that's no longer the question. it's what can we do with africa, not what we can do for africa. what can we do together. what can we do together? and i mean that. the president means if. i believe there's a significant opportunity for the united states and africa to do more that benefit both our people. this is america's economic self-interest. $50 billion in u.s. exports to africa already support a quarter of a million american jobs right here in the united states. africa, african consumers are spending $1.3 trillion, and

that's projected to double by the year 2030. at the same time, agoa, the african growth and opportunity act, has allowed more than 6400 african products to reach american customers duty free supporting african jobs and industry, training, ranging from vehicles to vegetables. so 2010 non-oil exports from subsahara and africa to the united states have almost quadrupled. i see no reason why, this is not hyperbole, i see no reason why trade and investment between the united states should not double, triple, quadruple in the decades ahead, but to get there each of us has a whole lot of work to do and no one knows that better than the people, particularly the heads of state, sitting in this audience. to start, american businesses have to show up. my dad used to say to me as a

young man, he said, joey, half of winning is just showing up. american businesses have to show up, and they are showing up. and they're doing it in greater and greater numbers. to compete alongside indian, chinese, european companies for african trade and investment. it is sort of stamped into our dna. we like to compete. we welcome the competition, but because it's not just how much we trade and invest that matters, it's how we do it. we can always do better, but the united states is proud of the extent to which our investment in africa goes hand in hand with our efforts to hire and train locals. to foster economic development and not just to extract what's in the ground. to protect human rights, labor rights, protect the environment. to create new opportunities for women and girls. a famous columnist here in the

united states says women are half the sky. they are half the sky. and to win contracts and friends on the merits, not through kickbacks or bribes. this can be hard when others cut corners. we believe it's absolutely worth it, not only to help growth but also to engrain a set of rules of the road that are fair and decent to all competitors. because the ties we are building are ties that have to last. the rules were advanced and are rules that will benefit us all and the prosperity we are promoting is prosperity we can sustain together if we do it correctly at the front end. united states government has a great deal of work to do as well to help realize the full promise

of this moment. and you'll hear about that from many other u.s. officials, particularly one that will be following me in an hour and a half or so who i just left, the president of the united states. we're working with the united states coming to renew agoa before it expires next year. we're working to connect more african companies with american business, and the united states is also providing more direct support to make trade and investment easier. our export/import bank financed a record $1.7 billion in exports to africa over the past ten years. we should do more. the overseas private investment corporation, opec, has financed nearly $3 billion in projects across africa under president obama and every dollar invested by opec has sparked on average

$2.60. there is no private sector investment. u.s. trade and development agency has funded over 100 projects expected to generate over $1 billion in u.s. exports while building up the infrastructure of subsahara and africa. in each of these areas president obama will announce very shortly significant new initiatives. we're also focused on energy. i need not tell this audience 2/3 of africans still go without electricity. if we can help power africa that will empower the people of africa to grow their economies. that's why under president obama's leadership, as he will discuss later today, the united states is helping to mobilize private investment and offer financing to help americans provide for -- excuse me, to help afrikaater frricans provid

yourself, clean, abundant, affordable electricity which is badly needed. today the united states will sign a $500 million millennium challenge corporation compact with ghana to strengthen the energy sector. let me give you an example of u.s. efforts to help power africa look like. last week the u.s. export/import bank supported long term financing at azinu, the power plant on the ivory coast. the country is just emerging from a civil war. commercial banks weren't ready to offer long-term financing, but america stepped up to fill the gap by guaranteeing a loan for the west african development bank and in so doing we are helping azioto upgrade that facility to increase its output by nearly 50%. american jobs manufacturing steam turbines for export are

from schenectady, new york, to bangor, maine. american jobs. this is one project expected to increase the overall supply -- this one project will increase the overall supply of electricity in the ivory coast by as much as 50% and create one of the most efficient power plants in west africa. as much as we hope to accomplish in partnership with you, we also know that nothing will be more consequential to africa's future than the steps nations take to empower your people to make the most of their talents. of course, to state the obvious, no two countries in africa or anywhere else are the same. no two countries will do it the same way, but there are certain common ingredients to success in the 21st century that have become self-evident. the need for greater economic integration. a court system that adjudicates disputes fairly.

a commitment to invest in all of a society's people to respect their rights because countries that respect citizens equal rights no matter what their gender or religion, no matter who they love tend to be the most attractive to attracting international talent and international investment. it's good business. it's just simply good business. rules that level the playing field for private companies is good business. regulations that make it easier to start businesses, and today there is genuine success, a number of stories that can be pointed to. business startups costs in africa kept falling. nearly 70%. startup costs for businesses were falling 70% just since 2007. the time to start new business has been cut in half. it's no surprise then that

400,000 new companies worldwide have registered last year to do business in africa. that's a big deal [ applause ] when the world bank ranked the 50 most improved countries for efficient business regulation, 20 of them, 20 of the 50 were in africa, including the most improved environment in the world, rwanda. we all know there's a great deal more work to do, but we all know the way to get it done. it's hard, but we know the pattern. we know that in the unforgiving daylight of the global economy investments can and will go elsewhere when it sees excessive regulation, a broken judiciary, or widespread corruption. there's a reason why, mr. mayor

and madam secretary, after years the united states of america is once again the destination of all the major countries in the world, considered the best environment in the world to invest, because we have a court system that's real. it works. corruption is the minimum. energy costs, et cetera. i think what we underestimate the most and i think the leaders all here know it is corruption is a cancer. it's not just ethically wrong, it's economically crippling. by some measures illicit financial flows out of africa in decades including corruption measure in the hundreds of billions of dollars. some studies have estimated over a trillion dollars. corruption is a global problem, it's not an african problem. it's present everywhere from the ukraine to east asia to even

here in the united states. and we have to take it on together. that's why president obama helped launch the open government partnership where eight african nation, the united states, and 55 other nations act together on a common commitment to more open, transparent, and accountable institutions. and that's why america is doing its part to ensure our legal and financial systems cannot be exploited to launder the proceeds of corruption and theft from africa. this includes new proposals from president obama to prevent the use of anonymous u.s. registered shell companies. that's why we've joined 23 african countries in the extracted incompetent dus stris transparency initiative. that's a mouthful. but there's a lot there. because africa's natural well should not be stolen and repatriated under the cover of darkness.

it should enrich africa's people under the rule of law. i'm known as they will tell you in the white house as the white house optomist. i feel very good about that because when they say that it implies that i'm the new guy, that i haven't been around a long while. i've been there longer than all of them, but i'm more optimistic today than i have when i got elected as a 29-year-old kid as a united states senator. the promise and potential around the world, particularly in africa, is immense. it is immense. and africa's economic future is profound. i'm optimistic about my own country. you know, i have traveled about a million miles just since being vice president and i don't think there's a major leader in the world i haven't met over the last 30 years just because of my job, not my consequence.

it is never, ever a good bet to bet against americans. america is betting on africa. the companies are immense. we're betting on each other. africa, america, america and africa. what we can accomplish together for the enormous benefit of our people. i will quote my colleagues.

i think i quote irish poets because i'm irish. that's not the reason. i quote them because they're the best poets in the world. that's why i quote them. one of my favorite contemporary poets just passed away, seamus heney once wrote in a poem called the cure of joy, he says, history says don't hope on this side of the grave. but then once in a lifetime that tidal wave of justice rises up and hope and history ride. we have a chance, you have a chance, you have a chance in africa to make hope and history rhyme in a way that has never

occurred before. we want to be your partners. we want to compete for your business. we want to compete for your hearts and your interest. we want to see you succeed. when you succeed, the entire world succeeds. thank you for giving me the time. i look forward to meeting you all tomorrow. thank you. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, please welcome secretary of state of the united states, the honorable john f. kerry. >> good afternoon, everybody. i've had a chance to be able to say a few words to a number of you in a few different events in the course of yesterday and even

today. i appreciate this chance to be part of a business forum. i want to thank, first of all, the vice president who's been a friend of mine for 35 or 40 years now, 29 of them in the senate. and i thank him for his contribution of conscience and commitment to africa that he has made for as long as he has been in public life. in the senate we worked hand in hand in south sudan, pepfar, and as the vice president said, he has traveled far and wide but as vice president to ghana, kenya, south africa to help build transparent and accountable institutions and to help lift millions of people out of poverty. i also want to especially thank michael bloomberg for -- and everybody has, but it's appropriate, the bloomberg philanthropies for sponsoring this. michael's contribution in the form of africa comes not just in

the form of this summit but $10 million that he made to african countries to build media capacity with a business focus and to promote reliability in reporting, educational opportunities, and the transparencies that the vice president just talked about that markets need in order to give capital, confidence, and in order to grow. and finally i also want to thank penny prisker, my partner, member of the president's cabinet. a terrific partner in our endeavors to make certain that people understand in the globalized world, in the transformative societies we're living in today, that economics -- excuse me -- is not divorced from foreign policy, it is foreign policy. foreign policy is economic policy. they absolutely go hand in hand, and we are working very, very closely to marry the efforts of the commerce department and the

state department in order to assist companies and to work for american business but also to work for the countries that we represent in terms of their interests and their vision and their aspirations. penny, as you all know, spent 30 years building a business empire, literally. she understands that the investments in africa are a two-way street and when we help nations stand on their own two feet, we create opportunity elsewhere, in the world and that everybody benefits as a result of that. now my singular responsibility and privilege is to represent the united states of america in our diplomacy, and i get to wear the hat of the top diplomat of the state department, and it's a privilege. i want to say something to you today that is not just from the

business perspective but which comes from the wearing of that hat, which is a reflection of the people that i see in the countries i visit, the leaders i meet and talk with, the aspirations that i hear, all of them expressed, and the firsthand opportunity i get to sink my teeth into other people's culture, other people's history and see the world as they see it and see even america as they see it. never one here understands that we are living in a very different world from two years ago, from five years ago, ten years ago and certainly from the world that emerged with the fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war. forces have been released everywhere that have changed everything because of their own ideology in many cases or in some cases just outlook on the

world, but also because other things have changed. the world -- i sat with a number of young diplomats in the state department not so long ago, and one of them recently minted from college and the foreign service school and this new world of technology made a very profound observation to me which has had an impact on my thinking about power and how it works. he said that a world where power used to be defined exclusively in hierarchies is now a world where power is defined in networks, and in much of africa and across the networked world it is evident, we heard the statistics earlier of the number of people who have cell phones in africa today, everybody shares everything with everybody all the time. and the fact is that that

changes politics. it changes the crosscurrents of decision making. it changes how political leaders can or can't build consensus in order to try to make decisions and bring their people along with them as they make those decisions. it also obviously profoundly changes business, something bloomberg understands which is why they have been so successful. it changes hopes, and dreams, and aspirations, and every political leader and every business needs to be tuned in to that reality no matter how hard some powerful leader of the country might desire, no one can put this genie back in the bottle and change what is happening. so because of that, we face a very common challenge, all of us together.

in africa there are some 700 million people under the age of 30. a staggering youth belt, unknown at any time on this planet. the fact is that all of them, most of them -- not all of them but most of them with their increasing awareness of this world we live in are desperate for opportunity, yes, but also for dignity and for respect. on the other side we all know too well there are extremists, too many radical religious extremists who distort theology, religion, and even ideology, and they are prepared to seduce these young people in a very calculated and disciplined way to lure them into what is nothing less than a dead end.

and we've seen the instability that this creates, all of us. and what's important is that none of them, none of those extremists, they don't offer education that helps a young person gain a skill, they don't help anybody to be able to compete, they have not one idea about a health system. they don't build infrastructure. they don't tell you how to build a nation, and they don't talk about how they will provide jobs or offer a vision for the future. they are stuck in the past. their challenge is modernity. because of it, it's our challenge, too. so there's something else about those extremists, and it reflects a little bit on what the vice president just said to you. it's not just a lack of jobs and opportunity that give them their opening and their recruitment tools, they're just as content to see corruption and olligarch

and fill a vacuum because it may look like economic growth on paper, but that's another way that they can seize on the frustration and exploit the sense of lack of opportunity and violation that is the anger of so many people, to wit, a young fruit vendor in tunisia who ignited so much of what followed. there's another target that they can turn to. they are the swing voters in a sense in the struggle against extremism so, my friends, that is our challenge. it's not just to come here and do business. that's important obviously. it is the key, the economic key to the future, and we have to do business to grow the jobs, provide the skills, provide the tax base to be able to do the things we want to do, but we have to come together, all of

us, with a unified vision and a purpose so that we can present this growing number of young people in africa and across the world with a viable alternative. quality education, with skills for the modern world and with jobs that allow them to build a life and have a family and have confidence in their countries. all of us together have the great oest stability of any peoe on the planet to be able to provide this opportunity. it's not just economics that creates the sustainable growth and shared prosperity, it's also this larger vision of what life is about and why there is a greater purpose than just living to work. you have to work to live and there has to be a living there that's worth it. so we know beyond any doubt that the places, and this is a polite summary of an experience here in america where we do not profess

to have all the answers, the one thing that we have learned is that in the places where people are free not just to develop an idea but to debate different ideas, to have not just a job but the promise of entrepreneurship and innovation, to be able to trans form the best ideas into reality and into a business and into a future, those are the societies that absolutely are the most successful and the most stable on our planet. and this success is not a mystery. it's not something that's hard to achieve if you make the right choices. it's possible for all of africa, and that is how one can choose to have an africa that is not defined any longer, as it has not been for these last 10 and 15 years as it goes through this transformation defined by conflict. less and less, but it becomes an

africa that is defined by rights and by capacity, by dignity, respect, and opportunity. and opportunity is something that boko haram and al shabaab and many other groups will never, ever provide. so when the united states is home to some of the most innovative and well known and respected companies in the world, and when africa is already home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world and new leadership that is anxious to grab the future, we have to do more together. we have to partner, which is a theme of this conference to invest in the next generation. to create good jobs for young afrikaans, to build a stronger middle class, to provide families with clean power and clean water, to build societies where an open exchange of ideas and information are the defining hallmark. business is not just business

for the sake of business. i think all of you know that, at least not for most of the thoughtful business people here in our country. it is for providing the foundation for people to be able to live their lives with that opportunity, dignity, and respect. i don't have to remind anybody here that nelson mandela, one of the greatest leaders the world has seen in all time, did not spend 27 years in jail so that he could get out and run a business, with no disrespect to anybody here. he did it so that people of his country would have an opportunity to live up to an ide ideal. he did it for rights, human rights that are the foundation of any civilized society, and those rights across the continent are best lived out, best given meaning, in strong economies where prosperity is

shared by a strong middle class. so i close by just saying there is absolutely no question in my mind from the excitement that we felt yesterday at the first meeting to the energy that we felt in all of your presence here and in the meetings and discusses thus far, all of this is not just possible, it is the future, but we have to make the right choices about skills and education and opportunities, and that will define the u.s./africa partnership. and if we work together, if everybody gets this right, this, this meeting and this moment and the days ahead of us can literally become a pivotal defining moment for our future history and for the world. thank you all very, very much. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage, the

president of the republic of rwanda. the president of the republic of senegal. the president of the republic of south africa. the president of the republic of tunisia. the president of the united republic of tanzania. and our moderator, co-anchor, cbs this morning, anchor and executive editor, charlie rose. mr. charlie rose. >> thank you. thank you. thank you very much. you have heard in the days of this summit that it is historic. you just heard the vice president and the secretary of state talk about its significance, that it can change things, that it is a summit that is historic. you have also heard that this is

africa's moment, that this 21st century is africa's century. you know not just today but people are paying attention but african leaders are here. as we hear from people in the west who want to talk about africa's moment and africa's potential and africa as a partner, what we hope to hear here this afternoon is from africans who lead their countries in difficult times, talk about the economy, talk about security, talk about education, talk about infrastructure, talk about governance, but also talk about their own vision as how they see africa. and i want to start with the question this afternoon as how they see what africa is, what they expect, what they need and what they would like to see done. so i will begin and i will go

down the road. they don't speak with the same voice obviously. they have different issues and different problems, but we're talking about a continent, and i want to hear from them in terms of the significance of this conference and what you expect and what you need and how you see what you've been hearing here. could you reflect on that for me? >> me? >> yes. >> okay. well, this conference is significant in the sense that it's one of its kind. the u.s./africa summit bringing all leader, all african leaders together because the u.s. has relations with all the countries gathered here, political,

diplomatic, we receive assistance from them. but the main thing that brings together the u.s. government and the u.s. private sector, this is something unique. and we have a lot of expectations because we want to move not only from our -- our relations should not only be the distance between aid and aid recipients, but we ought to move to the level -- to the next level now of investment and trade. and my colleagues can complement. many of us have been visiting the united states, doing road shows in many towns, investment forums, talk to u.s. business men, and we have not been as successful. i think this time the president of the united states, the vice

president, secretary of state, secretary of commerce encouraging the u.s. business community to take africa seriously, i think this time we'll make it. [ applause ] praus. >> of course i think that our states -- african states, we're extremely interested in promoting relationship with the united states, with the american business community, of course, because if you want to solve some of the social and economic problem, we badly need the support of the united states and the american business community, but i must say also that we have to learn from history and learn from history. let me think -- let me try to

imagine the problem from the perspective of african woman, african young, african citizens. for them, of course, it's very important that the figures are better, that there is an improvement of the play between the united states and africa and so forth, but i think what's more supportive for the citizens is to improve the quality of the life, to get better services, health, education, and so forth. sometimes, you know, having an important business community doesn't mean automatically that their life would improve. for instance, we can see in africa what has been seen in many other countries widening the gap between rich and poor, more and more pollution and so forth. so we have to keep this in mind

and to be sure that improving the business climate, improving the economic figures and so forth, that's not enough for the african citizens. we have to link. this is the main lesson you have to learn from history and the experience of other countries. we have to link social development, political development and economic development. otherwise, we're going to make the same error that has been made as well. and then i wouldn't say it would be nothing because of course if we do improve the faith of a hundred million people, it's important like what's happened in china, for instance. >> right. >> but that's not enough. the lesson we have to draw from what happened is really we have to link social economic, social justice, political development, that means democracy and

fighting against corruption and then the economic development. if you don't link those three factors, what we are going to have is another situation leading to another crisis, leading to another crisis and we will never end with it. [ applause ] >> thank you for the opportunity. firstly, we believe that this comes together is going to help enhance the relations between united states and africa. it was set to consolidate what is there as a relation. i think that this offers an opportunity for us, as african leaders, to interact firstly

with the government and secondly with the business community in the united states. that is very important. i also think it came at the right time when africa is, in fact, organizing itself better than before in terms of how economically it is looking at itself, how it is developing necessary things like the infrastructu infrastructure, how it is looking at itself, the intertrade within africa which puts it in kind of a better position, but also it came at an opportune moment when, as you know, agoa, which has been the kind of very clear instrument

for relations is left with one year to elapse, and we are saying we have an opportunity to deal with those issues, to put our views to the united states that would warrant the extension of agoa so that it would have a better kind of relationship between us. we now have an experience that we can discuss better as to what is it that we need to do to better consolidate and enhance our relations as the two. so it is, i think, an opportunity that came at an opportune time, and i'm sure we'll -- when we end this interaction we'll be better placed to deal with our nations. [ applause ] >> thank you very much.

i will speak in french. you will have to use your -- okay. >> translator: i would like very seriously to tell you how much i appreciate the initiative of president obama to call for this meeting between africa and the united states. it's an historical opportunity which should allow us to confirm the change in perspective between the vision of africa, africa which used to need aid. i'm going to give you an example. the magazine "the economist" in may 2000 its headline was with a picture, of course, you had the young guy with the kalastikoff.

he said, africa at war. he said, the hopeless continent. ten years later the same magazine, "the economist" had a title about growth in africa and it said, a lion in a cage, and the title was, uncaging the lion. so this image within ten years shows you how africa has chan d changed. together we must modify this perception here. the business community of the united states would feel more at ease, more confident in order to work with the african private sector, first of all in africa. africa is a huge continent. there is room for everybody, americans, europeans, chinese, you name it.

everybody has a place in africa. it is an africa of over -- a continent of over 30 million square meters. everything needs to be made, roads, rail ways. africa must no longer be seen as a land of human any tear ri emergency or diseases, for instance. even if right now we have a terrible epidemic, ebola, but these things will need to be treated. the world must be open to africa. africa is a land of opportunity. this is the perception that we wanted to share with you. a land of opportunity where growth can be shared and earlier on i was following the speech made by vice president biden. he said that the american investment on the continent creates employment in the u.s.

it benefits american growth. that's what he said. it is within this win-win partnership that we came, we, the africans, that we came to meet our american brothers from which we were -- from whom we were separated for so long, but we'll talk about that later, this separation concept. the continent, i mean. [ applause ] >> i want to thank president obama and the united states for

providing the opportunity for this summit. the united states and africa forging the kind of partnership that is very substantial and crucial to development, especially now. the points made by some people. people are talking about partnering globally and locally. global and local together as the best way of creating a partnership, and i want to add that people are also talking

about the growth that has been realized by the continent of africa. even when there are known problems that are talked about, for example, lack of electricity, lack of power, and some people are saying imagine what happens in terms of these growth rates across africa if there was no shortage of power. you could talk about many other things. so for this partnership i think many things that exist in africa whether it's technology, business, trade investments, the benefits that come with that and

these gaps being filled, just imagine what is going to be unleashed in terms of growth as well as development. but, of course, these come -- you have to -- you have to be grounds on which growth can translate into development. so, each of the members in the partnership have responsibilities and roles to play. on our side we can do more of providing for business, years of doing the business. we have to continue investing in creating rule of law. we have to continue providing education to our people and the

skills. many things including health, operations. we need to have a board of health. in addition to education, the skills, this growth will continue for many years ahead. so for me the importance of this summit is very well captured in what we can do together, in the possibilities that can be provided by the united states of america whether it is technology, finance, it's different opportunities that would be availed in this partnership to africa for the continued growth and development of our people as well as the

good returns and satisfaction of our american partners in terms of companies as well as the political establishment that is also behind the creation of this partnership. so this is where we're stuck. >> we want to talk about -- [ applause ] -- a story that was referenced and is on the front pages of newspapers around the world is the ebola crisis. there is some concern that is being expressed loudly of a tipping point. tell me what your fears are about the ebola virus. obviously two heads of state are not here from sierra leone and liberia because they are, you no he, know, on the front lines a trying to deal with that. what are your fears? what can be done? what kind of cooperation is taking place, both within africa and with other nations around the world?

>> of course, the epidemic is in west africa. t we are not in west africa. >> but planes go -- >> i'm not talking about that. but there was an ebola outbreak in the congo which borders that. there was an outbreak last year in uganda, which borders tan tanzinia, so we are also concerned and we have more importantly mechanisms of possible response. that's where it stands. i think we have established that

so that just in case there is a report of a possible ebola -- ebola outbreak or a possible eb outbreak or ebola affected person, we do the evaluation and analysis and then confirm if it is there. so i think we are -- we are more taking the precautions, precautions just in case. people travel. people travel -- they're not prevented from liberia, from west africa, coming to tanzania. so it's just it breaks out. i can assure you we have taken the precautions in terms of the capacities for -- for a confirmation just in case there is suspicion of an ebola case. >> anyone else? yes? >> i would like to comment on

the ebola case, but i would like to come back to what i consider is the main problem. once again, if we want an african miracle, we want that some days people would defer to the african tigers and so forth. most important thing for us as leaders, as head of states, is, you know, to give all the opportunity to the business community, to work in good condition, in safe condition, so forth. this is why we have to promote independent judiciary. this is why we have to combat the fight of corruption. this is why we have to improve the democratic system and so forth. i believe this is absolutely necessary for the good -- for the business, but i also would like to say that the investors, the foreign investors, they should help the democratic states by investing in this

democratic states because this would be a message to all the other countries, saying, hey, we are going to invest, but we -- of course we are interested in making money as soon as possible. but it's not our own problem. we can do money also in a country where we have good governance. so by, you know, -- by sending this message everywhere that good governance is for the business community, something very important and not only as important as making money very soon, very, very quickly, this message could help african countries to improve the situation and this could improve the situation of the population because once again, i must stress that we don't need the development which is not useful for the population. you know? we don't want the widening of the gap between the rich and poor because this would lead to more instant and more civil war

and so forth. we need to give services to the population, we have jobs and so forth. this once again, our responsibilities as head of states is to improve the political and social environment. and it's also the moral responsibility of the business community to go where there is state of law, where there's democracy and so forth. because they would of course invest in social and development -- the economy. but also in peace and democracy because once again all of the factors are linked. >> i want to come back to ebola in a second. but let me stay with your point. it is this idea of -- that an investment in the country is a vote of confidence in a country. confidence in governance, confidence in the rule of law and confidence in the absence of corruption.

is there in any of your judgment a sense that there's a misconception about africa in terms of specific countries, with respect to that? is there something that you think that the business community and the private sector may have a misconception about or badly informed? >> well, oak -- all right, okay. i authorize -- thank you. charlie, i think you're right. there's a perception, there's reality. the perception of the business world, the global world, the political world on african

democracy, on good governance is the wrong perception. because what you see in the media, in one, two or three countries is not what's going on in the rest of the continent. remember that africa is 54 countries in full evolution. they all try on the day to day basis to build a long lasting democracy. we are organizing transparent elections. that's the rule in africa today. there are exceptions, here, there, two or three cases. this should not be the image that you have of africa. and i keep pleading to say that the negative vision that you might have because in this country or the other, there's a problem. it is an unfair vision of africa. the global epidemic in africa is democracy. democracy is installing itself. there are exceptions that can

happen. but africa is a continent where a majority of countries has had its independence not 20 years ago look at the largest of the countries, south africa. 91, take all the countries of the region. kenya, 63. how long has africa been free and in less than three years we'd like for the african continent -- and the united states, france, europe, it's impossible. it's asking too much of africa. i'm deeply democratic. i'm no less democratic than the american, european, but i fully understand the history of each country and the history of each nation. let's be fair. towards these people in africa. towards these african countries which are trying to have a

democratic process. that's what you should remember. today, you have the rule of law in africa. you have press freedom in africa. you have the freedom to create a company, a business. yes, there's corruption. that's corruption everywhere else and our will is to fight strongly against corruption, in our message making places. like at west africa. they have common laws on budgetary transparency. today, we have heard it all along, in order to make it compulsory for all of the government agencies, ministers, public officers, anybody who has to deal with a budget now must make a statement of his own wealth. we have a national office of fight against corruption. we are trying to put in place

instruments that can follow the evolution of economic growth in our country. so you have to be optimistic on africa. you have to start the fight for the development and i call upon american businessmen to come to africa. there's no more -- no risk in africa. no more than other continents and you are -- your investment is much higher. the ebola virus, let me say how big is my solidarity towards the victims. i'm a neighbor of guinea. i'm almost a neighbor of sierra leone. we are in the crucible, in the eye of the cyclone. but i will tell the international community that ebola is a devastating virus. it is not an african disease.

you have to see this virus as a threat against humanity. it is a threat against humanity because with intercontinental flights, all you need is a flight to the u.s. and to europe so that you have a world crisis, a total crisis. so we have to mobilize the entire community, all the scientists in the world. all the researchers have to work on that in order to win. just like we did it for the plague, t.b., like aids is being vanquished. so it is this solidarity of the international community that we are requesting. to support the victims. >> go here first. go ahead. either way. you decide. >> thank you.

thank you. let me compliment what my brother just said, but in a different way. i think even threw the partnership like this one, provided by the opportunity of this summit africa needs -- we need to continue building our capacities and strengthening our institutions, to enable us to avoid over dependency that has been there for too long. but we avoided that by building capacities and cooperation and integration. people working together. so that we are able to own up to our mistakes, to our weaknesses. and own up to our solutions and contributing to our solutions. so that we can even tell our story.

you find we even depend on others to tell our story. so that's how destruction has come about. so i really think there's not much time to waste as time goes with africa, in terms of building this consensus, this working together, this owning up so that we cooperate and partner with others rather than being too dependent on them. so this is an opportunity we have to leverage this partnership and to address that particular problem. >> thank you very much indeed. firstly, i would like to agree with my brothers that let's take ebola as a disease that is affecting humanity. rather than just to look at it as an african problem.

fortunately, i said earlier africa is organizing itself. even the health organization's continentally are working together. that's why we're confident that this time around, we are working together to address this problem of ebola. but i must also say that it's an unfortunate thing that africa is imported in an important way. at times out of perceptions. even countries that are fighting corruption, the very fact that they're fighting corruption is a story that there's more corruptions in those countries. that's a problem you have. africa is organized better. we discussed many of these issues together in the a.u., in the manner that is far better than 20 years ago.

we share everything together. we take common resolutions where we say let us deal with this challenge that faces us today. earlier i mentioned for an example the infrastructure that we together agree there's no debate about it. it's a question of dealing with it. and then showing that africa operates better. there are things that are not important about the continent. there is an instrument for an example that we have. peer review mechanisms. nobody is talking about this globally. it's a unique instrument where countries in the continent subject themselves to their peers to review them, look at them. they first submit reports and it is discussed in the a.u. forums,

to criticize if there are things to criticize in the manner in which countries have been run. and there isn't such an instrument, it's only found in africa. should that be the problem of the continent? i think it is important for people to look at africa and see that africa is changing. there's a good story that's coming out of the continent in terms of working together. in terms of understanding our problems. instead of in the point of owning up to what in the past could have been mistakes. today, i think we stand a better chance as the countries in the continent to better ourselves. we appreciate this opportunity

because we are then in the position to tell our own story rather than people telling the story on us. >> exactly. yeah. >> today i spoke i think at the national press club. that was an event i was invited. one of the things i said is that the africa of today is not the africa of yesterday or the day before yesterday. africa has changed. african economy, there is -- they're performing better today. six of the ten fastest growing economies are in africa.

between 2011 and 2015, the fastest economies are in africa. why are we there? because of pursuit of sound economic policies. also the pursuit of sound political policies. there is -- democracy has taken root. governance is -- is enshrined. there is stronger commitment now to fight vices in society. corruption. drug trafficking, drug abuse. whatever. there is more respect for human rights. there are fewer conflicts on the continent today. that does not mean -- except of course there are a few hot

spots. when you look today, what is happening, the conflict areas in africa they don't compare. so i said unfortunately, this is the good story which is not being told. so i was appealing to those journalists, please, tell the other story. but i was giving the same example, now it's ebola. so the whole of the african continent is being perceived as if everywhere everybody is suffering from ebola. >> i don't think that's true. that's not true. i don't think. i think there's some concern about -- >> no, no. i'm not saying that -- but this is the perception, so if there is a problem -- so when is africa going to get out of this of being perceived if there's a problem. i said africa is a continent. there are 54 countries. they are different.

in terms of particular situations. so until we get to the situation where africa would be seen in the 54 countries that exist, we won't get out of this. >> okay, i have one final question. to the final question, we are out of time and over time, but you raised a question of security. i mean, there is some concern about security. we do read about highly publicized stores. boko haram and 200 children. we know about sometimes the absence of respect for boundaries. what do any of you want to say about security in africa today as part of the message you want to convey to this audience here? anyone. >> africa is more secure today than many years ago. if i may mention the problem areas.

you have somalia which used to have a huge conflict. now the situation is much better. but al shabab has been eliminated so from time to time there are struggles. so from time to time, they ignite a bomb there. you have a problem in -- in the food, the situation is much more under control now than in the past. but you see the situation is much better now than what it was in the past. which other conflict area? >> anyone else? >> we're finished. >> we still have huge problems -- >> yeah. >> -- in africa, i'm sorry, we still have huge problems in

central africa. we still have a huge problem in sudan you know, where people are starving. there was a terrible situation in sudan. we have a terrible situation also in the northern part of mali. africa of course is much more secure than before, but we are still facing a challenge. an important challenge in the matter of security. we have to work together as africa. you know, this is what we're trying to do about the problems of libya. you know, about all the countries around libya to secure this country together. we have to face the problems and we have to work together. we have to -- yes, we have this problem, but we are able to control it and we're going to control it. just to give this business community what it needs more, security and stability. >> yes, go ahead. this will be the last -- >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> no, i wanted to say that we reached a stage in africa where

almost you could count a few problematic areas. i think what has influenced particularly in northern africa has been the arab spring that affected the arab countries in the north. but what has become an important factor, we have discussed this as leaders. you have countries that have volunteered to establish an instrument -- an instrument which we're working on, in two months time. by october, we'll be launching it. so that we have taken the principle of african problems and african solutions. we are now on the basis of that taken a decision that is not going to allow any -- in the continent. we are taking this upon ourselves. i think that is an important story that the world should know.

>> thank you. thank you. on behalf of everyone, this audience, i appreciate your enthusiasm. but i especially appreciate the summit on africa that we hear from africans and african leaders and you have given that to us and i thank each of you and the president i'm sure will convey the same sense of appreciation when he comes. but thank you again and thank each of you. >> as a big continent, it must be given better time to explain ourselves. >> thank you. while congress is in recess this month, c-span's primetime programming continues at 8:00 p.m. on friday. with the western conservative summit in denver.

saturday, robert gates, condoleezza rice and madeleine albright on the situation in ukraine. and sunday on q&a, reagan's biographer. >> american history tv, friday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern, watergate, 40 years later with a cbs special report and president nixon's address to the nation. saturday at noon eastern with author and journalist john farrell on nixon's life, legacy and the watergate scandal that ended his administration. sunday night at 8:00 on our series, the presidency, gerald ford becomes the 38th president of the united states. this weekend on c-span 3's american history tv. and next year on c-span 3 a hearing on the climate change on the wildlife industry with the officials from the farming and

wildlife sectors. montana senator jon tester talks about farming conditions in his home state. before the senate subcommittee on green jobs. this is two hours. >> i call this hearing on the green jobs and new economy subcommittee to order. just yesterday the president made a historic announcement moving forward with the proposal to tackle the climate pollution

in the united states, coal fired power plants. this action could not have come too soon. what we're seeing already are real impacts of climate change, impacts that are being felt today on the ground. it's no longer a conversation about hypothetical events or computer models. what might or might not happen in the future. it's a conversation about the real cost to our natural resources in our rural communities and our economy right now. a few weeks ago the national climate assessment came out with the moist up to date review of climate science and focused on the impacts we are seeing across the united states. this report combines the expertise of dozens of the most preeminent scientists to conduct the comprehensive review in scientific let chur to illuminate the types of impacts we can expect to see in coming years. what was notable in the report is how much impact we are already seeing in sectors that

are critical to our rural communities and economies such as farming, fishing, forestry and hunting. these impacts aren't always straightforward as we'll hear today. climate change is one of many challenges facing these sectors. but it's playing an increasingly role in making drought and disease even worse. the long term trend towards warmer and shorter winters is allowing more insects like bark beetles to survive the cold, causing massive tree dieouts in trees across the country and making forests susceptible to more intense wildfires. for a state like montana where so much of the rural economy depends on a vibrant sector, this trend is very troubling. the warmer, shorter winters are also decreasing the amount of snow pack leaving less water for farmers to use during the growing season. in oregon, snow melt is a critical component of

rainwaters. this year for example, we have seen one of the worst droughts on record after record droughts in 2001, 2010 and 2013. demonstrating the devastation we can expect to see as severe and intense droughts become more common. the decrease in snow pack means that our streams are warmer and drier during the summer months which is impacting fresh water fishing. less snow melt and hotter summers are expected to contribute to a significant decline in salmon populations. our ocean fishermen have been dealing with the effects of climate change too. the oceans are absorbing much of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere and this causes the water to become more acidic, which has had devastating impacts on the oyster farmers whose oyster seeds which are the baby oysters are dying in the more acidic waters. this is why we are holding the hearing today, to hear from

those who work in the sectors and taking the strong impacts of the climate change from getting worse. the witnesses we have invited here today to testify are those who work in the farming, fishing and other sectors and we'll hear from the climate change skeptics. i want to say thank you to jon tester who is here to speak on this subject, not only as a senator from a state that will be impacted by climate change but as a farmer himself. we'll ask senator tester to speak as soon as the opening statements are completed. with that i turn this over to ranking member senator wicker to give his opening remarks. >> thank you, very much, mr. chairman. i know it's our first hearing together as a subcommittee. i want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. first witness and the panel that will follow. as we discussed the impact of climate on farming, fishing,

forestry and hunting, we must not neglect the effects that draconian climate regulations would have on these industries. yesterday as part of the president's climate action plan, epa administrator mccarthy announced new rules to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. these would have little effect on the climate but the rules would have a negative effect on all energy users including, farmers and fishermen who are the focus of today's hearing. the president's costly regulations mean that farmers who irrigate their crops by pump would face higher utility bills. foresters would pay more for electricity. products that are essential to our economy. these industries already face a myriad of challenges in a difficult economic environment. but at what cost are we going to hurt these economic sectors in

the pursuit of aggressive, but dubious climate regulations. the costs are sure to go up. the benefits are not. farmers are said to be on the front line of climate change because they're most likely to be affected by altering weather patterns. in a recent scientific peer reviewed study, that examined crop producers' perception of climate change. there's little belief that climate change will have a negative effect on crop yield. in fact, corn and soybean yields are at record high levels. farmers have been managing their crops effectively and adapting to variable climate conditions for generations and generations. this is nothing new. unfortunately, this generation will now have to cope with higher electricity costs because of questionable climate regulations. for farmers who properly manage their land, a change in climate is not the problem. but burdensome regulations that

increase the cost of farm production are. america's forests provide many benefits and it provides a variety of forest products. need we be reminded that carbon dioxide is required for photosynthesis. plants tend to grow better under higher co-2 levels. scientists have dubbed this co 2 fertilization. forestry in mississippi is a $14 billion industry. it supports more than 63,000 full and part-time jobs. healthy, productive and well managede managed forests cover more than 60% of the home state. this helps support industry that employs 25% of mississippi's managing workforce. given the depressed market, higher prices for electricity

would only worsen problems. for foresters who properly manage their trees, onerous regulations are a rise to the cost of production. i'm struck, mr. chairman, and my fellow senators, with the increasing number of academics who are willing to come forward and say, yes, on some of this conventional wisdom. they are skeptics. i asked to put into the record at this point, mr. chairman, the transcript of an interview yesterday afternoon on wtlb, with dr. peter morrissey. university of maryland professor at the robert h. smith business school. >> without objection. >> let me just point out in the final minute, mr. chairman, professor morrissey says a lot of this -- speaking of the president's new plan yesterday is going to needlessly raise costs, but more importantly much

more importantly, the president's goal, the amount of carbon dioxide we will save, china makes up with additional emissions in only 18 months. he goes on to point out and i quote, remember, co 2 emissions is very different than smog. and the environmentalists right now want to confuse that issue, saying you certainly don't want smog and asthma and things like that. co 2 emissions is about the green house effect. and rising temperatures. asked about the thought that if the u.s. doesn't do something, countries like china and india won't, well, professor morrissey said we're already doing something and china is not joining us. i quote, it's a fool's journey into the night that think that setting a good example will cause china to follow. the anchor said we need to do something and professor morriss morrissey said we are doing

something, but the trick is to do something that matters. that has an effect. the president is touting this as a solution and it is not. and finally he concludes, we have to deal with the rising sea level whether we do this or not. the question is will we have an economy that can bear what will be the truly large burden, much larger than this one. so thank you again, mr. chairman, for holding this hearing. we should be creating jobs and strengthening the economy, not hindering it. >> thank you, senator sessions? >> thank you. the conversation is not over. good discussions need to be held. we need to ask ourselves what the true facts are and we will do so. and a growing number of scientists are demonstrating the falsity of many of the allegations that have been made as a result of temperatures and

climate change. we have to be honest about that. our economy is exceedingly fragile. it's very fragile. the average median income for working americans today is $2,400 below what it was in 2007. we have fewer people working today than we had in 2007. unemployment remains high and we simply cannot regulate and impose costs on american industry to the extent to which they cannot compete in the world market. and damage our economy. only a healthy economy and free nations has the environment consistently improved. unhealthy economies in totalitarian countries have the worst record by far of environmental issues. mr. chairman, mr. ash will testify. i'm pleased in his written statement at least, he did not

repeat his previous statement before this committee that we are having more frequent and severe storms, flooding, droughts and wildfires. because that's not so. when i asked him about it, he gave anecdotes. he submitted not one scientific report to justify that statement when many scientific reports reject it. president obama has twice claimed that temperatures are rising faster than predicted. even over the last ten years he said it. and in fact, temperatures have flattened over the last 15 years, well below the average computer models for environmental expectations. all i'm saying is i don't know, maybe this is a temporary pause in some of the climate change that's been projected. maybe temperatures will rise again, but they're not rising like the experts predicted today. and we have got more scientists

like dr. smith before us today that will puncture some of the irresponsible statements that are being made about forestry. mr. president, i grew up in the country near redden burg. i guess the saw mill was one of the classic big saw mills. i saw logs hauled in front of my house all the time. but all of that land had been replanted. it's being managed exceedingly well today. farmers are -- timber owners are managing better than ever. si scientifically as they grow, they suck harmal emissions out of the atmosphere. so harvesting any and making this wood, putting it in this

building for 100 years has reduced carbon in the atmosphere. wood and forest are one of the very best ways we can -- we can reduce co 2 in the atmosphere. it just is. so i feel strongly about that. with regard to hunting and wildlife, i -- behind my house was a little creek. i calculated one time i spent a year of my life in and around that creek. swimming in it, playing in it, fishing in it. you go behind that creek, miles of just basically forest. but we saw very few deer and very few turkeys. in alabama today, you get -- you visit people in my area of the state and talk to friends and you leave your home at night and they'll say, watch out for the deer. deer are everywhere. they're eating people's gardens. they are almost a pest because really i guess better

management -- i don't know why. turkey, people are hunting better. we have a clear without a doubt increase in game in alabama today and i think throughout the rest of the country. so we made a lot of progress. we need to continue to make progress. i look forward to the hearing today and i have another hearing in judiciary and -- involving the amending of the first amendment to limit people's ability to speak out in elections. so i'm going to oppose that in a little bit. so, thank you, mr. chairman, i appreciate this good hearing. >> thank you. senator imhoff? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have to tell you, senator sessions, that my wife is upset because the deer are eating her begonias. you know my wife well enough to know if she's not happy, i'm not happy. so i have a stake in this. first of all, i'm glad that --

hope is here from oklahoma. you and i have worked together with frank lucas on some of the small dam rehabilitation projects and i look forward to hearing your testimony. although i have already read it and won't be able to stay for it. that doesn't mean i don't love you anyway, all right? all we talk about around here since barbara boxer became chairman of this committee is trying to resurrect and make people believe that the world is coming to an end. this is the 31st hearing this committee has had, this committee, the whole committee on global warming since senator boxer came in as chairman and with each one the polling data has declined. i mean, it started off as the number one or number two issue. the last gallup poll said it was 14 out of 15. now, i have to say that i know oklahoma's global warming regulations are no friend to farmers. it's interesting that this -- the title of this hearing is farming, fishing, forestry and

hunting. well, farming, you come to oklahoma and talk to a farmer, and they'll tell you that this is the really a crisis we are in the middle of considering all the regulations. in fact, i'm going to quote tom buchanan. he's president of the oklahoma farm bureau. he told me yesterday, this is his quote. they'll have a devastating effect if these regulations go into effect of the farmers in oklahoma. it will be our number one concern and issue that's the oklahoma farm bureau that is speaking. let me express my concern with the epa's just announced regulations. for existing plants. now, we understood on new plants that was a little bit different. that was very, very cost -- but existing would be more so. the figures that we have is that it would require power plants to reduce their green house emissions by 30% to 2005 levels.

we have done our own study going back to right after kyoto never submit for ratification, this comes from the wharton school, from mit is between 3 and $400 billion a year. that would be the largest tax increase in history. we know the chambers come out with the amount of money it will cost in jobs and all that. now, for decades the environmental left has pushed the cap and trade and again, congress has rejected it. we've had it before congress now about 12 times. and it's been rejected every single time and each time by a larger margin. the first one was 2003. that was mccain-lieberman bill and then it was rejected by a larger amount. so it used to be the number one and now it's the number 14 concern. so regardless, the president is pushing this regulatory thing. we don't have to look any further than obama's model to come up with the conclusion.

he talks about his green dream being germany. you and i were just there not long ago. i say to senator sessions. and that country is about three years ahead of us in coming through with all of these regulations and continuing its war on fossil fuels like our president obama has had since he's been in office. and there, their costs for electricity now has doubled since they started that program three years ago. doubled. it is now three times the cost per kilowatt hour of what we have here in this country. so we know that american people know that the rule will be expensive and is very, very alarming we have to do this. you know, to stay within my time frame, i have to submit the whole statement for the record. but i want to -- if this is true, if we are now in a spell -- in a period of time, 15 years where there's been no increase in temperature, and now saying that this might be the coldest year of the -- weather of the year, all of that is a

matter of record. then why is this all of a sudden surfaced as an issue? i want to tell you why it surfaced. a guy right here, tom steyer, he has come out and he's documented that he has -- he's a multibillionaire. he's going to put $100 million into the legislative process to try to resurrect global warming as an issue. $50 million of what is his own money and he'll raise the other $50 million. i can tell you right now that it's not going to work. i know it's a lot of money. and this will be going to candidates who are going to be supporting global warming and all that stuff. so we know it will have an impact. it's a lot of money, but the people of america won't buy it. i already made an announcement, mr. chairman, that -- there's a possibility i could be chairing this committee again. that when these regulations are

finalized, i'm going to offer a cra -- congressional review act, on each one of them. that's the only way that we can have people get on report either supporting or rejecting this. i have a feeling we'll stop it in spite of $50 million. by the way, i asked unanimous consent this be put in the record at the conclusion of my opening statement. >> thank you. without objection. your time has expired. we'll hear from senator tester. delighted to have you with us here today a both as a senator and observer on the ground in montana and as a generational farmer. >> thank you, chairman, merkley and ranking member wicker. before i get to the prepared remarks i don't know tom steyer from a bar of soap, but i would be willing to work with anybody to put some transparency on the dark money into the elections. i know this isn't about

elections and dark money, but if went to save our democracy that would be the first step. we can get to the bottom line as far as the influence and the political agenda here in washington, d.c. with that -- >> since my name was used i can react to this. this isn't dark. this is light. this is something that everybody knows. it's out there, it's in all the publications. that means that much to some people. i wanted to clarify that. >> then let's get rid of that and the dark money too. mr. chairman, ind -- first of all, i appreciate you having here me here today with along with ranking member wicker. it feels like we should be on "cross fire." but i'm not a lawyer, i'm not a scientist, i'm a u.s. senator and a farmer. the impacts of climate change are felt far and wide and i believe we need to take responsible steps to mitigate the impacts. what those steps are, some came out by the epa yesterday, some folks have other ideas i'm more than happy to thereon them.

the epa released the carbon emissions from the existing power plants. they went with the state-based solution. i think that's smart to the problems and i will work to ensure this proposal works for montanans in my home state. i think refusing to act to protect clean air, clean water, is not a viable option. i think in the long term and in the short term, it's going to cost jobs and a way of life. as i said a minute ago, i'm a third generation farmer. i farm in north central montana and i have seen the impacts of climate change firsthand. this does not mean i have people that farm the land. i do it with my wife, we finished seeding two weeks ago last saturday. this piece of land was home stated by my grandfather. and we have farmed it for the last 40 years, my wife and i. my folks 35 years before that and my grand parents 35 years before that. for the average american

particularly those of us from rural america the political conversation about climate change seems worlds away. for us, we have had warmer winters. we had more extreme weather events. and they're already presenting new challenges for a way of life. now, do i say those statements because i read an article in some magazine? no. i say it because this is what i have seen on the farm. let me give you an example. my dad farmed from 1943 to 1978. they never got a hailstorm that allowed him to collect more than his premium that he paid for that hail insurance. i have been hailed out four times in the last 35 years. and in this month alone, the month -- i should say last month, we're in june. in the month of may, we have seen severe hailstorms all over the state of montana, totally irregular. totally out of character. these are storms that would usually hit in july or august. there are storms that break out windows in cars. break fences. golf ball sized hail or bigger.

and we have had them -- up in my neck of the woods south of my place, to down in billings. 230 miles south of that. at the turn of 2000, 2001, we have a reservoir on the place and why father dug it it filled up with water. in 2001 it dried up for the first time ever. if you take a look at what's going on as far as disaster assistance, and i appreciate some of the comments made by the senators on the rostrum, on how this could affect our timber industry, how this -- i'm talking about the new epa regulations, how this could affect agriculture. 20 years ago, the forest service spent 13% of its budget fighting fires and i can guarantee you that budget 20 years ago was a

heck of a lot smaller and now it's 40% and they still have to transfer half a billion dollars to cover costs. we'll spend more than $15 billion on hurricane sandy relief efforts alone. i cannot think of a time we have had a hurricane hit new york. but it did with sandy. i think today's hearing appropriately focused on experiences of farmers, ranchers, and women that they're going through. i think unfortunately the stories are often overlooked, underreported or not reported at all. but as a nation, i think we need to start paying attention because these experiences are important if we're going to have a debate here in washington, d.c. and we're going to listen. scientists tell us the climate change will bring shorter, warmer winters and in montana i see it. when i was younger, frequent bone-chilling winds whipped across the prairies for two weeks at a time, it was not an exaggeration. now, it seems like if we have temperatures below zero, it is

the exception. do you want me to cut it off now, by the way? has this been five minutes already? sorry about that. >> it moves quickly. but i think we want to hear -- >> i apologize. i usually don't this. changes in weather are forcing us to differently farm. to be honest with you it's more difficult to figure out how. we haven't had a general rain in this month of may. the month of may is the wettest month of the year. this is pretty abnormal. we have had droughts before, but this is abnormal stuff. and the end of the better winters, that's less you have to eat, to house, or the propane, but the lack of the cold winters has allowed a little beast called a soft fly to show up and if you don't add another -- by

swathing your way ahead of time, it can take away your crop. three-quarters. the dead trees many which of litter our forests, many of our forests are dead. combined with the historic drought and the wildfires, the season is longer, hotter. and it's rougher. and it costs more money to fight. these stories go down the list, and i can tell you that a couple years ago, we flew in to -- down around by billings. they were having record floods. the next year same people whose houses were under water were being burnt out the next. same land. i don't know what's going on. i don't know if the air is getting warmer. i don't know if we're just in a cycle. but i can tell you we can talk about all the things that need

to be done here. we can talk about how it's going to impact farmers and ranchers and sportsmen and all this. but if we end up passing only -- on a climate to our kids that doesn't allow our kids to move forward with an economy that helps support, i think we're making a huge mistake. now, last year we had a record crop. i can tell you right now it's going to be a pretty open summer for me in we don't get some rain pretty damn quick. those kind of variations in weather farmers always talk about as being normal. but this is above anything that i have ever seen in my 50 -- 57 years on this place. by the way, i lived within 100 miles of that place until i got this job. that's where i have spent my entire life. and i have seen things happen in our climate that i have never ever ever seen before. maybe it's just happenstance. maybe it's just choice. maybe if we ignored it it will go away.

but i think that if we can put a man on the moon in ten years, we could certainly going off of 2005 standards reduce the amount of co 2 going into the air by 30% in 25 years. i don't think it's that much of a stretch. is coal going away? i don't think so. not or a while. by 2030 nearly a third of our energy will be coal and i don't think that's a bad thing. so mr. chairman, i appreciate you having this hearing. raking member wicker you know i have a tremendous amount of respect for you. and i appreciate your contribution to this. i think we have a choice as people who serve in the senate and the house. we can do nothing. or we can try to find solutions that help drive our economy forward and address issues of climate. if we do nothing and we're wrong, think about that. just think about that.

it means there's going to be a lot of hungry people. with that sobering thought, i will say thank you for the opportunity to testify. i very much appreciate it. i apologize for running over but such is life. ash will have to cut way back. >> thank you for your testimony and giving this kind of direct on the ground impression of these effects from hail to fires to new pests to fewer as you put it bone-chilling winds. indeed, the point of this hearing was to hear about effects on the ground and we're going to now have witnesses to take a look across america, really appreciate your giving your sense. thank you. i'd like to invite director dan ash of the u.s. fish and wildlife service to join us. he has a long career in public service.

prior to being director he served as services deputy director for policy. as a science adviser and as the chief of the national wiefld life refuge system. mr. ashe spent 13 years in the house of representatives. and he earned his graduate degree from the university of washington. he is here today to give us perspective on how to expect to see climate change affecting our natural resources that are key to sustaining our fishing and hunting economies. terrific to have you. welcome. >> thank you, chairman merkley. ranking member wicker. it's a privilege to be here before this -- before this sub committee and thank you for the opportunity to testify today really on behalf of america's sportsmen and women. as americans, we are extraordinarily blessed. among these blessings are the natural landscapes and the

healthy, abundant native fish and wildlife that they support. and today's blessings are largely due to the leadership and the foresight of yesterday's hunters and anglers. good people and professional managers who found the will and the ability to face the great challenges of their day that may have been the dust bowl in the 1930s or pesticide use in the '50s and '60s and wetlands destruction in the '70s and '80s. but these women and men found the will and the way to work with congress and others to address those challenges. and today i'm really proud of my country and my colleagues in public service. it was in 1990, i was a staff member -- committee staff member in the house of representatives who worked with the house

merchant marine and the house science committee and this committee in the senate to enact the global climate change research program act. and then a few years ago, we worked with our state colleagues and other partners to develop the national fish and wildlife and adaptation strategy and we saw the most recent national climate assessment and then yesterday the epa proposing reasonable and effective regulation of green house gas emissions. so i feel like our country is finally -- has the information and the wherewithal and is finding the will to address this great challenge. hunting and fishing are vital components of the nation's economy, especially in many rural areas. in 2011 americans spent $145 billion on wildlife related

recreation, nearly 1% of the nation's gross domestic product. and the changing climate system is affecting hunters and anglers today. it is darkening the prospects for hunters and anglers tomorrow. shorter winters and earlier springs. they're disrupting water fowl migrations that have evolved over eons. drought and water scarcity are increasing, jeopardizing native fish and aquatic species in dozens of watersheds, rising water temperatures are reducing habitat and altering breeding and spawning opportunities for many species of fish. milder winters are increasing the prevalence of parasites and disease. that can have december estimating effects on big games and forest habitats while enabling invasive species to displace native wildlife. in oregon and across the pacific

northwest, climate change poses a major threat to salmon. a vital element of the region's economy and culture. a study published in 2013 salmon, a federally listed species, faces a significant climate driven risk to future sustainability. the scale and intensity of these current and future climate change impacts pose a serious threat to america's hunting and fishing traditions, and in turn to the benefits they provide to wildlife and people. faced by these threats, the administration is taking significant steps to ensure forward thinking and effective conservation of fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats. this includes strategic planning through the president's climate action plan, the national fish, wildlife and plants adaptation strategy, as i mentioned before, which we developed in

cooperation with our state colleagues and tribal colleagues. our survival and quality of life as a species is inexorably linked to the health of ecosystems which also provide clean air, clean water, food, shelter and employment for the world's human population. how and whether we choose to respond here and now will determine the kind of world we leave to our descendants, including whether we pass them a world that has a place for the great traditions of angling and hunting that we are able to practice today. mr. chairman, i want to thank you and the subcommittee for holding this hearing, and calling attention to this important and pressing issue. >> thank you. we'll now have five-minute periods for questions, comment, and just to summarize, what you're seeing from your expertise within the fish and wildlife service are effects on the ground right now. >> there's no doubt, senator, that we're seeing the effects of

changing migration patterns in our water fowl. we're seeing changing -- increasing parasitism and decreasing reproductive rates in big game species like moose in the southern extent of their range. we're seeing rising water temperatures, which reduces the habitat quality and availability for cold water fishes. and so there's no doubt that we are seeing these impacts across the board. >> so let me just take a couple pieces out. let me start with the diseases related to big game. one of our senators from new hampshire was showing a picture recently of a moose with clumps on its back and pointed out that those big lumps, if you will, big black lumps were actually big infestations of ticks that it wasn't warm enough -- that it was not cold enough to kill them, and they were carrying

them year round, and that this was resulting in both disease and continuous loss of blood, if you will, to the ticks. and thus an impact on the moose populations. is that one of the most prominent examples of impact on big game or what else are we seeing? >> we're definitely seeing that so we have a refuge in northern minnesota. agassi national wildlife refuge. we've seen a 98% reduction in the moose population at agacy refuge. we've seen a severe reduction in moose population throughout the state of minnesota. they're no longer hunting moose in minnesota. the reason is because the rising average temperature in the summertime places physiological stress on the animal so they're not reproducing the way that they used to. plus, we're seeing that these pests, like ticks in new hampshire, which are able to have multiple generations now

during the spring, the summer, the fall, and fewer of them are being killed off by severe winters, and so the animals are besieged by pests, which put further physiological stress on the animals. and so, throughout the southern range of moose, we're seeing declines in the population. so in states like new hampshire, decline in the population. that represents a lost opportunity for the american sportsman. >> so when you said 98% loss, 49 out of 50 moose that were there before are gone, that's pretty dramatic collapse. is that over just a few years? and have we seen that in earlier periods of just a -- maybe a few years of variation in temperatures that the moose population crashed and then resurged? have we ever see anything like this before? >> we've not seen anything like this before, and we've always had, you know, warm spells where you would have a summer or two consecutively where you would then have a depression in the population. they would rebound then as

weather returned to a normal pattern. but what we're seeing now is that steadily rising temperature in the summertime so that the mean temperature in the summer is now putting physiological stress on the animals which is affecting their reproduction. >> let me turn to your comments about migration patterns for water fowl and specifically ducks. what is causing the ducks to modify their direction? are the pools they would land in disappearing? what's going on? >> migratory birds like water fowl again have a very delicate and refined migration pattern that has evolved over eons, so what we're seeing -- put yourself in the -- look at it from the perspective of a hen mallard who's leaving her wintering grounds in yazoo

national wildlife refuge in mississippi and is heading toward the american prairie. she is stopping along the way, feeding and resting. she has a very narrow window when she gets to the prairies. she's looking for a place to -- a small pothole or wetland to make a nest. in prehistoric times, if that didn't exist in south dakota, she would go to north dakota and then she would go to saskatchewan and she would fly until she found that habitat. what we're doing is human development, we're constraining the habitat. so we have agricultural development. we have oil and gas, energy development that's constraining her availability of habitat. so now she's much more restricted in terms of where she can go. so she -- if she doesn't make that decision in about a two-week window of time, she's not going to have a successful nesting season.

and so, what we're seeing is birds are leaving later. they're migrating later in the spring. they're migrating -- or earlier in the spring. they're migrating later in the fall. so their basic pattern is changing because of their response to weather, we believe. and then the habitat availability for her is shrinking. and the -- what the climate assessment tells us is that wet areas will get wetter and dry areas will get drier, and so as wildlife managers, we're now looking at a more complicated picture. how do we put that -- that habitat on the ground for that hen mallard? and what we have to do is be able to look into the future because we're not just responsible for today's water fowl hunters. we're responsible for tomorrow's water fowl hunters. we have to be able to think about habitat 10 and 20 and 30

years from now. so we need to recognize that the climate is changing, that that -- the habitat needs of water fowl are going to change. their migratory patterns are going to change. we need to understand that better so that we can provide the opportunity for hunters in the future. >> thank you very much for your testimony. appreciate it. >> thank you, mr. chairman. in absentia, thank you to senator tester for coming. we do appear occasionally on crossfire and enjoy trying to match wits. i'm sorry senator tester is experiencing hailstorms, increased hailstorms. i think he made a very telling statement, though, when he said, i don't know what's going on. i'm not sure what's going on. but i know that scientists of goodwill disagree about what's going on.

and i would say to you, dr. ashe and mr. chairman, gail and i have lived on 521 magnolia drive, tupelo, mississippi, for over 32 years. the lady that built the house before us planted st. augustine grass over 50 years ago. and for the first time this winter, i experienced winter kill of my st. augustine grass. now, i don't know what's going on. but the fact of the matter is i can play anecdotes all day. i'll just say that somehow the cold and the ice and the winter got to my st. augustine hasn't happened in 50 years on magnolia drive. i don't know what that proves,

except that we can give anecdotes that don't have really much to do with science. let's talk about these -- the migration of the ducks, mr. ashe. it's my understanding that because of the increased demand for corn used in ethanol production, we're seeing a reduction of available breeding grounds in the midwest wetlands and grassland for ducks in mississippi and louisiana flyways. so don't you think that there is an impact caused by the renewable fuel standards on