[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> >>, president obama meets with the chinese vice president, then vice president of joe biden and secretary of state to larry clinton hosted a luncheon for the chinese vice president -- hillary clinton hosted a luncheon for the chinese vice president. both vice president joe biden and secretary of state clinton discussed how to build a partnership in trade and commerce. the leaders met with reporters before the meeting for about 50 minutes.

>> i want to welcome vice president xi to the oval office and welcome him to the united states. this is obviously a great opportunity for us to build on the u.s.-china relationship, but also an opportunity to return the extraordinary hospitality that vice president xi showed vice president biden during his recent visit to china. as i indicated during my recent visit to apec and the east asia summit, the united states is a pacific nation. and we are very interested and very focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships to enhance our trade and our commerce, and make sure that we are a strong and effective partner with the asia pacific region.

and obviously, in order to do that, it is absolutely vital that we have a strong relationship with china. over the last three years i've had a great opportunity to develop a strong working relationship with president hu. and we have continually tried to move forward on the basis of recognizing that a cooperative relationship based on mutual interest and mutual respect is not only in the interests of the united states and china, but is also in the interest of the region and in the interest of the united states -- in the interest of the world.

on the basis of that understanding, we have established very extensive strategic and economic dialogues between our two countries. we have been able to pursue a significant consultation on opportunities for both countries to improve their economic relationship and their strategic relationship, and also manage areas of tension in a way that is constructive.

that includes working together in the g20 to manage the world economic crisis that had such an impact not only on both our countries, but on the entire world. and because of u.s.-china cooperation, i think that we were able to help stabilize the situation at a very difficult time. it also includes the work that we've been able to do together in dealing with regional hotspot issues, like the korean peninsula, and issues like iran that obviously have an impact on everybody. [translating to chinese]

throughout this process i have always emphasized that we welcome china's peaceful rise, that we believe that a strong and prosperous china is one that can help to bring stability at prosperity to the region and to the world. and we expect to be able to continue on the cooperative track that we've tried to establish over the last three years. [translating to chinese]

we have tried to emphasize that because of china's extraordinary development over the last two decades, that with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities. and so we want to work with china to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system, and that includes ensuring that there is a balanced trade flow between not only the united states and china, but around world. it also means that on critical issues like human rights we will continue to emphasize what

we believe is the importance of recognizing the aspirations and rights of all people. and we expect that china will continue to take a growing role in world affairs. and we believe that it is critically important that the united states and china develop a strong working relationship to help to bring stability, order and security that ultimately provides a better life for both the people of the united states and the people of china. [translating to chinese] [translating to chinese]

[translating to chinese] >>so, mr. vice president, i hope you have a wonderful visit while you're here. i'm sure the american people welcome you. i'm glad that you're going to get an opportunity to get out of washington. i know you'll be visiting iowa, where you visited many years ago when you were governor. and i understand you're also going to be going to los angeles and maybe even taking in a lakers game. so i hope you enjoy that very much. but i want to extend my deepest welcome to you, and look forward to a future of improved dialogue and increased cooperation in the years to come.

[translating to chinese] [translating to chinese] >> honorable president obama it's my great pleasure to meet you again. first of all, i'd like to convey the sincere greetings from president hu jintao, the

national people's congress chairman wu banguo, and premier wen jaibao. >> [speaking chinese] >>i am paying an official visit to the united states at the kind invitation of vice president biden. and we have received the warm and extraordinary hospitality from our hosts. so here, i want to thank you for your personal attention and what you did to help prepare and make sure a successful visit for myself. >> [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] >>the main purpose of my visit is to implement the important agreement you had reached with president hu jintao and to do some work to move forward the china-u.s. relationship along in the right direction, set by you and president hu -- that is for our two countries to work together to build a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interests. and i hope to engage with a

broad cross-section of american society during my current visit, so as to deepen mutual understanding, expand consensus, strengthen cooperation, and deepen the friendship between the chinese and american people. >> [speaking chinese] >> yesterday evening, soon after my arrival in washington d.c., i met with a very distinguished group of veteran u.s. political leaders. i sought their advice on the future development of our relationship, and their wise and practical suggestions have

provided me with much food for thought. >> [speaking chinese] [speaking chinese] >> just now i've had a set of large and small talks with vice president biden. he and i had an extensive candid, and in-depth exchange of views on the bilateral relationship and international and regional issues of shared interest. building on our discussions last august in beijing and chengdu, the vice president and i reached some new consensus. >> [speaking chinese]

>> i look forward to my in-depth discussion with you, president obama, in our meeting today. >> thank you, everybody. >> thank you, you guys. >> after meeting at the white house with vice-president joe biden, and president obama he attended a luncheon at the state department. he said the u.s. china relationship has become the most dynamic in the world. this is about 40 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. please, be seated.

it is an honor to welcome all of you to the state department this afternoon. it is always good to have vice president biden here. i would also like to recognize the chef who refused the flavors of chinese and american cuisine. -- who fused the flavors of chinese and american cuisine. [applause] >> [speaking chinese] >> this marks the historic trip

to china. we are pleased that he is here with us a long with the instrumental transformation between our two countries. >> [translating to chinese] [translating to chinese] >> no. -- today cooperation between the united states and china is imperative to address the many vexing challenges we face from liberation to addressing climate change to promoting global economic security.

developing a habit of cooperation is not easy. we have a lot of work to do. we are committed to the framework of trust that will have a cooperative partnership for the next 40 years and beyond. >> [translating to chinese] [translating to chinese] >> the vice president first came to the united states on an exchange program. he will travel there tomorrow to see some old friends. that business illustrates how

important the bond between our people are. that is why we support programs like 100,000 strong for american students to study in china. there are many more people to people exchanges. >> [translating to chinese] [translating to chinese]

>> it is a great pleasure to welcome the vice president and to celebrate the bonds of friendship between our nations government and people. it is now my great honor to introduce a vice president biden. [applause] >> thank you for being here. it is an honor. i told him his visit to iowa [translating to chinese] i told him his visit to iowa will assure him more delegates was here.

[laughter] >> [translating to chinese] >> this is not part of the script. lindsey gramm was really did not show up in january. you may have won the republican nomination. [laughter] [translating to chinese] formality is still my forte. [laughter] [translating to chinese] >> this is a great start. i hope we can match the extraordinary hospitality that the vice president has shown me in my four day visit to china last. >> [translating to chinese]

>> the highlight of that treats was the time spent in conversation together. i look forward to continuing the conversations we started over the next four days you are here. [translating to chinese] >> >> the vice president has already participated in three meetings. we have a very ambitious agenda in the coming days as well. [translating to chinese]

i have discussed the united states and china have much to do together. our relationship was literally going to help shape the 20 per century. [translating to chinese] >> we are not only the world's two largest economies, we are both powers. every day our nations and the livelihood of our citizens grow more connected. [translating to chinese]

>> the present and i came to office determined to rebalance toward those regions that are most critical. it is the most dynamic region. [translating to chinese] >>to state the obvious, u.s.- china relationship is a critical component of our broader asian strategy. our people both american and chinese are are all around the world.

[translating to chinese] >> i first visited china in 1979. the prosperity achieved since then that i saw as recently as this past august is stunning. >> -- [translating to chinese] >> it is a great credit the

talents of the chinese people. [translating to chinese] >> i respectfully suggest that this remarkable growth and not occur in a vacuum. it was cultivated at every turn by an international system that enables rapid development grounded in a rules that apply with equal measure to all nations. [translating to chinese]

>> even as our corp. gross the united states and -- cooperation gross, the united states welcomes competition. it compels our citizens to drive from the challenge. cooperation can only be mutual beneficial if the game is fair. >> [translating to chinese] ha ha [translating to chinese]

>> that's why the meetings were a continuation of the meetings we had in your countries in august. we're discussing the areas of our greatest concerns including the need to rebalance the global economy to protect international property rights and trade secrets. it is to level the competitive playing field and prevent the forced transfer of technology. and to continue a constructive dialogue on policies that would benefit our citizens, and the world. >> [translating to chinese]

[translating to chinese] >> the united states and china will not always see eye to eye. it is a sign of the maturity of our relationship that we can be candid about our differences as we have them.

[translating to chinese] >> we saw this in the recent un debate about syria where we strongly disagreed with china and russia as a veto of a resolution against the unconscionable violence being perpetrated by be a sod -- the assad regime. [translating to chinese]

>> it was brought up by the president and his meeting with you. we see our advocacy for human rights as a fundamental aspect of our foreign policy. we believe they he to the prosperity and stability of all science. -- societies. >> [translating to chinese] >> we have been clear about our concern over the areas in which from our conditions and china have deteriorated and about the plight of several very prominent individuals.

we appreciate your response. [translating to chinese] china and the united states are working more closely together on a broader range of issues than ever before. >> [translating to chinese] these include pressing security challenges in north. and iran, cyprus security, and the important work of developing cooperation between our military is. -- between our militaries. >> [translating to chinese]

>> it also includes our efforts in sudan. it includes climate change in security and global issues such as climate change and nuclear security. [translating to chinese] >> we appreciate your candid response those of we discuss these issues, and our believe you appreciate hours as well -- i believe you appreciate hours as well mr. vice president

>> [translating to chinese] welcome to the united states i have always believed the best way to understand a country is to see it with your own eyes. there is an old chinese saying. it is better to travel 10,000 miles then to read 10,000 books. [translating to chinese] >> although i read dr. kissinger's and a book on china, i felt my trip to your country

was at least as important. [laughter] >> actually, mr. vice president i cannot thank you enough for the hospitality you extended to me on my trip, and i would like to propose a toast. [translating to chinese] >> a toast to a successful visit by the vice president and an increase in cooperation and understanding that will help both of our nation's continued to increase this relationship, and may in benefit not only of a foal whole world. go -- not only us, but all whole world.

>> [translating to chinese] >> mr. vice president. [applause] >> [speaking chinese] [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] >> ladies and gentlemen, your friends, it gives me pleasure to attend this for me and my colleagues. last august, vice president biden paid a successful visit to china. the purpose is to implement the

agreement between our presidents, of practical cooperation, deepen people to people stringent and further advance the corporate partnership between our countries. [speaking chinese] [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] [speaking chinese]

>> this year marks the 40th anniversary of president nixon's visit to china and the shanghai communique. 40 years ago with the extraordinary courage, leadership of our country's open the door to china and u.s. exchanges that have been sealed off for years. despite some twists and turns u.s. relations have moved forward now out historic proportions. the growth of relations has brought a huge benefit to the two countries and people to your guns that is so strong impetus to peace, and -- to the two countries and people. but as a strong impetus to peace for the world at large. this have been one of the most

important bilateral relationships in the world. when you drink water, do not forget those who died at the well. when we enjoy the fruits of china-u.s. relations, we should be grateful to the next- generation of chinese and american leaders for the outstanding contribution to the new chapter. we should also be grateful to the friends, including many who are present today, for the painstaking and resource all efforts they have made for the development of china-u.s. relations. [speaking chinese]

>> [speaking chinese] >> in the past three years during the obama administration, a chinese-u.s. relations on a whole have maintained a positive growth. in january last year president hu jintao trade-in visit to the united states. he and president obama reads an important agreement on building a partnership based on mutual respect and benefit, charting the course for the long term development of chinese-u.s. relations. we are glad to see the two countries have further deepened

cooperation in a wide array of areas and carried out productive communication and on the range of international, regional, and global issues. [speaking chinese] >> [speaking chinese]

>> this morning i had a meeting with president obama and joe biden of the white house. we had an exchange of views on bilateral relations and reached a new and important consensus. we believe the two sides should focus on opening a new path of partnership between the major countries, featuring a harmonious coexistence and cooperation. to this end, are two sides should treat each other with sincerity and enhanced dialogue and communication.

we should enhance each other. we should keep pace with the times and expand cooperations. we should look ahead to the future and step up people to people exchanges, and we should intensify corp. -- intensify cooperation and work together to meet challenges. >> [speaking chinese]

>> [speaking chinese] >> president obama vice president biden, and i devoted a great deal of discussion to economic and trade issues. we share the view that the financial system remains grim and adjusting structure and promoting employment are high on the domestic agenda of both countries. we must continue to make concerted efforts to tide over difficulties and accelerate the building of comprehensive and a mutually beneficial economic partnership and maintain a steady economic recovery and growth in both countries and the world as a whole. we should create more right

spot thing in our cooperation and strive for greater balance between the countries. we should address our economic and trade concerns through dialogue and consultation, not protectionism. >> [speaking chinese] >> [speaking chinese]

>> [speaking chinese] >> we also had a candid exchange of views on human rights. i stressed that china has stayed achievements in the field of human rights over the past 30 plus years the reagan -- 30 plus years. there is always room for improvement, given the diversity and of been -- and

uneven development, we are still faced with many challenges a dancing human-rights. the chinese government will always put the people's interest first and take seriously people's aspirations. we will continue to take concrete and effective policies and measures to promote justice and harmony and push forward human-rights. at the same time, we are ready to conduct candid exchanges on human rights with the united states and other countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect with the view to enhancing understanding narrowing differences, learning

from each other, and achieving common progress. >> [speaking chinese] >> [speaking chinese]

>> china is the largest developing country while the united states is the largest undeveloped country. to build a partnership as a pioneering a endeavour with great and far reaching significance. there is no precedents to follow and no experience to refer to. we shall cross the river by feeling the stones or what secretary clinton once quoted. when constructed with mountains, one finds a way through. one block by river, one finds a way to bridge to the other side. a chinese pop song goes like

this, when asked where the past is, it is where you take your first step. i am convinced china and the united states have the wisdom, ability, and means to maintain their corporate partnership based on mutual benefit, and by doing so will set an unprecedented and inspiring example for countries with different political systems histories, cultures, to cooperate -- to enhance our relationship. >> [speaking chinese] >> i now propose a toast to the health of vice president biden and secretary clinton and celebrate an even better

tomorrow for china-u.s. relations. cheers. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> i got a list of all of the chemicals in cigarette smoke. i have a hunch one of them might be an addictive drug. >> i will go in a row and ask each one under oath. >> i believe nicotine is not addictive. >> a as the second one. >> they do not lead to -- death. >> we will take that as a mile. >> i do not believe our prompted -- products are addictive. >> not effected. not addictive. >> they wanted to remove nicotine from cigarettes and replace it from a drug that was a bit of but would not cause the heart problems or bring strokes. they had molecule's they invented, but had no way to test them.

that was my intention. >> sunday night on "q&a," a discussion with former phillip morris research scientist victor debole and charles evans jr.. >> the wife of a imprisoned chinese attorney testified on china's human rights abuses. the commission held a hearing to examine the imprisonment of the attorney, and the dangers many activists face from the government. this hearing was the same day vice president joe biden and president obama met with china's vice president at the white house. this is one hour and 40 minutes. >> the commission will come to order, and i want to welcome

our distinguished panelists. as president obama welcomes the chinese vice president our commission will hear testimony from two wives appealing for the immediate release of their jailed husband, a great human rights leaders in china. we will also appear from experts who will give great insights into this issue before us. i hope president obama does not put human rights last on the agenda as he did when hu jintao visited on january 19, 2011. one of the wives said, only the united states can make this case to china, the case of her husband and the disappeared and incarcerated human-rights leaders. please, president obama, listen to these women and act decisively.

the china commission hopes to issue of human rights abuses in china will be raised in a serious and visible way during the vice president's visit and in particular [chinese names] and names listed often and in detail. this recognizes one of china's most important human rights leaders and lawyers. in early 2000, the self-trained lawyer emerge as a champion of human rights and offender of marginalized groups in china. we have learned little about his whereabouts. then the issue of an academic who published an open letter calling for multi-party alexians -- multi-party elections and called for the end

of the labor system. he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. a legal advocacy on behalf of marginalized groups in china including christians, on human rights activists, and more, resulted in being given trumped up charges in 2006. he was granted a five-year suspended sentence. during this time he was subjected to years of brutal torture, and he repeatedly disappeared. only a brief to the appearance in march and april of 2010. information on his disappearance remains a closely

guarded secret. for months and years we heard nothing about the ongoing attention or torture. chinese officials announced he would be forced to serve his original three-year criminal sentence a week before he should have finished his five- year kuralt. it has now been claimed he violated the condition of his parole. no details were provided. one can only do wonder what violations he has committed since he has been brutally tortured by the chinese government. his brother and other family members have been turned away from attempts to visit. we have received no word on his health or condition. the case is not only rife with dillon read but also missing

semblance of humanity. he disclosed to the reporter the excruciating details of his attention. "the police stripped him air and pummeled him. for two days and nights they took turns beating him and describe things he refused to describe." he said, my life hung by a thread. reportedly a threatened to kill him and to dump his body in the river, and authorities top of him by saying, you must forget you are human. we will not forget. we do not know if this man is alive or dead. we know we will honor his accomplishments, his rights advocacy, and his grave witness

for the truth. we will now let those -- we will not let these criminal destroy his legacy or dispose of his significance. we will not forget him now or ever, and we will continue to press for his release. we are also honored to hear including the founder of freedom now and a member of the international team. he will discuss the recently filed a petition on arbitrary detention. we will also hear from the founder and president of the china aid foundation. he will discuss the campaign and the need to hold china accountable for its ongoing harassment.

the case of a former criminal court officer illustrates how chinese officials' target citizens who attempt to form independent political parties or use the internet to organize our to post online things better to politically sensitive. in 2007, he began posting a series of open letters to top government leaders advocating on behalf of laid off workers. he also wrote letters calling for a multi-party rule. his writings were considered too critical to the government and he lost his university professorship and he was demoted from a communist date approved party and formed his own party. he has gotten a 10 year prison

sentence. the hearing today continues the congressional commission on china's work to monitor china and to give voice to the persecuted. the commission has consistently raised china's ongoing violations of international law and has reported events. we have been able to shine a lights on some of china's gravest human-rights abuses and on its darkest policies. in december of 2011, our commission held a hearing a year after a man was awarded the nobel peace prize. he remains incarcerated by the chinese government. we held a hearing on illegal

attention -- illegal detention and abuse. he was detained for exposing china's' brutality. it cost the =-- caused the ire of the government to come down. forced abortion was considered a crime against humanity. nothing compares to the magnitude of china's 33 year assault on women and children. chin and his wife continue to pay a price.

there has been human tragedy because the women are not there. 40-50 million men will not be able to find wives because they have been systematically killed because of the one child policy. i and members of our staff have tried to visit. we have appealed repeatedly and applied repeatedly to the chinese embassy. i would like to turn to my friend and count -- friend and colleague, chairman brown.

>> i will be brief. we are here to show support to the wife of a man who was devoted his life to helping citizens. thank you very much for being here today. we look forward to hearing from you. we know you are a source of inspiration. she will share her husband's story, standing up for basic human rights in the face of intimidation and imprisonment. today's hearing comes at an important time in the relationship between the united states of america as the chinese vice president attends meetings just minutes away. we are reminded the real china is represented by the brave individual imprisoned under a cloud of secrecy, who is the focus of today's hearing.

we understand not only what gao stands for but the challenges we face in china today. he has devoted his life to trying to make the law work. he stood by factory workers protesting long hours. he stood up for practitioners. chinese authorities show no concern for his rights to the law. they jailed him. they tortured him and made him disappear. chinese authorities have sent a message to would-be human rights offenders. do not challenge us, or else. he would say this is about more than just his experience. as he wrote in his book, behind each case in china are systemic problems. for all the problems faced we see why our nation faces so many systemic problems with china today.

this case and the case you were gone shows how easy it is for chinese officials to sheet and to break the system, to ignore labor laws and environmental standards and manipulate currency. they tell us and sell us with the help of some of our own companies, toxic toys, tainted pet food, consumer products made by underpaid workers, and while i and other members of the government are doing what we can to ensure the safety and health of our citizens and ensure fair trade with china which cannot do it alone. we need to brave citizens like the man each of you are married

to do to defend their rights to make sure their food is safe and their environment is clean. that is why it is so important because of chinese citizens can defend their rights, we all benefit. we all benefit when we know the products made in china are made by workers treated well in clean conditions. we benefit from the rule of law that ensures the citizens of china the possibility to hold their government accountable and to petition grievances to affect change, but until mr. gao and other prisoners in china are released from their shackles that they will remain in the distant future. that is why we must do all we can to spotlight these cases and secure his release. we want to help in any way we care. treatment of human rights deserves no less.

>> i yield to ranking member tim wolfe. >> i yield to the chairman of the human rights commission and an outspoken advocate of human rights abuses -- against it of course. >> i want to thank mr. smith and senator brown for their work on this. i have a statement i want to read. and i woke to found a piece. it opens with the following. as chinese exiles get a different response than soviet writers received not too long ago. i would even go further to say chinese defector is get a different response. a story broke days ago about a senior communist official from

china who reportedly attempted to defect to the u.s. and was turned away after his request for asylum was rejected. the soft-spoken man endured beatings and torture from chinese secret police. he said china was a greater threat than the u.s. ever was but visionary policies such as ronald reagan's stand up to that threat. we urge president obama in a letter signed by a number of members to do what reagan has gone. we urge you to meet with the families of these dissidents. we urge the president to publicly and privately raise the cases of six private citizens suffering greatly at the hands of their own government. we will have the honor of hearing his wife momentarily. we also heard from the president and vice president

that he was -- that she was mr. gao's wife, to hear firsthand from these incidents. while the vice president's trip to the u.s. is already under way, the administration should still give gao's why is the courtesy of a meeting, given that they are rolling of the diplomatic red carpet for the very government that has imprisoned and tortured her husband. can they meet with her, even if it is after words, it is clear that the current situation in china is not working. human rights are reportedly discussed in private meetings, but it has not yielded any results and has emboldened the chinese government. we should not forget to persecute a church. 25 catholic bishops are under

arrest. protestant pastors are in jail. a tibetan nun sectors of the flame on sunday because of this activity, -- set herself on fire on sunday because of this activity, and the list goes on. these issues would have featured prominently with susan coates. the state department's ambassador for international freedom was ready to take on china last week. it is my understanding her trip has been cancelled. her request to meet with chinese government officials were denied, and her visa was denied, so the special ambassador for this administration cannot get to china common -- cannot get to china, cannot even get a visa and you have people putting in jail. it begs the question, has the department protested this action? has the white house protested their own ambassador cannot even get a visa to go to china of?

i will end on this last comment. martin luther king famously said, in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends. america is a friend to the imprisoned human rights lawyer. america is a friend to the gun tibetan nun who set herself on fire. america is a friend to the catholic bishop, the protestant pastors, and we should not be silent, as this administration has been, and i yield back. >> i would like to introduce our distinguished panelists. without of section, we do without objection, the wife of the human rights lawyer, who completed her university studies in accounting in china. she married in august of 1990. between to thousand and 2006

she worked as a paralegal and an accountant at a beijing law firm -- between to thousand and 2006 she worked as a paralegal and an accountant at the beijing law firm. she has been everywhere speaking out for her persecuted husband. we will then hear from the wife of the human rights and democracy advocate. she has a b.a. from the university, and the democracy advocates married in 1999. she worked for the newspaper for five years. she also worked in import and export businesses. she arrived in the united states in january of this year and has publicly advocated on her husband's behalf.

she is currently serving a 10- year sentence for subversion of state hours after the court, she uses the internet to publish reactionary's statements on-line. we will hear from the founder of freedom now, a nonprofit organization that worked to free prisoners of conscience and worldwide. he is the director of a firm focusing on human rights. he was a partner in the government affairs and a management consultant with mckinsey and company. he has worked for this commission as well as my committee. he has been a great source of actionable information concerning human rights in general and political prisoners in particular. and we will hear from pastor bob fu, who was part of the

movement in tiananmen square and then became a pastor and church founder along with his wife. authorities arrested and imprisoned them for their work. after their release, they escaped to the united states. he has been a great source of information that is accurate as well as actionable, so i thank him for his leadership on behalf of people, especially christians who are suffering so much in the people's republic of china. i would like to ask her to present her testimony. >> [speaking chinese]

>> good afternoon, everyone, and happy valentine's day. greetings to the chairman. thank you for letting me speak about my husband, the imprisoned human rights lawyer. i would like to thank the congressional commission on china for holding this hearing today and everybody who has attended for their interest in this case. >> [speaking chinese] >> as a lawyer in china, he represented some of the most

vulnerable when it is. he represents people who lost their land to project like the olympics. the workers were arrested when they protested against low wages and long hours. he also protected church charities, and his righteousness actions have brought prosecution by the chinese authorities. you cannot be a rights lawyer in china without becoming our rights case yourself. >> [speaking chinese]

>> they suspended the license. it was inciting the threats against our children. it's like it would have been turned upside down. the place our family is under constant surveillance. they have repeatedly tortured them. >> [speaking chinese]

>> in september 2007, authorities held him for over 50 d's after he broke an open letter to the united states congress exposing human rights abuses in china. they took him into a room where they stripped him naked and beat him. they used electromagnets to shock him, especially his private parts.

it was so painful he was rolling on the ground. after losing consciousness, he woke up covered in urine. later, his captors use cigarette smoke to burn his eyes. he could not open them. they tortured his genitals with toothpicks. he asked to be locked in a prison but they refused. they said you have got to be kidding. this last is a lot more than three days. >> [speaking chinese] >> in order to protect our

children, i escaped injury 2009. the next month the authorities of that did him again. this time they held him for over a year before he briefly reappeared the following spring. in an interview, he described more torture. they hit him with handguns for two days and nights. his life, by a thread. -- hung by a thread. >> [speaking chinese] >> i last spoke to him on april 17, 2010 on the birthday of my doctor. -- daughter. his absence has caused a severe

emotional absence. she dreams that he is dead. my son told his teacher he does not have a father. they were forced to endure rumors that the guards had tortured him to death. >> [speaking chinese]

>> in december 2011, less than one week before his probation was scheduled, that chinese authorities claimed that he would spend the next three years in prison. this news came just before the holidays. it some people have asked us if we were relieved because they say he is alive. it has not reassured the spirit we do not know what to believe. we do not know if he is still in prison. >> [speaking chinese] >> this morning vice-president

was meeting with president obama. i requested to meet with them. i did not get a reply. i was very disappointed. >> [speaking chinese] >> i am so grateful that the united states has provided protection to my family from the chinese government. i also need to ask to ask of president obama and secretary hillary to continue to ask the government of china to respect human rights. i would like to request a meeting with them to tell them the story face-to-face. i asked you to continue to report on this of the truth about his treatment will be

known to the world. i hope and pray that with you help my husband will regain his freedom and my family can be together once again. thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak today. i welcome any questions you may have. >> [ speaking chinese] >> i request the congress to include the following articles in the record. to the first one is about an execution on christians in china. the second is an open letter about executions. the third is a letter a citizen

wrote titus "dark knight, a dark mask." the fourth is an interview with the associated press. thank you. >> thank you very much. that was a very moving testimony. it was an appeal of a white on behalf of our husbands read a wife on behalf of her husband and the -- it was an appeal of a wife on behalf of her husband's spirit the documents will be made part of the record. i would include one that i remember we received on the timber 27 of 2007. it was used -- september 27 of 2007. it was used as an inside of letter with quotations from madison and martin a 13.

dr. king said justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. it will be made part of the record. i would like to invite our second wife whose husband is being unjustly persecuted. please come to continue with your testimony. >> ladies and gentlemen, i would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak out on the persecution of my husband and our family. my husband is currently in prison serving a 10 year sentence for peacefully expressing his opinions about democracy and human rights. after several years of harassment, my son and i am right in the united states three weeks ago. -- arrived in the united states three weeks ago. we are enjoying freedoms here

that hopefully will someday be enjoyed by everyone in china. because i now have the freedom to speak, i want to tell you a little bit about my husband's case. he is a professor at the university with a degree in law and a doctorate in philosophy. he started to publicly as for democracy and human rights. in 2007, because of his public works, my husband suffered. he cannot teach again. he was stripped of his associated professor salary and longed to work for only minimum-wage. it makes them to feel that human rights have not improved. a very even worse. this a motion did not stop. they published the democracy.

he published articles criticizing one party dictatorship spreading the ideals of democracy and constitutional government. to push the democracy in china in december, my has been posted it online, announcing the funding of this party. on november 13, 2008, it was on the abortion of state power.

i also was forbidden by 19 police to go to the trials or speak to international media about this case. he is currently serving his prison term. from the first he published the letters, my family experience the continuous harassment by police. our lives have been turned upside down for the simple expression of political opinion. our home was raided several times in the middle of the night and they forcibly confiscated our computers and some of my husband's work.

they even gave our [unintelligible] my employees told me that the public security this is his him three times -- visited him three times. he is asked to muster my activities. i had no opportunity to be promoted and. my career came to an end. it also affects the life of our nine years old son. he is the continually blamed by some teachers before his father was arrested. he had some leadership position in his class. he has been stripped of this. previously active and outgoing, and he has become more withdrawn and lacking of confidence.

my husband loved our country. he is a college professor who thinks he has commitments for our country. this led him to vote for freedoms and rights. his mother is elderly and deceased. i miss him greatly. i cannot imagine my son not being able to see his father for another seven years. i am very grateful to china for having me in the united states to live in exile. i've of to the united states to help reunite my husband.

it is penalized for speaking out. thank you all. >> thank you so very much for joining us. i helped the house and the senate is listening to this appeal from two wives for an appeal for your husband and the fbi family members. >> thank you for the opportunity to speak. i want to begin by thanking the commission on china and all the members of staff here today for the fabulous word that you are doing on behalf of the united states. i want to provide it with a

brief overview of the case and why his detention violates chinese and international law. i will also reflect on why many chinese prisoners -- his case is a bellwether that deserves close attention.

he was a prominent chinese lawyer who ran afoul on the government after it took on politically sensitive cases particularly those of religious minority group spirit in 2005, the government shutdown his law firm. in 2006, if they arrested him and accused him of inciting subversion. they prevented him from meeting with him and threatened against his wife and children. it lasted less than a day. they fell to notify the family or the chosing council. on december 26, the beijing intermediate people's court handed down a suspended three- year sentence subject to a five- year probationary. despite the formal suspension,

he was not free. over the next five years the government repeatedly disappeared and tortured him. authorities disappeared him for 50 days after he publicly criticized china's human rights record. in february 2009, they abducted him shortly after his family saw asylum in the united states. they denied access to a lawyer. he held a secret for more than a year. although he disappeared march 2010, he disappeared again a few weeks later. he has not been seen or heard from since. on november 19, the u.n. working group including experts from chilly, and norway -- chile and norway issued finding is ongoing attention to be in violation of international law. just days before the period was to end, they announced that he

would now serve his barrier prison sentence. he was taken to the prison in the remote region. authorities turned his family away after they traveled 22 hours by train to see him. they claimed that mr. gao did not want to see his family any cannot receive visitors. no parties have been able to confirm he is alive for at the prison. the government's imprisonment is illegal for three reasons. first, that he has already spent more than three years in government custody since his arrest in 2006 on subversion charges. the charges against him for inciting subversion are rises out of this criticism of the chinese government.

imprisoning him for exercising his right to freedom of expression is a grant of china's international obligations and its own constitution. the prosecution of him failed to meet international standards. the government revised on a forced confession and denied him a right to counsel of his own choosing. they see that the government has done it. he is not a traditional person purity is a lawyer. this case shows the government's willingness to persecute those that persecute the rule of law from within.

he is not alone. the government holds chen under house arrest with his wife and daughter. boast abuses. the government is also moving forward with prosecutions of a well-known lawyer. this is part of a larger crackdown. as he noted last month china has only worsened since the uprisings in the middle east and africa. in december, and activists all received long prison sentences of nine or 10 years. authorities report them on trial. each were charged with subversion or incitements.

this crackdown will only be exacerbated by the government's moves to legalize the appearances. such a cynical move would render the whole idea of the rule of law meaningless. his case is striking for have reason the government has come in the willingness to publicly by about the circumstances of his detention. after the government disappeared, and a gentle the family that mr. gao have losses way and went missing. they indicated that he is "where he should be." when they later smiled they said he did not know where he was in cannot be expected the whereabouts of all china's 1.3 billion people. the government released a photograph of him reporting to show him alive and well. in it he was wearing a distinctive breeze of a given his daughter before they fled

to the united states. after his wife pointed this out in an interview, and i known what been tried to steal this bracelet from grace on the new york city subway. now they're claiming that mr. gao would rather not see his family. the treatment of mr. gao and his family is at the short of shocking. issues a disregard for the international community. if the lives are not -- it shows a disregard for the international community. if the lives and not confronted, rights are no longer a priority. i thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts. i welcome any questions. >> thank you for your testimony. i would now like to ask you if you proceed. >> thank you. thank you for the professional staff and for your excellent

work in documenting and pursuing the human rights issue in thailand. it promotes the establishment. in pursuit of this mission and to support its war, met he has pared no effort -- he has been no effort in launching a worldwide campaign. cover the past five years, we have expanded acute manpower and financial resources and mobilizing efforts in the regards. we know that our efforts have some value in the same way that those before the american civil war eventually led to the full awakening of the same force of

justice. three years ago, we set up the website called freegao.com to launch a worldwide petition on his behalf. so far, we have collected over 150,000 real name signatures from 119 countries. we printed of the signatures today. we want to give it to the record. these names, voices, people spoke up from sudan to afghanistan to south africa to norway to china to america. 150,000 people's conscience calling for family backgrounds of difference altercations.

we have never stopped asking where is gao zhisheng? i have traveled all over the united states into europe many times calling for his release. the situation is getting worse. we do not have a way of confirming that he is still alive today. we earnestly hope that of the western world will abandon the diplomacy and speak up and urged china, a country, to both the declaration of human rights and the political rights and to

apply the domestic and international law to abolish this and stop persecuting the family because of him. china should be held accountable. the next leader of china and the chinese party will feel once more some hope, hoping that it house leaders. the first african-american president would not be sitting in the white house today if

history reminds us that those who have been free must not forget the virtues of those who have fought for freedom. they have the obligation to carry on this tradition and to show compassion and support for those around the world who are still being oppressed. this is the spirit of martin luther king and gao zhisheng. it is a noble reason to continue. i was very much moved this morning by the actions of my friends on behalf of china's sixth prisoner consciousness. i was especially moved by his effort to cause the obama administration to move with the priority and such leaders as president reagan.

he was arrested in front of the white house for engaging in a quiet and respectful of demonstration. i saw the police handcuff him and drive them away in a swap car -- swat car, i realize how great america's heart could be. he played an important effort spit it is such legislation as the international freedom act. his statement reflects a great understanding of the peaceful means. let me conclude with the words of martin luther king himself. this must be true.

thank you very much. >> your request to include the statement will be made part of the record. thank you for your testimony. let me ask you. he points out that gao zhisheng said he cannot be a human rights lawyer in china without having a right case yourself. i would say this as well when we express dissatisfaction with a policy or our government we made an editorial that as politicians we may come under scrutiny that we may not welcome.

it is the thing that even comes close to the consequences that men and women that promote human rights in china face. it is a systematic use of torture and show trials. there is no due process of laws. it is a dictatorship. it's both of your husband spoke out boldly knowing that there

might be severe and long- lasting consequences. what motivates that kind of courage? you bear the brunt and the scars of the dictatorship as well. >> thank you very much. why do they do it? where does that courage come from? where does that kurds come from to speak out when the iron fist of the secret police is waiting with a baton and implement the torture? in the 1990's, i chaired a

hearing in my human rights division. we invited six survivors. your husband spoke out. why did he do it? >> [speaking chinese] >> my husband corrupt in the poor countryside. -- grew up in the poor countryside. his father died. he also is starting very hard. he was hoping to get more people to help china.

>> [speaking chinese] >> he was very happy to use his knowledge to help many chinese people. the first casey took was for people that he did pro bono. -- case he took was for four people, and it was for pro bono. he handled a case and helped the victims get an 800,000 reward. after the successful case, many people in china come up to him to seek support. >> [speaking chinese]

>> some traveled more than 1,000 miles to seek his help. it even provided me or him. they would talk about the case. each time, he was always very touched.

it reminded him that his mother was also helping people was to is in difficult conditions. >> [ speaking chinese] he has done so many good deeds and china. -- deeds in china. my doctor had a police bus to

school. when we are right, the first day my daughter chose to go to the hospital because she suffered mentally. >> [speaking chinese] >> my children and i support its him wholeheartedly. we believe. >> thank you. >> thank you. for my husband, we are a christian family. the key words in the bible are "love." it is not just a feeling.

it is a commitment. for my husband, he needs to help the poor people to have a voice, so he did that. after the first prosecution for him, he started to think why they can treat him like this. only one party. he started thinking over this matter and -- >> without the division of power and checks and balances -- >> they can do everything they want.

they start to push the democracy in china. every time when i see him in prison, he always told me "i am not wrong." he promised he will not continue to write until they get out. he always say "no." i am not wrong. >> thank you. >> out of love, based on a eight based conviction which is an enormous motivator. i thank you for sharing that. it was a faith that people of faith or paint a significant price. at thank you for giving us an insight into the why. let me ask you a couple of questions.

in your testimony, you make the statement that it is no small irony that while you are sitting here on capitol hill, the vice president is meeting with president obama. you did point out your disappointment that you believe that your husband's plight has been downplayed. for the record, i what is clear. i've been in congress. we have never stopped human rights issues. george bush was dropping the ball. we spoke out very loudly. we even when there before the a olympics to raise independent lyrics.

it included harry wu and others to ensure that the focus never left. i know this is shared by many others. this administration has been in different. we are relying on lower-level dialogues and conversations. i would submit that quiet diplomacy is another name for indifference. he came here. there was one public expression by president obama. there he was meeting with the capture and the jailer of those to cut the nobel peace prize. the wives may want to speak to this. you made a very profound insight when you said without

u.s. leadership or human rights, you will be listening. they have certainly cannot use their voice in any reasonable way. only the united states can make the case for china. >> how would you rate how we are doing, how the white house is doing? it seems to me this is on a back burner if it is even on that. >> i will begin by expressing my disappointment that we did not receive a response from the white house to the request to have heard me to the vice president.

he did not meet any victims directly. while we are grateful that they had been repeatedly and persuasively relentless the only way we will do this is by having the highest level of government officials. i would submit that what we have here today is someone who i represented for five years. >> if you could stand to be recognized? >> they were both deeply engaged over years. the way he got out was president bush raised the case tries to hu jintao. the u.s. government had to be relentless. without that kind of direct

engagement, we will not see the release of people. if it is not working, we need to change our strategy is. >> i agree with your overall assessment of the past three years. it is the required diplomacy. obviously, this administration took up the human rights and religious freedom on the back seat from day one. after two years, the ambassador at large was not even appointed. the first official visit was not really met with even a courtesy from the chinese government.

to i expect the state department or the white house had done anything to protest this insults. it was a presidential appointee. i think this attitude it is the action against the human rights abuses in china.

>> [speaking chinese] >> this is getting worse and worse. [speaking chinese]

>> buti strongly request to meet with the leaders in the government. it is very important because this is critical. it is critical for breaking through the current situations. they arrested many human rights lawyers. the authority told them have you had the? e probably know him. do you know heard? so what? it disappears. we have no money. >> it is typical for us to get any lawyers. no lawyers can take the case.

[speaking chinese] >> nowadays, they pay attention. they knowed this can have any improvement. i really wish i could have an appointment with the leaders. >> you have tried it and not gotten back to you? >> yes, we got no response. >> we did hear back from the state department.

we're offering a meeting with secretary poser. we do get no response from the white house. we sent a response. >> and talking about the a horrific policy, he said i am not going to second guess the policy and then sent down an e- mail to some group suggesting he is not really for the policy. the damage is done. words and do matter. he talks about the plight of the wives and husbands. that should of been one that was saw after.

>> thank you. i think this administration has been a total failure. >> they should know that they have failed them. this administration has failed them. bashan know that this administration has failed them. the dali lama has should know that they have failed them.

i want to bring it back to this. i do not know that you have made a request. i would like to ask both of the wives and they would say publicly, what would you say? there is still an opportunity to meet after the vice president leaves. what would you say if you had the opportunity to meet with president obama? stamp on them both if they do not meet. you know that president reagan would have met with you. you know president bush would have met with you. in no jimmy carter would have met. this may be the only opportunity.

what do they want to say they were talking to president obama? >> if i have the opportunity to me president obama, i would tell him my husband is a good people. he always does a good deeds. why does he have to be persecuted? what is yet to be suffering from all types of torture is? help release him immediately.

>> but i have the opportunity to say to president obama that my husband is innocent, there are some things that are the way to show how he loves this country. >> thank you. >> let me ask witnesses if there's anything further. if you want to perhaps touch on what they are doing? the european parliament and

other parliaments and lawmakers ought to be raising their parties. they disappeared. >> let me say briefly, the un is engaging on a number of cases. they're trying to go to china. it seems unlikely it'll happen. she needs to raise her voice. she needs to raise it. the u.n. needs to do a lot more. the case has gotten a lot of attention. there are a lot of different contexts. there is a lot of support. i want to underscore that terror children live in the united states now. they have protection. this gives them a special

connection. we have to give them this. if we can reappear, he could immediately come to be free in this country. we need the united states to recognize special responsibility that we have taken non to raise this case. the last thing i will note is my biggest fear about the president and vice-president. it is not exclusively about the objects of that meeting taking place. my biggest fear is that the chinese government has publicly light about what is going on. the united states and other countries have not publicly responded by saying you are lying. you're not telling the truth. we have to speak truth to power.

we have to tell the world what is really happening. it is not sufficient to have a meeting with the assistant secretary to see the progress that we want to see. >> i was invited along with a few leaders. they had a meeting. i was on one hand glad to hear that he had made a straightforward effort to percy this when he was missing. on the other hand, i hope the united states inventory can stand to go to verify we did not know whether he is alive or

not. i think there is the policy of just diplomatic courtesy or formality. it cannot work anymore. it in 2005, i remembered when one of the passengers in beijing was about to be sentenced for 15 years imprisonment for printing bible's according to lawyers that had the knowledge.

it was when that news came out that i communicated with the security council. president bush was on the way to visit beijing. he made a pointed speech mentioning the case. later the attorney was one of the attorneys at the time. he was later sentenced to three years' imprisonment. it is time. i give you the demonstration of the wrong signal of buying the administration filter 20 visited china, i received a phone call.

human rights lawyers said they heard the president is waiting to meet with them. we were waiting outside the embassy compound. i was on the phone with a deputy general, over at the u.s. embassy, and telling him where there are, and the counselor asked me to wait, to call back, and i was waiting. half an hour later instead of the u.s. consulate coming out to visit them, this group of human rights lawyers including a lawyer who was later kidnapped and tortured, they were met with over 200 military police, and

they were rounded up. the president chose to visit the great wall. i was told there is no guarantee for the president's security, so he could not meet with these lawyers. what a signal you want to send to the chinese dictators these oppressors -- that certainly involved in them and made their human rights record worse. >> i would just point out, bob fu that the signals of indifference, and being uninformed about how powerful defused the voice of the president the vice president and the secretary of state could actually be in getting people out of prison who are suffering and justly. i remember the secretary of

state on her first visit to china said she but not allow human rights to interfere with peddling u.s. debt and climate change. that through the dissidents under the boss. any repair in statements certainly does not do -- undo the damage of what is in the heart. my hope springs eternal that this is administration will see that they are doing the cause of democracy, and the individuals who suffer for a grave injustice by sending the wrong signals. how will china ever matriculate from dictatorship to democracy if all lawyers and those who might go that route and what they will do if they know they will be treated with torture like jing li, and her husband. we need to stand in solidarity

with the oppressed not the oppressor. regrettably, we are doing the opposite. i would like to escape mr. wolf -- asked if mr. wolf had any comments. we will leave the final words to these two distinguished whitest. thank you for the testimony. mr. fu? >> i think real intent will depend on two factors. the most important is inside china. in spite of the increasing persecution, perhaps the worst in two decades last year, we still are hopeful we still are seeing signs. it is not because of relaxation of the totalitarian regime, but i think because of the growing

awareness and consciousness by the chinese people. look at what happened to that the village in the province. 15,000 people, when they were united, they were able to win the fight, at least temporarily, allowed to have their first freely, and democratic elections. the elected their own leaders in that 50,000-people the village. it is a small step, but it shows the people's power. i think there are hundreds of thousands of chinese petitioners, despite of imprisonment torture they still organized and went to the chinese leadership compound in shanghai, in beijing and

hundreds of house church members in the past 10 months, since april last year, every sunday in the capital city of beijing, there are a wrests of members of this church -- and there were arrests of members of this church simply for going outdoors for worship. all the leaders have been under house arrest. but, the members are still going there every sunday, knowing that they are going to be arrested. i think these are the hopeful signs we should count on. of course, secondarily the contributions for china's democracy and freedom is outside, externally.

i think we do need the external aid. the persecuted people will be gratefully -- greatly encouraged, and their moral will be encouraged if they hear from the president of the united states of america that we are with you with the persecuted instead of the persecutors. >> thank you. >> thank you. i want to make three brief comments. the first is to emphasize that this is not a partisan issue. this is something there is strong bipartisan support to keep pressure on the chinese government to improve human rights in the country. this is a core value of this country, and we need to stay true to our fundamental values. second, i want to say to the

administration that there is never a wrong time to do the right thing and frankly, it is not too late. i am disappointed that we did not get these meetings that we wanted but it is an opportunity to turn the ship around, or at least change the course, and that the end of the day and the administration should be measured by results not effort. i think it is clear regardless of efforts being made, and the results are not there yet. at the end of the day, i do need to change tactics if you want to get results -- you need to change tactics if you do not get the results. secondly, i want to thank you mr. chairman. it is a pleasure to work with you and your offices. you do a tremendous leadership

on all these issues. it is greatly appreciated by me, and most importantly the victims of human rights abuses around the world to see the united states as the shining example of what they want to become. we need to work on flaws. that is true, but we cannot forget where we come from, and both of you deserve credit for your ongoing efforts over the years. >> thank you. >> i will say this in chinese. [speaking chinese] >> i will speak chinese. i feel the chinese government right now is the best interest group. -- the best interest group. -- vasrt interest group. [speaking chinese]

>> even though they realize the gigantic problems they are confronted with, it is difficult for them to overcome these problems. [speaking chinese] >> therefore, in order to change china it indeed calls for more and more people to be able to stand up and speak out. [speaking chinese] >> as was pointed out by my husband before he was put in jail -- [speaking chinese] >> the minds have to be exploe red and need to be traded on for

them to explode. if you do not test the field you will never know the borderline, and you'll never know how chinese democracy will emerge, and whether or not china can be democratized. [speaking chinese] >> therefore it calls on common efforts made by all of us. [speaking chinese] >> as was pointed out in my testimony today the united states of america plays an extremely important role in all of this. [speaking chinese] >> i very much hope the united states of america will help china to make amends, and to make change. >> thank you. [speaking chinese]

>> ok. the suffering of my husband is a showcase of the widespread problem of human rights abuses in china. i repeatedly requested to meet the highest leader in the united states -- president obama, vice president joe biden secretary

of state hillary clinton. i wish i could meet with them, and i hope the embassy of china could send a delegation to it least verify whether he is alive or not. i really hope the highest level leaders in the united states can push china for an unconditional release so our -- release so our family can reunite. [speaking chinese]

[speaking chinese] >> ok. i firmly believe the the 1.3 billion chinese people still do not have the basic human rights right now, and if this situation continues human civilization will not have a perfect civilization. so, i hope that the whole western world, and the civilized world, can give more support to the human rights situation supporting human-rights advocates and warriors in china so they can be consoled when they are fighting in the dark. this kind of support not only can bring china's human-rights efforts into a more brighter

era, it will also encourage and support more people to bring out the light of the human nature, and also provide tremendous courage for all the human rights warriors in china when they struggle in the dark. hopefully, this kind of support can bring much more encouragement to these warriors and i thank you all from the bottom of my heart. >> thank you. the people of china deserve better than what they're getting from the dictatorship. your husband you, and others like you languishing in prison are the future of china, and we need to stand in solidarity with you and them. thank you entered the hearing is

adjourned. mr. bob fu? >> just one more point to bring change to china. i think it is very important for congress to work together to pass the global internet freedom act. thank you, congressman wolf, for your leadership. that will provide a tremendous, he efficient tool to break down this fire wall in china and certainly will it enhance and improve the chance for rapid democratization in china. thank you. >> as you know, mr. bob fu, and that bill, we hope to market up shortly in our sub committee. it is an idea whose time has come. the tabling of high-tech to

enable dictatorship to find, apprehend, and incarcerate people of faith, and to destroy dissident movements throughout the world calls out for this legislation. i hope to have this bill out of committee very shortly. thank you for bringing that up. i would like to thank our distinguished witnesses again and without further ado the hearing is adjourned. >> next week -- next, from the ge conference on manufacturing and competitiveness, remarks from jeff immelt, the governor of colorado, and a senator from ohio. monday the general electric ceo jeff immelt urged congress and the white house to adopt a budget plan along the since

involves deficit reduction plan. -- bowles-simpson deficit- reduction plan. he joined a panel of corporate executives moderated by d degree for a discussion on the role of government in the economy. -- david gregory for a discussion on the role of government in the economy. this is one hour and 15 minutes. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] clock's ladies and gentlemen, crees -- >> ladies and gentleman, please welcome the president and ceo of general electric jeff immelt. >> thank you. we are kicking off an interesting week on american competitiveness on a -- with a focus on what is working sharing best practices, and really talking about ways to create jobs. i think it'll be a great week, and a lot will be shared.

if you would have read last month's harvard business review roughly 75% of people surveyed think that america's competitiveness will decline over the next three years. i have to say that is in contrast to what we see to what i see, and i would go beyond that to say that on a relative basis american competitiveness is a strong today as i have seen in a generation. i will frame some of the things that are working and then we have a series of workshops and panels over the next few days to discuss the best practices and what is working. if you go to the next slide please if you look at the major headlines, and the things we think are important i think it is above confidence. if you looked inside a lot of

the big american companies like boeing caterpillar ge, people have more confidence in the ability to compete and win on a global basis. i would say many and most american businesses came through the crisis in better shape. a lot of the growth is outside of the united states. you have to have your confidence taking your game to every corner of the world, and the other thing you will see is that business works together. small business and big business work together, and various companies work together in what i would call extended enterprise. these are some of the hallmarks we will talk about as the week goes by. if you go to the next slide the day is really split -- the week is really split into four segments. we will talk about american competitiveness today. tomorrow is a discussion on

innovation -- innovation. tomorrow a discussion on global competitiveness, and we'll talk about fast-growth regions around the world, and what you have to do to export. thursday, we will talk about work force veterans and reservists, and what it takes to create jobs. today, i will talk about 10 ideas on things we have seen works, and things we have learned about how to drive competitiveness in side of our company. the first three our business strategies about innovation, american manufacturing, and a focus on exports. the next two are about systems of competitiveness -- the importance of energy and health care to making every company competitive on a global basis. the next two are on how to work with customers large and small, focusing ended-market

customers, and the value of taking tools that come from social media data, and analytics in helping customers be more productive. lastly talking about skills, in powering work forces, it really a public/private partnership as ways to drive competitiveness. these are just our ideas. you will hear a lot more about it as the week goes on. one of the best parts about this is we have the opportunity to learn from each other and share best practices. first and on innovation and technology -- this is what the u.s. has always stood for -- technology and innovation. i would say more countries -- most -- more companies are spending more on research and development than previous generations. in the u.s., it is stagnated

between to% and 3%. we believe that needs to go up. various research groups have said investments in technology and innovation have a 30% return. the case for technology and innovation is without dispute. one of the questions i asked when i travel around the world is how many engineers graduate in a country each year. this is the biggest signal of the long-term competitiveness of those countries more than just about anything you can study and track. science and technology is set to go the critical. in ge, we've gone from 2% of industrial revenue into research and development to 6%. regardless of company, region, we think that a resurgence and a

focus on science technology, innovation they have to be the cornerstones of any successful company, job creation, and something we think winning companies will do. second manufacturing -- there is a lot written about manufacturing. i came to work for ge in 1982. for roughly 20 years if you look at global costs, materials were inexpensive, and the largest piece in your cost structure tended to be labor. we lived in a deflationary time. . we live in a more inflationary time the were the cost of materials are the biggest cost of the income statement. as a result, i think it's -- i think it makes manufacturing owning your own supply chain

very different today. that is the way we look at our business. ge has always been good at manufacturing. we have a strong focus to control our own supply chain and we think this is going on around american business at the same time. we see good growth in the monthly jobs numbers in manufacturing. go back. in ge, we have created 11,000 manufacturing jobs since 2009. we have 16 sites that are either new or been refurbished. we have a strong focus of american manufacturing. i thought i would just tell leaving yet, and then i have some local guys here this week. we are basically moving appliance manufacturing from mexico and china back to the louisville, and when we look on a cost basis our labor is still higher, but it is closer than it has been, and materials and

distributions are less expensive in the united states banned important. we see -- and van import team. we think there's an opportunity to bring jobs back, and this will take place in software as well. there is a good case to be made for the competitiveness of american manufacturing and we think some of this will go on for the future. if you go to the next slide, exports are key. if you are in the infrastructure business the way we are our markets will be predominantly elsewhere, and we see the need to really focus on global markets. there will be 1 billion consumers and joined the middle class in the emerging markets alone. so, there is no country that is off limits fundamentally in terms of the opportunity for growth that we look for in the future. exports are key. we will make one for the heavy- duty gas turbines this year,

mainly in greens all, south carolina. we have roughly 50% market share globally. less than 5% will go to the united states. if we are not selling in every corner of the world, we will fall behind. there is a five-to-6 multiplier on every export jobs. if you're going to be an exporter, if you're going to grow globally, you have to create jobs in other countries not just the united states, so we are doing that as well, and we are building very strong customer relationships. if you walk through any of our factories in the united states, they know global airlines, utilities, hospitals, that our customers. exporting, competing -- it means winning in every corner of the world. you know, it is infinitely

harder to sell a mr scanner in turkey than it is in chicago but that is the standard to be more competitive and i think we can export in line with any other country anywhere in the world. shift gears. those are three strategies. i think there are two places where every business faces the same challenges when it comes to long-term competitiveness. one is health care and one is energy. health care is extremely important for employees and retirees to have at an affordable cost, and this is something we have to work on together. our costs have come down over the last few years, and it is lower today than it was in 2008. it is really driven by an

employe-directed health care plan and a very focused wellness program. ge has 620 sites in the united states. we treat health care the same way we treat safety, the same way we have treated programs over the last decade. we are focused on 20 parameters of health care in side of those sites, and that helps to drive investment decisions and long- term competitiveness. we have really manage this intensely to make sure our employees get a great health care at an affordable cost. what you learned is there is no such thing as national health care. every city in this country is different. there are 15 cities that matter the most because they are the bigger the biggest concentrations of ge employees and -- biggest concentrations of ge employees and retirees.

in 2009 we work in cincinnati with providers and big insurance companies to focus on driving common information, common standards of care, and creating over 100 patient-centered medical homes. the results are remarkable in terms of emergency room visits, and fewer avoidable conditions. we think the combination of having a smarter employee when it comes to health care, plus working in consortiums are around a major city with other manufacturers in town -- our goal is to keep this growth in line with inflation. for the past 20 years, health- care costs have grown at two-to- three times cpi.

we had a goal, and it takes a consortium of companies going city-by-city driving best practices and information. health-care costs help small and this business is a big businesses alike. it is extremely important -- small and big businesses alike. it is extremely important that the public sector gets involved. similarly, in energy, you know, i think this approach -- people say it more and more, being all in on energy -- it is extremely important for the u.s. today. when i think about energy, i think about a resource endowment. do you have resources at your disposal, and a creative endowment -- do you have the intellectual capability that can

drive energy innovation? i think to a large extent, the u.s. has both. we have a resource endowment as measured by a boom in natural gas with shell gas. in the corridors, we have great wind. if you look at the central corridor through the west, we have the best way and to do power generation of any place in the world, and we have some of the cleanest coal and access to oil. so, we start as what other countries would look at as a natural resource powerhouse. you add to that some of the technical innovations around energy efficiencies, innovations around renewals, some of the claim, environmentally-friendly systems, advanced technologies in things like nuclear reactors batteries, gas

turbines systems, efficient engines, and in the great universities and laboratories skill we have, we can put this together as a country and cheap multiple goals over the next decade. you know, i never think complete energy self-sufficiency is necessarily a good thing because you want to be part of a global network, but between now and the end of the decade this country can have great control over its energy, can do it in an environmentally friendly way creating jobs and competitiveness. the challenges are two fold. we have an old bread, so we have weak energy infrastructure. the other one, and a relative basis, the u.s. market is relatively small, believe it or not. we have a lot of global

competition and demand outside of the united states, but if we can find a way to solve some of the core problems and have a more expansive view of energy, this is a place where the u.s. over the next decade can really prosper. so technology, manufacturing exports -- those are things i think are working in the united states. then, if you look at affordable health care, access to energy -- these are the two pillars of every productive society when i travel around the world. those are the things that i think so far we need to be working on. next, just think about what is our responsibility working with our customers? i think all of us in the business cycle have to be focused externally on how to work with customers and how to work with suppliers. i break it into two groups. with customers in ge capital, we

have had a big focus on what we call the middle market, companies between $10,000,000.999999996 dollars in revenue, and it turns out this is -- $10 million and $1 billion in revenue. it is one-third of the u.s. workers. this is actually a segment in the economy that fares pretty well during the downturn. what we tried to do in said the company is take down any barriers between g and this group of companies -- inside the company is take on any barriers between ge and this group of companies. if you are in the market customer, and you are running a steel plant, and want to learn how to do lean manufacturing, we have found ways over the internet and in person to allow the customer to access a ge team when it comes to doing lean

manufacturing. if you want to learn how to do employee training, we open up the doors to ge to this group of customers. financial management is the same way. we think tearing down these barriers between our supply chain, our customers, and big companies, helps the entire enterprise work more effectively, and this is one of the things we can do in this target segment which is a real system of growth. one of the things that maybe sometimes we throb -- sometimes we draw an artificial delineation between big and small companies but the reality is the extended enterprise works well together -- suppliers entities, and customers. this is another pillar of competitiveness in the things that work. if you go to the next slide but other aspect, and this tends to be our office promising the way

big companies work together with other big companies -- their role analytics will play. if you look to the revolution of the last 10 years or so in social media the aspect of man- to-machine, or machine-to- machine technology over the next decade will be a big trend. we have over to what it thousand units of jet engines, gas turbines -- 20 t thousand50 -- 250 thousand jet engines and gas turbines, and we have the ability mine data for customers that as the chance to increase productivity for customers. we are focused on that. 1% of fuel burn is worth $5 billion of profitability to the

airline industry. one extra mile of velocity for locomotive customers is billions in profit. if we can get ct and mr scanners and never to fail, that is 20% 30% more output in every hospital from the country. this focus on using technology to drive productivity is really important. these are ways companies need to focus on their customers, help them become more productive, and this is a big pillar in terms of what is working in the united states today. if you then shift gears we talk about people. i think human resources are key if we want to drive progress in the future and what they called high-skilled training -- this is one of the first places the job

council looks to in terms of ways to drive to employment and long-term productivity in the country. now, it is a fact that maybe the most straightforward way to create jobs is to fill the jobs that are open today. sometimes we want to have grandiose programs and ideas. there are summer between two million and 3 million open jobs and the reason they're not fill this because people did not have the right skills. it to the to the left-hand side, this is a program called "right skills now," and is the brainchild of a person named darlene miller who runs a small business in minnesota. it is a focus on advanced manufacturing jobs, using community colleges as ways to get people trained in six weeks up and going to have great comic dance skills. it has a tremendous small

business-focused, and there are hundreds of ideas on how to leverage community colleges in ways to drive jobs. i've traveled the world, and everyone around the world has unemployment issue but very few people know where the open jobs are, and how to get people trained for those jobs. i think championed by small business, increased by big companies, focusing on community colleges as ways to get people with the right skills and now employed. the right-hand side was the brainchild of paul from intel. how do we get 10,000 more engineers graduating in this country? china and india together graduate 1 million every year. so we have a large opportunity. if you look, by 2020, most

economists would forecast there will be a two million jobs deficit, mainly in engineering in the united states. so we have eight years to get a tremendous increase. the issue is there is a 75% dropout rate for people that study engineering as freshmen. 75 percent did not graduate, and that is mainly because of other subjects are easier. it is hard to graduate with an engineering degree. paul's idea is to work with a bunch of universities of -- big engineering schools -- to make them better at what is called retention and have the financial reward for those of study engineering, and make sure the private sector absorbers' internships. so if you're a senior in high school and you decide to be an engineer, you do it with the

point of view that you will get a summer job ahead of your colleagues that are not working quite as hard. so we have doubled as a company. we typically hire 2500 engineers every summer internship programs. we will basically double that this year, as are many other companies in the united states. so, human resources are key. these are just two ideas from a standpoint of what is possible going forward in the future. now, the reason why people are important, and the reason why skills are important, is because increasingly we want people to run the show. so, in many ge facilities, we now have self-directed teams. throughout north carolina, we assembled a lot of the jet engines that you probably flew on in your last flight or will it in your next flight, and this

site has just under 400 people with one manager. basically, the work force, the work teams decide schedule, put in place metrics, and to training, do hiring, and we have well-trained well-educated team-based, highly productive, high-quality teams. so, i education and skills development is not a theoretical exercise. the way companies work today is the people closest to the action, people on the floor, are the people dictating pace, knowledge, driving schedules and quality. we think this is the way productive assets work. think about it again. strategy innovation, manufacturing, exports two pillars of competitiveness in health care and energy a focus

on customers making customers more productive a dedication to training engineering and advanced manufacturing. putting trained people in two teams to drive action and paste. we think these are the ideas better working and ideas we can share. you will see these ideas across a number of successful companies. the last thing i talk about is the importance of public-private partnerships. the private sector drives jobs in the united states. that will always be true. the government can provide a catalyst it can happen in a couple of different ways. in the united states, there are 50 different experiments in 50 different states. governors to help create the right environment. we think that has been very effective. a place g.e. has invested in

heavily is mississippi. one of the great things gov. barbara did is focus on workplace -- one of the great things the governor did is focus on work force training. we have two high-tech aviation plants going into mississippi. one is completed. the other will be finished this year. these manufacturing plants will do high-tech materials to go into jet engines. we have worked with some of the big engineering schools in the state. in five years, it will be roughly 1000 jobs in mississippi. very effective, entrepreneurial, quick productive. jobs created in the state. the president set forth the goal of doubling exports in five

years, which we think is achievable. the export and trade industries are extremely important partners as companies like g.e. sell a around the world. i was in africa for a week last week. the chinese government is everywhere in africa. we need to level the playing field to allow our companies to compete. we will never have the same man who does. we do not need the same advantages, quite honestly. when opec and other organizations are in, we're trying to compete and win. with a little bit of support focusing on small and big businesses, it goes a long way. we think at the state level and at the federal level through

agencies like xm, it is extremely important. both create jobs. that is what creates a win win. business and government working together helped to create competitiveness. to recap the 10 ideas we would have. technology manufacturing exports. we do business in more than 120 countries. every country thinks about health care and energy. those are extremely important. help your customers, make a more productive. train people, educate people. unleash the power of the brain inside the factories to make people competitive. while the private sector creates jobs the government can create important catalysts and the right environment in which people want to compete and

create jobs. the last thing i would say is competition requires confidence. as a 30-year g.e. executive i am probably more confident today than any time i can remember in the ability of factories and businesses in this country to be competitive. many good things are happening in american business today. companies are competitive. they want to win. there is a strong desire to want to drive competitiveness in their own companies and more broadly. in order for us to measure success, we have to win in every corner of the world. 60% of our revenue is outside of the united states. 70% of our backlog is outside the united states. we have got to sell in china

nigeria, poland, peru brazil, mexico everywhere. we have to be out there every day fighting for our companies. the last thing is in general business works together. there is a supply chain. there is a customer chain. there is to work inside companies that is powerful. -- there is teamwork inside companies that is powerful. i think that helps us compete. that is the way i want to frame the week. you will hear a lot of different discussions on various items. we made a few announcements this morning including the hiring of 5000 veterans over the next five years. that is roughly 1000 a year. investments in our aviation business the health care, ways

to use ibm's shots for people and -- ways to use idea shots various announcements this week. we say welcome. we certainly do not know all the answers, but we're ready to learn and help drive improvement. i will introduce the next segment. i will be joined on stage with two of my long term colleagues jim mcnerney, chairman and ceo of boeing, the biggest exporter, someone winning and around the world. jimmy, come up here. [applause] andrew liveris from dallas, a specialty material and chemical company. -- andrew liveris from dow the

specialty material and chemical company. [applause] >> thank you for having me. this is a terrific honor to be on this panel. we are in washington. i want to pick up on some of the public-private partnership questions. let me start with the broader economy. we were talking backstage about the political context. americans are going through a time of slow growth and high joblessness. >> i see a normal recovery except for real-estate and construction. it is often times to retreat points on unemployment and 1.5

points on gdp growth. i seem moderately strong global demand with respect to europe asia, and the middle east. finish where i started a pretty normal recover except for construction and real estate that for a variety of reasons have not bottomed out yet. >> talk about economic growth being and more important economic indicator. how does it reflect what you are seeing? >> now is the time to get the confidence we need to keep us going in the right direction. 8% may be lower than that. it is a jobless recovery in a sense, but we have jobs out there. it is the whole skills discussion we will get into. a really tough europe, that is what i see.

we think europe will be fine at the end of the day. it has been around a long time. they have got resiliency if nothing else. this will definitely be a testing time for your. the emerging world is doing very well. >> you have been going through the macro-economic picture. one thing we talk about in washington is a fiscal imbalance, leadership vacuums and what that does to chill business in america. can you provide more than short hand on that? a huge budget deficit, a leadership deficit that continues because they are so polarized. what does that mean for the job you are doing here and around the world? >> it adds uncertainty. everyone knows something has to happen. over the holidays, i read again the deficit commission. i think that is the framework of

what has to happen. i do not love everything. but you look at who was on the commission the recommendations are sensible. that is the outline of what has to happen. i think the sooner we can see that take place -- what makes businesses affected is weekend adjust more easily than other institutions. we will adjust. >> something is going to happen. what will happen that will affect your business? >> exactly. you can go through entitlement reform a business tax with no loopholes, you go down a budget reduce the deficit commission recommendations. in the back of our minds, i think all of us are planning for this eventuality. let's do it.

none of us can tell you when it will happen. i think we know what it will look like. >> let's talk more specifically about manufacturing. the president during his state of the union address said he wants to lay out a blueprint for an economy built to last, built on manufacturing the blueprint begins with american manufacturing. that speaks to a public-private partnership where government is a player. what is the outlook for manufacturing? what is the role of government positively and negatively? >> am hopeful that we are now getting down to specifics. a few years ago, there was not even a national conversation. today we do have one. jeff talked about the cost structure is coming down for the right reasons, not the least of them being competitive energy and labor costs. it has to be a public-private

model all lines of simpson- bowles. we need government and business to work together on the possible future of the country. these are partnership models that the business community is working on. we have specific ideas. we do not see much action. i worry about if the political animal takes over. the next six or nine months, nothing will happen. we will have to wait for another year. >> the president talked about it in his state of the union. he said it begins with american manufacturing, suggesting the government plays a role. as a manufacturer, what can government do for you? >> first of all the right focus. manufacturing has a

multiplicative effect. jobs in may from that. -- jobs emanate from that. you get to the next innovation quickly after you have gone down a learning curve of making something. it is the right focus soon start with -- it is the right focus to start with. i am more a regulate us properly and get out of the way kind of guy. we know how to design and build things if there is not much getting in a way of us doing that. right now there is tension that is not productive on the regulatory side. on the labour side, and i have a big speech. fda, there is another speech. i do not see the same kind of regulatory partnership that is all about protecting the population from what we do but

letting us do what we do with an unknown from work. >> there are a number of issues we could get into. part of this discussion and state of the union was saying to business that you have responsibility. we want to incentivize but we also want to hold your feet to the fire. what responsibility do american manufacturers have to bring jobs back home try to get involved in a we're all in it together conversation with government? >> i could give you -- a classic capitalist answer to leave us alone. i do not think that it's today. first and foremost what we owe everybody is to compete and win in every corner of the world. first and foremost invest in

technology people, gain market share, fight hard against all of our global competitors. i do not really have american competitors anymore. all of my competitors are german, japanese chinese. after 100 years, we're kind of the last man standing in the world we're in. love us or hate us, and your guy. -- love us or hate us, i am your guy. there has to be a cognizance of how important jobs are. none of us were born in our job. we have all worked away up through our various companies. the pride people have when they have a job the respect they have for each other when they have a job and the notion that jobs are precious.

it is not that every g.e. job will go to the u.s. but there is too much callousness around it. >> kind of an in sourcing initiative will be greater demands on businesses where the government does play a role. is that appropriate? do you accept the idea that the arguments have to be put aside? >> i think the context of the question is wrong. i have opened border competition. this is the most open border country out there. the ideals of free trade have to stand. why are you making markets based on false intervention. to i am competing with people who are subsidized around the world. they are creating incentives. singapore, thailand, mexico, the merging companies -- countries want what we have.

but germany and australia do it too. we know it is not a level playing field. g.e. is unique in america. dow is unique in america. boeing is unique in america. we compete globally. the world is where we are competing. every job we create in the world, we create jobs back here. that is another myth we have to break. jobs back here is what we should be striving for without impairing the american competitiveness by creating a structured intervention of the wrong kind. health care, energy, we need to improve the quality of the people regulating us or managing these policies. i really do think this in sourcing as a pillar makes no sense.

>> i want to ask a more basic question as a layperson. where is the demand coming from? our airlines buying new aircraft? is it only in the by -- is it only in dubai? but 95% of the world's consumers live outside of the united states. 70% of gdp is outside of the united states. it used to be if you won in the united states, you would win globally. today is the opposite. you need to win globally. you are facing the same global competitors in the united states. >> the last decade we sell a lot of engines to boeing. without emirates, the chinese

airlines, the latin american airlines our companies would be a fraction of the size. i do not feel un-american when i am selling g.e. engines around the world. what i try to explain to people is it is like selling a product. it is only like 1000 times harder than the u.s.. you are facing competition. frequently it is their first experience with a product. with the chinese airlines, it was their first experience buying aircraft. we do not apologize for having to globalize our companies. i understand the complexity and high unemployment. >> i would say i think we limning -- lemminglike over

the last 15 years extended our supply lines globally. we lost over the quality of service. we overestimated the value of our workers back here. i think there is a real calibration. even though you have to be globally competitive there is a jump ball. i think he will see more come back to the u.s. for business reasons and in part because we want to be good citizens. >> it has to do with messaging leadership for communication. how much of the work has to be done by business leaders like yourself? you spoke to another network recently in a profile that you

should want me to win because if i win, america wins. in that ad, with clint eastwood, we should all be cheering for that whether we are selling cars in detroit or sri lanka. >> i agree with the nuanced points that jim and andrew made. globalization is a 20-minute discussion in a world that once one-sentence answers. the trick to globalization is we have to be global and defend ourselves. we have to say where we have been right and wrong. it is a nuanced discussion. g.e. is a net exporter to china. we export more to china than we import from china. that is a nuanced discussion where you are creating jobs in both places as you do that. we have to keep chipping away at

it. >> to say the obvious, i am no clint eastwood. [laughter] >> you do have a grizzle and feel to you that i like. [laughter] >> we at dow decided to put a book out there "make it in america" with an australian accent. our articulation of the value population -- proposition in washington with a label on products saying "made in america." that is an american thing to do. we have to change the conversation. >> i want to get through some individual elements of how to make manufacturing and the economy better. when we talk to business leaders, we hear we need 21st

century regulations. what does that mean? what is not happening in that regard now? >> my view is the financial crisis of 2008 dated -- promulgated a political backlash that created a lot of regulation in financial services. the discussion broadened and splattered over every regulatory agency in d.c. the tone from the legislative branches and the top was combative and confrontational. the first thing you have to do is get through the financial services discussion. it is a separate issue. a lot of risk into the economy that needs to be addressed. then focus on manufacturing. it is a little bit of a different animal. the fact is being looked at separately now gives us a chance to get into a more constructive

dialogue. the dialogue with regulators now tends to be more confrontational than it should be and was designed to be. it has been politicized heavily. the case against us in south carolina was a sham. it was something an unconfirmed person in that agency promulgated on his own. it was something they eventually withdrew, which was the right thing to do. it had a chilling effect. we can afford to spend $1 billion in south carolina and told we cannot do it. we did not stop investing for a second, however. other companies, the small and medium-sized companies the administration wants to encourage, they cannot afford to take that kind of chance.

the regulatory model in this country is meant to be cooperative. let's find a way, let's keep growing our economy let's keep driving jobs. let's contain what we do so we do not inadvertently harm other constituencies. we're not there yet in my view. >> something like shale gas if the studies are true, we have a boat load of gas that could dramatically change the future of the country. we could be an energy exporter in our lifetime. yet everybody is waiting for a world war ii to erupt between the epa on one side. there is no sense there will be an overarching strategy reverses

yard by yard of fight -- versus yard by yard a fight. this is not the way other countries approach stuff like this. >> that is a great example of what other countries do. they say i have this amazing new discovery. it could be a new chip. here i have discovery of the energy kind. how do i approach this as a nation? what do i worry about? who should i consult with on the regulatory side? it took a long time before they came to the chemical companies and said, what is going on there? it had been going on for 30 or 40 years. work on the regulatory side to get responsible production so that citizens benefit. society sees the powerful positive. energy exports value added. shcompanies like mine are coming

back. i am putting $5 billion in texas and louisiana based on discoveries and the value-added. how do we get a response will regulation to get jobs in america while the same time protecting our citizens? >> what has become a more mainstream example in the discussion of why do we not make iphone's in america is that you have to leave certain level of advanced education to have enough engineers overseeing the work. i can only do that in china and not the u.s. in all of your industries, how do you make more products in the united states and employ more in the united states? what has to happen?

>> utah about the educational issue -- you talk about the educational issue. we're falling behind in this country. when you get to the root cause it is k through 12. kids do not turn on. they do not get excited. the quality of teaching is not there. there is an emphasis on this area. that is the long term, frustrating answer. that sort it out 15 years from now. is a lot of cash. there is a lot of cash companies like ours have available to invest. we need some degree of certainty on tax incentives, regulatory. i totally agree with jeff. let's take simpson-bowles. let's sit down and figure it out. everyone gives a little and we move on. even if the answer is half-bad,

we will understand the environment we're in and you will see a lot of investing happen. >> do you fear there is enough distinction between the parties that if mitt romney becomes the president you could have such change that you want to keep some of the cash rather than invest it? >> i think there will be in all likelihood something after the election. president obama the republican- controlled house and senate, i think some reasonable solutions will be promulgated. that is my belief. it just takes that time. it is too bad with the gerrymandering districts, fox news no one stays in washington on the weekends and talks about things. you are penalized if you compromise and losing your home district. that dynamic is killing us as a

country. we've got to have a cathartic experience that gives us to the other side. >> what does it take for leaders to lead and use that leadership leverage on the country to move washington more? you are talking to leaders here and around the world. what are you not seeing out of this president or congressional leaders? >> we have all been active on this. business has said let's solve it. i think we have spoken more with one voice on this than almost anything else. >> you are showing a lot more initiative, courage, leadership than the rank-and-file in congress or even the president who has said they do not want to put something on the hill that is designed to fail. >> my job is to go so gas

turbines and jet engines. we should make our companies competitive. business has spoken and said reducing the deficit is probably job one. none of us will like everything. it has got to happen sooner than later. roughly 65% of the u.s. economy has been consumer-driven. it has grown dramatically over the last 25 years because of credit. this economy needs to be powered by investment. that is why certainty is more important today. that has got to be the internet helps to power the economy back to 3.5% gdp growth. >> i think the election cycles speak against certainty. if you are living in a volatile world, you answer what you asked by saying you believe in the system.

you have to believe in the american system. that is why we're here. we can sustain ourselves on the big ideas. it may take time to get there. let's take baby steps. there were specific proposals out of jeff's report. the advanced manufacturing has specific proposals around training and communications. the president's export council specific outcomes on trade. not the least of them being the signing of the caribbean free- trade agreement and the panama one. there are good, baby steps the suggest american democracy still has vitality around business. but there is a big gap that exists on the specific extent -- specific big steps. i say it comes down to what we do. we face up to the short-term issues of credibility. we do the tough stuff.

out there we give a picture of the future. we say as we do this tough stuff, we will be a better company. we have it easier as a company that as a country. >> people think of technology's impact on the economy. they say in their lives did they see it in their lives and how it makes things easier -- day see it in their lives and how it makes things easier. the impact on structure is huge. how does it impact competitiveness? >> i would use the dream weiner 787 -- dreamliner 787 as an example. is an innovative product with a very innovative engines.

what drags on long-term investment is probably 10,000 jobs to build the infrastructure in seattle and south carolina. the ongoing employment is in the neighborhood of 8000 people. the ongoing investment in r&d is probably another 3000 people. the service, the life cycle service over the next 30 years is probably another 5000 or 6000 people. this innovation produces huge employment and profits for our company. it allows us to reinvest. i was at a breakfast the other morning.

allen said our companies are doing everything except making long-term investments with a fundamental innovation. that is the chilling effect of not knowing what the playing field will look like. what battle will we fight if we announce a big investment? therein is where the jobs are. there end is where a success for the company is. -- there in is where the success for the company is. >> give us an example, teach us something about operating in a different country where the playing field is -- where you can identify it. you feel like to know what the future is. you can invest in a more long- term way. the regulatory environment is more welcoming.

it allows you to do things. >> look at a place like germany. it has well-established investment rules. they have modernized the labor systems of the past couple of years. there's a reason why germany is one of the few countries that came out of the recession better than it went in. that is -- the u.s. is not going to be china. there are lots of differences. germany is not a bad place to think about. it is not a long list. well-trained people, investment tax certainty. i would say the third piece is some form of export. everything today gets cast as corporate welfare and stuff like that. if you are trying to sell a boeing 737 max with g.e. engines

in africa, you have a fully subsidized european structure and chinese banks and us. things like xm are a way we can level the playing field. we will never have a better package than those two entities have. it is not really corporate welfare to put us on the same playing field our global competitors are on. labor, investment, tax and some form of export support. >> and in my world, energy. energy policy and the absence of it here is a killer. germany has an energy policy. you may not like it, but you know what the renewables standard is. you know what the price will be.

clearly there is a certainty on major imports whether it be labor or capital. germany is a great example because it is a democracy. you compete against them. in germany, they address the question you asked about the human talent. they celebrate engineers. they have training programs. they pay a lot of attention to the talent pipeline. understanding is advanced manufacturing. you go to singapore taiwan, korea, they are doing the same. countries with no other natural resources other than people. that gives to the people question and the sordid --

shortage of skills. >> in the political debate and debate about competition we're in the middle of american decline. do you believe that? >> no. we are going through a phase where government and industry are uneasy with each other. each think they are doing the right thing. not connecting. we need to figure it out. both sides have their arguments. the frame and politically. we frame it in the monthly -- de- frame is politically. we frame it economically. -- they framed it politically. we frame it economically. without question, we are more competitive than we were 10 years ago.

could we be making more progress if the partnership were characterized by some things we talk about as opposed to the way we find it? i think so. the streamliner -- dream liner had its issues. keystone, eric cantor there's plenty of blame on both sides. i am not going to decide within a month on keystone. the whole thing was politicized as opposed to the right thing for our country. let the regulatory process work. >> you have to get away from this one-sentence answer we're all a victim to. solyndra does not define the solar industry. we're launching powerhouse solar shingles as we speak.

from invention to commercialization, three years. they're going onto roofs. solar of the future. it is not solar panels from china. we are working on next- generation electrical storage device materials. they are coming out of american labs. innovation is alive and well. we have to get the pieces to work together again. we're used to spectacular failures and successes in this country. it took awhile to get the dream liner, like a fine line -- wine. we have lots of fine wine in this country. >> i would talk to the people

who work for us in our factories. they feel like they can compete and win with anybody in the world. as a guy that travels the world, i see are relative competitive position has improved. when you think about that dream liner this country is still good. it is doing hard things. that is a competitive advantage over the long term. that is a competitive advantage. ge. and you know some of the messages some of the market we bring good things to life. more recently hey >> i can remember some of advertising. are we in a new era where populism has reached a point

where you need to make a point like that? >> companies do not stand on their own. none of us feel like we are above is all. we are part of this system. we really are. our slogan is "imagination at work. " nobody cares about imagination now. they care about work. now ist is "she works." i think people say if they have to read another op-ed piece they will kill themselves. they want to see somebody do something about something. companies need to be part of the ecosystem. we want to be. >> take a minute and talk to the

washington audience about what you are looking for on the playing field as you think about the future of manufacturing and american competitiveness. what are you looking out for in the next six months to a year? >> exports, focusing on manufacturing. there is a series of things relating to free trade agreements sensible immigration there is a whole list. the administration is being responsive. we have to keep pushing that to get to a tax policy that is competitive globally. right now we're not competitive globally. a strong statement on education. i think there is an industrial basis. you look at where a lot of innovation in this country came from. not just the defense industrial base but other industrial basises have produced as

byproducts microprocessors and the internet. there is an industrial base issue that is about some tax issues. get focused on it. use the president's tone to get some of these things done. >> and advanced manufacturing agenda that adds value to our new energy base. we can build a specific plan around energy like we could never have done five years ago. in national infrastructure plan. the jobs council got at that. but the short-term stuff on tourism done. -- get the short-term stuff on tourism done. job training put in place. maybe some legislative work. get it out there in terms of

best practices. the president started on that with the department of commerce reorganization. there is a powerful agency for u.s. job creation. look at the one-stop shop in terms of regulatory approval. 60 regulatory agencies in some states. really streamline things. work on the efficiency decide if we cannot get the big stuff taken care of. >> i would recommend everyone go back and read the deficit commission. i am hard pressed to see a better group of people with more common sense solutions. there and does live one of the answers. -- therein does live one of the answers. we all can do better as citizens on education. i think of the world really thought the u.s. was going to bring it's a game to compete and

win business in every corner of the world by having great companies small and large having xm and other trade agreements we were shocked people in terms of how well we could do those three things. -- we would shock people in terms of how well we could do, those three things. [applause] >> thank you. >> well done. [applause] what's another of the g.e. conference panels included the colorado gov. and chicago senator discussing government regulation, energy policy, and worker training. this is about 55 minutes. >> it is my pleasure to introduce our panel moderator. bruce is vice-president at the brookings institution and founding director of the brookings metropolitan policy

program that provides decision makers with policy ideas for improving the health and prosperity of cities and metropolitan areas. bruce regularly advises federal state, regional, and municipal leaders on policy reforms that advance the competitiveness of their communities. please join me in welcoming bruce and the panel. [applause] ♪ >> good morning, everyone. let's get started. i want to introduce the panel. i wanted to do this with a preface. i think everything we talked about this morning all the elements critical to recharging

the american manufacturing is a federalist act. the federal government is critical. we have senator portman here. the states, we are a union of states. cities and metros are where it all comes together. business and the ecosystem that supports them. we have a great panel to have one of the few federalist conversations we have in washington. senator portman is the senator from ohio. critical to this panel, former u.s. trade representative, former head of omb, and coming from a state that is a major global manufacturing presence. gov. john hickenlooper, governor of colorado, former mayor of denver also founder of the small manufacturing firm.

it was a micro-brew. over the weekend, i looked at the classification system. micro-brews are there as part of food production. the mayor of the 16th largest city in the united states. obviously, a large manufacturing presence. mayor fisher was also the owner of a small manufacturing firm early in his career. both of these folks have lived this and can talk of that experience as well as from their governmental experience. last but not least, jay timmons from that association of manufacturers. this is the critical constituency group representing manufacturers large and small on a wide range of issues. i will start. i will go with the hierarchy of the system. i usually start from the bottom up with the mayors.

but i will start with the senator. >> that would be the bottom. [laughter] when you think about the united states and our manufacturing platform it is a substantial platform not generally recognized. 11% of gdp 9% of all jobs. ohio is more manufacturing. 16% of your gdp 12% of your jobs. since coming to the senate, you have been a major advocate of manufacturing with regards to comprehensive job efforts put forth by the senate. you have joined up on an interesting energy efficiency and industrial competitiveness at. you basically oversee many of the issues of the federal level

that have an enormous effect on manufacturing competitiveness. as you think about a national manufacturing policy, what do you think are the essential elements? what can the national government do to move the ball forward? >> thanks for having this conference today. it is great to be joined with colleagues at the state and local level and also with jay who has a global perspective on this. my position is simple. having toured about 100 manufacturers in ohio, what they're looking for is to create an environment for success. to me, it comes down to five or six issues. i asked our manufacturers about these issues. one is certainly trade. we talked about that earlier. 25% of the jobs in ohio are trade jobs because they support

exports. it is incredibly important we have open markets. we can do a lot better. we do not export as much as our competitors do. opening markets and being sure it is a level playing field. opening markets but also on the enforcement side. the thing i hear the most about is the regulatory tax environment. that is the uncertainty. i am sure you hear about it a lot. on the tax side, we have an individual tax system that is unpredictable. on the corporate side, we're dealing with antiquated tax code we have not touched in the last two decades. each one of our competitors have performed there is making there's more competitive. we're at the top in terms of the rate. the complexity is also at the top. that makes us less competitive in global marketplaces. on the regulatory side, depending on the business, there is almost always a regulation at

the federal level. that is why i introduced legislation that is bipartisan. it forces regulators to look at the impact on jobs specifically and how to use the least burdensome alternatives. it is what the federal government can do to create the environment for job creation that i hear constantly. we have an increase in our employment in ohio. our unemployment is below the federal level for the first time in a few years. we celebrate the good news, but we still have a structural problem in that our economic systems are not keeping up with the rest of the world. we are not as competitive as we should be. i think we need to recoup all of these systems. -- i think we need to read but -- reboot all of these systems. worker training is one i hear about constantly.

i think washington should do more. not in terms of creating jobs, but in terms of creating the climate for success. this requires a more aggressive reform effort. >> that is a very helpful introduction. i think will we come back to five or six that you have mentioned. i want to move down a tier to states. colorado is not as manufacturing intensive as ohio. about 7% of gdp and 6% of jobs, but it is moving up rapidly. i thought what was interesting about your approach is how it started at the bottom of -- up. you have been around the state. there is a colorado innovation networking merging -- emerging that is connecting the dots

between technology and production. i thought it would be interesting if you could talk about that network that is the merging -- that is the merging and the key areas you need to work and to leverage your potential. >> when i came into office a year ago we recognized there was a vacuum. they knew they needed to do something about jobs. we went out to all the counties and said, what do you want in the next 20 or 30 years and have we get there? how can government help? we heard get out of the way, less regulation, less taxes. we also heard they wanted the internet to be more pro- business. we want to have access to capital. we want to make sure we have training for our work force. in 64 counties, and they want to

brand colorado as pro-business. i would argue colorado is the most beautiful state. that means we'd have to hold ourselves to the highest standards of ethics and environmental protection. we reduce the time for drilling permits but make sure we increase the fines. the bottom of plan is what helped create the colorado innovation network that is taking all the research labs at the university's -- universit ies and blending them with 24 federal laboratories. usually they work on parallel purposes. it brings them together with the business schools. with the big infusion of the

business community trying to make sure we take ideas and innovations and innovations -- entrepreneurs. innovation is great collaboration is critical. in the end, you need the entrepreneurship to create the jobs. that is what it will focus on. having the business schools connected with these research labs and tied in to support with the business community with internships, etc. the idea is to accelerate job creation. >> the governor is the orchestrator of all of these different systems institutions, and individuals. >> each one of our states will compete and tried to become the most pro-business state. i think that will begin to transf