in the conversations with whatever the government is now created and make sure they live up to their promises. >> here's a portion of secretary of state blinken's statement on

this i'll have the response. it says this transition process to lead to credible inclusive than nonsectarian governing that meets international standards of transparency and accountability. the syrian people will decide the future of syria but all nations have pledged to support an inclusive and transparent process and refrain from external and her parents. the united states will recognize and fully supported future syrian government that results from this process and we can lend all appropriate support for all of serious diverse communities and constituencies. michael o'hanlon that sounds really good. secretary blinken is only going to be in office for few more weeks. so what are we expecting from the trump administration? >> it will be hard to deliver on all those or they are the right words i think that the idea that we are going to keep all of us will keep others. let syria resolve this on their

own is correct at one level that they will need help rebuilding the country. so you're going to make a choice at what point do you consider a new government conclusive or not and confident enough that it merits our support maybe even our financial support. that's a big decision and that's not something that the principals can make the decision for you and you have to put the principals out there and watch what happens in secondly let's recall how bad of the track record we as americans have been trying to build democracies in our civil wars. we have not done a good job with it whether it be in vietnam iraq afghanistan and i would underscore one particular thing we got wrong in iraq. they push too soon for early elections thinking that elections equal democracy equals inclusivity. it's not true. democracy requires oppression of minority rights and strong

justice system and requires restraint of checks and balances on a ruling party which ideally should not be based just on sectarian or ethnic identity so it's not -- let's not re-create mistakes he made in iraq. >> we are talking about the fall of the assad regime in syria and if you'd like to join the conversation with michael o'hanlon with the brookings institution call us republicans (202)248-8001 democrats (202)248-8000. you mentioned the armed groups in syria fighting and right now they are our kurdish forces and isis and others. what does this mean for united syria going forward and are all those groups are going to have laid down their arms or would they be willing to do that? think i don't know if they should lay down their arms so much as come under the control of the central military and i

think they'll need to have some sense that their protection is going to be assured. asking them to lay down their arms to sudan just like having early elections too soon could be counterproductive so i think the key is going to be for gillani to establish himself as a conclusive leader with the exception of course of former assad regime and i should be more clear i'm not saying they should be unfair towards those groups but they will be punitive. those who are decision-makers in the assad government of the people authorized the bombing of civilian populations during the civil war and the people who authorized the chemical weapons obviously the number one is gone now to the country the there will be top levels of his military leadership and i think he needs to be put on trial am probably put in jail. that needs to be done with some degree of restraint and leniency if you will be able to reach out to the groups that did support

assad which makes up one third of the population. these are christians and aloe or these are the two groups that he was most supportive of war most supportive of assad and you don't want to the strange that entire one third of the population. he needs to bring resistance groups together and find a way to create the right level get the well of justice towards the previous regime. >> that we will take calls but before you do that i want to ask about israel on the front page of the post israel expands extensive attacks as the volatility accessing rebel access to weapons. serious military has been decimated and their navy is completely gone. how do you see this. they have come under a lot of criticism from neighbors saying that this is opportunist and there's a land grab in things like that. how do you see that?

to make it depends on which action we are talking about. i think the future syrian state has a right to a military and even though israel has a right to be nervous based on the history there's no reason to think this group overthrew president assad is going to want to perpetuate the policies of assad or of iran. hezbollah use area to get weapons to hezbollah. israel should not presume the future syrian government will do the same thing but i have sympathy for israel want to get rid of any chemical weapons and also to patrol and control the golan heights were israel's concerned about potential extremist groups and have a freer hand in conduct violence against israel. the temporary occupation of some of those areas i think it's understandable and i would not criticize israel for that. ed is up first in new jersey on the independent line. the morning.

>> at morning. i know the guests made no mention of u.s. forces approximate a thousand u.s. forces. presence in the northeast region of syria and i believe reports are they are taking the syrian oil. my guess in my thinking is one of the reasons the assad regime has fallen is because the less is stealing from those people. assad is in al but it's a minority group so the existence was dependent upon his ability to compromise and get the support of other groups. he faced an uphill climb so i think the fact that he held on as long as he has is pretty commendable. basically i want you to comment on how the united states played an important role in the demise of assad. senate thanks to raising that issue and you are right it's an important one to get on the table and they are close to 1000

u.s. troops in the northeast part of syria working with the and i don't think u.s. troops are taking oil. i think they be happy to see the take the oil so assad didn't get it. so some degree that would be effective self-governance in the north and east of the country were assad's government had no ability to provide anything for the population. that's the nature of economy so i take your point about the importance of the u.s. troops but i don't think they'd be stealing from assad and they'd allow the to confiscate the resources but as to whether assad there may have been a day where people thought it was the least bad option for ceria and people like john kerry and hillary clinton before the spring began in 2011 and hoped it would be a more reform oriented president. i think he proved that he is not in the way he governed the country and admittedly when there's a civil war you will fight for your survival.

at the half million people dead and more than 10 million people displaced most of them because the regime is. there's nothing about assad that merits any sadness on our part that he's gone and we should be nervous about what comes next. the only reason he is to empower so long is because hezbollah as well as iran and russia helped him do so but it wasn't because of this notion he was inclusive. i think alawites a kristin smith felt that way because they feared what a sunni majority government might do to them. most of the resistance groups are sunni and it's going to be a challenge for them to make sure coming to power they don't oppress the alawites in christian community but it's one thing to seek justice and to be assad's ringleader but it's something else to make sure it's

fair to the minority groups that will be at their mercy so to speak. >> we will put on the screen a timeline of u.s. involvement in ceria so we get an idea. in december of 2014 the first u.s. military intervention in the airstrike against the atlantic state in late 2015 the first american ground troops entered syria and 50 grew to 2000. their goal is to help kurdish fighters defeat the state. december 2018 trump announced his intentions to withdraw true some ceria at the plants often within a year and this is when jim mattis resigned in protest and today about 900 are still in the country. michael o'hanlon what do you see as the united states top priority militarily in? them if that's the good timeline and if i could i would ask --

add one piece which comes before 2014 which as we started to look for ways to support opposition groups who are rising up in the insurrection against president assad but we were very restrained and how we did that. president obama thought it might be better to keep america's hands largely on the mess and maybe help consolidate a new syrian regime with the expectation of assad would fall because he didn't have a lot of support and he only had minority support in the country. our role was in some ways in retrospect counterproductive i think it we encouraged the insurrection we promised help to the rebels but never delivered and that's part of why they have stayed in touch and probably several dozen at least rebel groups formed a period and didn't do a good job quaffing with each other and that's why assad sent them off so in terms of our priorities now the number one priority is to be iran to

establishing connections to hezbollah in lebanon and that land bridge. right up there with that priorities is making sure an isis or al qaeda friendly government does not take hold in damascus and wind up being extremist behavior. we got another government like the taliban in afghanistan that would be bad for the people of syria m be dispensed with. be dispensed the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session, be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the republican leader, and n notwithstanding rule 22, the chair lay before the senate the message to accompany s. 4367 to provide improvement to the rivers and harbors of the united states, that the majority leader or designee be recognized to

make a motion in the house amendment to s. 4367 and there be up to one hour of debate equally divided on the motion to concur, upon the use or yielding back of the time, the senate vote on the house amendment 4367 with 60 affirmative votes to and that no other motions or amendments be ordered. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. schumer: mr. president, i have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the committee on homeland security and government affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 86 # 3 and -- 86623 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 8663, an act to

require the director yacht to develop to identify and disrupt substances. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding? mr. schumer: i ask that the cornyn-ossoff amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended be considered read a third time and passed, the cornyn-ossoff title amendment at the desk be agreed, to the title as amended be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 651, s. 59. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 651, s. 59, a pill to implement merit based reforms to the civil service hiring system and so forth. the presiding officer: is there

objection to roading to the measure? without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn, the sinema amendment at the desk be considered and greed to, the bill, as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 2513 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 2513, a bill to amend title 38 united states code to improve benefits administered by the secretary of veterans' affairs and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the moran-tester substitute amendment be considered and agreed to the bill, as amended be considered read a third time and passed and

the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of s. 141 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 141, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the moran-tester substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on health, education, labor and pensions be discharged from further consideration of s. 5046

and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 5046 a, a bill to require the secretary of health and human services actingingthrough the commissioner of food and drugs, apply a rule related to nonclinical testing. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. schumer: i ask that the booker-schmitt substitute amendment be considered and agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. schumer: and finally, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3:00 p.m. on monday, december 16, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed.

following the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the house message to accompany h.r. 5009, that the motion to concur will ripen at 5:30 a.m. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there is no further business to come before the senate. i ask that it stand aid understand under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

and thank you so much