the miners, finally, we're taking care of our miners. we love our miners.ve over 600,000 new jobs. and by the way, the stock market since our election -- -- since our election is through the roof. [applause] i believe from the point of the election -- isn't it too bad that the obama administration gets a lot of credit for those couple of months but it's all right. because we're doing fine, but they get credit for that because people started going wild with the stock but i believe we have a record from the time we got elected, from november 8, we have a record, an all-time record for the biggest increase in the stock market so i'm very happy about that. [applause] we have removed the shackles on energy exploration imposed by the last administration, lifting the restrictions on the production of oil, shale, and natural gas. and very importantly for pennsylvania, we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal, and we are putting our coal -- our great coal miners back to work. [applause] we love our miners. i am also very pleased to say that we have finally cle

they're our daughters, our sisters, and our friends. they're american heroes who volunteer to serve our country. and as a mother of a veteran, i know that our military is better than this. our men and women in uniform represent the very best of this nation. and i am proud to stand with my colleagues this evening in support of bringing about the changes we need to put a stop to the sharing of nonconsensual porn ography in the military and ultimately bring an end to sexual and gender-based violence and harassment in our armed forces. the next letter that i write to one of the academies recommending a young lady from my district, i want the reassurance from our military that her safety, her personal safety, will be taken seriously. and i need to have a commitment that she is just as american as any male of our military. thank you so much for this opportunity and i yield back my time. ms. frankel: thank you, representative torres. thank you for your son's service and for your service too. i know what it's like to be the mother of a military

that each of us has for other pillars of our public life, our businesses, our not-for-profits, our churches, our state governments and so on. where good old hoosier common sense seems to enforce our work in those areas, here in washington too often common sense is crowded out by stale partisan battles and unyielding ideological biases. and so, colleagues, our charge, our duty is to advance the common good by identifying common goals and then using common sense to further those goals. in spite of our principal disagreements let's disagree without questioning one another's motives. let us dare to be principled in our believes but pragmatic in advancing those beliefs. let us adapt to new realities. let us have the courage to change our minds. let us put results over rhetoric. let us find practical solutions to pressing challenges. and let us first and foremost never forget that we are custodians of the common good. my fellow americans, let us rededicate ourselves to remain one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all. thank you. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding

i note the presence of several of our -- a couple of our colleagues here, including our distinguished majority leader who is here as well as representative barbara comstock. and so if it's agreeable to my colleagues, we would like senator mcconnell to make an introduction. i know he has a very heavy, busy schedule. welcome, senator mcconnell. >> thank you, chairman mccain. senator reed, members of the committee, i'm al qaedaingly proud to be here today to introduce robert story karam, a very experienced and well-qualified nominee to serve as the next assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. this committee will find an individual who has worked to prepare himself for some of the major challenges facing our country. because of his razor-sharp intelligence and diligence, robert, a native of lexington, kentucky, rapidly moved up in my office from staff assistant to legislative correspondent and eventually to be my legislative assistant for foreign affairs. he proved himself a quick study. and i learned not to doubt his advice or his judgment. robert also worked i

senator mccain went on to state our values are our strengthening and our greatest treasure. we are distinguished from other countries because we're not made from a land or tribe or a particular race or creed but from an ideal that liberty is the unalienable right of mankind and in accord with nature and nature's creator. to view foreign policy as simply transactional is more dangerous than its proponents realize. debelievi debelieving -- depriving a beacon of press from hope could cost us our reputation in history as the nation distinct from all others in our achievements, our identity and endure influence on mankind. our values are essential to all three. i hope we will have a chance to talk about this. this is not a hypothetical discussion. the russian federation made a strategic decision to undermine our values as an effort to spread their influence in countries than currently have democrat values. so this is a current issue that is of grave concern. the second point i want to mention is our respect for involvement internationally. and i say that in context to the fact th

it is so good to have all of our guests, our distinguished guests and especially our cabinet members here with us today. secretary mnuchin, secretary ross, secretary shul kin, secretary carson, secretary price, secretary acosta and secretary purdue. [ applause ] the bible says in 2 chronicles 7:14, if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then i will hear from heaven and i will forgive their sin and heal their land. it's within this spirit that i welcome you to the 66th annual national day of prayer commemoration. though this year, the event begins at the rose garden in the white house. [ applause ] each year on the first thursday of may by an act of congress and a proclamation of the president our nation is called together to pray. this is a very sacred day for us. though rarely has it been honored as it will be in morning in our presence and in the presence of the president and the vice president of the united states. even rarer still will prayers actually be prayed here on the lawn of the white house. [

our words. we will do better. and so i thank you, and scott and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. thank you, sir. >> thank you, mr. munoz. mr. spraig. >> good morning, chairman schuster, ranking member defazio, ranking member larson, and members of the committee. my name is joe spraig and i am senior vice president of external relations for alaska airlines. alaska airlines is the fifth largest u.s. airline. we have a work force of 19,000 employees, 280 aircraft and 1200 daily departures. while we have grown considerably over the last ten years, we are still small by airline standards. the four largest airlines represent 85% of the u.s. domestic capacity, while alaska is just 7%. we fill a niche role in the industry. while we are an 85-year-old company, we have a low-cost, low-fare business model, yet offer a premium service product to our guests. we know this hearing is driven by a desire to explore u.s. airline customer service policies in light of certain recent incidents

to protect our homeland.currently, 38 countries are approved to participate in the vwp which allows their nationals to travel to nine states for up to 90 days. travelers are required to complete an online application in advance of travel that is known as the electronic system for travel or s .-dot. looking at the start applications, vwp uses. [inaudible] or could pose a risk to the united states or to the public at large. to participate in the vwp countries must share information on terrace and serious criminals , timely report lost and stolen passport have robust border in travel documents, and engage in in effect under effective screening. looking at the criteria for lost and stolen passport for example, vwp countries have to report that loss or theft no later than 24 hours after they become aware and vwp countries have contributed over 50 million such records to interpol which accounts for 70% of the interpol holdings. rigorous national level assessments of program countries are conducted by the department

i note the presence of several of our -- a couple of our colleagues here, including our distinguished majority leader who is here as well as representative barbara comstock. and so if it's agreeable to my colleagues, we would like senator mcconnell to make an introduction. i know he has a very heavy, busy schedule. welcome, senator mcconnell. >> i note the presence of several of our -- a couple of our colleagues here, including our distinguished majority leader who is here as well as represented by ra comstock and so if it's akrieg to my colleagues, we'd like senator mcconnell to make an introduction. >> i know he has a very heavy, busy schedule. welcome, senator mcconnell. >> thank you, chairman mccain. senator reed, members of the committee. exceedingly proud to be here today to introduce robert story care recommend and a very qualified person to be here for this position. through hearing you will find and individual who has worked to address some of the major challenges confronting our country. because of his dill grens, robert a native of lexington, kentucky, rapidly moved up in m

our partnerships and our alliances are critical to our success in both of those areas. but as we have progressed over the last 20 years, and some of you could tie it back to the post-cold war era as the world has changed, some of you can tie it back to the evolution of china since the post-nixon era and china's rise as an economic power, and now as a growing military power, that as we participated in those changes, we were promoting relations, we were promoting economic activity, we were promoting trade with a lot of these emerging economies, and we just kind of lost track of how we were doing. and as a result, things got a little bit out of balance. and i think that's, as you hear the president talk about it, that's what he really speaks about is, look, things have gotten out of balance, and these are really important relationships to us and they're really important alliances, but we've got to bring them back into balance. so whether it's our asking of nato members to really meet their obligations, even though those were notional obligations, we understand, and aspirat

varies across our force. in some cases various parts of our force, various components are in a 1-1.2, worst case -- >> meaning how many months deployed versus how many months back in the united states? >> that ratio i just described, they are about a 1 to 1, so six months or so deployed if that's the rotation, six months back. that's the worst case n. the best case, we are being able to establish a balance of 1 to 3. so for every six months deployed -- >> isn't it a significant straining to have half your time -- strain to have half your time deployed? doesn't that put a lot of strain on individuals and their families? >> chairman, that worst with case is actually under the -- it is less than the dod's desired rate, and we're endeavoring to get that back in balance. that's not our entire formation, that's only parts, but it is unsustainable, to your point. >> i thank you, general. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. to both ms. whalen and general thomas, do you believe that both socom and solic h

to protect our homeland. currently, 38 countries are approved to participate in the vwp which allows their nationals to travel to the united states for up to 90 days. travelers are required to complete and online application in advance of travel that is known as the electronic system for travel authorization or s. dot. looking at the efta applications, they perform vetting to determine whether the individual is eligible to travel under the vwp or could pose a risk to the united states or the public at large. to participate in the vwp countries must share nchks on terrorists and serious criminals, timely report lost and stolen parse ports, have robust border and security practices and engage in effective traveler and migrant screening. looking at the criteria for lost and stolen passports, for example. >> referee: vwp countries have to report that loss or theft no later than 24 hours after they about become aware of it and vwp countries have contributed over 50 million such records to interpol which accounts f

interoperability with our our interoperabil neighbors, one of our greatest partners for a very specificission set that's critical to the interests of both canada and us. >> let me shift to special boats >> let me shift to special boats and you say, first of all, that and you say, first of all, that we in mississippi are thankful we in mississippi are thankful and honored to have special boat and honored to have special boat team 22 headquartered in our team 22 headquartered in our state. state. would you describe the ways in would you describe the ways in which these special boat teams which these special boat teams contribute to different contribute to different missions? m >> senator, i recently had the >> senator, i recently had the privilege of running over privilege of running over stennis here a month ago and stennis here a month ago and getting out on the water and getting out on the water and some of those capablies. some o they're integral to many of our activities around the globe. the institution that you have there as well is also a critical enabler for many of our foreign a

it is our solidarity that keeps our nations safe. and when our open and free societies come under attack, we stand up for our values and our way of life. that is why a strong nato is good for europe and good for north america. the 9/11 and article 5 memorial will be a daily reminder of our vital bond. and today we will commit to do more in our common struggle terrorism. so, mr. president, it is a great honor to have you here and a great honor to give you the floor. please. president trump: thank you. ter thank you very much, secretary general stoltenberg. chancellor merkel, thank you very much. other heads of state and government, i am honored to be here with members of an alliance that has promoted safety and peace across the world. prime minister, may all the nations here grieve with you and stand with you. i would like to ask that we now observe a moment of silence for the victims and families of the savage attack which took place in manchester. thank you. terrible thing. this ceremony is a day for both remembrance and resolve. we

to our society. without those. [inaudible] [applause] those nurses who came from jamaica, those doctors who came from india, the specialists that come from germany, those that work in all aspects of our national service and industry and transport and so much else has helped to give us the living standards that we all have and i think we should recognize our country owes them a great deal of debt and thanks for what they have done. [applause] we have also made it clear that people should not be brought into this country to work in poor conditions or low wages deliberately to undercut people that are already here and work on agreed conditions. and that the free movement that currently exist within the european union, obviously the time we leave the european union, that free movement doesn't continue. we will negotiate the tray to agreement that will ensure free access to the entire european union and future migration will be based on a fair migration policy, fairness towards our economy and the needs o

our whole, entire nation sends you our support, our strength, and our deep, deep love.ur husband, and america lost a hero. and together, we will preserve his memory -- today, tomorrow, and always. thank you, jane. [applause] pres. trump: thank you, jane. thank you, jane. [applause] pres. trump: thank you, jane. we are also joined today by david and rose byers, the parents of major andrew byers. as a boy, andrew dreamed of the chance to attend the united states military academy at west point. he worked hard, he earned that chance, and he graduated at the top of his class. he became the commander of a special halo team, leading his fellow soldiers out of aircraft, hurtling into dangerous and unknown territory. about this time last year, andrew was sent on his third combat deployment. this time, he went to afghanistan. on november 3, he was one of 10 special forces operators to land by helicopter near a taliban safe haven in northern afghanistan. they trekked through a mile of waist-deep mud and climbed a steep cliff before finally reaching the village that they wanted to

our whole entire nation sends you our support, our strength, and our deep, deep love.ory, today, tomorrow, and always. thank you, jane. thank you, jane. thank you, jane. thank you, jane. we're also joined today by david and rose baez, the parents of major andrew baez. as a boy, andrew dreamed of the chance to attend the united states military academy at west point. he worked hard. he earned that chance. and he graduated at the top of his class. he became the commander of a special team leading his fellow soldi soldiers, hurtling into dangers and unknown territory. about this time last year, andrew was sent on his third combat deployment. this time he went to afghanistan. on november 3rd, he was one of ten special forces operators to land by helicopter near a taliban safe haven in northern afghanistan. they trekked through a mile of waist deep mud, and climbed steep -- before finally reaching the village that they wanted to reach. there, a night-long battle ensued. andrew and his team fought off wave after wave after wave of enemy fighters. a grenade detonated, and as t

the foundation of nro and our contributions are our people. our people are behind every mission success and provide the direct support we provide to the cadet and commands, their service and functional components and deployed tactical units. the integral work force is not just dedicated to mission but empowered to innovate. we instill a culture of innovation and risk tolerance in everything we do. invasion comes in many forms including using existing capabilities differently, developing new apps for our space and ground systems, and developing the new capabilities critical to closing intelligence gaps. we're also working with our mission partners to make sure we fully leverage capabilities. the nro is a flat organization fully capable of successfully delivering an increasingly capable, integrated, resilient and affordable architecture. we have control of every function required for the rnd that enables us to stay ahead of targets and threats to the acquisition of new space and ground capability to the adaptations used to respond to capabilitie

roads, our bridges, our rail and our airports. that's what the hardworking men and women i represent wish washington would focus on too. but instead at breakfast tables all over the country, moms and dads turn on the morning news and have to explain to their kids, what is an obstruction of justice? before putting their kids on the school bus and traverse our bumpingy and pot holed roads -- bumpy and pot holed roads. this is a dark moment in our history and history demands that we rise to the occasion. nobody is above the law. not even the president of the united states of america. i urge my colleagues to do the right thing for the good of our country. join us in demanding a true and independent investigation to get to the bottom of the president's ties to vladimir putin and any possible attempted coverup. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from connecticut rise? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms.

our governor, our republican governor, believes it's bad for our state in cutting back medicaid. the hospitals believe it's bad for our state and the impact it will have on down state hospitals. the doctors and the nurses and the pediatricians also oppose it. so what can we do? what should we do? well, first we ought to try to see what we can do to make the affordable care act work better. we can do that on a bipartisan basis. we want to make sure, as the senator from kentucky said earlier, that there are available health insurance programs in every county of every state. one thing we could do, certainly, is to make sure that a public option is there for everyone if they choose it. something that looks like medicare. people respect medicare. medicare is a great program for millions of americans who are seniors and disabled. why wouldn't we create a program like medicare, a not-for-profit, government-operated program like medicare for people who wish it? those who don't can stick with private insurance if that's their choice, but i believe you will find more and more people moving

our gathering today is an opportunity to chart our shared future and to remember our shared past.he berlin wall is the symbol of that past. it was built to divide europe, to keep people in, and ideas out. in face of division, nato allies stood united in defense of freedom, democracy, and human dignity. in 1989, the wall was brought down by peaceful protests, by popular movements, and by the bravery of countless men and women across central and eastern europe. each day, all those who will enter this building will pass this memorial. they will understand that freedom will never be defeated. and that nato will always defend the values on which our reliance is founded. so, chancellor merkel, you were in berlin the very night when the wall came down. i would like to welcome you here to brussels to the new nato headquarters and the floor is yours. please. chancellor merkel: your majesty, secretary general, dear colleagues. nato's new headquarters will be the future point of reference of nato, a modern building like the building of this headquarters is a reference to the future. however,

who are the real backbone of our nation and our economy. senator shaheen, i'll yield to you. mrs. shaheen: thank you very much, senator risch. i share your enthusiasm for the office of advocacy and so many -- all of the programs that s.b.a. administers and appreciate the good work of the new administrator there, linda mcmahon. you bragged a little bit on your small business of the year in idaho. so i would like to do the same. our new hampshire small business person of the year is dr. jake reader who is the cofounder and c.e.o. of saldara medical in lebanon, new hampshire. i think it's important to point out that small businesses create 16 times per employee the number of patents that large businesses do. and so their medical is a great example of that. they were founded in 2008. they're a biotech start-up that identifies early stage medical technologies. they provide financing and business guidance to move life-saving products from university laboratories to high potential medical companies. and they really show that entrepreneurship can b

our president is deeply, deeply grateful for your service to our nation. and thank you, thank you military families for your support that allows your soldier, sailor, airman, marine, man, to- coast guard serve our nation. thank you. [applause] mcmaster: please help me welcome karen pence. pence: you guys did such a great job earlier, when all of the kids came out. you all got your picture with him. you know who this is? whisper it. yes. this is marlin bundo. marlin has his own instagram bundo., at marlin botus.hat we call bunny of the united states. he is botus. famous becauseof he is the first bunny to ever ride on air force two. and we love marlin. he is named that because he is named after a feynman -- after a brando,ctor, marlon and my daughter needed a bunny to be her film star. riety is nothing new for him. he is a very tame honey. he runs around the house all the time. he is very, very tame, and i want to thank all of these amazing children. marlin came to say hi to you and uys childre, ann, and you gus were so nice to be so gentle with him. brought

, our two economies are also connected just like our people. and so we have such great ties that we need to be able to talk about this more so that we can always have a good working relationship moving forward. >> great great. thank you. so you've been -- you got a couple of thing going on. you got a defense policy review that we are waiting to see the results of. defense policy review took place ten years ago. the world has changed a lot since then. what -- since many of our audience members are not not canadian, can you tell us why canadian defense policy should be important to the united states and maybe some of the new things that came into your thinking and designing this new policy from ten years ago? >> well, our defense policy, one that when the prime minister mandated me to conduct a defense policy, he wanted to make sure the canadian armed forces were well re-sourced, the members relevant well looked after and the only way to do it was to conduct a thorough defense policy, we did that. we did it within one year because we wanted to ge

our department of state takes our commitment to protect america's borders and our citizens seriously. toward this end, we constantly analyze and update screening and clearance procedures. mr. chairman, the u.s. visa system is a layered interagency effort focused first and foremost on national security. beginning with a petition to dhs or a visa application submitted to a consulate section abroad, during the interview, prior to travel, upon arrival in the united states and while the person is in the united states, we work with our national intelligence and partners to protect our borders. the vast majority of applicants are interviewed in person by a consular officer. each officer completes an extensive training program which has a strong emphasis on border security, fraud prevention, interagency coordination, and interviewing techniques. in addition to that, 122 assistant regional security officer investigators at 107 diplomatic posts worldwide work with consular officers to bring additional law enforcement and anti-terrorism expertise to the visa process. all visa applicants are vett

our operation. american delivered our best ever importa performance this year for arriving on time and lowest rates of mishandled baggage. running a reliable operation is the foundation for delivering the experience that our customers deserve. today, the u.s. airline industry is stable, the safest in the world, reliable, competitive, and most importantly widely accessible. this is an intensely competitive industry, with carriers offering different prices, products and service. this competition is good for consumers. adjustment adjustment at the same time, we're making significant investments to improve customer experience. at american we take delivery of a new aircraft on average every four days. we're devoting $3 billion in investing to make the travel experience more comfortable and more convenient. and we have $17 billion in capital improvement projects underway at multiple airports in which we operate. this includes a new regional terminal here at washington reagan national airport so we can onc

these murderous attacks grieve our souls, but they also steel our resolve. together, civilized nations will crush the terrorists, block their funding, strip them of their territory, and drive them out of this earth. my first visit during my travels took me to saudi arabia, where i had the honor of participating in a historic summit with the leaders of more than 50 muslim and arab nations posted by king salman, a wide leader who expressed a strong desire to work with the united states not only to confront terrorism, but also the extremist ideology behind terrorism. the nations of the middle east have endured one terrorist attack after another, and i called on them to take on the burden of fighting this evil that has killed so many innocent muslims. during this unprecedented gathering, we opened a new center to combat extremist ideology, launched a task force to block funding for terrorists, and agreed to massive economic development deals the likes of which has never been, that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the united states building the equipm

to protect our of lifetion and our way essentially our nation's health.nk you sir. >> thank you. >> i like to think of offer well one of the most balanced class. when it comes to the moral missions, weysical absolutely crush the game. humanity,e to initiatives to bring women birr -- birth clinic to rwanda, with mobility project in haiti. the firstlook at rose. of the list goes an -- on and on. athletics.et about need i say any more about athletics. tripsince we're on this down memory lane i like to take the time to reflect on the good time. boy, did we have a lot of them. gentlemen, to put things in perspective, we put as listedard work before. this class knows how to balance work and play. if you look closely class motto, work hard play hard. is good. toe they would me as class president they will give me a speech. it gives me practice of my stand comedy. it worked. really class, how can we forget invitation to our first ever mixer. #the thirst is still real. sorry about that third walk. -- contrary to popular belief, i like to reid, not only did hegive

it's not just our weapons and our military. as general clapper indicated the other day, if we break down our institutions of government, if we let them attack each other and break them down and then lose credibility as a country, we suffer. we have to ask ourselves, was it safe when the press, the free press is kept out of a meeting with the president, the foreign minister of russia, the russian ambassador who's implicated in the firing of general flynn? but the russian press comes in and seem surprised when that picture is on the front page of every major newspaper, not only in this country, but around the world. what does it say when the white house says the president never disclosed certain information to the russians? suddenly the president almost at the same time that russia says, well, we have a transcript of what was said there, the president tweets, oh, yes, i did give out that information. mr. president, this country is too great for this kind of stuff and we senators in both parties have to stand up and help bring the

our friends will never question our support, and our enemies will never doubt our determination. our partnerships will advance security through stability and not through radical disruption. we will make decisions based on real-world outcomes, not inflexible ideology. we will be guided by the lessons of experience, not the confines of rigid thinking. and wherever possible, we will seek gradual reforms and not sudden intervention. we must seek partners, not perfection, and to make allies of all who share our goals. above all, america seeks peace, not war. muslim nations must be willing to take on the burden, if we are going to defeat terrorism and send its wicked ideology into oblivion. the first task in this joint effort is for your nations to deny all territory to the footsoldiers of evil. every country in the region has an absolute duty to ensure that terrorists find no sanctuary on their soil. many are already making significant contributions to regional security. judaic pilots are crucial -- jordanian pilots are crucial partners against isis in syria and iraq. saudi arabia and

shares resolve in our military that will protect the safety of our people and enhances security of our wonderful friends and allies. many of whom are here today. bonds of friendship, security, culture, and commerce, for americans, this is a very exciting time. a new spirit of optimism is sweep our country. in just a few months we have created over a million new jobs lifted burdens on american industry, and made record investments in our military that will protect the safety of our people and enhance the security of our wonderful friends and allies. many of whom are here today. now there is even more blessed news that i am pleased to share with you. my meetings with king salman. the crown prince and deputy crown prince have been filled with great warmth, goodwill and tremendous cooperation. yesterday we signed historic agreements with "the kingdom" that will invest almost $400 billion in our countries and create many hundreds of thousands of jobs in america and sasaudi arabia, this including announcement of $110 billion saudi-funded defense purchase, we'll be sure to help our saudi frie

s that we put on for our group. we have monthly meetings, and eight times a year we try to present a program that is both educational and somewhat entertaining, and we try to keep a broad variety of topics so that no matter what our members' interests are, they have an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in whatever fields their writing interests lie. >> how do you decide on what you guys read about our talk about during the times you meet? >> guest: we. >> we have a board of ten members and as program director i have always asked my board to give me suggestions or ideas and we discuss those at our board meeting and we look become the schedule in see when was the last time our talk was on poetry, when did we last discuss fiction, short story, how to write the essay. even things like maybe near tax time we bring in a tax expert or someone who can talk about other legal aspects of writing, what is libel, how do you avoid copyright infringement, that sort of thing. so we just try to paint with the broadest possibl

useful in our task to manage ourselves and our relationship with the planet. there are many insights that we've gained into earth, profound, fundamental insights about how our planet works that have only come from leaving and examining other planets, getting other examples, getting some perspective on what's going on here. it's like t.s. eliot said in that famous poem that i will now slightly mangle about at the end of all our exploring, we return to the place we started and see it as if for the first time. i think t.s. said it slightly better than that, but you get the idea. [laughter] hey, i'm an as to biologist, not a poet. [laughter] but there are many, many of these insights. and i have a section in the book where i detail this, but they involve ideas about earth's geology and the way the surface relates to the currents moving in the interior and how all that is bound up with climate evolution through these great cycles of carbon and nitrogen and oxygen that unite the atmosphere, the surface and the interior of the planet and the role of the other planets

it keeps the lights on in our homes, the water flowing through our faucets and our farms. for too long these infrastructure systems have been failing to serve the american people. roads are left in decay, water used long past their designed life span and our aviation is stretched to capacity. we have to do better. few things bring americans together more than infrastructure. few issues have as much support. for the last five years, infrastructure week has convened the nation's broadest coalition of infrastructure stakeholders. we bring together the engineers and workers who build our infrastructure with manufacturers and retailers, commuters and travelers whose jobs and lives depend on it. and we bring together local, state and national leaders working to build america's infrastructure future. our message in 2017 is, it's time to build. >>> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. good morning. i'm suzanne clark, senior evp here at the u.s. chamber, and i am delighted to welcome you here today. now, when you have my job, you get to be in this room and say that sentence a lot. b

country and into our hearts. and so have you. you know, that's why president donald trump has taken decisive action as the secretary just described to defend those who defended us. the president has said from very early on, even when he was a candidate, our veterans deserve the best care in the world. the finest care america can provide. just over a week ago, president trump signed an executive order to insure that the department of veteran's affairs is as efficient, effective, and accountable as any great healthcare provider in america. we're going to give those who served most the best healthcare system in the world. [ applause ] you know, last month president trump signed into law the veteran's choice act to give our heros the choices they deserve for world class healthcare. the president said it on the campaign trail, i was with him, it was early in the campaign. and he said here's the deal, we're going to reform the va and make sure that every veteran has the benefits they have earned in the uniform of the u

position takes with any it -- our physician takes with our family members. how in the world can you as a congressman practicing dentist determine for american people from all sorts of life and background to determining what is affordable? affordable -- affordability is relative. the idea that you or any other congressperson has the foresight or the living experience of many of these people who are listening to this call right now to determine what is affordable, i think it is totally insincere. i think you guys need to take off your political hats and get down to earth and really decide what is really best for the people instead of talking points. guest: i am grateful that you have a great relationship with your doctor. i think that is important. the fact that you have got that in norfolk, virginia, that is fantastic. there are a lot of people in the third district of georgia that don't. a lot of people that see rising premiums. we pay more for our health insurance than we do for our house. that is not unusual. we don't have access to care that we once had.

we offer our compassion to the victims and we offer our support to the turkish nations. we support turkey in the first fight against terror and terror groups like isis and the pkk and ensure they have no safe quarte quarter. we also appreciate turkey's leadership in seeking and to the horrific killing in syria, the syrian civil war shocks the conscience of the whole world and all you have to do is look on the front page of the papers and you will see exactly what we are talking about. we also support any effort that can be used to reduce the violence in syria and create the conditions for a peaceful resolution. we are also discussing the need to reinvigorate our trade and commercial ties. these are areas where we can build our relationship that will benefit both of our countries. military equipment was ordered by turkey and the president and we have made sure it gets there quickly. i look forward to working together on achieving peace and security in the middle east, on confronting the shared threats and on working toward a future of dignity and safety for all of our peo

our jurisdiction, some of the -- our stashation rates. looking at our cid cases over the last four years, to include this year, we've had -- where i've had jurisdiction we've had 47 cases. of the 47, 21 were founded. charges were preferred for seven of the 21. and the other -- and eight of the 21 had misconduct, administrative investigations with administrative action that includes separation. if i look at the cases where i did not have jurisdiction, there were 24. and although rcid still may have done the investigation, eight of the 24 were founded but since it was outside our jurisdiction, only once were the charges incurred. >> it's a significant difference. >> than i have a case -- >> the results and stashation and even punishments were higher under the ucmj? >> absolutely. >> admiral carter? >> our naval criminal investigative service increased the number of agencies for not only the navy but also would help at a place like the naval academy. their time line to get through investigations has improved just the time i've been superinte

and established our own -- independence and established our own form of government, our system of checks and balances was designed to hold all levels of the federal government accountable but especially the president. without the rule of law, law and order becomes merely order imposed by an unaccountable government. we know that order without the rule of law, what it looks like. last century it looked like the regimes of the access powers. now it looks like north korea, egypt, the philippines, and, yes, russia. these are all nations led by strong men whom our president has praised in some manner, strong men who hold democratic institutions in contempt and exercise disproportionate control over their nation's military, government institutions, and the media. while the press here in the united states remains independent, we have a president who has chosen to regularly do battle with what he derides as, quote, the fake news media. he has even called our cherished constitutionally protected free press, quote, the enemy of the american people. it is often said that the news is the first rough

it's because it matters to our members and to our customers. >> united meeting with chairman pai about the topic short before he unveiled his proposal. was he receptive to your concerns or do you think you may progress in that meeting? >> guest: i hope we may progress. we will have to see how this turns out. based on the conversation and things he said public agrees generally there should be protections, and we should have an open internet. what we disagree on it how do you get there. i think that will be a lot of what the debate is in the next two months. >> host: were their problems prior to the wheeler svc putting title ii into this equation? >> guest: yesterday nursing thing when you look back at the history of net neutrality, we started out in 2005 i believe with principles that were not enforceable. in 2007, again let's try to remember what internet was, facebook was in its infancy. there was no uber, no airbnb, a lot of things we have today didn't exist. >> host: the iphone was just coming out and to the idea of watching video on your mobile device you are not think about that i

that is because it matters to our members and our customers. margaret: you had a meeting with chairman pai about this topic shortly before he unveiled his proposal. was he receptive to your concerns? do you think you may progress? mr. beckerman: i hope we did. we will have to see how this turns out. based on that conversation and things he has said in public, he agrees there should be protections, we should have an open internet, but we disagree on how you get there. that is a lot of what the debate is in the next few months. peter: mr. beckerman, where problems prior to the wheeler fcc putting title ii into the equation? mr. beckerman: the interesting thing, when you look back at the history of net neutrality -- we started in 2005 with principles that were not enforceable. again, let's try to remember where the internet was. facebook was in its infancy. there was no uber, no airbnb. peter: the iphone was just coming out. mr. beckerman: there was the idea of watching video on your mobile device. you weren't thinking about that in 2005. 2007, th

these murderous attacks grieve our souls, and they also steel our resolve.ations willilized terrorists,sh the block their funding, take back their territory, and drive them out of this birth. -- this earth. i first visit took me to saudi arabia where i had the opportunity to take place in a historic summit with the leaders of muslim nations, hosted by who expressed his strong desire to work with united states to confront terrorism and also the extremist ideology behind terrorism. the nations of the middle east have endured one terrorist , and iafter another called on them to take on the burden of fighting this evil that has killed so many innocent muslims. during this unprecedented gathering, we opened a new center to combat extremist ideology, launched a task force to block funding for terror, and agreed to massive economic element deals the likes of which there has never been -- economic development deals the likes of which there has never been. they will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in united states to build the equipment that has been ordered by

in this country of ours, nobody gets to touch what's in our hearts or our minds.applause] >> please join me in celebrating tonight's religious freedom award recipient, christina ariaga. [applause] >> thank you very much. i know i speak to the choir when i say do not let anyone silence you, not ever. not government, not culture, not so-called educational institutions, never. it is your birthright to be able to live according to your deeply held convictions. and it is your duty to defend and protect that right for everyone, particularly for people with whom you disagree. religious liberty is not for conservatives. religious liberty is not only for liberals. it is not the eccentric uncle of the human rights family. it's the ability to live according to what's in your core. and that's the only way to live without regrets. people around the world die for that freedom. they die to exercise the ability to do that. here in the united states, we have it pretty easy. but sometimes even when we do the right thing, we get kicked in the stomach. be courageous. be courageous. d

our possessions and our liberty.. she wrote home to england saying i cannot say america was agreeable. soon she became an absolutely ardent patriot, argued for independence as early as october 1775. when war came and her husband joined george washington's forces, ester and her four little children found themselves refugees running from place to place to escape the british, her former countrymen -- think of it -- and disease was rampant. small clock -- smallpox claimed one of her babies, she soon had another. with all of that hardship -- and really think of it -- just getting through the day in 1800 was very hard. she was not worried about herself. she was worried about the troops, so she organized. she became publicly active in a way that a good citizen should. she organized the lady's association of pennsylvania in which she was elected the leader. and put together teams of women to go door to -- door-to-door to collect money for the troops. -- andlicity about it urged women to another state stack as well. as first

it is our charge, our responsibility, our challenge to prepare our students to be productive in their time. i often tell them i received a top quality education at the college and yes, i did graduate some time ago, proudly. and whereas some of that education is still organic and fluid, our students today looking for something a little bit different. we must be willing and flexible to revisit our missions, to revisit our vision, to determine if it is appropriate or not only the interest of our students, but the emerging needs of our society and businesses that they will be entering. over 60% of our graduates go on to graduate in professional schools immediately following graduation. they are prepared and inspired by a qualified, competent and committed faculty. they are able to graduate a lot more timely than some hbcus. still it is a challenge. we serve 85% pel eligible students and our graduation rates stay above 50% because most of our students come needing to work to also finance their education. the need for scholarships and financial assistance to help them move through schools a

whether it is our crab, our pollack, our salmon. we have the largest fish ris and the healthiest fisheries in the world. but the problem we have is the accuracy of seasonal labor. we just can't get the men and women out to these very, very, very remote communities to meet the demand of the workforce. we cannot get them in the state. we cannot get them in the united states. and so we have traditionally relied on the opportunities for h 2 b visas. on may 5th, the president signed the appropriations omnibus that gave authority to you and consultation with secretary of labor to approve additional h 2 b visa processing for the remainder of the fiscal year to help many of these businesses, these industries that have been unable to find sufficient employees for this cupcoming season. our problem in alaska is the timing here. the harvest is later in the year, so other industries in the country basically gobble up that quota and we are left hanging. the short-term fix in my view is urgently needed for the large employers that are seeking the