mike mike viqueira. why are the things that environmentalists got out of the deal outweighed by the losses of having yil exports in it. >> what we got out of the deal is basic commonsense provisions. support for the industries is bipartisan, by the way. we got an extension of solar tax credit and an extension of the win tax credit and support for the land and water conservation fund which protects forests and wetlands and some of the most beautiful places. for each of the measures, provisions, it's bipartisan support. they were leading the charge in favour of the win tax credit. >> it was the senator leading the charge from the solar tax credit. folks across the spectrum. in idaho and others leading the support for the land and water conservation fund. we shouldn't have traded the objectives to get something to allow for oil drilling. >> why are you worried about the export ban being lifted. st been something scuffed for a long time. what is the concern? >> we have to reduce dependence on oil, and you don't do that when you expand drilling for oil in the u.s. >> what will happen slowly over time, if you believe the oil industry, they'll say we'll see half a million barrels per day, an increase of half a billion, and we need to reduce dependence on goal, gas and oil. all the areas have grown. oil consumption dropped in the united states. and globally it's not growing. in the end we are not increasing our dependence on fossil fuels. >> that's not true. the first part is true. we are reducing dependence on fossil fuels. we are increasing reliance on clean energy, and saving money in the process. people are spending less on clean energy than they are on dirty fuels. the point, what we need to do, if we meet the challenge, honour the agreement that was struck in paris, we have to go past. we have to significantly shift our resources away from oil, coal and gas, and towards solar, wind and energy efficiencies. >> investing more in the domestic production of oil not only rips up the landscapes, putting the air and water at risk, meaning more oil trains and export terminals, it will similarity the rate at which greenhouse gas rises. >> in the united states, it's a zero sum game. if the united states produces 500,000 more per day, that creates a $500,000 barrel more glut. it comes out of somewhere else. >> it doesn't. >> it does. the u.s. fracking and creating as much oil, we have a glut of oil, right? >> this will increase the glut of oil. if saudi arabia said we'll cut the production by half a million per day, so that if production of oil is constant. that would be different. what we see from the o.p.e.c. country, they are looking top maintain the market share. increasing production from the u.s. will cause an interaz of oil production generally, when we have the world awash in cheap oil. that reduces the leverage to shift away from oil and move towards clean energy. >> when oil is $100 a barrel and gas more than $4 a barrel. that works as a market-driven push towards alternatives. >> of course. low oil prices is good on the supply side. when the prices are low, it makes drilling in the arctic, deep water drilling or drilling in the tar sands noneconomic. it doesn't make it viable from a financial perspective. what it does is suppress the growth of glen energy. hybrid vehicles. that's part of the problem. >> i want to go back to the politics side of things. i get the point we were going down the road. the 25 billion in benefits, the tax credits, that's the value that has been put on it. it's pretty good. >> yes. there's no doubt. you won't get an argument on me from that or anyone in the environmental community. we want to invest in solar and win. of course we shouldn't do that. for the measures with bipartisan support. that's what congress should dox. >> we had a shut down. the line you used, we shouldn't trade away these things. that's what the tea party said in 2015. what they were concerned about was important to them. we should be okay with the government shutting down. >> i believe i'm taking the opposite perspective. we shouldn't hold the funding, financing of the u.s. government hostage for things that there is not broad public support for. what environmentalists or the clean tech industry got out of the deal people support across the political spectrum, across republicans and democrats in congress, but you had the republican leadership holding the elements hostage so they could get the big oil. >> you are saying in a different way what mikeiqueira told us, that it's kind of weird that we end up with the bills that cover everything and the kitchen sink when they are supposed to be spending bills. the bottom line, to underscore what i think, and what is a big win, the bloomberg new energy finance estimated that it would add 20 gigawatts of power, and 19 gigawatts of wind power. the bottom line is you shouldn't have had a trade off to get it. on balance, do you feel it was a good win for environmentalists. >> here is what is happening that is great, here is why people who care about climate and clean energy should be trailed. we have seen coal plants retired, and replaced with solar and wind. clean renewable energy. what we got out of the deal was an expended investment in solar and wind. from the end of the period i predict solar and wind will be cheeper than gas, goal, nuclear power. and we'll have an unfettered, unrestrained pathway and create a society. >> michael bruin, the scpif clean. >> he's been called the face of

mike. mike viqueira in washington. >>> global financial markets are bracing for the first u.s.nterest rate hike in nearly a decade. the federal reserve is expected to raise the rate a quarter of a point today. the move will increase borrowing costs and could dampen america's paychecks, but savers will earn more on their deposits. josh is the research and policy director at the economic policy institute. he says raising interest rates will slow down an already sluggish economic recovery. >> you stop downward progress on unemployment, and that means you don't have really tight labor markets where workers can say a to their boss, i need a raise. basically it's an attempt to slow the pace of economic growth. >> he adds the fed does a much better job cooling an economy that is growing too fast, rather than stimulating a sluggish one. and the markets are shedding initial gains in anticipation of the fed's decision. the dow initially shot up 150 points at the opening bell, but it has settled back to less than 20 points. so a bit of bouncing around there, lower oil prices are also weig

we have reestablished contact with mike viqueira. mike as we were talking to alan schauffler the question i was going to pose to you, is this one seemed to be different. there did not seem to be much of a gap between the shootings and the rhetoric in washington. is it now the new normal that no matter what happens both sides are going to dig in and stick to the sound bites. >> reporter: that certainly seems to be the case. that part of the message, just that very scene, because as the president noted it's still an active investigation, obviously, and the motives could have been mixed. the president suggesting they don't know yet, but they will get to the bottom of it. he was getting a briefing from loretta lynch, and the fbi director, and others, but when you heard the president say we have to go back as individuals and do some soul searching, and as legislatures, plural, the president referencing that in washington the sides are dug. we have already been seeing people play to form. conservatives from the right side of the political spect

mike viqueira is live in washington. mike, it seems sometimes like in washington they might be running out of words to say. >> reporter: certainly president obama has expressed his visceral frustration, del, over the course of the last year, after a series of horrific shootingings, hope that anything could be done in congress to curve gun violence. hope largely given up in the wake of the failure after perhaps the most horrific shooting of all, no one can dispute that the an -- the new town shootings at sandy hook in connecticut where those young children -- many people thought that would shock the nation, shock construction into finally moving on much of this legislation, much of which had been expired since the last time gun legislation was introduced. that during the clinton as administration. gun legislation advocates will tell you at a local and state level progress is being made, but very little sign of it here in congress. in the wake of he is shootings now, the battle lines firming up, ted cruz, the republican fire br

mike viqueira is at the white house. what do we expect him to say, mike?reporter: this is part of a campaign by the president and top administration officials as we head into the holiday season, del, to reassure the american public. we just received a note that the fbi director sent to his own employees on the eve of this holiday season. his basic message is go home, enjoy your families, but when you are asked by your family what is the threat level to the united states? how should we be acting? his advice is to tell people, do not be afraid. there are things that the intelligence community cannot see, there are always threats that will be out there, and he cannot stop at all. but he advises people to be aware of their surroundings. to be aware of your surroundings, to be cautious at all times. and that is part of what the president is doing today. he saw him earlier in the week at the pentagon, and just about two and a half weeks ago at the oval office, trying to reassure the american people, and not incidentally trying to answer the critics who say he is

mike viqueira is in washington. mike'll talk to reporters within the hour, what do we expect him to say? >> we don't expect any major announcements this largely mirrors what he did earlier in the week at the pentagon. the venue in this case is the message much as it was then, and much as it was a -- couple of weeks ago. he is speaking to a general unease, anxiety, and yes, the critics of president obama and his policy towards in his anti-terror efforts, his counter terror efforts. . those who feel he is not doing enough, those who feel he simply lashed out at critics without reassuring the public, and rest assured he is in fact giving all of the public appearances he has made over the course of the last couple of weeks, and the background briefings reporters have gotten, that is the effort here, the president trying to reassure the public to say he is on top of the situation. visiting the national counter terrorism center. it was formed after 9/11, del. 16 intelligence and law enforce agencies are gathered in this one op

mike viqueira is live for us in the nation's capitol. mike who are some of the winners? who are some of the losers? >> reporter: well, del, first of all it appears that a new day may have dawned here in washington. is this a change in the political gridlock and partisanship that has characterized the last ten to 20 years in washington, or is this just a one-off. $1.1 trillion, and the remark nlable, del, it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. 95 voting against, those were mostly fiscal hawks, conservatives, those with tea party roots in the republican party. 166 democrats, which is almost as much of a surprise, because a lot of them were against some of the provisions, notably lifting that 40-year ban on exports of crude oil. many democrats were eager to see aid or debt assistance to the island of puerto rico, of course struggling and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for so long. but passing overwhelmingly. at this moment being voted on in the senate, where it is expected to pass overwhelmingly, and on to the president's desk. he has a press conference coming

mike viqueira has been watching the talks all day. mikeil is just as much a part of that summit has the climate change wound up being. what did the president have to say about russia's role inside of syria. >> reporter: you are absolutely right. he had a press conference, and the press was free to ask anything they wished and isil as well as climate change dominating the line of questions there. it comes after another bilateral meeting between president obama and president putin. that meeting not withstanding, and all of the arm twisting and cajoling that president obama has done to try to get russia to stop targeting the opposition, and focus their fire on defeating isil. the president conceding for the first time publicly that that is not going to happen any time soon. that russia is four square behind assad. he says do not expect a 180 degree turn on russian policy any time in the next several years. he says this is going to continue right now the way russia is going. here is a little bit more on what the president had to say on the sit

al jazeera's mike viqueira joins us now. mike, what is the president feeling so optimistic about here? >> you're right, tony. he said before he's in the last quarter of his presidency, and it was a bouyant president obama who appeared in the briefing room for that traditional year-end press conference. he was touting what he records some of his major achievements in 2015 and insisting despite his lame duck status there are plenty of items on the agenda for next year and at the top of that list, gitmo, guns and trade. >> with 17 prisoners said to be transferred in the coming days, leaving 90 still detained many are urging president obama to go around congress and use his executive authority to do what he vowed to do. pose the military prison at guantanamo bay. >> we've seen our guantanamo has been used to create this mythology that america is at war with islam. for us to close it is part of our counterterrorism strategy that is supported by our military, our diplomatic and intelligence teams. >> the move is sure to incense republi

mike viqueira live at this hour in washington, d.c. mike this is the 15th time now that president obama has had to make such a speech addressing a mass shooting in the u.s. clearly frustration from the white house. >> reporter: and president obama has said in the past particularly after some of the more high profile shootings this year, and there have been so many, that this is the most frustrating thing of his entire presidency. many thought that the moment was here after the tragedy, the unspeakable horror of the sandy hook slayings of the elementary school children so young dying at the hands of the individual. the president pushing something through congress and yet that effort crashed and burned as have so many other efforts. really since president clinton's first term. the issue is partly political. many democrats felt that the effort way back in 1993 lead to the defeat of democrats in congress, losing control of congress in the next election. ever since then it has been bad news for any advocates of gun control. even as the shootings

. >>> mike viqueira is lye at the white house for us, and mike, how soon before the president signs thiseal? >> reporter: well, the president leaves today for his annual holiday vacation with his family in hawaii. we expect he'll sign it as soon as it gets to him. what is interesting, tony about the way this happened is it came together with the rarest of rarest of words here in washington, a word that has become known as something odd, and that compromise. 95 voted against. that's a little bit more lopsided than people expected. the 95 mostly conservatives who felt this doesn't do anything for debt reluck shun, they wanted to see planned parenthood defund ed, a cap on syrian refugees coming to this country. none of that happened. but they got a lifting on export ban on crude oil. but it was a bipartisan compromise that is very seldom scene. 166 democrats voting for this, even though many on the left side had their doubts as well. the president expected to sign this shortly. tony, this is the minimum that congress does amid all of the hur rays and shock and perhaps surprise about the way

. >> mike viqueira in the white house, we'll be back with you >>> the threat of terrorism mentioned by mike was a major topic of conversation on this morning's political talk shows. david shuster is here with more on that. the president has been taking a beating, especially from the republican candidates. >> keep in mind there's less than eight weeks when the presidential caucus begins in iowa, as a result they are getting a lot of platforms, and made their voices heard. >> reporter: in the wake of the californian shooting, presidential hopefuls had the talk shows fighting a battle of sem onlyics. we have a problem with radical terrorism. you can say it or don't have to say it. we have a president not issuing the term. >> donald trump was leading g.o.p. polls, slammed with the culture of political sworn 27 march. >> if you have people coming out of mosques with hatred and death in their eyes >>> he came out in support of tighter gun lawses. >> in paris, they had no guns. they were like sitting ducks. >> weak language translates to a week response. >> call it what it is. a fight for western

we are going to go to the white house correspondent mike viqueira, standing by live, waiting for the president's address at the oval office. mike. >> 90 seconds from now we expect the president to appear on camera and deliver what will be about a 15 minute address. he has a tricky task in front of him. he has to reassure the american people and at the same time is not in a position to provide iron clad garnts -- guarantees that further attacks will not happen. in the light of french attacks, they said there's no credible threat to the united states, then in san bernardino, the murder of 14 individuals by people that law enforcement says was radicalized by elements within the middle east. they were under the radar. the administration, law enforcement is investigating what happened, and what kind of kak, if any, were made. whether these were lone wolves. this is part of the problem that the president faces. you'll hear him talk about progress made in the fight against i.s.i.l. you'll hear him emphasised need for a diplomatic solution, and that is the key to defeating i.s.i.l., coming to a political agreement within syria - it's p

we have our heavy hitters with us, right now, mike viqueira joining us live from the white house to tee this off for us. mikeking notes, so there will be tests and quizzes later. [ laughter ] >> what do you expect the president so cover here? >> reporter: tony you are right, this is something of a holiday annual tradition here at the white house the year-end press conference. it usually goes on for an hour or so. it is held in a packed briefing room, because the usual venues are bedecked in holiday decorati decorations, and there isn't the room to do this kind of thing. remember what we're going to hear is response to some of the questions asked by reporters, but what you are going to hear from the president in his opening statement is trumpeting what he sees as his accomplishments no doubt, the iran nuclear deal, the climate change agreement in paris, the diplomatic opening to cuba, the tpp deal that was reached, that still has to be ratified by the senate. and the affordable care act. and looking ahead, tony. of course the president has a relatively early state of the union speech this year, january 12th.

. >> mike viqueira in washington, thank you. >> as you heard mike say, the president also talking about the san bernardino attacks, calling it an act of terrorism. today, workers at that center where all 14 people died are going back to work to their offices as investigators continue pouring into the background of the shooters, tashfeen malik and sayed farook. tracking those weapons used by the killers had investigators very busy over the weekend. >> indeed it did, del and that is where a large part of the focus of this investigation is now centered on, those weapons. we know that the calm amassed an arsenal of weapons, long guns, semiautomatic handguns and police over the weekend raided the house of a former neighbor of sayed farook, his name is enrique martez. the reason they were searching this particular house is they were trying to find out if marquez purchased the rifles that were used during the mass shooting. we understand police searched the home twice over the weekend. it's interesting to point out that marquez allegedly right after the shootings checked himself into a mental