embrace their own traditions of faith. sometimes i think there is discomfort there and democrats feel reluctant speaking to those judeo-christian values. that is a great that -- a great point. the split partisan media is another challenge. i don't know whether the population became divided and that or media fed into the media was divided and that split the population apart, but it is hard for us to have a unified narrative of what is happening in the country and what is fact and what is fiction because we have partisan media outlets to the point there was a hate campaign.

mr. spicer: the story of every brave man and woman who paid the ultimate price in the battles of our revolutionary war and the battlefields today are a part of our nation's proud history and i

hope everyone takes time today to recognize the sacrifice so many made. with respect to the schedule today, later this afternoon, the president will be hosting house and senate leaders for a bicameral meeting to discuss his domestic policy agenda, specifically health care and tax reform and will host a bicameral dinner of republican members to discuss his overseas trip and the foreign challenges he is ready to tackle. he has signed in 36 individual bills into law, 14 under the congressional review act. he passed the repeal and replace of obamacare and embarked on his first trip overseas acting to rebuild america's standing in the world and become the first administration since 1881 to confirm a supreme court justice in the first 100 days. those will be discussed with some of these members of

congress today. and now that they are back from memorial day recess. we look forward to carrying on with the agenda. on health care, we don't have time to waste. obamacare continues to collapse. a third of the counties have only one provider. the average individual premiums have increased 105% from 2013 to 2017. and anthem, the only insurer in the state of ohio will be pulling out of every obamacare exchange living them without any options. the american pill has been saddled to get this disaster taken care of. it's time for us to provide them with the choice and control that all americans want over their own health care. the american people and have been suffering from overburdensome over-complicated tax system which takes money out

of the pocket of working families. we are working with congress to change that and delivering relief to middle-income earners. tax reform is part of the critical agenda and his team are working with legislative leaders and business leaders to ensure that his plan that congress ends up taking on will make sure that it gets to his desk so he can finally fix the system. later this afternoon, there will be a listening session with business leaders from the transportation sector. this is about a dozen listening sessions that we plan to hold in the next couple of months with job creators to hear about the reforms that would allow them to expand and create jobs for american workers. the president is going to discuss these next steps on all of the above policies. the president's cabinet remains

focused on their agenda. secretary of labor announced that the department of labor will strengthen its focus on preventing visa program abuse and take legal action against those who abuse the programs. this includes reporting cases of criminal fraud to the office of inspector general, establishing a working group to maximize efficiency. using all tools in conducting civil investigations to enforce protections for the american worker provided by the visa programs and developing proposed changes to the current system to better identify violations and fraud and greater transparency. the president was legitimated on a promise to prioritize the american worker and his entire team here in the white house and throughout government is working hard in their respective areas to fulfill that. with that, i will be glad to take a few questions. reporter: moments ago, mitch mcconnell reiterated that he is not a fan of the president's

tweets. he explained several times that the president likes to have it directly to the american people. does he sometimes cross the line where his tweets become the agenda and impedes his ability to get things done. mr. spicer: in the context of the question, the president is the most effective messenger on his agenda and use of social media, he has 110 million people across different platforms give him an opportunity to speak to the american people. reporter: using it wisely can be two different things. mr. spicer: the same people who are critiquing his use of it now critiqued it during the election and turned out pretty well. reporter: let's ask you about health care, senator lindsey graham said that he -- he was asked whether or not he will be

able to get a package together. senator burr said it will be unlikely to get a health care deal. are they just misinformed? what's the difference between the republican leadership and the white house is putting out and republican leaders are putting out? mr. spicer: the president is going to talk about that when he meets with the leadership and will work their will. these every elected republicans in the house and senate campaigned on this in the last seven years and will come together to achieve the goals of lowering costs and providing greater access. there is a commitment and we we main hopeful it will get done. reporter: chuck schumer called the infrastructure plan an investment -- a goldman sachs plan and sure loser here in

congress. are you willing to commit more than the $200 billion to meet democrats whenever a bill comes forward to get across the finish line? mr. spicer: the american worker and our infrastructure are the president's priority and putting people back to work, establishing fixing those roads and bridges that allow our economy to thrive and grow. the president has talked about the impact of broken bridges and bad roads having an impact on the economy and the ability of people to deliver goods to market. he is going to create that partnership to ensure we maximize dollars and put people back to work. and you saw that yesterday in the air traffic control proposal where you had union support and bipartisan support, because the president's approach at this is that of a businessman of understanding how you can utilize that public-private

partnership to maximize dollars and put people back to work and not transfer the dollars which doesn't have the same economic impact but is really engaging the private sector on this. reporter: the urgency for tax reform cannot be overstated. again, nothing concrete at this point. where is the urgency from the administration? mr. spicer: that will be discussed today with the leadership. something the president has talked about. mr. co hmpnuchin and n have been out there talking to groups. when you are talking about the magnitude on the corporate side and individual side and the impact that it's going to have on our economy, we need to get it right. we have to involve stakeholders and that's what the president and his team is doing.

david from fox 29 in philadelphia. reporter: sean, thank you so much for taking the time here. we appreciate here in philadelphia and greater delaware valley. we do have a question about the president's budget proposal, specifically the proposal to eliminate the deductions for local and state taxes, property taxes. in new jersey, folks reportedly pay the highest amount of property taxes in the nation. there was a poll that said 57% of folks surveyed aren't in support of that. what do you say to the folks who are worried, they may take a major hit. mr. spicer: david, thank you for asking. if you look at the principles outlined by director cohn and secretary mnuchin, one of the principles was increasing the standard deductions for a middle-income family that is a

doubling of $24,000. 98% of the folks that file now would not take individual deductions because of the increase, the large increase that would happen. most middle-income americans would save more under the president's plan because of the large increase that would exist with respect to the standard deduction. reporter: u.s.-led coalition struck forces in syria. has the president been briefed? mr. spicer: he has. reporter: on the president's tweets, are president trump's tweets considered official white house statements? mr. spicer: the president of the united states they are considered official statements. reporter: is the president that his tweets could be used against him at the level of the supreme on when the cclu takes

this case? mr. spicer: the court should follow the law and the danger is real and the law is clear and there's no question we should prevail at the supreme court. reporter: can you tell us where the president is going to be on thursday at 10:00 a.m.? is he going to watch comey's testimony? mr. spicer: there is a meeting with mayors and governors to talk about some of the projects that need to go through the public-private partnership. he is giving a speech to the faith and freedom coalition downtown. it will be a very busy day. the president is going to have a very, very busy day as he does all the time and his focus is pursuing the agenda and the priorities he was elected to do. kfyr guy here, scott at

in the dakotas. here osted a radio show and talked to listeners every day who are frustrated with the way washington likes. they are not fond of the swamp. i'm curious if the infrastructure debate will be different. our governor will be part of the governors and mayors that are coming on thursday. does he believe infrastructure is more than roads and bridges, pipelines, broadband, flood protection which is creating jobs here right now? and will the infrastructure debate be received better than the tax reform debates have been so far? mr. spicer: as you know, your governor will be here on thursday with a variety of governors and mayors to talk about infrastructure and the opportunity for your governor to talk about the infrastructure in

the dakotas. there are several critical projects in roads and bridges that need to get addressed. how the governor prioritizes them. one of the issues discussed with respect to the president's infrastructure plan is creating different private pools of projects that allows for innovation and prirtization and that will be that is in partnership with localities and states to figure out what they can do to help raise the necessary funds and really do this in a business-like and innovative ways. we have a ways to go. reporter: the president signed a letter of intent with the saudis to buy american weapons. have there been any contracts signed yet with saudi arabia? mr. spicer: the department of defense is the lead on that. there was $110 billion of defense procurement with saudi arabia. it was totalled up to $350

billion. the immediate 110 million -- reporter: actual contracts? mr. spicer: i believe some. it could lead to $3350 billion and $350 million on the commercial side that the department of commerce can provide you a better list. reporter: is there an actual contract right now? mr. spicer: there were agreements with the department of defense who took the lead on that. i don't know what was actually signed. i know there were two pieces, the defense side and commercial side. you saw through the pool, there was press in the room when the commercial side was done. the initial $110 billion of the $3130 was upfront and done. about r: i wanted to ask the isolation of qatar. the first was the president

seemed to be taking credit for the actions and white house encouraged it. and the president know about it before it happened? mr. spicer: this issue is not new. there has been tension among qatar's neighbors for sometime. and the situation was notified through proper diplomatic channels. the administration is trying to restore cooperation which is support to regional security there. i think there is no -- his message of toughness on extreme terrorist funding and the u.s. wants to see this issue deescalated keeping in principles with the principles he president laid out. reporter: there is a lot of ncerns that qatar has been

removed and removing the amir from power. the government is financing terrorist groups, would it be beneficial? mr. spicer: the president had a constructive conversation with the amir. and he was very hartened by his ommitment to formally join the terrorist targeting center and showing commitment to this issue. reporter: you mentioned tax reform at the top. marc short had trouble yesterday trying to resolve what the administration's position on revenue neutrality is. the reason i raised this, milk mulvaney was quoted as saying several folks in the white house said they are interested in

pushicing a larger tax bill rather than adding to the deficit. that is milk mulvaney. marc wasn't sure whether revenue neutrality is a key priority. can you assist us? mr. spicer: part of that there is a discussion ongoing with congress. director mulvaney and secretary mnuchin are talking about the plan going forward. that's a conversation as i mentioned that the president is going to have a conversation in the next several minutes with house and senate leadership and will be a topic they will discuss. reporter: an increase in the deficit is something that the administration would find acceptable on tax reform? mr. spicer: if there is a conversation that is going to go on with congress how to proceed and it's not at this time, i'm not going to get in front of that discussion. reporter: who it was that

changed the president's nato speech taking out the article five language, she would check on that. you didn't make that commitment, but sarah did. do you have the answer? mr. spicer: i don't know. reporter: can you confirm that is in fact, one happened, one speech and a different one was prepared late in the process and the speech took some of those who were aware of the first speech by surprise? mr. spicer: the president's speech talked about article 5. we were at a nato article 5 commemoration. the idea that we would recommit ourselves that we were clearly there to celebrate seems to be a bit silly. i don't know the content of the speech, but it's a silly discussion because we addressed it at the time. the president's presence at an article 5 commemoration and his discussion about nato invoking article 5 first time ever after

9/11 pretty much speaks to itself about our commitment to nato and all 13 articles that make up that treaty. reporter: could you find out exactly what happened? mr. spicer: there are a lot of things -- reporter: there was a report there was one version and another version was delivered. mr. spicer: there are a lot of things that go on behind the scenes with every meething and preparation. until the president gets a version that he feels is appropriate, it's not appropriate for us to go out there and share it. i will follow up with sarah. to the broader point is that the president remains committed to nato and all the articles, not just article 5. reporter: how would you describe the president's confidence in attorney general jeff sessions. mr. spicer: i have not had that discussion with him.

reporter: in his confidence in the attorney general? mr. spicer: i haven't had a discussion with the president. reporter: the chinese government rejected calls from the state inaudible]-- eporter: does -- [inaudible] mr. spicer: we'll continue to exert the proper diplomatic pressure on that. it's a state department issue and you should follow up with them. reporter: the london mayor says the president shouldn't come to the u.k. mr. spicer: he appreciates her majesty's gracious invitation. reporter: senior officials are saying as a result of the afghan review.

do you have a time line for us when can we see it? mr. spicer: the president will continue to discuss that with general mcmasters and secretary mattis and others. and when he is comfortable with the plan, we'll let you know. reporter: what does victory look like in afghanistan? mr. spicer: stable government free from threats. we want to make sure we root out all forms of terrorism and provide stability in the region. porter: yesterday -- [indiscernible] seems pretty clear that she is an opponent of the president and his policies. was the president aware of the arrest? mr. spicer: with respect to all kind of ongoing investigations, i would never comment. with that being said, you have heard the president very clearly

talk about the concern that he has about unauthorized disclosures of class tied and sensitive information and the threat they can pose to national security. while i don't want to comment on any case or allege, it is important to note any disclosure of classified or sensitive information can clearly threaten our national security. reporter: you said on many occasions that the president's tweets speaks for itself. yesterday in a series of tweets he accused the department of justice on the president's executive order on immigration. given that he has faulted the d.o.j., does he fault the person attorney he that, general jeff sessions? mr. spicer: i have answered that question.

reporter: what you just said about the persian gulf. clear the president is taking sides in this. mr. spicer: what way? reporter: he said perhaps this will be the beginning of the end of terrorism. mr. spicer: he is noting the message of toughness on terrorist financing. that's not what i said. i think he had a very productive iscussion with the amir in readd and they joined with the her gulf nations to get that out and pleased with the movements taken. he is concerned about terror financing and stomping out isis. reporter: first, is the president comfortable with robert mueller as the special prosecutor? and does he believe that the president has the right to replace the special prosecutor

if he or she exceeds their mandate? mr. spicer: i have not had -- i have not discussed that with the president. reporter: on sunday, the president put out a forceful commemoration of the battle of midway 70 years ago. he did not know anything about the 25th anniversary of tee emen square in china, the uprising. is there going to be any statement about the brave uprising in china a quarter of century. mr. spicer: i'll look into that. house and senate leadership are here. hank you guys very much. >> come on. we waited so long. [laughter] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

visit ncicap.org >> you can see this entire briefing again at c-span.org. type white house briefing in the search bar. . that will be live thursday beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. we will also open the phone lines, get your phone calls and social media comments after the hearing. you can also listen to it on the free c-span radio app. reminder if you missed any of it during the day the hearing will reair at 8:00 p.m. eastern on our companion network c-span2 and then later at night on c-span. a look now at a recent interview with vermont senator bernie sanders, interviewed by former president jimmy carter at the carter center in atlanta. >> yes, maybe this is our nation's great transition. we're living in a very difficult