members of the congress? guest: that is a good question. in the first instance, there was no targeting of an official. the undercover operation simply continued -- let's say, when angelo said i want to introduce you to a congressman who can help the sheik with legislation, it would have been a dereliction of their law enforcement duties if they said, no, we don't want to meet with them. eliction of their law enforcement duties if they said, no, we don't want to meet with them. they had to meet with them. this goes back to what i said. there is nothing wrong with setting up the opportunity or a means for somebody to commit a crime, provided you do not induce them to do something he was not predisposed to do. that is not targeting, that is simply good law enforcement. think, these

up aessmen, they set ruse. it was as follows. they would meet with the congressmen, have a party somewhere -- or their representatives, the lawyers -- and they sort of explain to them, well, we represent the arab sheik. and he is very concerned about unrest in the middle east. that ifill like to know he needed a haven in the united states, he could come here. we hear that congressmen have the ability to introduce special and -- immigration bills to help just one individual come to the united states. these lawyers, the city councilman, the mayor would say, well, we know someone who can help you. and the undercover agents would say, well, money is no object. they just sat back and the next thing they knew these huntsman would be brought into hotel rooms -- plaza hotel out of kennedy airport or a rented

house in washington, d.c., and -- theuld explain operatives would simply explain this is what we would like to do, this is the legislation we need, and the sheik is willing to reward you for this, and then they would pass the money over. that is not targeting. i think good law enforcement. as i indicated, all the court that reviewed this agreed that this was appropriate law enforcement conduct. host: ohio. go ahead with your question for gregory wallance. caller: a question and comment. i would like to know those , were who were convicted they on the democrat majority or bipartisan? host: and what is your comment. caller: my comment is, the level of investigations between

democrats and republicans, because i think at that same time, wasn't there an s&l scandal, the investigation did not go very far because not only did ronald reagan have involvement in the s&l kindle but so did george w. bush which cost the american taxpayers 1.4 trillion dollars. host: thank you, sir. gregory wallance question mark the sixll, of congressman and the united states senator who were convicted, only one was a republican, congress men kelly from florida. the will rent -- the rest were democrats. but it is too small a sample size to draw any conclusions from. it goes back to a question you asked me that i am not sure -- what would have happened if the investigation had just gone on and on and on. huntsman be5 convicted? i doubt it would involve

something like that, but at the same time, the investigation, had it gone on longer, who can say how many more congressman it would have established were corrupt and were predisposed to take bribes? numberd because of the -- because of a number of factors. one was the undercover agents were simply exhausted. they were doing so many meetings, so many bribes, so many discussions, money being promised, so at a certain point it became unwieldy. downey decided to close it , at least the undercover phase, and then of course there was a leak of a prosecution memorandum and that is what resulted in the television news report that you started the program with. manye never found out how were corrupt, how many more were out there just waiting for the opportunity to take a bribe.

and it is kind of a lingering question. have not as though there not been any incidents of political corruption of both in congress and at the state level since then or in recent years. there have. there have been quite a few incidents. but without getting into the and thetion itself undercover capacity, you really can't know. they tend to be a little more isolated. abscam what was unusual because it got into congress, it got behind the scenes, it got behind the closed doors, it showed you what was happening on the fact that these congressman acted so matter-of-factly on the way they want about taking the bribes is troubling, and that is the unanswered western of abscam -- how many more were willing to do that if they were given the opportunity? host: jack tweets in -- looking back, do you feel abscam had any effect, did it in fact

change the culture or not? .ost: i think it had an impact it was so searing both for congress and the congressmen that it had to have had some deterrent effect. people would be a little more hesitant, i think, to engage with -- at least doing more due diligence -- without doing more due diligence than these people did -- with corrupt people willing to pay bribes. at the same time, law enforcement on any level, political corruption -- it is a treadmill. you're never going to eliminate crime, corruption, or dishonesty. so it never totally changes the culture. vital to have is effective law enforcement. and again, staying operations like this need to be managed carefully with good judgment, and when they are, they play an important role in determining this kind of conduct.

important at another level which is, you can't have a democracy if your elected officials are corrupt. and so, that's why i think at the end of the day when abscam did was very important in reminding people that we have to be ever vigilant about political corruption. >> do you think that john murtha was guilty? i think john murtha is entitled to the presumption of innocence. he was not charged, and therefore beyond that i don't think anybody in law enforcement or former law enforcement should be speculating. host: what did this investigation cost u.s. taxpayers? honestly, peter, i don't know what the figures were. i can tell you that there was a huge battle. the movie kind of god at it -- it, between the people

running the sting operation who wanted to spend a lot of money to create the illusion of the wealthy sheik. they wanted to have the best rooms at the plaza hotel and all tods of fancy accoutrements go with it, versus the superiors in washington cap fighting back saying we've got to live within certain budgetary constraints. almostlted in some hilarious events. , whereas one meeting perhaps to save money -- and the sheik was present -- perhaps not thinking of through, instead of withg lavish spreads caviar and champagne, the operatives ordered in jewish deli food. the targets,e put the crooks they were dealing with, that there is something peculiar. why is the sheik offering jewish deli food to serve his guest. mel weinberg, who was very good at salvaging the situation -- and there were quite a few --

and this is where he was so important to the operation, he would just kind of wave it off and say, hey, look, when he was in the middle east, the sheik butot eat jewish deli food he loves it, so when he comes here, he has an opportunity to eat it. saw his people interested in the financial opportunities that abdul enterprises was presenting them with just accepted that and never question it. host: walter is calling from st. johns, arizona. hi, walter. caller: good morning, mr. wallance. good to see you on c-span today. i have a two-part question. , on criminals, there is always the dome and the smart. targeting, here is a bundle of cash. most of the smart will just turn their back and walk away. the dumb will say, cash, let me run with it. e for many a decade, the

big money -- talking tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars -- changes hands but , a bribe or to get someone elected, held out as a brown -- they will do it through soft-money. a $5 million piece of property. you can buy it for $500,000. we will do it through a hong kong corporation and it will just look like good business and the money is paid out and made that way. on the aspect of getting somebody elected -- there are restrictions on how much you can contribute. i could call up a congressman and sega corporation will spend $300 million will get you in it. we are not going to have any association with your campaign. we can spend as much as we want. there are no restrictions. actively has your investigation or any investigation looked into the business transactions of congressman to pinpoint those

bribes that are taking place where it is a bills -- business deal or soft money being spent based on the conversation. that is how the smart women operates. when it is just cash being handed over, that is the dumb side. if you can address the business transactions, real estate transactions, i would love to hear your comments. it itthere is a saying, isn't what is illegal that shocks you about money and politicians, it is what is legal that is really shocking. i think what you are describing is more on the legal side, the soft-money, loopholes in the ,lection fundraising laws circumvented, shall we say. certainly the topic of debate. abscam was not targeting and was

not looking at soft-money. it was looking, as you put it, at the dumb people, take cash bf the kind of sophisticated .chemes that you are raising it wasn't a cash bribe in a hotel room. he and his colleagues, associates, some of whom were notoriously corrupt, had an interest in a titanium mine. titanium is a rare metal, part of the government stockpile. and the senator's interest was actually hidden but they all had this interest in a titanium mine. what developed in a years worth of discussion was the undercover operatives was a proposal that really came from the senator's the sheik would

invest $100 million in the titanium mine. in return, to assure his investment would be successful, senator williams would use his influence -- and he was a very powerful senator. 13th insecurity at the time. -- in seniority at the time. to get the u.s. government to buy titanium from the mine or the strategic stockpile. this went on for a year. and papers were actually drawn up, sort of the process of creating a company that would receive the money from the sheik and so one. there were very elaborate inecussions of how this m would be structure, the ownership. and the senator met personally with the sheik and a short him. he said, well, i am not going to be a senator forever and assured him he would make the venture profitable by using his influence. i know the president, ideal geton-one with him -- to

contracts to sell titanium to the u.s. strategic stockpile. but again, that wasn't soft-money as you were describing it, not legal soft-money, and it was more in the dumb category although it was a very sophisticated scheme a cageyably more what and careful corrupt politician would want to do to try to insulate himself as much as possible from charges of bribery. long does senator williams spend in prison? was several years that he spent in prison. know, in this case, again, the word target keeps coming up. there was not even target. he was introduced to the undercover operatives by mayor lawyer,, and his another new jersey figure who has been linked to organized

with and corrupt acts one-two brought to the attention of the undercover operatives of this titanium mine and indicated the senator had an interest. that is how this whole thing evil. host: mr. wallance, susan jeffries asks -- did anyone the moneybribe take and immediately turn it into the fbi and report the bribery attempt? host: in a word, no. and neither did those who turned down the bride. back to just to go senator williams, at one point -- and this was something the defense attempted to use -- at one point in the meeting with the sheik, the sheik offered him something like $20,000 in personal expenses as a goodwill gesture, and williams said, no, no, i don't want to take that. my interest in seeing that this titanium venture succeeds. senator, united states

and he has been confronted with an illegal act committed by a representative, a foreigner in the united states, and nonetheless makes it clear he wants to continue doing business . and ultimately, with all the controversy that abscam generated come in the end, i think what moved the juryies and courts that reviewed the convictions is simply that the american people had a right to ,xpect that their congressman this senator, their intellect and officials, would not behave in this manner -- elected officials would not behave this manner when confronted with these very corrupt proposals. host: charlie, lanham, maryland. go ahead with your question or comment about abscam. caller: good morning, mr. wallance.

an auditor working as a contractor with the environmental protection agency. we used your files to go after a bunch of state -- i'm sorry, a bunch of local officials. mr. pahlavi's, mainly in new jersey, connecticut. we got cost recoveries because of your work. 12, 14, were looking at 16 different corrupt mayors. interested in local politics, local corruption. anyway, there was an engineer firm whoa 250-person was shaking down contractors with change orders on epa work and then he was using those bribes he got from the shakedown -- i am sorry, using the money he got from the shakedown street bribe politicians to get more work. i think he ultimately committed suicide. he was quite a character. unfortunately i can't.

i think that was an aspect of the case that i simply was not involved in. but what it illustrates was the way that abdul enterprises, these fbi agents and mel weinberg, were able to so effectively network in the underworld that the tentacles , their shadow, if it were, word of what they were about, spread so wide that they thesed getting all of potentially corrupt or actually corrupt politicians or politician representatives or government officials interested in them, coming to them. one of the reasons they became exhausted, is because they were clearly so many proposals, trying to keep that -- track of so many different meetings, and it went on to the point that

they just became overwhelmed by it. and that is the unanswered question, which we alluded to earlier. well, if they manage to keep it going long enough, how much more political corruption would have been uncovered? we will never know the answer. host: the result of abscam as far as fbi procedures. what changed? well, not surprisingly, there was considerable unhappiness in congress with abscam. now, a number of these congressmen who didn't resign were in effect forced out of congress, cell phone congress. and congress had to address that. but both the senate and the house began investigations and held hearings on the undercover operation and concluded that the department of justice and the fbi needed to tighten control over these kinds of staying

operations. and the result was a special level of approval became needed when an undercover operation was going to be focusing on high level officials. , i think it was the case probably all along, there couldn't be any targeting without at least focusing on a specific -- or a focusing on a specific official without at least a reasonable suspicion that the official had engaged or had aepared to engage -- predisposition to engage in corrupt activities. initialthat level of suspicion existed in abscam and probably a lot of the undercover investigations that had taken place, but nonetheless this became embedded in the guidelines for undercover operations. so, that was one impact that

abscam had. tweetsnd finally, dean in -- could abscam be considered the first sting seen by the public from hidden cameras? host: good question. i think so. certainly up on this scale, the use of videotapes and not been used, to my recollection, in such a major operation. and the technology sort of came together and they could put the camera in a room next to the room where at politician was meeting with the undercover team, just through a pinhole. reasonably good by the standards of the day videotape. and of course, the videotapes, the court rooms at the trials, they had 13 television sets. judge, juror, sometimes they have their own tv sets. it was just like a wired courtroom. and it had a huge impact on the jury. but in a certain sense, one impact was abscam was after

that, juries, particularly in these kinds of political corruption cases wanted to see the videotapes. and it kind of put a greater burden on prosecutors who did not have videotaped evidence that was so clear to come forward and make the case. now, of course, we live in an age where everything is caught digitally on cell phones and so on. almost everything is recorded. but then it was novel in something of a breakthrough. , what are youance doing today? guest: thanks. i'm in private practice. i represent both defendants in as well as white-collar defendants, mostly companies caught up not so much in political corruption and other kinds of investigations. and i am pretty much enjoying

myself and really have good memories of abscam at the same time. and "american hustle" kind of brought it all back. it was a great movie. i hope it gets the oscar for best picture. and i thought the line in the beginning sums it up that they put on the screen before the movie starts. "some of this actually happened." part that i had the good fortune to be involved with. host: so when you watch "american hustle," what percentage would you say is realistic? guest: it is hard to put a percentage on it. pieces fromts and the real-life abscam and sort of blew them up. but i would say the two biggest departures from history -- the and somewhatangelo pathetic way and secondly,

betray -- portrayal of one of the fbi agents would've off the charts, hair in curlers, had an affair with the mel weinberg's character's mistress and generally behaved in a not -- outlandish way and that was not a fair trail of the fbi agents who were very focused and mindful of the need to avoid entrapment and at the same time to get good evidence so they were fairly prosecuting a particular official and never portrayed the manner by the movie. i am stand the artistic license that movies have, but that is one where historically that was not an accurate portrayal. host: in the 30 some years since the abscam, have you met with any of the former members of congress? no, i haven't, and i am

not sure they would welcome the opportunity to meet with me or anyone on the prosecution or investigation side of the case. and a number of them have passed away at the same -- passed away. host: gregory wallance talking [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> we will talk with warden publicfrom the center of and private corruption. our guests from the competitive enterprise institute and from the center of progressive reform and a look at mandatory life sentences for young people with catholic university law school. live every morning on and at 7:00 a.m. eastern. the republican national committee held its winter

weekend and here are some comments from ranks previous -- reince priebus. >> i believe they should give the speeches while standing in front of the mirror because under his watch, everything has gotten worse. himself. talk to everything has gotten worse. food stamp dependency have gotten worse. when the federal government tries to equalize outcomes, we're all going to end up equally worse off. sure people have equal opportunities, education, the job market, and health care, we will all be better off. that is the right approach. that is what is fair.

i think that's what americans expect from their leaders -- fairness. party.bout that as a it's not fair to voters when leaders they trusted wide to pass their agenda. it's not fair to the working mother who lost the insurance you like to because the president did not like it. >> homeland security secretary jeh johnson made his first major speech since taking office at the u.s. conference of mayors meeting conference passage of comprehensive immigration reform saying it's a matter of homeland security. he was introduced in camaro compton, california. >> as we've done through the winter meetings, we have brought them up and allowed them to tell a little bit about their city. am very pleased to call up

fellow californian to the stand. she is a bright young marital watch, the youngest ever to be elected to the city of compton beating out 12 other candidates in the 2013 election and we are brown towelcome aja the podium. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. i like to take an opportunity to thank the entire u.s. conference of mayor teams for making this an amazing experience. let's give tom and the dream team a big staff -- a big hand. >>

what organization provides q and a with the president of the united states, president obama? and the president is just as cool in person as he is on tv, by the way. i would like to get a big thanks to our president, vice presidents, and the entire u.s. conference of mayors executive board. we thank you for your leadership. i am honored to bring you greetings from compton. compton is a special place. for a city of 100,000 residents, most people in the united states have heard of compton. for those of you who have visited, you are aware our community is much more than hip- hop. we are home to houses of hard- working families who want the same thing that all people want equal access to the american dream,

safe neighborhoods, great schools, clean and paved streets, access to fresh food, affordable health care, transit networks. our city has its challenges, but this is not part of the presentation where i give you a dozen steps. my administration is tasked with rebuilding the city from the ground up. of the past six months have been able to build partnerships with university of southern california and also other institute to begin to strategize on how to begin programs that target and identify and provide technical assistance to nonprofits. i have garnered influence in sharing my vision for the city of compton. now we are connecting partnerships with stem, to prepare our kids for college and a great career path. i have decided to tackle tough issues first to build a strong foundation for growth. initiatives are on public

safety, economic development, coalition building, and public health. we have implemented new policies focusing on city reform. also economic develop it policies to reduce our unemployment rate. that is more than double the state and national average. to tackle crime, i have started a new policing task force that focuses on gang prevention and human trafficking in the city of compton and educating our parents on the dangers that our kids face today. it is much different growing up in america than 10 years ago. for the first time, all law enforcement agencies, school officials, county services, agencies, federal and county, are working together to find resources and get big results.

from new policies enabling us to shut down a hub for illegal activity, and to combat human trafficking, because tourists do not rent hotels for just one hour. in 2013 we have had one of the safest years in the last decade. we hope to rebrand the city's image and share the fact that compton is the home to fortune 500 companies. over one dozen fortune 500 companies. we have our own community college. beautiful neighborhoods and high-performing elementary schools. great neighbors located 10 miles south of los angeles, 10 miles

east of lax, and my mission is to combat the perception and illuminate the fact that educational giants, cultural pioneers and innovators have hailed and still come from compton. thank you all, and god bless. [applause] >> she has already rebranded compton. thank you so much. we now have another special opportunity. we have another cabinet secretary who has come to be with us. yesterday we were at the white house, with the labor secretary

and the secretary of education and the secretary of transportation, the secretary of hhs, hud, and now we have somebody that is making his first public appearance -- i should not say his first public appearance -- but one of his first speeches since he has taken his position. we are honored to have jeh johnson, the secretary of homeland security, here today. let's give him a round of applause before we bring him up. [applause] we want you to feel the love before you get up here. what is incredible is we see this as a recognition of the critical roles mayors are playing, and first responders, the vast majority of whom work for local government. we play a role ensuring safety and security in our cities and nations. secretary johnson came to homeland security from the department of defense. he oversaw the development of

many aspects of our nation's anti-terrorism policies and co- authored the report that paved the way for repeal of don't ask don't tell. the secretary also has background in service to america's largest cities, having served as an assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york. secretary, we look forward to hearing your remarks. please come on up and get a love welcome from your mayors. [applause] >> thank you very much, mayor johnson. you are correct, that this is one of my first public speeches. i have been in office a month.

it is nice to be among friends, among mayors. i know already about my job that i will not go many places where i can feel the love, that you put it. this is a terrific organization because you represent america's cities, large and small. i am here to tell you that you are vital partners to the department, with the department of homeland security, and with me, as long as i am secretary. i thought i would use that time to share with you some of my priorities, some of the prior days of the department of homeland security, but also spend minutes talking about who i am, to introduce myself to you. as you heard from the mayor, first of all, by the way, i went

to morehouse college -- [applause] it is always amazing to me wherever i go i run into people who either are morehouse men or are married to morehouse men. morehouse college is everywhere. every time i come to a place like this, it makes me feel old because i asked what class are you -- 2009 -- 1992 -- and i am class of 1979. the mayor pointed out i was a federal prosecutor for three years in the southern district of new york in new york city. i did that relatively early in my career. it was a terrific job. how many in this room have been prosecutors as some point in your careers? i see couple of hands. when i became an assistant

united states attorney, it was my opportunity to learn how to be a trial lawyer. i look forward to my first trial, and i had written this really fantastic opening statement. it was a small drug case it is the trial of the century. i was looking forward to getting into the courtroom, talking to the jury for the first time, getting out there and finally trying i first case, and i have developed this colorful opening statement. my supervisors said when you are representing government and your the prosecutor, we always give the same standard opening statement, which i thought was very interesting. first thing you do when you give an opening statement is you leave the lectern, you go over the defendant, at the defense table, and you point at the defendant, and you say that man there sold drugs on the corner

of 9th avenue and 28th street in may 1989 and i will show you how he did it. you walk back to the lectern and introduce yourself. my name is jeh johnson, i am representing the government. every single assertion of fact that you get in an opening statement has to begin with the words "the evidence will show," "the evidence will show." and so then you get to the end of your opening statement. you get to the end of your opening statement, and you say, ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, i want you to do three things. i want you to listen to the evidence in this trial, i want you to listen to the law as the judge instructed, and i want you to use your common sense. if you use your common sense i am confident you will find defendant guilty. i did at 12 times in three years.

it was beat into me. i never varied. i left the u.s. attorneys office and went to private practice, part of my private practice was to be a criminal defense lawyer. and so that was my opportunity, to finally be unshackled, to be colorful, and follow all my instincts to be a trial lawyer. this was a pro bono case. it was a drug case. the defendant, the client, was on trial for selling drugs in upper manhattan. he spoke spanish, did not know word of english, and through a translator i said to him, now, the prosecutor, when he gets up, he is going to point at you. i want you to be prepared for that, because i did that to defendants. he broke down crying. he started crying. i said to my client, the prosecutor is going to point at you, and a trial is an emotional experience. sometimes it cannot control yourself. if you need to let your emotions go, go with it. right on cue, the prosecutor went over and pointed at the defendant, and right on cue the

defendant started to cry, and the prosecutor did the normal standard opening statement, "the evidence will show," "the evidence will show," and then i got up there. i walked over to the defendant. i put my hands on the shoulders, and i said, "ladies and gentlemen, this poor man does not understand a single word i am saying." this is around the time that the o.j. trial ended. i gave a terrific opening statement. i was no longer looking at my notes. i was talking directly to the jury. i went on autopilot. i was up. i was so carried away, i do not know how to end. i said, "and ladies and gentlemen, i want you to do three things --" [laughter] "i want you to listen to the evidence, i want you to listen to the law, and i want you to use your common sense, and if you do all three things, i am confident that you will find the

defendant guilty as charged." [laughter] the court reporter, who was sitting about as far away as me as mayor johnson is, said, "i think you meant not guilty." "yes, not guilty." and the trial transcript said "not guilty" as charged. i served briefly as general counsel for the department of the air force, 1998, 1999, 2000, to the end of the clinton administration. i was present in manhattan on september 11, 2001. it happened to be my birthday. i was an eyewitness to the collapse of the towers. i was an eyewitness to the impact of the second aircraft. like millions of others that they, i was shocked, devastated, i wanted to do something.

i determined then that if i had the opportunity, i would return to public service, return to national security. president obama asked me to return to washington as general counsel of the department of defense, which i did. i was confirmed, sworn in in february 2009. it was an incredible four-year ride. i was witness to many historic events. the mayor pointed out the repeal of don't ask don't tell. he made some strides in counterterrorism. i will never forget the day we found osama bin laden, 2011, and brought justice to him. [applause] i accompanied the president four days later to manhattan to visit

with the families of the victims of 9/11. and what was amazing to me, i encountered many of my neighbors from montclair, new jersey, people that i knew -- they needed closure, and the bin laden raid provided closure to them, and it provided closure for me in certain respects. i left a job at the end of 2012 and went back to private law practice, thinking i was done. i had the opportunity when i was asked to come back to public service as secretary of homeland security, a job i was not anticipating being asked to do. but i believe in the homeland security mission. now, some of you in the room might be thinking, he is just a

fed. what does he know about the challenges of being a mayor of a large or small city? i am proud to say that i am a product of the cities and towns of this country. i was born in new york city, lived in manhattan for 18 years. the mayor of compton mentioned the importance of light rail, public transportation. i'm a huge, huge fan of public transportation. i carry one of these around in my wallet from new york city. i have ridden on every single subway line in new york city except the franklin avenue shuttle. every single subway line. i'm a huge fan of subways. i grew up in the town of poughkeepsie, new york, which contains within it as the city my dad was an architect in poughkeepsie, new york. he designed the mall that replaced main street in poughkeepsie, new york. he was part of the revitalization of downtown poughkeepsie in the 1970's. my hometown is montclair. they say all politics is local.

i know from my own experience that insofar as the american public is concerned, most of government is local. i recall having a get-together at our home in new jersey for a candidate for congress so that my neighbors could come and hear the issues the candidate was running on. the next night my neighbor had the then mayor of montclair to his house. i had to scratch and scrape to get a handful of people. the mayor, the house was packed, because everybody knows the importance that mayors play in their everyday life. more significant than that, the message that i would like to present to you today is that the homeland security mission of the u.s. government is evolving, and this is something i believe.

it is evolving to the point where our partnerships with state and local governments, with mayors, with district attorneys, with police commissioners, with sheriffs is becoming more and more important. in the coming weeks i will be laying out a vision for homeland security that will on the important work of my predecessors and the relationships with state and local governments that they have forged.

a top priority of mine is to not only sustain those relationships, but to further strengthen our partnerships with the men and women in this room who are mayors. the mission of the department of homeland security are guarding against terrorism, securing our borders, enforcing our nation's immigration laws, safeguarding cyberspace, and critical infrastructure, in partnerships with the private sector and emergency fairness in response efforts at every level. as part of that, the department of homeland security must have as a top priority -- does have and will continue to have strengthening state and local capabilities to enhance our collective ability to keep the homeland, our communities, your cities and the american people safe. i just returned from south texas earlier this week, and the arizona-mexico border. during my visits, i had occasion to not only spend time with border patrol officials, agents, but i encountered four mayors and one city manager from texas towns and arizona towns. that is critical to my work that i develop those relationships. one of the most important ways that we work with state and

local governments is through stronger information sharing. additionally, through grants, we better enable you to be prepared for some of the things that the department of homeland security must move forward on. recent events like the shooting at the washington navy yard and the boston marathon bombing remind us that we continue to confront a dangerous world, where information sharing, collaboration, and trust have never been more important. we have significantly improved our ability and information sharing with you, and we will continue to move in that direction.

i am committed to making this happen. a cornerstone of that effort is support for state and major urban area fusion centers among which i am sure you are familiar with. he have employed 96 officers of intelligence and analysis personnel to fusion centers throughout the country. we support all this work, as i mentioned, additionally, with grants. i was pleased to learn that the u.s. conference of mayors has as one of its priorities cyber security, dealing with cyber threats. that is one of my priorities, one of the missions of the department of homeland security, cyber security. we are glad to know that this is one of your priorities as well. these are threats to our communities across the country, and we must work together to confront the cyber security

threats. finally, i know that the u.s. conference of mayors has been a strong supporter and vocal proponent for the need for comprehensive commonsense immigration reform. i would like to say a few words about that. [applause] commonsense immigration reform is supported by the u.s. conference of mayors, businesses, and if polls are to be believed, the majority of the american people. border security is inseparable from homeland security, promoting the lawful flow of trade and travel through airports, cities and other communities. over the past four years dhs has made investments at borders in terms of manpower, comprehensive immigration reform, and we will add more to that effort.

comprehensive immigration reform will also promote a more effective and efficient system for enforcing our immigration laws. and should include an earned path to citizenship for the approximately 11.5 million undocumented immigrants present in this country, something like 86% of whom have been here almost 10 years. an earned path to citizenship for those currently present in this country is a matter of in my view homeland security, to encourage people to come out from the shadows, to be accountable, to participate in the american experience, the american society. it is also frankly in my judgment a matter of who we are as americans, to offer the opportunity to does who want to be citizens, who earned the right to be citizens, who are

present in this country, many of whom who came here as children to have the opportunity that we all have to try to become american citizens. just before i came here i swore in out in northern virginia at a naturalization ceremony 438 new americans, including members of the armed forces. it was probably the best thing that i do in my job. a lot of love in that room as well, and not for the secretary of homeland security, and for the families who love and support those who have done what it takes to become americans. that is part of who we are. as americans, it is part of who we are and our heritage. and i believe comprehensive

immigration reform should include the opportunity for those present in this country who earn it and who are entitled to it to become citizens. so we must in my view, as a matter of homeland security and as a matter of who we are as americans, address comprehensive common sense immigration reform and address it this year. in conclusion, i would like to point out that the department of homeland security values its relationship with you. as i have tried to say here, as our mission evolves in washington, we are becoming more and more dependent on a strong working relationship with a mayors in this room. i look forward to working with many of you, as i'm secretary,

meeting with you in your cities and towns, and i salute you for all the terrific work that you do. thank you very much. [applause] jeh johnsonsecurity speaking. another secretary, john kerry thomas aching at the world economic forum. >> the most bewildering version of this disengagement messes about a supposedly treated by the united states from the middle east. suggestion to that is simple old. who cannot find another country, not one country, that is as proactively engaged that is partnering with so many middle eastern countries as construct a bully as we are on so many high- stakes front. i want to emphasize the last

point -- partnering. areave no pretense that we solving these problems alone nor is anyone suggesting, least of all me, the united states could solve every one of the region's problems or that everyone of them can be a priority at the same time. that as president obama made clear last fall at the united nations, the united states of america will continue to invest significant effort in the middle east because we have enduring interests in the region and we have enduring friendships with countries that rely on us for their security in a volatile neighborhood. we will defend our partners and our allies as necessary and we will continue to ensure to dismantle terrorist networks and we will not tolerate the

proliferation of nuclear weapons. now, in reality, all three of these challenges and the relationships that surround them , and accomplishing all of these requires in president obama's words for the united states to be engaged in the region for the long haul. you can see his remarks from "the washington post" -- from davos at 8:00 p.m. state of the state speeches from around the country including alabama, maryland, arizona, missouri, kansas. ad scamscussion on the investigation in 1970 costs and early 1980's where if you didn't pose guys sheiks-- posed as sheiks. >> some of you have been marching for over 40 years and

have endured many setbacks including the recent expansion of abortion coverage in obamacare. boo's] important now more than ever that we remain strong and stand together. we cannot allow good opponents of life to continually weaken the moral fabric of our country. they needto know when to understand that we will continue to march. we will continue to educate. we will continue to add it. we will continue to fight for the unborn. >> despite the fact that president obama is using stealth deception and the coercive power of the state to promote abortion violence, the pro-life movement and makingd well

serious significant, sustained progress. the >> this weekend, and annual march for life rally from the national mall in washington, d.c. what is the secret to a life of happiness? hugh hewitt on the possible answers saturday night at 8:00 p.m. tv,"n "american history the issues and concerns from five decades of state of the union speeches. sunday are known at 3:00 p.m. c-span. we bring public fares offense from washington directly to you putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings and conferences offering complete devil to gavel coverage of the u.s. house as a public service of private industry. created by the cable industry 35 years ago and funded in your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd. mike us on facebook.

follow us on twitter. >> next, today's white house briefing with press secretary jay carney talking about the civil war, iran's nuclear and egypt's civil unrest. this is about an hour. >> what are you talking about? [laughter] cheers and applause in the back. let's just say you not the only one. it took more time than i expected. i did it this morning. a couple reasons. i heard that dan thompson had bet that i would shave before state of the union, and i didn't want to lose money.

reminder of a daily the insufficiency of my effort, so i decided the time had come to change. here i am. the old me. other announcements to make today, so i will go straight to your questions. jim. >> state of the union. i was wondering if you could talk about whether the president sees this one any differently. is it going to be kind of a bullet point speech where he outlines initiatives, or is it going to be more of an expansion of his december 4 speech on the ?conomy and mobility

>> without previewing with any specificity what the president will be saying on tuesday night, i can tell you a few things. is, every year, a unique president toor the speak to millions of americans who tune in and listen to the state of the union address, and itvery much looks forward to , and he and the members of the team take the honor and responsibility of crafting a state of the union address and delivering it before congress and the american people very seriously. there are not many opportunities a president gets to speak on primetime television about his or her agenda for the country moving forward. i think you can expect him to be consistent with where he has

been in terms of his priorities and those are what his priorities have always been since he first ran for president, the need to grow our economy in a way that rewards hard work and responsibility, that makes the middle class more secure, that expands economic opportunity and provides a ladder up to those aspiring to the middle class. that has been his preoccupation since he first thought about running for the sentence -- for the senate and then the presidency, and you can certainly expect that will be the focus of what he talks about not just next week but throughout the rest of his presidency. the problem is one that, in keeping with past practices, involves gathering policy experts internally next turn

lane beginning a few months before -- externally beginning a workinghs before and that through a number of weeks, most intently upon return from the christmas and new year holiday. he has talked about ideas for executive action. do you expect to have a long list of those ideas? >> i am not going to, again, preview specifics about what might be in the speech. there is no question the president has made clear that he wants to reemphasize the capacity that he as president has, because of the unique power of the office to advance an agenda both working with congress and using his executive authority. with his pen to sign bills

and his phone together people from across the country who key can -- who he can persuade an work with him to advance the goals of the middle class, and you have seen that in , thekill summit we had manufacturing hub it was announced and the promise zones that we talked about, he has talked about it again and again. again, i do not want to specify what will be in the state of the union, but that idea is not unique. there are ways to move forward from his cabinet, from his staff, and from outside the country. a confirmation hearing recently got some viral attention, and that is the --sident's nominee to norway

of ambassador to norway. he fumbled the answer from senator mccain. .> i did not see the hearing i can tell you this president has confidence in all the nominees he put forward for ambassadorial positions as well as other positions in the administration and in the government, but beyond that i don't have a response. what is the administration's policy on releasing [indiscernible] policy is to make sure it is accurate and scrubbed. that process has become more efficient. when we released data, we explain caveats when there are -- what thens or

data represents or what it doesn't represent. that has been the situation from the beginning. early on we had trouble from the website and gathering information from all of the states running their own exchanges was less efficient, as you obviously know. it has obviously improved dramatically. early on you told us it would be a month to month following. today there was some good news data just before the state of the union. is there going to be more frequent updating? i would refer questions about to to compile and release [indiscernible] is toproach we have taken make sure the data we release is

clear, scrubbed and fetid, and that that process has become more efficient -- vetted, and moreprocess has become efficient as healthcare.gov has improved dramatically, which i know at least some of you have noticed. tohink if you are referring today's numbers, they represent significant progress in enrollments or sign-ups to marketplaces both federal and state. roughly 3 million people so far, and i think from what i saw, more than 800,000 in january. that is obviously a dramatic improvement over what we saw in the very beginning in october and november. december asge in the website fixes began to take effect.

those improvements continue to result in more and more being able to sign up on these marketplaces, and i think it demonstrates that the problems we had early on with obstacle.e were the we often talk about the grit and determination of the american people, and deservedly so. they are the reason we have climbed out of the worst depression since the great depression. they are the reason why the president is optimistic about this year and the potential for further economic growth and job creation. why,are also the reason even faced with the obstacles we put in front of them with the crummy start to the website, theirave demonstrated persistence and desire for the object on offer here. >> republican said to the president today that they were

hoping there would be a the end on keystone by of 2013. is there any truth to that and is there an update on the timing? >> i am not aware of the conversation they cite. is that theell you by the is run and housed state department, consistent with the practices of this administration. its delay, originally, was ideologicalrt by actions by congress, by the house, and by concerns expressed by political leaders and government leaders of both parties. i would refer you to the state department on where that process is now. state ofg back to the

the union, isn't part of the purpose and a large part of the purpose of that speech to call on congress to pass parts of the ?resident's agenda if the president is going to say i am going to use executive powers, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the state of the union? >> i think that is a pretty narrow view. he will be speaking to members of the senate and the house because they are physically in the room, but millions of americans are tuning in, and the everyent is speaking to american. there are folks sitting in their living rooms or their kitchens and watching the president give the state of the union address. the american people, and i know the president wants this, want the folks they send to washington to get on with the

business of helping the economy grow, helping it create jobs, helping make sure that theirunity exists for kids to get ahead and get theated and move up economic ladder, and have it better than they did. that is the definition of the american dream. however washington goes about making their lives a little easier and providing more irrelevant,is whether it is through legislation or executive action. they just want it done. the president will absolutely talk about what we can do andther, the administration congress, to move that agenda forward, but he is not going to limit himself to that. that would be like a president of any party to tie one hand and not use all the powers available to him, the unique powers of the presidency

to move the country forward. the president is going to talk about all the things a president can do that he can do that he believes we should do together. not justher, he does mean the elected members of congress. he means those americans and faithss leaders and leaders and community leaders and average folks across the country who can join in the effort to help this country move forward, make the middle class more secure, make sure there is opportunity for everyone out that if they are willing to work hard and be responsible, they will have work and a capacity to provide for their families and help their children move up and do better than they did. that is kind of what it is all as the president is concerned. >> john boehner has taken the

phrase from the president, i've got a pen and i've got a phone, as sort of a challenge to the equation.t of the speaker has said there is also such a thing as the constitution. isn the president said that, he saying he is going to be going around congress? >> he will work with congress when congress is willing to work with him, but when congress refuses to move forward and cooperate on common sense ideas to help the economy and help the middle class, he is going to use every power that he has to advance that agenda, and i don't anyone should be surprised by that. it is certainly the approach he is taken throughout his presidency. he is simply making clear that he is going to re-energize that approach and solicit ideas -- >> he will make that clear in the speech. >> i think he has in remarks he

has made on so many occasions. i think you can expect he will make it clear that he wants to work with congress and that all make can act to improvements in our economy and in the security of the middle things we not all the do have to pass through the legislation. i think it is a restrictive view to measure progress by the number of bills passed. that is important and there are things that can only be done through legislation. , rants of immigration reform comes to mind, and there are certainly met -- comprehensive immigration reform comes to mind, and there are certainly many others. the president will seek cooperation from congress to advance an agenda that is not partisan but is aimed at helping the american people. >> getting back to questions ,bout iran and the nuclear deal

someone who has viewed the text of the agreement says there are no signatures on it from the parties involved. question that iran and the members have entered into an agreement, a joint plan of action. they have convinced both parties, both sides, in particular the rainy and's, to take a series of actions. the iea -- iranians to take a series of actions. the iaea has validated that beyond taking the step that they committed to take in that agreement. that is how the process works. in relation to the state of the union and to incoming -- income gaps and income inequality, what are the areas of common ground right now between the president and congress that might see

something moving forward in the next year when it comes to that? >> one very specific thing, raising the minimum wage, that's something that has been done by republicans and democrats in the past. that is something economists have made clear is a positive step when it comes to rewarding hard work and rewarding liftingbility, and americans who are working hard and acting responsibly out of difficult economic circumstances. i think it is a basic rem is that if you are working full- time and doing everything you can to fulfill -- basic premise that if you are working full- time and doing everything you can, you should be paid a living wage. you should not be in poverty working full-time and the raisingt believes that the minimum wage, which does not contribute a cent to the deficit, is the responsible passing do, as is

comprehensive immigration reform. i have done a before and can lay out for you again all of the economic benefits and the benefits to the middle class that passing the legislation would provide. that is another means by which we could ensure that all businesses are playing by the same set of rules. again, responsible behavior and hard work is rewarded. companies are more secure. why big a reason business, labor, faith leaders, law enforcement leaders across the country, democrats and republicans, governors, local legislators, members of congress all support this. it is not an ideological thing. it is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do for our economy. >> a minimum-wage follow-up. do you believe there is a common ground there? >> i believe there can be. it willlicans have said

cost more jobs if there is a minimum-wage raise. is there a legislation problem there? >> history and economic studies rebut that assertion. that does not prevent lawmakers from making it, but the facts are not with them on that. and the fact is there has been support in the past from republicans and democrats to raise the minimum wage. in terms of real dollars, the minimum wage today is roughly where it was when harry truman was president. these are folks who, by byinition, are working hour hour, day by day, to try to make ends meet. they are behaving responsibly. they are working hard. they're trying to take care of themselves and their families, and they ought to at least get a minimum-wage. is the president in the state

of the union going to say that he will take some unilateral action if it is not passed soon? >> i am not going to preview the state of the union address. that would be risky behavior professionally. , i encouragesness you to wait and see what the president has to say on a variety of topics. he believes the congress should pass bipartisan immigration reform legislation so that he can sign it into law and the country can enjoy all the benefits passing the legislation would provide. >> you have made it clear that immigration is not an area that the president is currently looking at. is that still the case? >> it is the case that we believe comprehensive immigration reform -- the only

way to reform our immigration system comprehensively is through legislation. so, i am saying yes, you are correct. having said all this and called on the house to act, it is also the case that there is some reason to because his lee optimistic about immigration toorm eventually clearing -- be cautiously optimistic about immigration reform eventually clearing congress, not because we have come up with other ways house toongress or the take action, but because the economic benefits are so apparent and the house republican leaders have made clear at various times that they want to advance immigration reform legislation. that is encouraging. we will see what steps they take. but there is an opportunity and a way to show people in this country and the united states the democrats and republicans can come together for the

economy and for security, and we are hopeful that congress will take that opportunity. you said yesterday in san antonio that house republican leadership believed it was time to move those in the shadows out a the shadows and to have four stage immigration reform. house republicans have put that on the agenda for their conference coming up. paul ryan said it would be important within that to have language that requires the president to implement the law in full. republicanspeak to concerns about part of the affordable care act that have been delayed or waived. anld the administration have objection to that? >> you are talking about speculative language in a speculative bill that is at this point speculation. one of the signs of progress we

have seen is the announcement by leaders in the house that they will put forward principles. on immigration reform. that's a good thing. as you know, the president did that a number of years ago when the president passed a bipartisan bill that reflects those principles. it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, the president believes the reason we need to do it in a comprehensive by meeting the four principles he laid out. that is the way to achieve it. there are questions about how the house gets from there to there, but in an interview last fall he said he is happy to let the house work its way through a bill as long as the bill and's up on his desk. , the houseurally gets to a result is obviously up to the house leadership. what the president hopes is that the result will be something

that meets the standards set by the principles he laid out, meets the expectations of the broad community across the nation that supports immigration reform, and therefore meets the test that will allow him to sign it. is the announcement of principles new evidence of progress? >> i think more -- the more house republican leaders talk about the need to move forward on immigration reform is clearly a positive thing. that does not mean it is easy or we are there yet, but yes, it is a positive thing. >> what is the administration's take on the violence in egypt? whereoes it represent and are things politically and on the ground? >> we strongly condemn the terrorist attacks this morning and cairo and these crimes should be investigated fully and the perpetrators should be brought to justice. our condolences to the families and friends of the

victims and we hope for their quick and full recovery of the survivors. clashes today in cairo, the united states again urges all sides to condemn and prevent violence. it should be clear to all egyptians that violence has not moved egyptian political agendas forward. it hurts their prospects for political and economic stability. we follow these events very closely. the president has been briefed by his national security team on the events on the ground in egypt. this is obviously something that a regular concern for us as we see these events unfold. ison minimum wage, there some expectation among democratic quarters that the president will announce that among the executive actions he he will require

federal contractors to provide minimum wage for their employees. >> i will just say that the tosident has, in talking members of congress, talking to business leaders, his team talking to folks both inside and outside of government, assembled a lot of different ideas about here,ing the central goal which is improving the lives of the middle-class, expanding opportunity and job creation, but i don't want to get into specifics. president believes congress should pass legislation, as so many states have, to raise the minimum wage so that folks out there who are working hard, meeting their responsibilities by doing so, are getting at least a living wage in return. that's something that not just democrats, but republicans have supported in the past. it is something that some republican support now, so we hope that can happen. but when it comes to the variety

of actions that have been that the president and we may or may not be considering, yes, there have been ideas proposed, and we will consider all serious ones. you said earlier this week that the administration was not as satisfied as it would like to be with regard to russians sharing information on sochi. do you think they are in a better place than they were compared to sunday? >> i will say a couple things. contact withlar the russian government on these issues. we have diplomatic security and fbi teams in place, and that obviously requires close both nationsith security officials, and that is taking place. i think it is fair to say we are always seeking more information

from the russians. i think it is fair to say that this is distinct or different from a situation where we had the olympics in the united kingdom or canada where we obviously have extremely close ties in close cooperation between our intelligence services, but we do have as a general issue on counterterrorism and , and wear with russia will continue to press for as get cooperation as we can as well as offer as much help as the russians may want to request in providing security for the x in sochi. instructingmericans folks not to even come because they want to focus on the competition and not their family safety. i would simply say that we have no doubt that the russian

government very much takes seriously the need to make the olympic games safe and secure for participants and spectators. we have no doubt it is in their absolute interest to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of the olympic games, and we are working with them and other nations in taking the precautions that we can take, mindful of the fact that russia, as host nation, has the lead in security. i think the department of defense would describe some of the measures we have taken as offering assistance to the russians should they need it or require it, and we will continue to do that. >> on that issue, who will be the president's point person on the ground once the olympics start? will it be whoever the lead fbi agent is or janet napolitano is obviously helping to lead the president's delegation there.

as a former homeland security secretary, she obviously has a unique ground. do you know who will be the eyes and ears on the ground god for ?id there is a situation >> secretary napolitano is leading the u.s. delegation and because of her experience at dh -- dhs she has sick purity -- she has serious security credentials. the fbi is working on the ground in synergy. i would expect that would be the means by which security issues were discussed and commerce nations would be had back and forth here. -- conversations would be had back and forth here. you may want to check with the justice department about how that process will work. as i announced yesterday, andland security

counterterrorism are overseeing this issue and they will meet regularly and update officials with new information as it becomes available. >> what about the health care numbers. data, whention of will you release the data or where are you in the process in terms of releasing how many people have actually paid into the system, paid their premiums, etc.? >> that is a good question and i think cms might be a better place to answer it. is that there contract is not with the government. , if you are to enroll in health care and pick a plan, you are engaging in a contract with the private insurance company, so it is something the insurance company knows if and when it gets payment. as you know, in the run-up to we december 31 deadline,

have engaged with insurers those who country and would be insured to make that process as smooth as possible wereo encourage those who enrolled to take all the steps necessary to make sure their payments for an on-time. cms may have more specific information. has been the case and will be the case throughout the history of private health insurance, it is not between the government and an individual, it is between an individual and the insurance company. >> on the numbers, over 3 million enrolled in private insurance, 6 million and medicaid, i believe, and last night you had a republican that he of utah says will expand medicaid, which i know is something you have been trying to do around the country. some governors have done it.

some haven't. with some republican governors now saying they will expand medicaid, where are we on this? do you feel you're turning the corner? what is the president's approach , because as you say the state of the union not just addresses congress but addresses the nation. where are we on this? >> it's a great question, and i think we are in the middle of the process. we are in the middle of an open enrollment that extends to march 31. thee is no question that on issue of medicaid, the more states that agree to do that, the better off those states are as well as the people who have access to that medicaid. there are a number of states with republican governors that have artie taken action to expand medicaid, and that is certainly the right thing to do for the citizens of those states.

we have a number of people who have signed up for the private insurance plans. the bulk of that has occurred in december and january. between october and december, 6.3 million persons were determined eligible to enroll in medicaid or chip. those numbers -- cms has the details -- reflect people who were already in medicaid in some cases and re-enrolling, but it also reflects the expanded medicaid we have seen in those dates that have taken action to expand medicaid. so how are we doing? i think we are making significant progress. but you won't hear anyone in this building, in hhs or cms say that we are done with this effort.

it extends to march 31. there is a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure the website is functioning effectively and that as problems arise action is taken to resolve them on behalf of those americans who are clearly , but havingrance said that, it is certainly the case that we are seeing the website in the federal marketplace is functioning much more effectively than it was early in the process, and that is, believe me, a welcome development. of theeditor-in-chief new york times said yesterday she believes this is the most secretive white house she has ever dealt with. you respond to issues of transparency and access? >> i would say this. as was reported in the new york times a while ago, the

she is referring to, a number of them were begun under the bush administration not this administration. i would be fascinated to see the stories had this administration chosen to drop investigations started by the previous administration. you have seen the steps we have taken and the attorney general has taken to work with make clear thend president's principle that reporters ought not to be accused of a crime for doing their job. it's interesting when we are talking about the new york times, in my first few months here, working for the vice president, i escorted a reporter from the new york times to the dod where he was going to meet with some mid-level people in the nfc, and he said in previous years he had not been allowed to talk to any of those people. you guys are the experts. you know and can measure whether

or not we provide as much or more access as the previous administrations, but what i have no doubt about is that we don't provide as much as you would ake, and if i ever heard reporter tell me they had enough information, i would call up the editors and say they should be fired. work everyday to provide as much access as possible. when it comes to access to the president i have a whole sheet of statistics to demonstrate how he has taken many questions from the press corps and the number of interviews he has given which far exceed those of his immediate to predecessors. the president's former campaign manager joint priorities usa. did he alert the president he was going to do this?

tryrities usa is going to to support hillary clinton. does that suggest that the president himself is supporting -- an independent american citizen who is no longer affiliated with the white house. the campaign is over. >> he probably spent more hours with the president than anybody else ring the election. >> that is not the case because the campaign was run out of chicago. jim work here and is close to the president, but what he does and what a feathered -- what an independent third-party organization does is not something coordinated with the white house. the president is focused on what he can do in 2014, 20 15 and 2016 as president with the unbelievable privilege and opportunity to be the ceo of an organization that has more capacity to do good in the country in the world than any other. and that is what he is focused on.

promise, looks like, i is not something that is on his mind. >> sorry -- >> i am not privy to every conversation the president has with a variety of people he has worked with in the past. the popeare reports francis is going to visit the united states next year. can you confirm that? >> i can't. maybe the state department. i don't know. i think that would be great, theonally, and i do know president is looking forward to his meeting and visit, but i don't have any him for misha about the pope's travels. go back to sochi. you said the administration will provide whatever assistance russia requests. has russia actually requested any assistance, particularly over the past 24 hours? >> i don't have the detail on

those conversations. i can say that we have made clear we are ready to provide whatever assistance we can, that the russians would request. as the game comes -- games come closer, we will endeavor to provide as much information as we have to you, but at this point i don't have a lot of detail i can give you. i will point to what i said before. we have cooperation with the russians when it comes to diplomatic security and fbi agents that will be in sochi helping with security for the u.s. team and delegation and spectators. we continue to work with, consult with and discuss with the russians the security situation and anything we can do to provide assistance. i think it is fair to say we always want to provide information and do more if we can, but i don't have a lot of detail right now. , mitt romneyday

was asked how he thought the president handled the interactions with russia and he responded that putin has outperformed our president time and time again on the world stage. what is your reaction to that statement? >> i would disagree with that. the president has a relationship with president putin that is --used on the walk ration focused on cooperation where the united states and russia can cooperate and clearly expressed differences where we have differences. the ability to have the deep differences that we have, to express them, and to make clear our views on those differences, as well as to move forward in areas where we can cooperate has served the interest of the united states and the interests of the american people as well as our allies overseas. i think that was demonstrated in

the p5 one negotiations and in the relationship we have had with russia when it comes to making sure we can get necessary supplies and assistance to our troops in afghanistan. there are a host of other ways in which that very pragmatic approach has paid benefits to the american people in our national security. does that statement undercut the president's efforts to work with putin? opinions are expressed every day about u.s. policy and the administration's approach to policy. i don't think that's a problematic impact. >> finally, this. opposition is meeting with the syrian government delegation for the first time -- this. opposition is meeting with the syrian government delegation for the onst time face-to-face saturday.

apparently there is going to be a short conversation in the morning and the longer one later in the day. >> i know the joint peschel representative raheem he has -- joint special representative brahimi has been important in this negotiation. we are under no illusion that this is not going to be a very difficult process. but there is no other alternative. to resolving a situation in aria that does not include political negotiated settlement, and hopefully the meetings that have begun already in the ones that will take face will mark be aeginning of what may long road, but hopefully will be a road that does lead to that negotiated political settlement. to last year's

state of the union, the president asked congress for a lot of stuff. and he didn't get very much of it according to one analysis i saw. of the 41 things he asked for, he got two of them and they were sort of no-brainers like the violence against women act. boy, it was not treated like a no-brainer at the time. oppositionnnecessary to it. >> was he surprised by how little congress took up of his ideas or disappointed? i guess i am trying to gauge how he felt about the last year. >> the president shares in the american people's frustration with the obstructionism that we have seen, the inertia we have , the occasional or frequent refusal to work common sense,

middle-of-the-road proposals that advance the interests of the middle class. but there is also, as we talked about, at the end of last year and early this year, reason to hope that there is a potential for making some more progress with congress. even as the president makes take whateverwill actions he can that do not require congressional legislative approval or action. so, it was modest, but it was not modest compared to what we have seen in previous years when senatorhe success the murray and congressman ryan had in negotiating a budget agreement. bargain, butrand when you see the omnibus passed with bipartisan support in both houses and you see funding that eliminated the sequester that eliminated 60% of nondiscretionary spending so that we can make the investments

in early childhood education and other priorities of the president, that is progress. that is good news for the american people. and sometimes it is worth noting that smaller steps in the right direction are still steps in the right direction. the president remains hopeful that this year we can see more cooperation from congress, action on immigration reform, minimum wage, and a host of priorities of the kind that have in the past and can in the future enjoyed bipartisan support. he will certainly aim high. presidents often aim high. i don't think any president has and gone before congress said i hope to do this, this, and this and at the end of the year discovered that his list is too short, but the president is very optimistic about this year.

we are poised to advance our recovery, to grow and create more jobs. the first priority is congress ought to be to do no harm, to of thatin the way potential, and then it ought to look at ways that it can help in the effort to make the economy grow faster, make the middle class more secure, provide more opportunity for all americans, and if they do that, i think the american people can look i can say, whether they are democrat, republican or independent, washington 02 -- washington did is what thed that president hopes. i don't think there is any question that a lot of people had reason to be frustrated by washington last year. there was a wholly unnecessary, ideologically driven shutdown of the government. we had to threaten to default,

again. and we had an extremely poor health caree website. those reasons certainly did not make americans feel better about washington. but at the end of the year, as i noted, we saw some bipartisan progress. very strongly that the economy is poised to strengthen further and create more jobs, and we ought to move forward as a nation. we ought to work together here in washington. we ought to work together across the country, and that is why the president will be calling on stakeholders who are not necessarily members of congress to work with him to help the middle class, help the manufacturing sector grow, help the cause of educating our children move forward, and if we and pass a few important bills, we, the american people, will be in a lot better shape at the end of this year and that will be a good thing. will the president take the

opportunity to defend the nuclear deal with iran? going intoithout specifics about the speech the president will give, i think the state of the union addresses tend to encompass a number of subjects, both foreign and the mastech. i am not going to detail what the president is -- foreign and domestic. i am not going to detail what the president will talk about, but there is a certain tradition of form. setting aside the state of the union address, i think the president has been very clear about why he believes that it ensuree far better to through a verifiable transparent thatment with the iranians iran cannot and will not obtain a nuclear weapon than to have to resort to force, for example. now, he takes no options off the

table, and he will not take any options off the table in dealing with this very important issue, but he believes it is absolutely the right and responsible thing to do to test the hypothesis tot iran may be willing negotiate a comprehensive solution to this challenge, to come clean, if you will, and get right with the international and its international obligations, to take the steps necessary to provide the assurance that they have forsaken their ambitions for nuclear weapons. so he's certainly feels strongly about that. >> going back to the statements the iranian leaders made that you stuck about -- spoke about yesterday. do they make it more difficult to build support in washington for this nuclear deal? >> i think that everyone with a

keen interest in this issue in washington and around the world is focused on what not iran, whether or abides by its commitments, whether or not iran takes the actions prescribed in the plan of action. seeing -- in are these early stages -- iran comply with its obligations. those are actions. those are words. and that is what we pay attention to. and i think that is what the folks around washington in the world who pay the most attention to this challenge are focused on. when i can't say is with any where we -- assurance will be in six months. obviously, challenge like this is a difficult one to resolve,

and these are going to be tough negotiations, but what i think has been made we are us and ther participants is purpose of the approach we took and the fact that we left the sanctions regime in place and very severe sanctions in place, and the capacity to turn back on even the modest sanction relief provided as part of this fact that reflect the there are no guarantees that a ran is going to take the steps to reach an agreement in the end, but it is absolutely the right thing to do to pursue it the way we have pursued it. false progress rolls it back in some cases while we test whether iran is serious about reaching a final agreement. >> the secretary general of the iaea said he is asking for more

beef up theeople to verification operation. is the white house aware of that and ready to chip in? we obviously believe the role played by the iaea is very important here. i don't have anything on that request. i would refer you to the state .epartment but it is very important that theiaea be able to fulfill responsibility it has taken on in monitoring the implementation of this agreement. roger. >> on the two-year budget cap fort and the budget , does the president feel bound by the discretionary

numbers in that bill, or can he just propose something different ? >> roger, i am not going to get ahead of the release of the budget. i would look to what we have done in the past. you mean an actual budget agreement? >> pacific discretionary numbers. >> that gets into what is going to be in the budget and i am not going to do that. i urge you to wait for the budget and i will get back to you if we have anything more to add to that. i knew that i would discuss this in a meeting. we are aware that because of the intrusive monitoring and verification required by the joint land of action the iaea may need additional support and

we are fully prepared to support them and encourage all member them in thisport important effort should that be necessary. some members have already indicated they are prepared to do that if necessary. >> one other question. on the state of the union, can you give us a little sketch of where the president is in the process? is he practicing? , and he drafts have there been? >> a number of drafts. the drafts go back and forth. for those of you who have covered the president for some time and know how this works -- and he is obviously a writer himself and on speeches like is the chiefy speechwriter. he works very closely with his director of speech writing, cody keenan, on this effort, but it is still being worked on, the

writing of it. that process is ongoing. >> yesterday the mayors were here, and one of their chief concerns is how to upgrade their him for structure -- infrastructure, a big question being how to pay for it. did the white house or cabinet officials discuss possibilities for ways they can upgrade their infrastructure. don't have a specific readout of conversations like that. i can tell you we have been very concerned and aggressive in our need to upgrade infrastructure. we know how important these investments are to the future economic growth of cities and regions and to the job creation needs that they have right now. we propose very creative ways to move forward when it comes to

making the substantial investments we need to make in our country and our infrastructure. we proposed a grand bargain for jobs if you will when it comes to tying corporate tax reform, closing loopholes and lowering the rates, as part of a package that would include substantial investments in our infrastructure, and we are very serious about the need to do that. we completely agree with the urgency that mayors expressed, we said you know, before, but as we continue to grow, i think if you talk to ceos, you talk to mayors and others, there is an impediment out there, not just in the near term but in the medium and long- term to further economic growth that is caused by insufficient, or antiquated infrastructure. ,f we make those investments the positive benefit is

compounded economically. when we can get goods through ports more quickly, when our roads are better and our highways are more efficient, the economic benefit of those kinds of investments compounds year after year. the president is very interested in working with mayors, working with congress, working with others to make sure we make those investments. >> [indiscernible] in the toolbox is the approach we are taking. week ahead. week ahead. doyle, sure. >> [indiscernible]

>> and the question? >> has the president spoken with india, the fbi or any intelligence? >> i don't have any white house conversations to report to you. you might try the state department on this kind of matter. let me give you the week ahead. on monday, the president will attend meetings of the white house. on tuesday, the president will deliver his state of the union address at 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time. the vice president, the first lady and dr. biden will attend. more details about the president's schedule for the remainder of the week -- >> aw. as theybe revealed become available. when we haven't nailed down, we will get it to you. -- have it nailed down, we will get it to you. .> long-term unemployment

>> i don't have that on the schedule. >> travel? >> have a great weekend. we will get you more information as we have it. >> tonight on c-span, secretary of state john kerry discusses u.s. diplomacy at the world economic forum in douglas, switzerland, followed by remarks from republican national committee chairman sprint this preibus. >> c-span launched its first c- span schoolbus in 1993, visiting hundredssc