moniz: correct. senator: after 15 years what limits do you think will be in place on those things that you just mentioned? mr. moniz: after 15 years they will probably expand their capacity after those restraints. that is why such a key element is the verification measures that we put in place for all time. senator: we are talking about tracking the nuclear material to make sure it is not divergent -- diver did from a civilian program. mr. moniz: for 25 years. senator: we are basically just checking in iran's math correct? mr. moniz: checking the math. we are checking our math, if you like. senator: we are checking our math. mr. moniz: for 20 years we follow the manufacturing. it is the supply chain that we follow. making -- our intelligence people will tell you to reproduce the entire supply chain in multiple places would be very difficult to conceal. senator: we are just looking at of course the declared the sillies, is that correct? mr. moniz: no, we have of course strong measures in the facilitie

secretary moniz? secretary moniz: my opening statement is there are too many familiar faces.rce what was said that obviously, this agreement was focused on the question of nuclear weapons and iran. and the president's commitment and what i will believe will be a commitment of future presidents as well to make it clear that iran will not have a nuclear weapon. i believe it provides us with a lot of tools to make sure that is the case for it or if it isn't, to make sure that we find out in a timely way to respond. with that, i am open for questions. secretary earnest: all right. let's go ahead. >> thank you, mr. secretary. i'm wondering if you can clear up whether it's possible that iran -- [inaudible] secretary moniz: that's really question for the intelligence community. i think what they would tell you is we feel pretty confident that we know their current configuration. clearly the deal, of course, is ultimately based on verification. as general clapper said earlier this week, while we can never have 100% certainty, that we know everything, this agreements -- this deal, thi

we appreciate the senators and secretary moniz and lew being here. for the record, i did not request the presence of it secretary kerry or moniz or secretary lew. i'm glad they are here, as their desire to do so. since this focus is today's hearing it's on a strategic and military implications of the iran agreement. what we want to know, among other things, is how this agreement will affect regional security proliferation, and the balance of power in the middle east, and what impact it may have on iran's maligned activities and hegemonic ambitions in the region. what it means for perceptions of american credit ability and resolve among our allies and partners, and what the consequences are for u.s. defense public hearing -- defense, policy. we concerted these broader strategic consequences of the agreement. what is already a bad deal only looks that much worse. to this committee perhaps the most concern about the agreement itself pertains to the verification and monitoring mechanisms, as has been verbally recorded,-- there will be no americans allowe

secretary moniz -- go ahead, secretary. >> yeah, i understand. >> secretary moniz, is it not billions of dollars cheaper to build a natural gas power plant rather than a nuclear power plant? why do you think iranians have gone down the nuclear road? typically a nuclear plant has lower operating costs. >> in this case, the natural gas quoob would be free to them. >> i'm not sure it's free. certainly in the sense -- i'm not arguing one way or the other but just what the argument is is that it's more valuable than as an export product where of course, with lng prices for example, in parts of the world there's quite a bit of rent to be captured. >> yeah, sure, sure. secretary lew, appreciate your patience today. you haven't been called on that much. but in light of the how tantalizing the sanctions have been on this economy, it still strikes me odd that iran would continue to move toward this very, very expensive construction project as opposed to other alternatives. does it seem odd to you? i mean billions and billions -- >> which expense? >> the actual expense of constructing nuclear po

secretary moniz -- go ahead, secretary. >> yeah, i understand. >> secretary moniz, is it not billions of dollars cheaper to build a natural gas power plant rather than a nuclear power plant? why do you think iranians have gone down the nuclear road? typically a nuclear plant has lower operating costs. >> in this case, the natural gas quoob would be free to them. >> i'm not sure it's free. certainly in the sense -- i'm not arguing one way or the other but just what the argument is is that it's more valuable than as an export product where of course, with lng prices for example, in parts of the world there's quite a bit of rent to be captured. >> yeah, sure, sure. secretary lew, appreciate your patience today. you haven't been called on that much. but in light of the how tantalizing the sanctions have been on this economy, it still strikes me odd that iran would continue to move toward this very, very expensive construction project as opposed to other alternatives. does it seem odd to you? i mean billions and billions -- >> which expense? >> the actual expense of constructing nuclear po

secretary moniz, welcome to the foreign affairs committee. thank you all for your dedicated service no matter what side of the irkssue is on i don't think anyone here doubts your commitment to the united states and the good intentions on this deal. thank you for the time you have taken to engage with members of congress on the proposed deal can and thank you for your testimony today. congress gave itself 60 days to renew this deal. and i sincerely hope my colleagues take full advantage of the time to study this agreement torques ask questions and to make an informed decision when the time comes. we've had many months and hearings to discuss the different aspects of a nuclear agreement with iran. but at this point we are no longer dealing with hypotheticals. we have a specific deal on the table. and we have to decide if that deal advances the national security interests of the united states and/or allies. to answer that question to be fair we also need to ask ourselves what is the alternative? absent this deal or the international sanctions re

moniz. thank you secretary kerry. secretary kerry has been very thorough. dr. moniz, if you could be brief and we'll get back on time and recognize you at this point. >> thank you chairman royce ranking member engel and members of the committee. thanks for the opportunity to discuss the nuclear dimensions of the iran agreement jcpoa reached the between the e 3, e.u. plus 3. it provides strong verification members to give us time to respond if they violate its terms and takes none of our options off the table. i want to stress that i was backed up in the negotiations by the nuclear competency built up over decades at doe and supported by this congress. america's leading nuclear experts at due labs and sites were engaged throughout the negotiations, nine labs and sites in seven states took part in supporting our negotiating position. these experts were essential and as a result of their work i am confident that the technical underpinnings of this deal are solid and the department of energy stands ready to assist with its implementation. the cjjcpoa would extend t

our nuclear experts -- including one of the best in the world, secretary of energy ernie moniz -- worked tirelessly on the technical details. in july, we reached a comprehensive plan of action that meets our objectives. under its terms, iran is never allowed to build a nuclear weapon. and while iran, like any party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, is allowed to access peaceful nuclear energy, the agreement strictly defines the manner in which its nuclear program can proceed, ensuring that all pathways to a bomb are arc cut off -- are cut off. here's how. under this deal, iran cannot acquire the plutonium needed for a bomb. the core of its heavy-water reactor at arak will be pulled out, filled with concrete, and replaced with one that will not produce plutonium for a weapon. the spent fuel from that reactor will be shipped out of the country, and iran will not build any new heavy-water reactors for at least 15 years. iran will also not be able to acquire the enriched uranium that could be used for a bomb. as soon as this deal is implemented, iran will remove two-thirds of its cent

our nuclear experts, including one of the best in the world, secretary of energy ernie moniz, worked tirelessly on the technical details. in july we reached a comprehensive plan of action that that meets our objectives. under its terms, iran is never allowed to build a nuclear weapon. and while iran, like any party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, is allowed to access peaceful nuclear energy, the agreement strictly defines the manner in which its nuclear program can proceed, ensuring that all pathways to a bomb are cut off. here's how. under this deal, iran cannot acquire the plutonium needed for a bomb. the core of its heavy water reactor will be pulled out, filled with concrete, and replaced with one that will not produce plutonium for a weapon. the spent fuel from that reactor will be shipped out of the country and iran will not build any heavy-water reactors for at least 15 years. iran will also not be able to acquire the enriched uranium that could be used for a bomb. as soon as this deal is implemented, iran will remove two-thirds of its centrifuges. for the next decade

suddenly transformed into armchair nuclear scientist, disputing assessments of experts like secretary moniz. challenging his findings. offering multiple and sometimes contradictory argument about why congress should reject this deal but, if you repeat these argue ments long enough they can get some traction. so let me address just a few of the arguments that have been so far in opposition to this deal. first there are those who say the inspections are not strong snuff because inspectors can't go anywhere in iran at anytime with no notice. here's the truth. inspectors will be allowed daily access to iran's key nuclear sites. if there is a reason for inspecting a suspicious, undeclared site anywhere in iran, inspectors will get that access, even if iran objects. this access can be with as little as 24 hours notice, and while the process for resolving a dispute about access can take up to 24 days, once we've identified a site that raises suspicion, we will be watching it continuously until inspectors get in. and by the way, nuclear material isn't something you hide in the closet. [laughter]. i

moniz. challenging his findings. offering sometimes contradicting arguments about why congress should reject this deal. but if you repeat these arguments long enough, they can get some traction. so let me address just a few of the arguments made so far in opposition to this deal. first, there are those who say that the inspections are not strong enough because inspectors cannot go anywhere in iran at any time with no notice. here's the truth. inspectors will be allowed daily access to iran's key nuclear sites. if there is a reason for inspecting a suspicious, undeclared site anywhere in iran, inspectors will get that access, even if iran objects. in fact, it can be with as little as 24 hours notice. and while the process for resolving a dispute about access can take 24 days, we will be watching it continuously until inspectors get in. by the way, nuclear material isn't something you hide in the closet. [laughter] it can leave a trace for years. the bottom line is, if iran cheats, we can catch them and we will. second

our nuclear experts, including one of the best in the world, secretary of energy ernie moniz, worked tirelessly on the technical details. in july we reached a comprehensive plan of action that meets our objectives. under its terms, iran is never allowed to build a nuclear weapon. and while iran like any party to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty is allowed to access peaceful nuclear energy the agreement strictly defines the manner in which its nuclear program can proceed, ensuring that all pathways to a bomb are cut off. here's how. under this deal iran cannot acquire the plutonium needed for a bomb the core of its heavy water reactor at iraq will be pulled out filled with concrete and replaced with one that will not produce plutonium for a weapon. the spent fuel from that reactor will be shipped out of the country and iran will not build any new heavy water reactors for at least 15 years. iran will also not be able to acquire the enriched uranium that could be used for a bomb. as soon as this deal is implemented, iran will remove two-thirds of its centrifuges. for the next decade

secretary of energy ernest moniz the administration put him in front of the media on friday but only al jazeera was given an extended interview. he's painting a dire picture if congress doesn't vote to lift u.s. sanctions warning iran will get a nuclear bomb and sanctions will fall apart. is there any evidence they have a weaponization program? >> you know in the past the iaea has put out reports identifying activities that were undeclared that they reported up to 2003 at least that there was a structured program in iran that was looking at various technologies of relevance to a potential weapon and so obviously that's why we have all these sanctions. that's why there is a tremendous amount of distrust. >> reporter: the obama administration has until september to shore up enough support in congress. in a highly unusual move president obama joined a conference call with the grass roots electorate that got him elected. the senate will leave next week for an extended recess where they and their constituents will see a lot of this. the white house says groups linked to the current israel

secretary kerry and moniz talked about access. -- managed access. can you assure us that this access will be physical access, iaea inspectors will be physically walking into these sites and taking samples for installing equipment? undersec. sherman: i think every situation is different. the iaea has the capability, the expert knowledge to make sure that whatever they do can be technically authenticated. i can't go through every hypothetical situation. i know the director general byl be asked these questions your colleagues in this informal meeting. i would rely on his answers more than my answers. what i am assured of is that whatever they do in every circumstance where they believe the need to have access, it will be technically authenticated and will meet the standards that they must have and they require for ensuring verification. sen. cotton: it sounds like the answer is no we cannot verify that iaea inspectors will be physically present on every site. undersec. sherman: you don't have to be present on every site in this technological world to g

secretary kerry, secretary moniz have talked about managed access. can you assure us that this access will actually be physical access? iaea inspectors will be physically walking into the site and taking samples or installing equipment? >> i think that every situation is different, senator, and that the iaea has the capability, the expert knowledge to make sure that whatever they do can be technically authenticated. so i can't go through every hypothetical situation. i know the that director-general amano will get asked this question by our colleagues in singapore relations committee -- but what i am assured of is that whatever they do in every circumstance where they believed they need to access, they will be technically authenticated and eliminate the standards that they must have and that they require for insurance verification. >> the answer that sounds like is no, we cannot be assured that iaea inspectors were physically and personally be present on every -- >> you know, you don't have to be physically present on every site in this technological

patty sat down with energy secretary ernest moniz. >> reporter: he's considered the secret weapon. the man who helped negotiate the iran deal. the administration put him in front of the media on friday, but only al jazeera was given an extended interview. he painted a dire picture if congress doesn't vote to lift sanctions. >> is there any evidence that they have a weaponnization program? >> as you know, in the past, the iaea has put out reports that in fact identified activities that were undeclared, that they reported that up to 2003 at least that there was a structured program in iran that was looking at various technologies of relevance to a potential weapon. and so obviously that's why we have all these sanctions. why there is a tremendous amount of distrust. >> the obama administration has until september to shore up support. barack obama joined a conference call with the same grass roots supporters that got him elected. >> they are feeling political heat. you have to counter act that. >> the lower chamber has gone home. the senate will leave for an extended recess where they

i know from my conversations with the president and with secretaries kerry and moniz how difficult this was. i also know from my conversations with them, they were prepared to walk away rather than settle for a bad deal. based on their efforts so far this is not a bad deal. there are legitimate aspects that we have concerns b we know that prior to the negotiations iran's nuclear program was hurtling forward despite multilateral captions. -- multilateral sanctions. i remember back in 2012 i had been named as senate delegate to the u.n., and israeli prime minister netanyahu warned that iran was within months, months, of producing a nuclear bomb. well, whether or not that was accurate then it certainly not accurate if this agreement is implemented. we know the negotiations succeeded in freezing iran's nuclear development in place and now we have an agreement to roll back iran's program. we also know this is the most rigorous monitoring and inspection regime ever included in a nonproliferation agreement. actually i think it's a lot more rigorous than many observers had ever predicted it wou

the three secretaries you saw in the house hearing, secretary kerry moniz and lew will appear in the armed services hearing along with defense secretary ashton carter ended -- and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin denmpsy. that will air tomorrow on c-span as we continued coverage the administration and congress as they work through this 60-day review period. from this week at the annual vet court conference, robert mcdonald talks about some of the challenges facing today's veterans. he also talked about ongoing efforts to improve operations at the v.a. this runs about 25 minutes. [applause] secretary mcdonald: thank you. thank you. that is beautiful. thank you very much. it is a thrill for me to be here this morning with you. as the judge said i'm the biggest believer in veteran treatment courts there could ever be. i cannot think of any better way to keep veterans out of incarceration stop veteran homelessness, and i am so think all to all of you here today for the work you do to help us care for veterans. one of the things that became very clear to be in los

secretary kerry, secretary moniz have talked about managed access. can you assure us this access will be physical access? iaea inspectors will be physically walking into these sites and taking samples or installing equipment? >> i think that every situation is different, senator. and that the iaea has the capability, the expert knowledge to make sure that whatever they do can be technically authenticated. i can't go through every hypothetical situation. i know that director general amano will get asked these questions by your colleagues in senate foreign relations committee in this informal meeting. i would rely on his answers more than on mine. what i am assured of is that whatever they do in every circumstance, where they believe they need to have access, it will be technically authenticated and it will meet the standards that they must have and that they require for ensuring verification monitoring. >> the answer then is, no, we cannot ensure that iaea inspectors will physically and personally be present on every site. >> you don't have to be phys

our nuclear experts, including one of the best in the world, secretary of energy ernie moniz, worked tirelessly on the technical details. in july, we reached a comprehensive plan of action that meets our objectives. under its terms, iran is never allowed to build a nuclear weapon. and while iran, like any party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, is allowed to access peaceful nuclear energy, the agreement strictly defines the manner in which its nuclear program can proceed, ensuring that all pathways to a bomb are cut off. here's how. under this deal iran cannot acquire the plutonium needed for a bomb. the core of its heavy-water reactor at arak will be pulled out, filled with concrete, and replaced with one that will not produce plutonium for a weapon. the spent fuel from that reactor will be shipped out of the country, and iran will not build any new heavy-water reactors for at least 15 years. iran will also not be able to acquire the enriched uranium that could be used for a bomb. as soon as this deal is implemented, iran will remove two-thirds of its centrifuges. for the nex

lobbying machine is work overtime over recent weeks with vice president biden, secretary's kerry and moniz all on capitol hill doing their best to bulldoze lawmakers of both parties into supporting the deal. president obama met with dozens of democrats from the house and the senate as well as jewish leaders. the president who basically told congress to go to hell throughout his entire term in office now needs their support and it is done unexpectedly in short supply. republicans are angry this president has circumvented congress with his executive actions, veto threats, his decision to go to the united nations first for approval. even liberal "washington post" columnist has said the president doesn't have good relationships with anybody on the hill, including his own party, and that isn't helping him. mr. obama has already lost the support of steve israel, the highest-ranking jewish democrat in the house, and the party's top appropriator. congresswoman nita lowey also along with other democrat, five of them, in addition to nearly 220 republicans say no. in the senate, leading democrat chuc

. >> as of the last house foreign affairs committee hearing, secretary kerry, secretary moniz, secretary lew admitted they hadn't read it. i am a member of the house foreign affairs committee, i haven't seen the side deals. the president said it's not built on trust, it's built on verification, yet even the administration, the people entrusted with the power to negotiate this deal have not seen the side deals. so we see the reports come out. lou: could have you imagined any president ever in history presenting -- actually didn't present congress, you have sort of a -- at the rear of the parade position, after having taken it already to the united nations and won approval. have you ever seen a president present a document in such form? >> no, and this president thinks he's a monarch. he is both the president of the united states and congress. he will go to the united nations before the american people have an opportunity and through the representatives in congress to read the deal. to be able to decide for themselves whether it's good or not. lou: and i've got to get to this, because on i

secretary moniz that secretary mcdonald -- secretary mcdonald: i would like to say hi to them. they do a great job taking care of our veterans and there is no higher calling. a number of them are veterans caring for veterans, or as i like to say, heroes caring for heroes. mike: you came into government, you were at the top of the corporate world and people at the v.a. and people knew things would be different from the first day. a little disruptive. talk about the conversation in the elevator. right when you got the job. secretary mcdonald: at the time i was nominated, i was going back and forth to capitol hill with senators, making sure they knew what i wanted to accomplish. i was in the elevator on the way to my office. i saw a gentleman there and i said, how's it going? i like to talk to people in the elevator. you learn what is going on. he said, i'm breathing. i said, well, i am kicking ass, and you better be, too. i just felt that we were not providing good service to veterans and all of us need to be kicking ass to provide better service. mike: at the end of july, you we

patty culhane reports >>> unsecretary irnest monize is considered a secret weapon a foremost scientist and a man that helped to negotiate the iran deal. he painted a dire picture if congress doesn't vote to lift u.n. sanctions, warning iran will get a nuclear bomb and sanctions will fall apart. is there evidence that they have a nuclear weaponization programme? >> in the past the i.a.e.a. put out reports that in identified activities that were undeclared, that they reported that up to 2003, at least. there was a structured programme in iran, looking at various technologies of relevance to a potential weapon. and so obviously that is why we have all the actions. -- sanctions that's why there is a tremendous amount of distrust. >> the obama has until september to shore up support in congress. in an unusual move, president obama joined a conference call with the grassroot supporters that get him elected. >> it's squishy, we are feeling the political heat. you have to counteract that. >> reporter: in congress the lower chamber has gone home. the chamber will meet next week, they'll leave f

quickly as 24 hours or at the most 24 days and as secretary moniz at the department of energy said, you can't hide nuclear material for 24 days or 24 months. probably for 24 years. it's hard to get rid of it. >> i'd like to raise another point that trump mentioned last night. it is on obscure point. there was an ap report indicating there would be a form of self inspection that iran would be granted in one particular location, the ap since scrubbed that report. they erased it to the point where you can not find anywhere some of the paragraphs contained in that report. they never issued a form iffal correction about it but donald trump seized on that. this is the way he referred to it last night. let's listen. >> we just found out they are going to do in the most important section, they are going to do their own inspections. did you hear this? i ran is going to do their own inspections. >> can you clarify that point? >> again, lawrence, that's just not true. the international atomic energy would never allow iran to do a self inspection. i think mr. trump is referring to iran's past. this

they have been using energy secretary moniz, who is a nuclear physicist, along with the key negotiatorswell as vice president biden. >> the president will be on break, but people at home right now watching this program or any television will soon see just this heavy ad this onslaught of ads from both sides honestly ticking up to this vote september 17th. >> millions of dollars on both sides. obviously you have many of the pro-israel groups who have been pouring money into this. if you watch television these days, it's hard frankly, to miss these ads and that is not going to stop because they believe that ultimately a lot of these folks are on the fence, are going to be pressed by the folks in their district. sometimes people aren't paying attention to this like negotiations of a nuclear deal involving iran. so they are blanketing the air waves and the amount of lobbying going on in congress is intense. >> that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. up next "andrea mitchell reports. thank you for joining us. try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. they work fast and

>> i think -- i believe energy secretary moniz. and i think he is right that will be a signature. if they are cheating. the administration claims that the snap back provisions, those are the ones that let us unilaterally go to the u.n. and get the sanctions reimposed, could work well. and i also think -- and i think this is very important -- that we should mistrust and verify. and if the iranians are the cheating and the snap back provisions don't work i think we have a better argument and much more world sympathy for using the military option then. and i don't think president obama would hesitate to do it at that point. i think he's resolved to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon. and i think that is the goal we all share. >> jane harmon, good to speak to you again. >>> moments ago presidential candidate jeb bush gave his take on the controversy surrounded planned parenthood funding. take a listen. >> the next president should defund planned parenthood. abortion should not be funded by the government, any government in my mind. >> the comments come hours after the antiabor

including secretary of state john kerry and ernest moniz who is the energy secretary who helped negotiate the deal and is a nuclear physicist. so they believe that the facts in the end will help to convince democrats. they know ayman that the republicans are largely almost unanimously against it. so it is those democrats who aren't decided yet who they are focusing on. >> and you talk tkt demonstrates. one most important, senator schumer who announced his opposition to the deal. he said today that we should go back and get a better deal. let's listen to that sound bite. >> this is one of the most difficult decisions that i've had to make. i believe we should go back and try to get a better deal. this deal has too many flaws to support. and therefore i must oppose it. >> so chris, you were talking about those democrats, those ones that are on the fence so to speak. shumer is the third ranking democrat. obviously very influential figure. as he's been calling for his fellow democrats to oppose the deal, could it have an influence on in this? >> as the president has said that many of the rvps

. >> i asked is, moniz, if we don't do the deal, will iran have a nuclear weapon by christmas? he wouldn't answer me directly yes or no, but certainly taken as a whole his answer indicated they would certainly be -- >> rose: have one nuclear weapon. >> -- careening toward that reality. >> rose: have enough fuel to do it and the delivery potential. >> the delivery potential and pieces of the actual -- they'll have enough uranium, enough to have the raw material to, in fact, do a weapon. so this is -- listen, you know, chuck schumer made his decision, the president is full-throwed id in his support for the deal. >> rose: and in his anger at schumer. >> one might gather that from looking from a distance. >> rose: yeah. but i'm trying to keep the blinders on and try to figure out -- >> rose: does schumer have influence on other senators? >> no, he really doesn't. i don't want to say chuck schumer doesn't influence anyone. >> rose: this deal is beyond that. >> hopefully we all think we influence each other in the senate but this is a situation where this is a tough call. this is har

now, thanks to president obama, secretary kerry and secretary moniz, we have an agreement that blocks iran's pathways to a bomb and gives us new tools for verification and inspection. >> hillary clinton touting the iran deal very early in the speech before a largely friendly crowd at the democratic event in clear lake, iowa. donald trump still going with his rally in hampton, new hampshire. and dave, you were in iowa. how do you think the state fair is going to receive the donald? >> i think warmly. when you bring up his name to people, at this point, still, the controversy is that the media has focused on are not the controversies that people who know donald trump have been aware of. what casey just said about martin o'malley, you can carry that sentiment pretty far. you would think that voters at this point might know that martin o'malley is running for president. most of them don't. in the same vein, people do not care very much about donald trump's gaffes and they are impressed. people, especially in more blue-collar areas, are incredibly impressed when someone like donald trump t

i want to say that secretary moniz, a nuclear physicist, has been especially helpful. needless to say, i wish that the three americans jailed in iran and bob levinson, a former f.b.i. agent missing in iran for rat >> senator nelson represents florida, a state with a large jewish population. he is a key democratic vote on the issue. comesr bill nelson conditionally for in a ron deal -- he ran deal. congress unlikely to override a veto now. president obama will be to legislation that tries to stop the agreement. two thirds of lawmakers are needed to halt the accord. sin republicans oppose the deal. senator jerry moran of kansas came to the senate floor speaking against the iran nuclear agreement. it concedes to munch while securing too little. >> the key is keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of iran's . that is keeping nuclear weapons permanently -- the capacity, to permanently disable iran and use the technology to produce nuclear materials. this deal fails to achieve this goal by allowing iran to retain nuclear facilities. those -- though some of it will be limit

secretary kerry and moniz talked about access. can you assure us that this access will be physical access, iaea inspectors will be physically walking into these sites and taking samples for installing equipment? undersec. sherman: i think every situation is different. the iaea has the capability, the expert knowledge to make sure that whatever they do can be technically authenticated. i can't through every hypothetical situation. i know the director general will get asked these questions i your colleagues in this informal meeting. i would rely on his answers more than my answers. what i am assured of is that whatever they do in every circumstance where they believe the need to have access, it will be technically authenticated and will meet the standards that they must have and they require for ensuring verification. sen. cotton: it sounds like the answer is no we cannot verify that iaea inspectors will be physically present on every site. undersec. sherman: you don't have to be present on every site in this technological world to

energy secretary ernest moniz talks about the iran nuclear agreement. five presidential hopefuls spoke at a national urban league conference in fort lauderdale florida. the democratic candidates are hillary clinton, martin o'malley and bernie sanders. the republican candidates are jeb bush and ben carson. this is two hours and 45 minutes. ♪ [applause] marc: say save our cities. i don't hear you. say save our cities. >> save our cities. marc: education. >> education marc: jobs. >> jobs. marc: justice. >> justice. marc: good morning. i am so proud to see all of you. you are a wonderful audience. we want to thank everyone who is here at the fort lauderdale broward county convention center. i also want to thank all who may be watching from home, their office, on mobile devices all over the world and the nation. the national urban league is center stage on this morning july 31, 2015. now on behalf of the national urban league, the urban league movement and our hosts, i'm proud to welcome you to the 2016 presidential candidates plenary. this is a very special

i want to say that secretary moniz, a nuclear physicist, has been especially helpful. needless to say, i wish that the three americans jailed in iran and bob levinson, a former f.b.i. agent missing in iran for rateight years, i wish they had been a part of this agreement to return them. the levinson family in florida is anxious for information and help to return bob. this is personal for me. i'm a strong supporter of israel, mr. president, and i recognize that country as one of america'america's most importan. i am committed to the protection of israel as the best and right foreign policy for the u.s. and our allies. and, mr. president, i am blessed to represent florida, which also has among our citizens a strong and vibrant jewish community, including many holocaust survivors and holocaust victims' families, some of whom i have worked with to help them get just compensation from european insurance companies which turned their back on them after world war ii and would not honor their insurance claims. in our state, we're also proud to have a floridian, a former u.s. an

he's going to be sending out his energy secretary, ernie moniz, who is a nuclear physicist. they have already had all of these classified briefings really trying to answer all these questions and all these concerns. john kerry will be out there, vice president biden. basically this white house has said, thomas if you have concerns, let us know. we'll make sure you get a call. >> yes. we've got the right smart minds on this and they'll reach out to you. chris jansing, great to see you. speaking of smart minds, we appreciate your time. we'll let you get back to work. >>> coming up today at 2:15 eastern p.m. i'm going to be joined by white house press secretary josh earnest. we will get into this. we're also going to talk about planned parenthood as well as the gop debate which comes up tomorrow night. michael steele is an msnbc political analyst and he is also former chair for the republican national committee and he joins me right now. michael, let's first talk about the latest feelings from american people about the iran deal. our nbc news/wall street journal poll shows that

moniz ignited. moreure he will get accolades when he gets back.he agreement does not provide for this exponential increase in enrichment capacity or a drop-off in terms of breakout time limits. they asked what criteria do we need. i offered several of them. assessment is not about managing all the bad things that could go wrong. you try to put parameters, measure the risks. how do you do that? you compare one thing to another. we talked about to this being exceedingly strong agreement, arguably the most robust non-corporation agreement negotiated industry. compared to the others, that should give you some confidence going over. second and separate, evaluation criterion is how does it compare to the alternatives? i hear some say that 15 years isn't long enough. resists the song i've heard this before. a few weeks or months notice before iran do something. a few weeks or months. and then john kerry comes and says where at six months breakout time. then he was told six months isn't enough. then they come back with an agreement that says a year, doubl

moniz, the secretary of energy, a man eminently qualified as a scientist, m.i.t. physics professor who is really actually world-famous for his scientific prowess, and wendy sherman, one of mechanic's truly great -- america's truly great diplomats. we've yet to see the language of the legislative response to the accord that's been negotiated. i know that senator corker and senator cornyn are working on it, but it is not out yet. it is incumbent on congress to review this agreement, with a thoughtful, level-headed process. an agreement of this magnitude deserves it. now let's hopefully remember that we all agree, now the world agrees, that a nuclear-armed iran is unacceptable, a threat to our national security. the safety of israel and the stability of the middle east. mr. president, like many senators, i'm continuing to consider this matter. i'm looking forward to the briefing tonight. it's altogether appropriate for senators to consider this deliberately and with the understanding that this is really important. and i also admire those senators on both sides who ha

senior staff, john kerry, obvio obviously, who was the key person in this, along with energy secretary moniz said that, that they're focusing on the arguments and the scientists who said these are more stringent constraints than in any previous deal, they also know when chuck schumer came out on thursday and said he's against the deal, the timing was absolutely not what they wanted because that leaves time for him to influence people before the accept 17th vote. let's take a look at the numbers in the senate. what the president needs is 34 votes. there are still 55 votes in play. and when you look at those numbers. that means he has to hold 19 more people. there really is only one republican who has a chance of siding with the president. that is senator jeff flake. again, the white house as of late last night, still feeling confident they'll have the numbers behind this, but in the meantime, while folks are home in their own districts, hearing from their constituents, they're not going to take anything for granted, jose. >> chris jansing, great to seeia. thanks for being with me. >>> now to