shootings that are all too common in our society. it is this type of attack that we saw at fort hood 2009 in chattanooga earlier this year, and now, san bernardino. as root like isis stronger amid the chaos of iraq in syria, and as the internet erases the distance between countries, we see growing efforts by terrorists to poison the minds of people like the boston farmers and december 90 no. for seven years i have conducted -- since i took this office i have authorized u.s. forces to take out terrorist precisely because i know how real the danger is. as commander-in-chief i have no greater responsibility than the security of the american people. tw -- two daughters who are a

precious part of my life. we see ourselves as friends and coworkers like those at the holiday party in san bernardino. know many americans are asking whether we are confronted by a cancer that has no immediate cure. here is what i want you to know. the threat for terrorism is real but we will overcome it. , we will destroy isil and any other organization that tries to harm us. without abandoning our values or giving into fear. that is what isil is hoping for. instead, we will prevail by being strong, smart, resilient, and relentless, and drawing upon every aspect of american power. here is how. first, the military will continue to hunt down terrorist plotters in every country where

it is necessary. in iraq and syria, airstrikes are taking out isil leaders, infrastructure, and since the attacks in paris, france has ramped up its efforts in our military campaign to destroy isil. we will continue to provide training to tens of thousands of iraqi and syrian forces on the ground. in both countries, we are employing special operations forces who can accelerate the offensive. we will continue to invest more in approaches working on the ground. third, we are working with friends and allies to stop isil operations, cut off their finances, and prevent them from recruiting fighters. we have surged intelligence sharing with european allies.

we are working with turkey to seal the border. we are working with muslim majority countries and muslim communities here at home to counter the vicious ideology they promote online. fourth, with american leadership, the international community has begun to establish a process and timeline to produce cease-fires and a political resolution to the syrian war. doing so will allow the syrian people and every country, including our allies, like russia, to focus on destroying

isil, a group that threatens us all. this is the strategy to destroy isil. it is designed and supported by our military commanders and counterterrorism experts. we constantly examine the strategy to determine when additional steps are needed to get the job done. that is why i have ordered the departments of the state and homeland security to review of visa waiver program with which the female terrorist in san bernardino came to the country. we will make it harder for terrorists to escape from justice. here at home, we have to work together to address the challenge. there are several steps that congress should take right away. is to begin with, congress should act to make sure no one on the no-fly list is able to buy a gun. what could possibly be the himwhat could possibly be the argument for allowing a terror suspect to buy a semi automatic weapon? this is a matter of national

security. we need to make it harder for people to buy powerful assault weapons like the ones used in san bernardino. i know there are some who reject any gun safety measures. but, the fact is that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies, no matter how effective they are, cannot identify every would-be mass shooter, whether motivated by isil or some other hateful ideology. but, we can and must make it harder for them to kill. next, we should put in place stronger screenings for those who come to america without a visa so that we can take a hard look at whether they have traveled to war zones. we are working with members of both parties in congress to do exactly that. finally, if congress believes, as i do, that we are at war with isil, it should go ahead and vote to authorize the continued use of military force against these terrorists. for over a year, i have ordered the military to take thousands of airstrikes against isil targets. i think it is time for congress to vote to demonstrate that the

american people are united in this fight. my fellow americans, these are the steps we can take together to defeat the terrorist threat. let me now say a word about what we should not do. we should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in iraq or syria. that is what groups like isil want. they know they cannot defeat us on the battlefield. isil fighters were part of the insurgency we faced in iraq. but, if we occupy foreign lands, they can maintain insurgencies for years, killing thousands of troops, draining our resources, and using our presence to draw new recruits. the strategy we are using now, airstrikes, special forces, and working with local forces who are fighting to regain control of their own country, that is

how we will achieve a more sustainable victory. it will not require us sending a new generation of americans to fight and die on foreign soil. here's what we cannot do. we cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between america and islam. that is what groups like isil want. isil does not speak for islam. they are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death. they account for a tiny fraction of more than one billion muslims around the world, including patriotic muslim americans who reject their hateful ideology. the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are muslims. if we are to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist muslim communities as some of the strongest allies, rather than push them away for suspicion and hate.

that does not mean denying the fact that an extremist ideology has spread within some muslim communities. this is a real problem that muslims must confront without excuse. muslim leaders here and around the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocably reject the hateful ideology that groups like isil and al qaeda promote. to speak out, not just against acts of violence, but also those interpretations of islam that are incompatible with the values of religious tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity. but, just as it is the response ability of muslims around the world to root out misguided ideas that lead to radicalization, it is the responsibility of all americans of every faith to reject discrimination.

it is our responsibility to reject religious tests on who we admit into this country. it is our responsibility to reject proposals that muslim americans should somehow be treated differently. when we travel down that road, we lose. that kind of divisiveness, that the betrayal of our values plays into the hands of isil. muslim americans are our friends and neighbors, our coworker, our sports heroes, our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country. we have to remember that. my fellow americans, i am confident we will succeed in this mission, because we are on the right side of history. we were founded upon a belief in human dignity, that no matter who you are or where you come

from or what you look like or what religion you practice, you are equal in the eyes of god and equal in the eyes of the law. even in this political season, even as we properly debate what steps i and future presidents must take to keep the country safe, let us make sure that we never forget what makes us exceptional. let us not forget that freedom is more powerful than fear. we have always met challenges, whether war or depression or natural disasters or terrorist attacks, by coming together around our common ideals as one nation and one people. so long as we stay true to that tradition, i have no doubt that america will prevail. thank you. god bless you, and may god bless the united states of america. him them on capitol hill lawmakers will have teed more weeks for their scheduled break. for legislative business,

taking up a couple of measures under the suspension of the rules 345, 1 looking to ban microbeads and water. lawmakers hope to get everything done by the end of the week, including government spending. house speaker paul ryan is doubtful that will happen. current government funding runs out this week. later a vote on the visa waiver program. taking up spending on the house works on its measure. you can watch the house live on c-span or the senate on c-span two. a look at the road to the white house with a reporter who talked about the rise of donald trump, his candidacy, and how the republican party is bonding to the possibility that trump could win the nomination. >> martin here at the table to talk about campaign 2016 in terrorism. and terrorism. the president makes the oval office address, the third of his presidency, last night. what does that do for the

presidential campaign and candidates? the democratic side, i think you will see a fascinating storyline between hillary clinton and barack obama. the president that she ran against and that she served and now that she's trying to succeed. question is how much to she allowed herself with this president on what is becoming the central issue of the campaign, terrorism and national security? how much does she carved out her own space? she has been very careful. slight differences, nothing profound. there are some areas where she does to seek repeal she called for a no-fly zone over syria. delicate positioning around the president was beloved by the facing deepase but doubts among a lot of americans about whether or not he's overseeing the prosecution of this war on terrorism, whether

it is going as well as it could. how does he navigate between the broader electorate and the democratic base, which still reveres the president. it is going to be one of the most fascinating things to watch. i also think that this could help, what has happened in california and paris, t it is a reminder that this is a serious time and she is some of you has experience on these issues. that could help her in a primary against bernie sanders and martin o'malley. on the republican side, i think the only question is how aggressively can the candidates criticize president obama? the action is. none of them are going to say it was a great speech last night, i'm all for him. it is a matter of degree. i was really struck over the weekend by ted cruz in iowa, this is somebody who is a

harford and princeton trained lawyer, a u.s. senator and , a person who argued before the supreme court. he said i do not know if sand can glow, but we are going to lighten up so hard we are going to see, talking about bombing isis in the middle east. that is the kind of language we've heard from donald trump. the fact that ted cruz is using that language about how much he wants to go after them speaks to where the action on the republican side, the hawkish, bombastic, pugnacious, pick your adjective. language,ing trump'd it tells you what the mindset is. host: does it exposed divisions within the party? is certainly has the potential. marco rubio, we have a story today about this, he is seizing on the fact that ted cruz

aligned himself with rand paul on the matter of whether or not the nsa should be allowed to collect metadata from people. has tried to position himself halfway between the libertarians on national security issues. john mccain on the hawkish side rand paul on the libertarian side. trying to find a safe, middle ground within the base of the party. on some of the votes he has been on the rand paul side. now that you have blood in the streets of paris and san bernardino comic candidates like areo who have been hawks going to seize on this as not being tough on terrorism. host: so far polls show that donald trump, who is not talking, he talks in a bombastic

way but is not talking specifically about what to do, he does not talk about specifics when it comes to foreign policy. not like you hear from marco rubio, he is still leading the polls. guest: classic strongmen. anxiety andubt, uncertainty. someone speaking in an terms i cannoting the s -- say that were, even on c-span, bombing isis. that resonates for the population. for a lot of folks it is a turnoff. it seems simplistic. but it has real appeal. they do not want the details, , a five-point strategy for how to confront isis. they like tough talk. it is not an overwhelming

majority of the country, i don't think it is even of the party, but it is enough. in a splintered race, he does not need majority, he needs plurality. host: we are taking your questions and comments about the threat of terrorism, who do you trust on this? as many have said, the fight is going to last a long time and this is going to be an issue for the next president. who do you trust? republicans, 202-748-8001. democrats, 202-748-8000. independents, 202-748-8002. jonathan martin, national political correspondent with the new york times. traveling across the country and spending a lot of time on the road. likely you will continue to do so. guest: we are less than two months out from iowa. it is incredible. to bek we are going

campaign,intensified especially in iowa and new hampshire. in iowa, you've got ted cruz with a head of steam there, consolidating the evangelicals vote, which is crucial in iowa. i think you will see candidates trying to stop that. have a story today about rubio doing just that, he will not be allowed. rick santorum and mike huckabee, whose fate really does rest with iowa, i think you will see an urgent effort to stop cruz. host: campaign, especially in iowa and new hampshire. in iowa, you've got ted cruz with a head of steam t what is e ground in iowa, it rubio is changing tactics as your story illustrates. he has not talked a lot about ted cruz but he is going after cruz. guest: ben carson had a good ride. a lot of folks are attracted to an outsider, that has worn off. in 2012 we had a flavor of the month, candidates would rise up and fade. some people thought that that would happen with trump and that has not been the case. it has been the case with

carson. he had his moment and folks have moved away from him because they have questions about whether or not he can be commander-in-chief. into the vacuum has stepped ted cruz. cruz has a lot of the same support, evangelicals in iowa. last week out there, talking to people at cruz rallies i said , overe you for in 2012 and over on her rick santorum. that is the demographic that he is attracting, he has a strong organization. for example, i was in a fairly rural county in eastern iowa, benton county, i was talking to the county cochair for ted cruz. i said we are two months before the caucuses, how many precincts do you have organized? she said i have 10 of 19 already organized, that is pretty good for a rural county in iowa. i think it is better than almost anyone in the race. host: let me show you the

political cartoon. donald trump walking a tightrope do not cruz saying worry, if you thought i am here to catch your supporters. guest: that about captures it. part of the reason why the republican establishment is reluctant to go after donald trump, there are a lot of reasons, but one of them is they are worried about what comes next. if you put a lot of money on tv to take down trump, who does that benefit? you have to think in politics, if i go after x, who is the y that benefits. if you take down trump, cruz helped. i think a lot of folks in the white building behind you, the capitol, are just as concerned about cruz as the nominee as trump, not as much but close. that is part of the reluctance. cruz has avoided going after trump because cruz wants his supporters. trump has had tough words, to

put it mildly, for every candidate in the race except .ruz there's kind of this them,ression pact between i'm not sure it can last. i'm curious to see this week if you have a survey that comes out of iowa this week or next week that shows cruz taking the lead thre, is that the cue that trump starts turning out cruz. donald trump has been predicting that ted cruz has to come after me. s to counter want attack. the second he has any provocation, he's happy to go after these guys. host: we will take the first phone call, north carolina, republican. caller: good morning, c-span. i've got a couple quick comment s. mr. martin, on the campaign of i'm going to put it like this. before there were guns, there were swords, before swords,

clubs, before there were clubs, cain used a rock to kill abel. you have to get the will to kill out of this country. the primary, let's just say hillary clinton is going to be the nominee. she considers half the country the enemy. she blamed an american citizen for using his first amendment rights for the death of 4 americans in benghazi. other than as, flat-out civil war, how is how i to bring the country together? party says that the republicans do not have a voice in this country. the president, during the last election, said that that election was inconsequential to him because his side did not win. you had john kerry tell joe

scarborough that the tea party's voice should be silenced. and the media should not recognize it. host: i think we've got your point, divisions in this country. very real. are as the gentleman just indicated. i do not think it is just from washington, i think it is a reflection of where the country is. people are more ideological between the two parties. i don't know if any president is going to change that anytime soon. it is not washington, it is a reflection of where a lot of people are in this country. if you look at the presidents who have come to office in recent history, you can really and george h.w. bush through george clinton, george w. bush, barack obama, all of them ran on the notion of bridging the divide in bringing washington together and healing presidents, they all failed.

the reason is because the country is polarized. it is difficult for one person to change that. host: texas, donald, democrat. caller: how're you doing? i've been a democrat mostly all my life. i think the president is doing a good job. i am kind of upset with the refugee thing. i feel that anyone who straps bombs to them could be dangerous. that i wouldy agree -- i heard donald trump say it is 65,000 in the debate.ic i think the number could go as high as 200,000. guest: that is not accurate. caller: we can solve our problems in the u.s. host: it is not accurate? guest: it is not accurate, the president said 10,000 refugees from syria. a small country is taking more than the united states. trump said the number he has,

but he is impervious to fact debate. i think the number could go as high as 200,000. guest: that is not accurate. caller:checks. the: i want to weave in story on december 1, wary of donald trump, gop leaders caught in a standoff. it relates to trying to unite everyone. donald trump's comments, many people say, are alienating large groups of people from the republican party. yet the gop leaders do not say anything. guest: they are paralyzed about what to do over his comments. they know it is toxic for the party. they see the same numbers that we do that among nonwhites and a deeply unpopular figure and his nomination would be a serious threat to the party. they do not know what to do. in part, the people that could finance a campaign to stop him do not want to invite a backlash. trump has proven he will attack whoever attacks him. that is some concern that if you itg up on trump, he will use

to his benefit and say i told you so, the establishment is trying to stop me because they are scared of you and that will rally supporters. and lastly the point i mentioned earlier, ok, if we go after trump, who does that help? are we helping cruz in doing that? you've got a scenario where it is december 7 and there is nobody going after trump. it is remarkable, less than two months before the iowa caucuses, the undisputed party front runner widely seen as a disaster for the party by the folks that run the party is untouched. to those points that you just outlined, do they apply to the millionaires and the leaners that have participated in campaigns in the past? the koch brothers said we are not going to endorse anyone, sheldon adelson -- guest: they could put money at tomorrow. mentioneds you just how the resources that tomorrow they could put 25 nine dollars in an ad campaign against trump

and bring his numbers down. trump has a floor you're not going to get below but you could bring his numbers down some. people havet those not put money behind a campaign is puzzling. but i think it can be explained in part by the fact that they do not want to get into a back-and-forth with this person who revels in such behavior. host: leland, mississippi, blake, independent. caller: i want to say that i don't think mr. trump is electable because of his views. i think that america needs to get a grip on its problems in terms of violence and terrorism. it is always been violent. income inequality is the reason why there is the situation in paris, why there is the situation in america. concentrate on the terrorists in america, the ku klux klan, the police for african-americans.

i know you have not believed that we have been getting killed forever but these are the true terrorists. we care about what goes on in this country first. host: let me jump in. a domestic message is one bernie sanders has been running on. what happens to his campaign as more and more focus in the debate is taking place over what bernieith isis? guest: sanders comes out of a class-based liberalism. , and early the 1960's cultural debates, even an earlier moment than that. he is a believer in class solidarity. the issues that are animating the campaign are about national security, terrorism and especially in the democratic primary, questions about racial equality and justice. the rise of the black lives matter movement has been a

powerful force in the democratic party. it is tough for bernie sanders to adjust. that is not what his passion is about. incomes to talk about inequality and campaign financing, the fact that the leaners control national politics. -- the fact that billionaires control national politics. he has been driving that message for decades. for him to confront a different campaign is a real challenge. you see him struggling with that. host: south carolina, one of states, democrat, godhead. caller: good -- democrat, go ahead. caller: good morning. unfortunately, last name is farook, but i have nothing to do with terrorism. muslim. ack in

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. december 7, 2015. i hereby appoint the honorable bradley byrne to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, paul d. ryan, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6, 2015, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate, the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour, and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman fromr