mr. acosta: thank you and good afternoon. i especially want to thank the work that's been done by eye vanka trump and the office of american innovation to develop the proposals that we'll be talking about this week. i'll be traveling tomorrow to wisconsin where we'll be looking at some excellent programs. her leadership on this issue has been invaluable. as you know by know now, the president will be making an important announcement regarding apprenticeships this week. he'll be visiting department of labor on wednesday. there are currently six million job openings in the united states. vacant jobs that can be filled. this is the highest number of job vacancies ever. a business round table survey released just last week found that 95% of executives reported problems finding qualified workers. americans want to work. american companies want to hire. the issue is a mismatch between available jobs and employee job skills. this skillszpwap a particularly challenge in some of the fastest growing expecters -- sectors of the economy.

mr. acosta: that's factually wrong. if you look at department of work force data, the annual starting salary for apprentice is $60,000 a year. that's higher than a college graduate. i was in michigan at the ford facility, i met with some of the apprentices at the ford facility. and they love it. reporter: [inaudible] mr. acosta: let me finish. they love it, they are excited about it. they're being paid a very, very good wage. i should add, though, that you seay presentitiesships in white collar positions as well. there are a number of firms that we're talking to that are looking at it for areas like book keeping, accounting. if you look at law schools, for example, there's been conversations even in law schools about the need for more experienced-based education. the carnegie commission came out with a report a number of years ago about the importance of experience-based education in law. so the point i'm making is, we need to stop thinking that this is limited to a certain kind of job sector. experience-based education

mr. acosta. >> mr. chairman, members of the committee, as co-author of independent budget along with vfw pva, we're pleased to present our views regarding fy '20 18 photo requirements for veterans benefits programs. thfidel focus on critical fundig needs for vba compensation service, vocational rehabilitation an appointment and veterans appeals. also cover our strong opposition to a couple of ill-conceived and unacceptable administration proposals to scale back veterans disability compensation. mr. chairman, we recognize dva has made progress in reducing the claims backlog. we prosecute more claims than ever before yet workload continues to rise. to manage current and future workload we recommend an additional 1007 and 50 fte for compensation services which would require an increase of boxley $183 million. va's rehab service needs additional funding took over the past few years program participation is increased by 50% over all. based on historical trends it would increase by another 5% in fy '20 18. th

mr. acosta? >> mr. chairman, members of the committee, the co-author of the independent budget along with vfw, we're pleased to present our views on the budget. today i'll focus on critical needs for va's compensation service, rehabilitation and appointments and the board of veterans appeals. i'll cover our strong opposition to a couple of ill conceived and unacceptable administration proposals to scale bougack compensation. the ib recognizes the va has made progress in reducing the claims back log. workload continues to rise. to manage current and future workload, we recommend an another 750,000 fte for compensation service which would require an increase of $183 million. va's voke rehab service needs additional funding. over the past few years, program participation has increased by 15% overall and based on historical trends, it would increase by another 5% in fy 2018. to meet rising demands to achieve and sustain the one to 125 counselor to prime ratio established for voke rehab by law, the ib recomm

secretary acosta: mr. chairman, the department of -- senator blunt: of course you weren't there. but what are you going to do about it? secretary acosta: the department has been asked. i know a report has been due that's been funded by those appropriations this fall. you know, i can tell the chairman that i've been talking to my own staff about this since the last two to three weeks when i first learned about it. because particularly on the veterans' side, i don't know how you justify telling someone, it was ok for you to drive a truck full of explosives but it's not ok for you to drive a truck full of coca-cola or pepsi. and that's something very difficult to swallow and something i certainly think is a priority and will commit to working with the national governors association and others that did receive this funding. i know there's a consortium of 10 states that's being put together, and i've already talked to my staff about tapping into that to make sure it proceeds expeditiously as possible. senator blunt: thank you. senator graham and then senator rubio and then senator capi

mr. acosta about the cola. there are a lot of things out there that over the period of years of the veterans' administration and benefit existence and health care, but times have changed. we probably ought to look at everything we got out there. there may be some pearls of wisdom and some benefits in the cheme of things. we'll do that. open up dialogue. and some of these things that we bring up or o.m.b. you have the benefit of looking at the best interests. i appreciate that. but i served the taxpayers and other people. we ought to start having some meetings. e may find up. would love to work with you. and we'll try and set that up. senator: i should have known but i thought we got rid of this and and didn't seem a lot. what you are telling me is back again. >> yes, sir. >> thank you for your leadership when you were chairman of this committee and really eliminating that. now that the president's proposal is laid out, proposed to reinstate the cola rounddown as a way to pay for expansion of the choice program

mr. acosta's testimony then and we'll go to questions after that. secretary acosta, we're glad you're here. the secretary is now serving in his fourth presidentially appointed, senate-confirmed job. most recently he served as dean of the florida international university college of law. secretary, we're glad you're here. this is always a department where you have your hands full, but meeting the opportunities of the future is an important and we look forward to hearing you talk about that and this budget. >> mr. chairman, thank you. ranking member murray, chairman cochran, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning. it's an honor to appear before the committee to outline the administration's vision for the department of labor in fiscal 2018 and beyond. supporting the ability of all americans to find good jobs and safe jobs is a priority for president trump, and it is a priority for me. i'm proud and i remain humbled in leading the department of labor in this critical work. presently the unemployment rate in the un

mr. acosta referred to about the c.o.l.a. run down. there are a lot of things out there that over a period of years of the veterans' administration and its existence and benefit existence and health care where times have changed, things have changed. we probably ought to look at everything that we got out there. there may be some pearls of wisdom and some benefits in the scheme of things that would apply different today than when they were passed. we need folks who have no agenda rather than helping our veterans than go to court. i'll call you and go that lunch. i'm not avoiding the others but you made the comment that piqued the interest. i think if we open one-on-one dialogue there may be some things that we bring up because the omb brings it up, you are in the benefit of looking at the best interests of your organization and i appreciate that. but i served the taxpayers and other people. we ought to start having some meetings. talk some of this stuff through. we may find no common ground anywhere but we might find pearls of wisdom s

mr. diaz-balart: thank you very much. let me tell you this is a special day to be with the distinguished members of the president's cabinet, including our very own secretary acosta. [applause] mr. diaz-balart: my colleagues, i know some of my colleagues that are here, starting with senator rubio, congressman curbelo, i know i'm going to miss some, but i know someone that's very special to me, congressman lincoln diaz-balart is here, along with -- who along with ileana ros-lehtinen and senator menendez, and senator menendez were the ones who codified u.s. law against the tyranny in cuba. of course, our governor, governor scott is here. [applause] heroes like jose garcia are here. my friends, today, today i stand here in the presence of so many heroes. former political prisoners, the eroes of the 2506 brigade. -- so many of you [applause] so many others, so many others who have suffered under the hands and by the hands of the castro regime. let me just talk about the brigade. the brigade is a symbol of dignity. immediate maid up of men and omen -- made you up of men and women, made up of men who personify sacrifice and heroism and who, having experienced betrayal,

more right now from cnn's jim acosta. >> mr. president, are you under investigation? >> reporter: no surprise the president didn't have answers as to why he's under investigation in the russia probe. though he had this to say to the president of panama. >> the panama canal is doing well. i think we did a very good job, didn't we? we did a very good job. >> reporter: an though the president raised the specter that he's under investigation himself when he tweeted "i'm being investigated for firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director, witch hunt." >> let me be clear the president is not under investigation. >> reporter: one of the president's personal lawyers jay sekulow oddly insisted the president is not under investigation. then he all but admitted he can't be sure. >> you don't know whether -- >> no one -- >> you don't know whether he's under investigation or not. >> reporter: a contradiction he repeated on cnn. >> why you haven't picked up the phone to find out is a little odd. if i hired you i'd want you to make that phone call. >> well

more right now from cnn's jim acosta. >> mr. president, are you under investigation? surprise the president didn't have answers as to why he's under investigation in the russia probe. though he had this to say to the president of panama. >> the panama canal is doing well. i think we did a very good job, didn't we? we did a very good job. >> reporter: an though the president raised the specter that he's under investigation himself when he tweeted "i'm being investigated for firing the fbi director by the man who told me to fire the fbi director, witch hunt." >> let me be clear the president is not under investigation. >> reporter: one of the president's personal lawyers jay sekulow

secretary acosta: well, senator, mr. chairman, i appreciate the question. i can say this. i'm approaching my own 60-day mark as a secretary. and i have set it as a personal goal to have the vast majority subdepartment leadership identified and in clearance by the 60-day mark. i believe that that goal is something that can be reached. then ultimately they do have to go through background check and clearance. senator alexander: i would urge the white house, the president, and you -- this is the senate's opportunity to confirm, to vet the question these nominees. we can move them quickly through the committee. let me go -- i want to ask you to respond to this. i just want to give you my opinion to consider on this so-called overtime rule. that was a bad rule. here are the problems with it. the rapid rate of increase. the salary threshold was set to double overnight. the top number was $47,000, too high for many parts of the country, and i think it would be wise to consider a different top level for different parts of the country. . colleges and universities say they have to r

acosta. >> reporter: christine and dave, a friend of the president said mr. trump is considering the possibility of firing special prosecutor robert mueller. news max editor chris ruddy told pbs the president is actually weighing such a dramatic move, but a source close to the president told cnn there are many people advising the president to not fire mueller. here's what ruddy told pbs. >> i think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. i think he's weighing that option. i think it's pretty clear by what one of -- [ inaudible ] i personally think it would be a very significant mistake. >> reporter: white house press secretary sarah sanders only told cnn that ruddy speaks for himself. and a white house official also told cnn that ruddy did not see the president before making these remarks. dave and christine? >> jim acosta at the white house. >>> well, if there are tapes of the president's conversations with former fbi director james comey, they could be a critical piece of evidence in the russia investigation. after hinting he might have th

acosta from the white house. republican senator lindsey graham tweeted, mr. president, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with american politics, not the greatness of america, and this from republican congresswoman lynn jenkins of kansas, ale leader of republica. your tweet is beneath the office joining us from miami, political calm tater anna innavorro and da dash. lots to digest. congresswoman jenkins, thanks so much for joining us. i saw your tweet, why we invited you on the show. when you saw what president tweeted what was your initial reaction? >> well, i was just extremely disappointed. that's not okay as a female who's been involved in politics for a number of years. i've had to deal with this, and it's just -- not acceptable. we need to demand better of folks in positions like myself and the president. we have a lot of things that we're working on here on capitol hill. the senate's wrestling with health care, how to save the broken system that we have today in the house. we're focused on tax reform, how to get the economy

mr. kushner to obtain the independent advice with a lawyer of appropriate experience as to whether he should continuous as his counsel. >> jim acosta joins us now. why does the white house continue to hold these briefings off camera? >> it's puzzling. during the foreign trip, they held these off-camera briefings and insisted the officials who were being recorded were referred to as senior officials. that was baffling. today the reason was because the president was speaking in front of the pam -- panamanian president, and my sense is if they try to pull this on us tomorrow, they'll give another nonsen nonsensecal answer. i think what it boils down to is this is the people's white house, the people's briefing room is the people's briefing room. i think the question moving forward is whether or not we see some sort of boycott of these g gaggles if hair going to be holding them without any ability to record them, i think that would be the next thing moving forward. whether the president decides collectively, you know what, we can do without these. >> jim sciutto with breaking news and two mideast trips raising questions. what do you kn

mr. wit tes? >> no. >> who was that? a good friend of mine who is a professor at columbia law school. >> let's bring in jim acosta. he's standing by at the white house. justice producer shimon. and our congressional spent phil mattingly. jim, the president tweeted about that passage early ther morning but that's just a small part of the white house reaction to all of this, right? >> that's right, wolf. the president went back to tweeting earlier this morning after being dark on twitter for a good 24 hours. he tweeted that comey is a leaker. that is a statement he said in that tweet early thier this mor. total and complete vindication the president tweeted and wow, comey is a leaker. that tweet from the president basically echos what his legal team was saying yesterday in response to the testimony from the former fbi director. marc kasowitz is now casting the former fbi director as a leaker after he admitted in that testimony to the senate intelligence committee that he did orchestrate the release of his memos to the columbia law professor. it was shortly after that he accused the former fbi direct of leaking. it's

mr. president-elect can you say categorically can you give us a question? i notoing to give you a question. you are fake news. kennedy: that was the present being combat with cnn's jim acostaher moment for all of these pundits saying that's going to her. that was a big mistake. the presence-based love it because there a lot of people miss country that are simply fed up with the mainstream media. that's a fact that this president gets better than probably anybody in american politics or american life. again does he go too far sometimes with the tweets? yes. decicco to par with the back-and-forth with reporters yes but the bottom line is he pushes back in a direct lot way that the american people have been hungry for it. kennedy: you saw the results of the montana congressional race and politicians being combative with reporters doesn't necessarily fit badly with voters. it's interesting as you point out maybe some of the response to this monmouth poll have an issue with the tweets and that kind of messaging but i do think you are right. i do think that the president doesn't do himself a disservice by talking directly with the media even when it comes to those contentious mo

acosta. so mum is the word, i take it, at the white house, jim. >> that's correct. a white house briefing was postponed to sidestep questions on the russia investigation. >> mr. president, are you under investigation? >> reporter: no surprise that president trump offered no answers on whether he's under investigation on the russia probe, though he had this to say to the president of panama. >> the panama canal is doing quite well. i think we did a good job building it, right? we did a very good job. >> even though the president raised the specter that he's under investigation himself when he tweeted "i'm being investigated for firing the fbi director from the man who told me to fire the fbi director. witch hunt." one of the president's personal lawyers, jay sekulow, widely insisted the president is not under investigation. then he all but admitted i can't be sure. >> no one has been notified that he is. >> you don't know whether he's under investigation or not. >> reporter: a contradiction he repeated on cnn. >> why you don't pick up the phone and find out is a little odd. if i hired you, i would want you to make that phone call. >> you haven't hired us becau

mr. frump's personal lawyers was asked, he said ask him. the president will hold a news conference in two weeks. we'll see if we can wait that long. >> thanks very much. jim acosta, over at the white house. joining us now is democratic senator ben cardin, ranking member of the senate foreign relations committee. thanks for joining us. >> wolf, good to be with you, thanks. >> if this reported third undisclosed meeting between the attorney general jeff sessions is and the russian ambassador sergey kislyak is confirmed, would you agree with some of your democratic colleagues that sessions would be guilty of perjury? >> clearly he's stated on previous occasions about the contacts he's had with the russian ambassador, that there was no third contact. that would be different than what he has said. clearly we're going to get clarification of that when he appears before the senate intelligence committee this week. so senator sessions, attorney general sessions has an explanation that he needs to give. >> so do you think it would be perjury or would you call on him to resign if he acknowledges, yes, i did have that third meeting at the may flower hotel here in washington

mr. diaz-balart: let me tell you, this is a special day. to be with the distinguished members of the president's abinet, including our very own secretary acosta. [applause] my colleagues, some of my colleagues that are here, and of course starting with senator rubio. [applause] congressman curbelo. i know i'm going miss some. i'm going to miss some. but i know that someone that's very special to me, congressman lincoln