Retaliatory. Congress should update legislation submitted codifies caterpillar the definition of wrongdoing should include retaliation against whistleblowers. Jackson should also be provided by the v. A. The government has failed in its responsibility to care for veterans. Thank you. Ms. Halliday thank you for the opportunity to discuss how v. A. Oig interacts with whistleblowers. This is my first hearing as Deputy Inspector general, and i look forward to working with the congress. I testified and congressional hearing in my previous role as the assistant Inspector General for audit, and i welcome the opportunity to share with you the work of all components of our i. G. I am accompanied by the counselor to the Inspector General and the assistant Inspector General for health care inspections. I assume the position of Deputy Inspector general on july 6 2015. Past three weeks taken immediate steps to strengthen the oigs Whistleblower Program as well as our whistleblower protection ombudsman. These actions are outlined in a statement. Activities action to establish clear expectations and set a tone for our organization, regarding the importance of how we protect whistleblowers right. The oig is the primary body for receiving allegations of fraud and misuse in operations. Our hotline serves as the Central Point of contact for individuals report allegations. We take this seriously. Our responsibility not to disclose the identity of an employee who has made a complaint provided information. When an individual contacts us can you advise them of their rights to submit their complaint anonymously. We identified that they identify themselves but to remain confidential and advise them of the potential consequences of the decision. All complaints are evaluated. Using our Available Limited resources, we must be highly selective in the cases we accept. We also make case for photos to v. A. In accordance with our direction. Make every effort to make sure an official separate from and at a higher grade from the alleged wrong doer is responsible for conducting the review of the allegations. We continue our inquiry and tony are satisfied open a case to review the matters further. In many cases, these referrals involve complaints regarding specific facilities of medical care, it is not possible for v. A. To review the complaint without the oig disclosing the identity of the complainant. Before taking action, we advised the complainant and request they provide their consent to the oig to disclose their identity. If they say no it goes no further. There is a lot of confusion on the role of the i. G. Regarding allegations of retaliation. Oig does not make a determination as to whether an individual who makes a complaint provides information to us has made a protective disclosure. This is a determination made by the office of special counsel the merit Systems Protection Board or the u. S. Court of appeals for the federal circuit. These entities have the authority to provide direct whistleblower relief. Oig faces many challenges addressing allegations reported by complaintant. A allegations va allegations are akin togue looking for a needle in a haystack. We cannot contact individual to obtain Additional Information regarding an allegation if they choose to remain anonymous. Some complainants initially identified themselves, later are unable to or deployed to provide critical information that could enable oig to focus resources more specifically. Oig works for the identity of complainants who request confidentiality. At times the complainants who become known race of other sources of information. Individuals who have requested confidentiality sometimes voice the same complaints to management coworkers, Media Outlets that they have made as they are going to conduct us or they have become to us. Everyone has their own perception as to what is going on. From the whistleblower perspective, they may see oig making sure that the is are dominant. From our point, we make sure all bases are covered. We have different challenges in verifying allegations especially those complaints that could be criminal. Oig looks to impartially determine the who, what, when where, why while examining information. Reading whistleblowers to bring central issues for. Although their perceptions are directly related to their complaint, at times they are not in a position to know all the fact or they over sized the viewport. Mr. Chairman, were not on anyones side. Were here to find the truth. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from the whistleblowers today and to address these important issues. Ive continue reading to reevaluate our best continuing to reevaluate our processes. This concludes my statement, and i would be happy to answer any questions. Senator kirk we have a person from pogo. When her organization set up a hotline, she got 800 and eight 800 complaints. He hit pogo with a subpoena asking for those names. It seemed like you wanted to retaliate against all of pogos whistleblowers. Why did you issue that subpoena . Ms. Halliday i do not issue that subpoena, and there may be a Communications Breakdown heard the concern of the i. G. Was to understand the issues with relation to the manipulation of weight times to make sure the sites identified and make sure we have all the sites where the potential patient harm could occur. That was the method used. We understood that photo not have the authority that is that bogota not have the authority to investigate these. We did. Senator kirk you understand the feeling that this subcommittee has received from you were subpoenaing pogo to make sure that you were retaliating against those people . Ms. Halliday i understand that pogo could have that perception. He had 98 sites identified where there was potential manipulation of data. V. A. At approximately 150 sites. We were not sure if we had all the information. It is something that pogo you have received, we do not care if we had the name, as far as i knew. We just needed to know the site and should we look at it, what is the egregiousnous of the complaint. I think there may have been communication issues here. Senator kirk if confidentiality is the cornerstone of roof, and they had no interest in the identity of the people who completed pogo . There was no confusion. This teaching is not their side. The counselor contacted pogos general counsel, we told you happy to give them information we were getting without having to give identifying information about individuals. We have every interest and we wrote out an email saying give us a second, but as soon as we get capacity to let you know what were finding, we will be happy to talk to you, and the next day we received the subpoena asking for the identities of the people who had contacted us. Senator kirk if i asked you to withdraw the subpoena, what would you say back to me . Ms. Halliday at this point i would hope there is no information at pogo that would have resulted in patient harm that we would not know at not know about. Senator kirk within 24 hours of complaining of her identity was this close. Seems that the exclusion of a Confidential Sources is routine at the i. G. s office. Ms. Halliday i like to speak to that. I heard what dr. Mitchell said and i believe the confusion her complaint went from senator mccains office to v. A. You did not count directly to us. As result, it is hard for us to protect confidentiality, and i do the reprisal actions came from her office based on the facts looking at now. It did go to v. A. , and it came down the truth from v. A. Headquarters of the medical center, and i can understand restoration that dr. Mitchell has. Senator kirk i would expect can you talk about this subpoena and comment . I expect that those employees would receive severe retaliation. Ms. Brian the purpose of the organization is to protect people coming to us, so there is never a question you were never going to turn over the identity. Senator kirk could you describe the prospects of not supplying not complying with the subpoena . Ms. Brian what the i. G. Would need to do is have the court enforce it, and there have been senators who question why they have done this and why they would withdraw it, and they have not been willing to do so. I believe the matter has been turned over to the Integrity Committee for review as well. Senator kirk it would seem to me, ms. Halliday, that your president says her desk that your predecessor made a mistake. I would ask you to withdraw it. Ms. Halliday i will take it under consideration. Senator kirk mr. . Ms. Lerner thank you for the opportunity to testify about our work with was a box for it given the limitations my statement will focus on three areas. An overview of progress made in the past year, and some areas of ongoing concern. Starting with our role osc helps employeees. There are several processes for these cases. If an employee discloses a concert or violation of law, and it needs a standard of review, it is sent to the agency. After investigation, it reported symptom of office. The whistleblower is given the opportunity to comment. I determine whether report contains information are by statute and whether the findings appear to be reasonable. This includes weather appropriate action has been taken. I said information in her findings to the president and congress. That is the process for disclosures. Osc protects workers from limited practices. Unlike disclosure cases osc conducts investigations. We can get really for the employee including the state of any disciplinary action, reversing termination, and damages for loss of a have a have suffered. That is our process for whistleblower disclosures, and was lower retaliation complaints. Over the past year there has been a tremendous surge from the v. A. I will help about how the agency is addressing them. Osc has 140 employees with jurisdiction over the whole federal government. We have reallocated resources to prioritize our work on the v. A. Cases. This process allows osc present strong cases to the v. A. At an early stage and getting quick relief for employees. Depressed year we have obtained 22 corrected actions through this process including a settlement on behalf of dr. Catherine mitchell, and other employees who were at the heart of the scandal. My testimony summarizes and number of cases we resolved through this program, including three complaints last week. It is a set of service that the leadership agreed to the expedited due process and agree to resolve many cases to our regular processes, including mediation. 99, to be exact. He encouraged the vision has enlisted assistance in retaining counsel. Under disclosure from our work has led to improvements as well as discipline for over 40 officials with many cases pending. Hes actions included termination of employees who fail to test the suspension of employees who improperly restocked expired prescription drugs. There are several ongoing areas that require more attention. Of concern is the accessing employees medical records. In many instances v. A. Employees are themselves veterans. In several cases, their records have been asked that this has been accessed. We will pursue relief for his arrest and discipline for those who improperly processed medical records. I notified the v. A. That agent consider corrective action which should convert these that which should deter these breaches. Osc recent receipt of a report generated in response to the disclosures made by dr. Mitchell and me. We will transmit the Information Congress and president. Given where we are and i can provide that i cannot provide details. I can say that doctors mitchell and me exemplify the courage and tenacity that are necessary to overcome obstacles to change in organizations like the v. A. While the work still needs to be done, their efforts will be to improve care in phoenix and hi nes, and i want to think that both. We appreciate committees interest in our efforts. Thank you for this opportunity to testify, and im happy to answer questions you may have. Senator kirk i would like you to go into detail. The method of retaliation you are describing is the retaliate or for the v. A. Goes into the employees medical records. Maybe that employee has been a accurate and has some care in the hospital and will use that medical information to retaliate against the employee. That sounds particularly heinous ms. Lerner may not be someone who is interested in retaliating to be a colleague senator kirk we understand 40 is from v. A. Employees. Ms. Lerner that is correct. Both on the disclosure side and the retaliation side. I am hardpressed to say the worst case, this is an important issue. My testimony provides more detail, i want to stress two steps v. A. Should take. They should make it harder to access these records. They need a better lock on the system. Doctors need access. Coworkers and colleagues do not. And they should not. It seems like a pretty easy technological fix so that only those who need to know get into those records. The second thing and the Bigger Picture that that the a candidate is evaluating how to Stores Information and stop commingling information that the demographic information. What were hearing from the v. A. Is when we need the employees address to mail them a w2 g or a pay stub, there is no need. They can stop completely those two systems, it will go a long way to solve those problems. Senator kirk im told you have 316 open cases now retaliation in 43 states. Is that true . Ms. Lerner that is correct thats just on the one side. It is not on the disclosure side. Senator kirk it shows how widespread this corruption is. Ms. Lerner it is happening nationwide. I can talk more about the numbers if you would like me to. Senator kirk senator bal dwin . Senator b baldwin thank you. I have seen the role of whistleblowers critical to running an effective organization. Agencies the debate over to accept constructive criticism in order to improve, especially agency such as v. A. This has been tremendously important to the mission of taking care of our veteran. Ms. Lerner, i wanted to thank you for mentioning a person in your statement. People like ryan make a difference and in particular he helped turn around what was happening at the v. A. In wisconsin. After considering the testimony that witnesses have given and i apologize that i was hardly in getting here tardy in getting here, i have questions that get to the heart of the problem the v. A. I want to talk about the culture that i have seen that exists against whistleblowers. Missouri, you said no other federal agency has taken such a proactive approach to training managers on whistleblower protections, yet complaints about reprisals are up. Fact, your Statement Reads the osc is on track to receive more than 3800 prohibited Personnel Practices complaints in this year and that more than 1300 435 of those will be filed by v. A. Employees. Unit is for v. A. Now surpasses dod with the number of cases filed with osc despite the fact that dod has twice the number. I know that the secretary is working to change the culture, yet complaints keep coming. More must be done to change the culture at the v. A. , and to improve the system so that there is aggressive action against those who retaliate against whistleblowers. The question i have for you is, but i would also like to hear what ms. Halliday has to say what specifically do we need to do to change the culture here . Ms. Lerner i think there are several steps we can take. There are no easy fixes but there are important steps that the v. A. Can take. We have to work to change the culture to embrace whistleblowers. Changing the culture gains with an understanding need employees become forward and report health and safety issues. We do not want to shoot the messenger. Toward that. We give awards to people who identify problems. Mr. Gibson came last fall to our ceremony where we honor dr. Mitchell and two others. They should have their own ceremonies. I understand the secretary trying to meet whistleblowers and a visit facilities, that is terrific, after he leaves, what is happening . The administrators need to be told directly as and support whistleblowers. They need to keep meeting secretary gibson, secretary mcdonald the meeting with his lovers, and repeated over and again until it takes hold. The second thing they can do is train managers. They are doing a lot of training now. They need to do more. This leads hospital administrators and doctors need to get trained and white whistleblowing is important. It may not be intuitive to them why whistleblowers are that they are, and the more they are trained the more it will help. Senator baldwin i hate to cut it off the but i wanted to give ms. Halliday a chance to respond to that question. Ms. Halliday thank you. I believe you really have to enforce accountability here when you have reprisals against whistleblowers and it has to be tough. It has to be what youre somebody would take great pause to do that. You need training with assistant with regard to the h. R. Personnel practices. You need training in leadership. I think the first have to protect his. I do not think they always do. Maybe we do not have the right tools in their pocket to do that, but it is clear the need to improve in that area. I personally into three weeks i was here i added a component of training on whistleblower rights we go out and do our combined Program Assessments at the medical facilities and the people in the medical facility. I told them i wanted a piece in day so there is better training. That does not touch everyone in the v. A. System, but it touches a lot of people. Those who beat the things i would look at immediately. Senator baldwin thank you. I know we have got a vote, i will not take a lot of time, but the 40 of your cases are v. A. 60 are the rest of federal agencies. Which is really remarkable. Ms. Lerner you have jurisdiction most of the civilian workforce. We talked about dod but the reality is 40 of all agencies that is remarkable, but it is occupying such a significant caseload of yours. As halliday, i agree we need training and leadership and all those things, but we also need accountability for those that do go after whistleblowers and very strong actions in that regard, the best i can tell that is not happening. It does appear in some cases there appears to be collusion with the i. G. With the administration, perhaps telling them to much that too much facts regarding whistleblowers and you need to look into. I think hipaa laws are being used in an inappropriate way to prevent people from going forward. That is the excuse. Again, i think that is a huge job for you and ms. Brian. We have not had a full i. G. For over this year. I appreciate you having this hearing. We are going to have to step forward and try to replace that. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Senator kirk nms. Brian, how does the v. A. I. G. Compared to the other Inspector General . Ms. Lerner i can say is the worst shot in the government. Senator kirk pretty decisive. On that, i will let our members go to the vote. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer president obama today signed a three month funding extension templates that Congress Needs to pass a longerterm funding bill for the nations roads and mass transit. President obama i am about to sign an extension of our highway funding, and that is a good thing, because if this was not in front of me, we would end up having projects all across the country that would have to close after midnight. We have now made it a habit where instead of fiveyear funding plans for transportation , instead of longterm approaches where we can actually strategize on one of the most important projects, how they are getting paid for about how governors are going to approach Critical Infrastructure projects airports, instead we operate as if we are hand to three months at a time which raises a lot of which makes people concern which leads to business as not being willing to hire because they do not have a longterm survey. It is a bad way for the government to do business. So i want to make sure that before i sign this Congress Gets a clear message, and that is we should not be leaving all of the business of the u. S. Government to the last minute. Think about the things that are still undone as congress is about to go vacation. They have we authorized the exportimport bank, which is tens of thousands of jobs across the country, goodpaying jobs and because it increases our exports. When i was in ethiopia, we had sold a score of planes the Ethiopian Airlines from bowling. That produces jobs not just in seattle, but Small Businesses and medium sized businesses all who benefit from being it would facilitate the sale of u. S. Products to other countries. I had a group of small people here with employees ranging from 12 boys to 500 employees who were saying their Business Sales were starting to be affected by congressional inaction on what has traditionally been a bipartisan support of the exportimport bank. That needs to get done. Congress has had all year to do a project, and yet congress is leaving on vacation without a budget done, and when they get they will have two weeks in order to do the peoples business. And this is going to be critical. Announcer the house has begun its recesses, but plans to have a pro forma recess every day. The house is live on cspan. The senate is still in town and returning monday for work on a bill that would define planned parenthood. A vote is scheduled for 5 30 p. M. On monday. Senate will also begin debate on a Cyber Security measure. You can follow the center cspan2 when members return at 2 00 eastern time. Announcer republicans are in New Hampshire for the first president ial forum on monday at 7 00 p. M. , and cspan is providing live coverage of the forum on cspan, cspan radio, and www. Cspan. Org. Media organizations are sponsoring the floor. Following the forum, you can add your comments on facebook and twitter. Road to the white house 2016. Cspan gives you the best access the congress. Live coverage of the house congressional hearings in use conferences, and every morning washington journal is live with your comments. Cspan, created by Cable Companies and brought to you as a Public Service by your local cable or satellite provider. At theodays white house briefing, josh earnest was joined by ernest moniz. Mr. Earnest good afternoon, everybody. The president will travel to American University in washington d. C. , to deliver a speech on the Historic Deal reached by the United States alongside our partners and allies to prevent iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. The president will continue his effort to make the case for why the iran deal verifiably prevent iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. He will lay out the enormous stakes in the current debate taking place in congress and describe why is far preferable to the alternatives. Many of you know, students of history, that 50 years ago president kennedy spoke of a future defined by peace, not war, at American University. The president will also describe how this debate is fundamentally about u. S. Leadership in the world and how we can leave global efforts to address threats like Irans Nuclear program the way we did when president kennedy made the case for diplomatic efforts to address the threat of Nuclear Weapons and avoid catastrophic conflict. That should make for an interesting day on wednesday. Joining me at the briefing today is Energy Secretary ernest moniz. Many of youz will recall his visit to the Briefing Room. Since the announcement on july 14 of this final agreement, we have been trying to schedule his appearance here the Briefing Room to discuss the deal and to answer your questions about it. Based on the president s travel schedule and secretary monizs visits to capitol hill, today is the first day we could arrange this. Secretary moniz . Secretary moniz my Opening Statement is there are too many familiar faces here now. Briefly, to reinforce what was said that obviously, this agreement was focused on the question of Nuclear Weapons in iran, and the president s commitment and what i will believe will be a commitment a future president s as well to make it clear that 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 isnt, to make sure that we find out in a timely way to respond. With that, i am open for questions. Reporter im wondering if you can clear up whether its possible that iran [indiscernible] secretary moniz thats really a question for the intelligence committee. 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. And as general clapper said earlier this week, while we can never have 100 certainty that we know everything, this agreements provides tremendously enhanced insight into the program, and certainly over the years ahead, with the measures we have taken and with the considerable International Presence in iran, we expect to provide the Intelligence Community with many more tools. Reporter because of our lack of information on the iran Nuclear Program, could you talk to us about the insights that you will get come in laymans terms, what you are expecting to get if this deal goes through and you are allowed to walk in and see whats there . Secretary moniz we should really think about a verification system as opposed to just one element here, one element there. They all work together. I think the Critical Issues are, first, that we have tremendously enhanced presence at their nuclear facilities. If you like, they are known or declared nuclear facilities. That includes the most stringent containment and surveillance opportunities for the iaea including the use of advanced technologies. Secondly, and very important, is there is an unprecedented visibility into the entire uranium supply chain all the way from uranium basically just getting processed through a centrifuge manufacturing to conversion to gas. You name it. I think an important part of that is that if iran were to try to develop a covert program, they would have to recreate an entire fuel cycle. An entire supply chain, excuse me, beginning to and, in multiple locations, doing multiple technologies and one weak link in that supply chain and there would be a problem. So thats very important, this entire supply chain. Again, what i was saying earlier, its really about more tools for the Intelligence Community. A third point i do want to emphasize is, because there has been a lot made about the iaea process with regard to undeclared sites, and that is that we have for the first time, anywhere, a fixed time period for resolution. And, secondly, we remain very confident in our abilities to detect the signatures of any activity with Nuclear Materials. Reporter you been spending a lot of time on the hill talking the lawmakers and you need a certain threshold of votes to override a veto on a measure. How may votes in the house and senate . Secretary moniz i dont count votes. I just try to explain the deal. We remain convinced that the more chances we have to explain exactly what the agreement is, and, of course, not for me but for the president and the secretary of defense, secretary of state to talk about the ancillary activities around Regional Security arrangements then the more i think we will be able to carry the day. Reporter iran has long denied they ever intended to develop Nuclear Weapons. This is all about civilian Nuclear Energy. What is your sense, looking at the iran Nuclear Program do you have any doubt in your mind that that Nuclear Program was established with the intention of developing Nuclear Bombs . Secretary moniz a little historical perspective. Of course, their Nuclear Energy program started many, many decades ago. In fact, prior to the 1979 revolution. So they were definitely going for Nuclear Energy for quite a while. Now, one of the things, and i will refer to my previous life as an academic analyzing Nuclear Power issues, we always said that the economics were not there for developing things like enrichment until you had the order of 10 Nuclear Power plants. Now, irans statement is that they are in fact planning for a program of that are even greater size, and that they are, and in light of supply challenges looking to develop capacity to provide fuel for at least part of that. But that is their statement. We have said many times, this is not an agreement based on trust. If their statement were simply accepted at face value, they wouldnt have been in the sanctions regime in the first place. There would not be iaea reports out there that talk about structured programs up to 2003 that were looking at technologies relevant to a weapons program. This is all about verifying. Its all about, especially for the first 15 years, having dramatic contraints on their nuclear activities. But from day one, and forever, to having strength and verification procedures. Reporter what you say to the people of israel who are convinced that this, although in the administrations perspective, would make that country more safe, does just the opposite and that there will be so much money now with the ending of sanctions programs that will effectively put a bullseye on the state of israel from the money that will go to many of irans partners like hezbollah, hamas, and others . Whether its a Nuclear Weapon or other weapons, they think its a bullseye the goes on their heads . Secretary moniz even though i will tire you by repetition, i want to emphasize this significantly rules back all aspects of their Nuclear Program, and thats the verification. With regards to funding, this is obviously not my lane. But i can certainly repeat what secretary lew has emphasized over and over again. First of all, the resources to which iran will have access is probably in the range of around 55 billion. A lot of that is going to get tied up in a whole variety of areas, including their need to be able to finance international transactions. But as jack has also said, obviously were not going to say that some of this funding will not go to their military. So its going to go there. So what we say is, i think, what the president has said, what secretary kerry has said, what secretary carter has said on wednesday at the Senate Hearing is that we are going to have to redouble our efforts around Regional Security issues, were going to have to confront directly and energetically the various areas in which iran is generating instability and or supporting terrorism. And i think in the end, we need to have a system that, without iran, having the confidence of iran not having a Nuclear Weapon, that we will be able to focus even more intensely on these additional security challenges. Reporter thank you. I want to ask you about the undeclared sites. What are the verification mechanisms that will be at play when you are monitoring these socalled undeclared sites . How will that differ from monitoring undeclared sites, if it happens that iran is in some sort of material violation . What is the process before the International Community does more than just sanction this regime . Secretary moniz theres a huge difference between declared an undeclared sites. In the former, the iaea, they will have daily access using advanced technologies, increased number of inspectors, and the resources to carry that out. By definition, an undeclared site starts out with no monitoring because it was undeclared. Obviously, intelligence is the foundation of being able to point the iaea to those locations. Once that happens, then we have this defined process with a defined timeframe for resolving it. I would say that if you think in terms of possible violations of the agreement, clearly there was is the opportunity for graded responses. For example, the snapback of you and sanctions is termed in whole or in part. So now comes the issue of what deserves a graded response versus a more robust response . So for example, one of the very important conditions of the agreement is the 300 kilograms of low enriched uranium for 15 years. For a short time, if there happens to be a little imbalance there, thats probably something thats going to get corrected. But you wouldnt call a material response to kind of bring down the whole 64 tons. On the other hand, if there is nuclear activity, Nuclear Materials activity and undeclared site, and that is found, i would consider that to be a very material breach and one that would call for a very strong reaction. Reporter yesterday, the president told supporters in a Conference Call that because so much money is being spent in opposition to this deal, it a lot of members are really feeling the political heat and some are getting squishy. Are you experiencing that, and when the president does feel someone is getting squishy, are you the guy who calls to firm things up . Secretary moniz im certainly getting enough calls to speak to members. And i welcome it. I have been very frankly pleased at how many members are really digging into the documents, both the public and confidential documents that we have supplied. Squishy, i wouldnt use that term. I have spoken to many members after theyve had visits, shall we say. What it has led them to sharpen their questions, and hopefully for us to sharpen our answers. That is all we can do, to continue the process of explaining exactly what this agreement is. Because i think it will stand on its own. Reporter based on your conversation with lawmakers, do you think that meeting will be enough, or does the white house and administration have anything to do with getting the director general to [indiscernible] secretary moniz i want to dispel this idea of secret deals. There is no secret side deal. The agreement, jcpoa agreement is that iran will stop blunting the iaea attempts to finish the investigation. Somehow we think this last visit to one site is kind of the whole thing. There has been many, many years of activity and reports that that is was responsible for a lot of the sanctions over the last years. The agreement is this is not secret, this is public. Iran must respond by october 15 in terms of providing iaea all of the access it has asked for in their agreedupon protocol. Those protocols, as a standard are called safeguards confidential between the country and the iaea. The iaeas independence is very important to our longterm interests. It is a standard safeguards confidential protocol. I will give you an example. If you go back almost 25 years the iaea basically took apart the South African program. Those documents all remain confidential. That is the standard. The issue is iaea negotiated with iran in confidential protocols. What would be the steps required for the iaea to have satisfaction that it could finish the job and issue the final report on what happened . Typically, we are talking 12 years ago. I welcome that. I should say, when i met with the director general in vienna a few days before the agreement was completed, he said then that he was going to be very happy to come and have discussions with the administration and with the congress. I am personally quite pleased that he is following up on that in a timely way. I think it will be very helpful. Reporter you said you are not responsible for counting votes but you spent a considerable time on the hill, in public and behind closed doors meeting with members of congress. He also said you didnt refer to any of them getting squishy. What is your level of confidence now on the hill . Secretary moniz i remain confident this agreement will go into effect. Ultimately, certainly unless there are too many closed minds, the thing which most disappointed me was all of the opining on the agreement before it was reached. I think as long as there are open minds, the agreement is very, very powerful in its constraints on the Iranian Program and on its enhanced verification measures. So i think as long as we keep at it and keep explaining that, and have others like the secretary kerry and secretary carter and the president reinforce our Regional Security commitments more broadly, i think the deal will certainly go into effect. Reporter i know some people see this is connected to the iran deal. There is a growing number in congress [indiscernible] secretary moniz i find the linkage to be interesting. I would note first of all a slight difference here that iran is, after all, an oil exporter they would like to be more of an oil exporter than they are today, obviously. The United States remains an importer of 7 Million Barrels of crude oil per day. So these are very, very asymmetric situations. Theres a broader issue in general about american oil exports. Obviously, the congress has been acting on that. That is a question for the secretary. Reporter i understand you just had a meeting with leaders of major jewish organizations, some who oppose the group. Can you tell me if you think you made any headway in selling the deal . What are the questions you think are most formidable to persuading these leaders who are opposed . Secretary moniz it was a very good meeting. A number of the jewish leaders came in from across the country. It showed, i think, right there a very strong interest in really having a chance to discuss the agreement in depth. Make progress, again i dont like to make value judgments. I can say it was a very good discussion. Not surprising, these were people who were well schooled in the agreements, but also had lots of clarifying questions to ask. I felt that we made Real Progress in terms of clarification of issues in terms of how this agreement was ultimately good for our security and for the security in the region. A lot of the questions some of the ones being asked here. What is the 24 days . What is the iaea arrangement . I would say a lot of it focused on these questions of verification because we all understand that those are central to this question of finding any covert activity. I think, for example, a point that was we emphasized and had impact and had not been as fully appreciated is this idea of having transparency across the entire supply chain. Chain of uranium, and how that significantly enhanced our capabilities to find anything outside of that allowed supply chain. I think it was a very good meeting, and you are certainly correct that i think it was quite appropriate, people came to that meeting with very different perspectives. Reporter on the whole secret side deal allegation secretary moniz there is no secret side deal. Reporter the folks who say we are placing a lot of trust in the iaea in subcontracting out a decision about what american sanctions should do in the future. Should we trust the iaea . Secretary moniz we have always trusted the iaea. It is an extreme a confident organization, i might add, partly because at a place like Los Alamos National laboratory we have courses that all of the iaea inspectors take, for example. That has been going on for decades. We have obviously, there are many, many nationalities involved in the iaea safeguards activities. A number of them are american. Typically coming from our laboratories. They will not be part of the inspection teams because of our lack of diplomatic relations but they are a very conpetent organization. But we have done is give them the tools they need to apply this talents. And i might say, to expand their scope relative to other things as well. For example, the issue of having verification opportunities literally for the uranium supply chain is something they have sought they would love to have. They have sought it in other occasions, unsuccessfully. This will be the first time they will have the capability. This is a period in which they will have the ability to deploy advanced technologies, enrichment Monitoring Technologies i might add, developed in our national laboratories. Electronic seals, our laboratories worked on that. Etc. , etc. They are very competent. They need to have the options at their disposal to deploy their tools. This is what they give them. Reporter i wanted to ask a technical question about the water react to. Reactor. They said the core would be destroyed. Is that the same as destroying it . Secretary moniz it renders it unusable in that or any future reactor. Reporter is there a potential that if the deal bricks apart iran will be able to restart it or rebuilt . Secretary moniz if the agreement is rejected come i resume iran will not take the is rejected, everything iran will not take the steps in collaboration with the p5 1 to carry through an alternative design was less ternium production plutonium production. In addition, send all of that radiated fuel out of the country. But if there is no agreement come i dont see why they would do that. They could leave it in and finish that reactor. It is a major plutonium producer. Reporter how long is that process . At what point where they have done the redesign . Secretary moniz as the agreement says, a working group will be set out set up involving iran and p5 1. That will go forward immediately. It is not like the hasnt been worked on on this. Many of the countrys teams, including our own that is why we have confidence in the basic hours. You will find two pages of the parameters specifications of the new reactor. And as expeditiously as possible to go through design and construction and commissioning of the reactor. Reporter the lawmakers, among those who oppose the deal could you give us some alternatives they suggested . Secretary moniz i cannot give one that has the same impact as the agreement does. We had set and a get not the secretary of state but we have said and again im not the secretarys day, but it is hard how there wouldnt be any consequences we would say quickly. The most important point is one of the surprising elements is the fact that the p5 1 would hang together through a tough grinding negotiation, at the same time it is clear some members of the p5 1 have some other issues. We all know who we are talking about. And yet theres tremendous cohesion there. I a it took a core and underlying reason and one that gives me some confidence that this cohesion will stick if there was any question about how iran the p5 have a self interest in preserving the nonproliferation regime. Obviously the p5 has a special role in the treaty. It is in itself a just that this is executed properly. Reporter you havent seen [laughter] you are seen as one of the most effective spokesman. Somewhat of an unusual figure in washington. Slightly longer hair and the rest of us. Secretary moniz you said that in the nicest possible way. [laughter] reporter can you tell us what it is about . Bringing an academic to washington . Why you think you have become the spokesman for this agreement . Secretary moniz i would say a spokesman for the agreement. It is an area frankly this is not part of my job description. But obviously it was fortuitous out of circumstances. This is an area where i have a lot of experience. Here is some news. Reporter bring it. Secretary moniz 1978 it could look up the American Physical Society report on nuclear fuel cycles. It is terrific. I recommend it. For insomnia. [laughter] there is a chapter in their on nuclear safeguards. I was the lead author of that chapter. It was a long time. The other thing is there was a certain for to dismiss for to it fortuitousness. He was a dear friend of mine. We had some commonality. It probably help the negotiation along. These kinds of relationships are important. Whatever the case, im happy to assist the president and secretary kerry to negotiate and against this agreement. Reporter you brought m. I. T. Paraphernalia. Is that right . Secretary moniz it was i went to make it clear that i have two grandchildren. The first grandchild was born as i was sitting at the table negotiating. It seemed appropriate to connect his new granddaughter to his educational past. Thank you. Secretary moniz thank you. Reporter [indiscernible] [laughter] thank you. If there are additional topics . Reporter a different topic. [indiscernible] attacked and killed a palestinian toddler. The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms last a vicious terrorist attack in the palestinian village. The arson attack on a family home in the dead of night that resulted in the death of an 18 month old baby and three other family members, we can they are profound condolences to them and send prayers for full recovery to those injured in the attack. The was welcomes Prime Minister netanyahus order to use all means at the proposal to apprehend the murderer and bring them to justice. We urge all sides to maintain calm in the wake of this tragic terrorist attack. Reporter american intelligence agencies are saying that the Islamic State is essentially as strong as it was a year ago in spite of all of our massive efforts there is basically the are replenishing it as quickly as we are diminishing them. Does the white house agree with that assessment . Spokesperson earnest i think in evaluation of the fact and anyone with memory of what has transpired over the last romance would acknowledge we have made important progress in our campaign to degrade and destroy isil. There are a variety of ways to measure that. Over the last year, the u. S. Coalition has hit isil with more than 50 airstrikes. That has resulted in the destruction of thousands of fighting positions tanks om factories, training camps, and even some eiffel fighters is il fighters. Have recently cited the statistic that isil is no longer able to freely operate in 25 of the Populated Areas that they previously controlled. That is indication their footprint has been reduced. Quite a stark contrast to one year ago today when isil was moving unimpeded and even threatening mobile and baghdad where there was erbile and baghdad. Religious minorities were trapped. Isil fighters were threatening to slaughter them. Since that time, for raiding fighting forces on the ground in military airpower, the mountain is no longer the site of a widespread slaughter. It has been retaken by antiisil forces. There is a variety of ways to measure our progress in syria as well. Nonetheless, isil has been driven out. We talked about the fights weve talked about Strategic Forces in the city that had been a prominent sort of a gateway to the prominent important suppliers for isil. That supplier has been shut down. There have in some dominant extremist taking taken off the battlefield as a result of our coalition efforts. Our president ordered a raid back in made. A senior isil commander was killed. And a treasure trove of information was obtained. Earlier this month, the department of defense announced the removal of a key Al Qaeda Affiliated group leader in syria. That is different than isil, but it is a source that the president articulated a year ago. That is nothing to say the important progress that has been made on the political front in iraq. Progress on the political front was going to be critical to our longerterm success. Prime minister malecki city comfortably in undermined the effect of the Security Forces and undermine the ability of the country to a front confront this isil threat. We have seen a new government take office led by Prime Minister abadi. He pursues an inclusive multisectarian governing agenda. He has extended that approach to the Security Forces. I think there are a variety of measures to a velvet the progress we have made evaluate the progress we have made. There is no doubt there continues to be significant challenges. You know did one of them. Isil has continued to demonstrate some ability to continue to recruit fighters to their side. This is an important part of our strategy. We would like to see additional progress in confronting the fighters in the region and countering the radicalization strategy pursued in social media. Also, operating in communities that had been previously taken over by isil to ensure they could put in place some kind of stable governing structure that would make it more if the cold for isil to recruit sympathizers to their side. Reporter does the white house have lastminute measures to help puerto rico ahead of the expected default this weekend . If not come are you concerned about the consequences of that . Spokesperson earnest administration has for some time been trying to work with puerto rico and its local leaders with their financial challenges they face their. There. They have severe right through a decadelong recession. We have put they have survived decadelong procession. Some of the president s advisers have been engaged in that task force. We have been following the effort of oath puerto rico and this task force to confront some of these significant financial challenges. There is a payment that puerto rico is scheduled to make by monday. What we have said for some time is that there should be no expectation of a federal bailout. There should be the expectation that the Obama Administration will continue to work with puerto rico and local leaders as they work through some significant financial challenges. Reporter are you concerned about [inaudible] spokesperson earnest i would refer to the Treasury Department for specific Financial Analysis of the consequences if that payment is not made. At this point, i would be reluctant to foreshadow what the consequences could be at least at this point. Reporter the former governor [indiscernible] an advocate of statehood said if puerto rico moved ahead with statehood, it would be easier to resolve problems. He recalled conversations he had with the president on this where he found him not committed on the issue here to what is the president s position on the statehood of puerto rico . Spokesperson earnest our decision is that it is a decision for puerto rico to make. Our position continues to be this will be a decision for the people of puerto rico to make. Reporter good to clear up one more thing on the negotiations with iran . In the memorable reply to Major College he said two major, he said think about the logic that creates. The next day secretary kerry appeared on a morning program. During the Iran Nuclear Talks there was not a meeting that took place, not one that took place that is not an exaggeration where we did not raise the issue of our american citizens being held. It was the last conversation he had with the foreign minister. It would seem the statements are contradict the rape. Could you contradictory. Could you explain . Spokesperson earnest secretary kerry and others frequently raced the raised the case of americans being unjustly detained in iran. Let me explain. It means there is never a situation where american negotiators offered up unjustly detained americans as a bargaining chip in the ongoing negotiations. Those american should be released without any conditions so they could return to the u. S. A beer and i did with their families return to the u. S. And be reunited with their families. The successful conclusion of the Nuclear Negotiations was as all of you know not a conclusion. There was healthy skepticism of whether this would be completed. The negotiations were completed until two weeks. To suggest had these individuals and their fates inside to the successful negotiations of the talks come it would have set back efforts to try to secure their release. That is why the president made the judgment routinely daily make clear that the safe return of these american citizens is a top priority in the administration. We were not willing to subject them to the back and forth bargaining that took place in the nuclear talk. Reporter any idea when the plants will be made public . Spokesperson earnest no timeline to share at this moment. Reporter will enclose the entire enable these are just the Detention Center . Spokesperson earnest just the Detention Center. Reporter [indiscernible] called out congress for leaving without having done work on the budget. What are they trying to do to avoid a shutdown once they come back . Spokesperson earnest from of the president has done is put out a detailed Budget Proposal. This is a Budget Proposal that fully fund our National Security requirements. Expand opportunities for middleclass families. Make our tax code more fair and more straightforward. That is the president s responsibility to be clear on what exactly priorities are. They believed it was important for congress to have power of the purse. Basic responsibility of everyone. Legislation tax a budget for the u. S. It is a congregational we have seen democrats be forward leaning to sit down with republicans in congress to find Common Ground. That has been the formula for success. There was a patch that was put in place. Paul ryan and patty murray, a leading House Republican and a leading democrat, sat down and hammered out a bipartisan agreement. It wasnt perfect. There were some aspects the president didnt like. What it did was avoided a second Government Shutdown and showed bipartisan ground. Making investments above and beyond. Not just in our National Security, but in our economy. We believe that is what democrats and republicans in congress should do. Democrats indicated a willingness to do that. You havent seen the same from republicans. That is a source of disappointment. We have seen this movie before. This ending is not get. My goodness. This ending is not too good. My goodness. That is why it had in a touch of republicans have resisted talking to democrats to pass a budget. What the president indicated is to start having these conversations even if they are informal, phone calls, around a table at the beach somewhere. We could have constructive conversations in the right at a bipartisan budget agreement that doesnt risk any sort of Government Shutdown. Reporter human exactly clear on this part. [indiscernible] you havent been exactly clear on this part. [indiscernible] spokesperson earnest we oppose ideologically driven bets in the budget. The funding planned parenthood is certainly something that would national and reporter has the president spoken with senator Shuman Schumer . Spokesperson earnest at the specific conversations. April. I dont have the specific conversations. April. Reporter [inaudible] spokesperson earnest im not aware of any specific conversations that occurred since the indictment was announced in the last day or two. Over the last several days the president Senior Advisor has been in touch with the mayor of cincinnati. Im not aware of any conversations that are taking place since the indictment was announced. Reporter [inaudible] what does the white house have to say about that . Spokesperson earnest it will be handled by the department of justice. They take the responsibility seriously. The president has complete confidence in the skill and professionalism of the federal prosecutors. We are confident this individual will be brought to justice. Reporter i understand your comment. [inaudible] he brought it up. The references to the confederate flag. We have heard from eyewitnesses that there was pure racial hate. What can you say to that . Spokesperson earnest i dont want to Say Something that could be construed in the process. The president has a lot of confidence in the criminal justice process. No smoke part because of the professionalism of our prosecutors. Or has been ample evidence that has been presented publicly. Put is most important is for that evidence to be presented in a court of law. He given the right and responsibilities the constitution guarantees. We know that federal prosecutors take the case seriously. There are committed to pursuing justice. We believe that is what they are pursuing right now. Reporter back to the planned parenthood piteous. Videos. Has the president seen those videos . Spokesperson earnest i know that he is aware of the news those videos have generated. Reporter the central question of whether or not planned. Hood was involved planned parenthood was involved in this deal for profit, there is a strong suggestion that is exactly was being talked about in those videos. Does white house believed they are selling fetal tissues and fetal hearts that profits against the law . Should that be investigated . Spokesperson earnest i havent seen the videos. It has raised significant concerns about their authenticity and whether they accurately convey the view of those particular officials or even the broader institution. The New York Times described it as deception. Others called a manufactured crisis. Mercury news described it as misleading. The other thing i alluded to yesterday is we have seen this kind of attack tactic be tempted by other extremist organizations that have an ideological agenda. They marshaled what is purported to be convincing and damning evidence that later didnt prove to hold up too much scrutiny. I guess the scrutiny these body it videos have gotten raises doubts about the authenticity. When it comes to specific determinations that need to be reached about whether or not any sort of criminal behavior or action took place, that is a determination that will be made. I would refer you to them. Reporter it seems like it is critical on those who brought the evidence out and not at the elected underlying behavior which is being deemed criminal behavior. Theres this longstanding ban on forprofits selling fetal tissues. Should it be prosecuted . Spokesperson earnest this is the policy and the law. Everyone should follow the law. It is also a question of ethics. Planned return has indicated that their standards planned eparenthood has indicated that their standards there have been questions raised by outside organizations about the content of these videos. But when it comes to making decisions about whether an investigation of possible charges being brought consistent with the suspicion of criminal activity, those would be questions for the department of justice. John it sounds like you are saying we should just believe planned parenthood. I think a lot of people here have seen the video based on the fact that it has gotten a lot of news attention. But i havent, and i dont believe the president has. Conservatives have raised significant concern about the content of those videos. John . John secretary of state clinton made a speech today in which she referenced the end of the u. S. Embargo on cuba. A position that the president also supports. I want to read from you a piece from the miami herald, and get your reaction from it. They write that they have yet to see any significant action from the castro regime that would enhance the Civil Liberties of the cuban people. Do you disagree with that statement . Mr. Earnest what we have seen john, are some steps like human steps the cuban government has taken, both in terms of releasing some clinical prisoners, and giving the cuban population greater access to information. They are steps that the government previously resisted. I think that is an occasion of some forward progress. I think the other thing i would acknowledge is that our expectations is that the kind of policy changes that the president initiated just seven or eight months ago is strongly in the best interest of the United States and cuban people in the longterm. What we saw is the previous policy that was in place for more than 50 years did not yield any progress that anyone could point to, in terms of changing the government posture in the direction of respecting, it even protecting, the basic human rights of the cuban people. That is what prompted the president s policy decision to begin to normalize relations with cuba, and even established diplomatic relations with cuba. We did not see progress for more than 50 years, and when you are trying something for 50 years and it doesnt work, it is time to try Something Different. What we have tried to do differently has resulted in at least what can be described as some preliminary change and positive indications about the future. One other data point that i would point to is that available data about the preferences of the cuban people indicate that more than 90 of them support the policy changes that the president initiated. Even if they are skeptics here in the United States, the president who has the National Security interest of the United States at heart believes this is the best decision for our country, and it is relevant that an overwhelming majority, and near unanimity of the qa people cuban people agree this is in the best interest of themselves too. John they also write said daily arrests, acts of repudiation of anyone who questions the official line is still in place. Do you disagree with that . Mr. Earnest there is no doubt that there is significant progress that remains to be done. There are a number of additional steps we like to see the cuban government take to do a better job of protecting and respecting the basic human rights of the cuban people, including those in cuba who may have political differences with the government. There is no design that there is denying that there is additional progress that is needed. We believe that progress is more likely, it we can be more effective in pressing for that progress by more deeply engaging with the country, and reestablishing diplomatic ties. Kevin . Kevin i want to follow up on the question about the planned parenthood video. You mentioned grossly misleading, partisan, even saying that have been impartial observers who have raise questions. Who are these impartial observers to whom you refer. Can you understand why there are so Many Americans who believe their voices should also be heard here at the white house . Whether they be democrats republicans who believe that what is revealed in the video is grotesque . Mr. Earnest the New York Times has referred to this as a campaign of deception. Kevin seriously, you cant say the times is an partial impartial about all things visavis all things planned parenthood. Ive never seen them criticize planned parenthood, and you are saying they are impartial. Mr. Earnest i will refrain from discussing impartiality with regards to any news agency in this room. Particularly about this question. Kevin do you believe the law is being applied equitably, especially when you consider the David Petraeus case. They went and got all of his information, took all of his computers. In the case of the clinton circumstance, the server still has not been picked up by anyone a lawenforcement. Do think that is an equitable use of the law . Mr. Earnest i would not judge the use of a lot by the the decision being made about enforcing the law by the department of justice. You should direct questions to them. Kevin if i could direct my question to the emails themselves, is the white house confident that the secretary of state, the then secretary of state clinton, was right to predetermined that which was classified, what does the white or does the white house believe that she should have done Something Different and allow someone else to determine what was classified on her server . Mr. Earnest the requirement for secretary clinton and for every official serving in the Obama Administration is to ensure that in those instances where they use their personal email in the conduct of official government business, that they turn over those official emails to Agency Officials so that they can be properly maintained, archives, and use in responding to requests for information from the general public or congress. That is what secretary clinton has done, and those are request that the state department is currently attempting to for phil. Leslie, cash lastly lastly i want to ask about sandra , bland. I would not say the case has gone cold, but there has been less news. Mr. Earnest i understand that there was a commission created at the state level to look of the conduct of the state level Law Enforcement agency there. I know there are some state legislators that are actively involved in the discussions. I believe there was a hearing yesterday on this matter. The Department Justice continues to monitor the situation, both the review at the local level, but also the efforts that are underway at the state level. Carol . Carol are there any deal wednesday speech . Will there be anything new in the speech . Meaning, you have talked about this a lot, he has talked about this a lot. You are delivering this at a time when people are typically on vacation. Mr. Earnest we will have some more details on a number of those questions next week. I can tell you the president is looking forward to the opportunity to make a strong case about our broader National Security interest and how preventing iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon through diplomacy advances the interest of our allies. I think the other thing i alluded to in the Opening Statement is that this is also the venue in which president kennedy himself delivered a speech, i believe about 52 years ago, at American University where he talked to his effort to about his effort to try to use diplomacy to make a nuclear war left likely. Less likely. In this case it was a war between United States and the soviet union. Trying to advance our interests through diplomacy, even when the threat of Nuclear Weapons is involved, is something that has served our country well in the past. The president believes it will serve our country well in the future, particularly when it comes to confronting iran. Fred . Fred can you follow up on the New York Times Editorial Board piece . Mr. Earnest is there a question . Fred are you putting that in the context of an impartial observation because it is an editorial . Mr. Earnest i am. Im not saying they dont have an opinion, but that they are individuals who can look at the facts and can render an opinion. If you want to raise questions about the credibility of factcheck. Org, ironically, you can as well. The point i am making is that i have not seen the video. For those who have, they have raised concerns about the content. Ultimately, what the president believes is that or, our position on this is that if the department of justice inquiry is required, that is a decision they will make. For questions about that, i would refer to the department of justice. Fred couldnt one argue that the funding of planned parenthood is ideological . In terms of receiving federal tax dollars. Mr. Earnest fred, i think it is relevant to point out a couple of things. Planned parenthood does provide important Preventative Care and services to men, women, and children across the country. Millions of men and women visit planned Parenthood Centers annually. The other thing that is true and this also applies to planned parenthood, and sometimes i think it gets lost in the debate is that no federal funds are permitted to cover abortions or administer plans that administer abortions unless in cases of rape, incensed, or when the life of the mother is in danger. That is the case since the 1980s. Fred is there any reason to believe the president will watch the video . Mr. Earnest not that i am aware of. Chris . Chris at a gay pride parade in jerusalem yesterday, at least six people were stabbed. Do you condemn the action . Mr. Earnest absolutely. This is a terrible act of violence. One that the United States strongly condemns. Scott . Scott what is the White House Position mr. Earnest if she wants an opinion on this policy matter, she can do so in private. Scott we want an opinion. Mr. Earnest this is a policy decision that ultimately will be determined by the secretary of commerce at the department of commerce. I dont want to leave you with the impression that the white house would be left out of the loop, but if any communication is necessary, that would take place in private. Scott gasoline prices tend to impact prices internationally, 10 to track International Oil prices tend tend to track International Oil prices. Would that the a relevant thing to consider in making that policy choice . Mr. Earnest ultimately, that is up to the department of commerce to figure out. Sarah . Sarah it was reported that both the times and several other news organizations were told that it was criminal, that later emerged to not be the case. Is the president concerned whether Accurate Information or not, the Justice Department is leaking information about a potential successor . Mr. Earnest i think i have gotten in trouble when i have opined on relying on information from unreliable news sources. On relying on Anonymous Sources for Important News reports. I want to refrain from relying on that again. I would let you all decide on that. The department of justice, i think, has gone to some lengths to try and help you understand what is going on in this situation. That is made more difficult because the report not only relied on Anonymous Sources in the Department Justice, but elsewhere, who, one could logically conclude, maybe even impartially conclude, might have an ax to grind in this particular matter. Ultimately, it is news organizations themselves to have to account for their own reporting. They will have to account also for relying on what turned out to be a questionable, if not misleading, Anonymous Sources for a really important story. Ultimately, that will be something for news editors and media reporters to turn through. I will let them to do that on their own. Sarah is the awkward though for the administration and has the president said anything to attorney general lynch, or at the Justice Department about dealing with things concerning secretary clinton . Mr. Earnest no. Im not aware of those conversations. The Department Justice, like the other agencies in the Obama Administration, goes to Great Lengths to help you understand what is going on inside the administration, and why it is happening. In this case, the department of justice worked hard to let the news media and American Public know what was happening and that was complicated by the fact that the original report was wrong. That did not prevent the Department Justice from trying to work to help you understand exactly what the facts were. Jared . Jared in a Conference Call last night, the president cautioned supporters to not make the same mistake as with iraq. How does the administration of when trying to sell the Iran Nuclear Deal avoid this paradox that the more that is known as objectively, the less is trusted about the veracity of those reports. That is a paradox that investigators fell into with iraq. Mr. Earnest i think i see a little bit differently. As it relates to this deal, i think the more people understand the agreement and the commitments, and the nature of the most Intrusive Inspections the more likely they are to support the agreement. They will understand that this will shut down every pathway that iran has to a Nuclear Weapon, and it would give us significant confidence that we had good insight into Irans Nuclear program, and whether or not they are following the terms of the agreement that they committed to. Andrew . Andrew or a little annoyed with you. Im not sure if you heard something about this . [indiscernible] mr. Earnest it was. Andrew im wondering if you want to back those remarks. Walk back those remarks or if you think they still stand. Mr. Earnest i certainly still stand by those remarks. I stand by those remarks. Andrew just for clarification on the confidential protocol between iran and the iaea, who is aware . Of the contents of the particle . That protocol . Mr. Earnest our negotiators. It is the basis of that briefing that we have made a commitment to sharing, in the classified setting, that information with members of the congress. My understanding is that Wendy Sherman is the individual who briefed house members in a classified setting earlier this week, and she has made an offer to brief members of the u. S. Senate in a classified setting. That leads me to believe that she is the one who was briefed by the iaea on the contents of the agreement, but you should ask the state department directly. Andrew obviously you cant speak about confidential protocol, but can you envision a situation where the iaea would come to a broader conclusion as far as Irans Nuclear intentions without access to iranian scientists . Mr. Earnest my understanding is that the iaea has indicated they will have access to all the information they need to write the report. I mentioned yesterday some irony of some republicans in the United States senate who say they are not scientists and therefore cannot form an opinion about the reality of climate change, yet, all of a sudden they have the expertise of a Nuclear Physicist and can effectively determine what sort of access and information the iaea needs to write the report. I think it is that is why we dont put a lot of that is why we dont find those are critiques from republicans in congress to be particularly credible. The last one, and then the week ahead. Do you think members of congress will go on a fiveweek vacation . What will the white house be doing to reach out or make themselves available to talk about Unfinished Business . Will you Call Congress members back in the district or do any lobbying . Mr. Earnest i may have been subtle with the previous question, so i will be a more direct. The white house has put forward a budget. I believe is february 1 it was february 1. If it was sitting here, it would be as big as a phone book. There is detailed information ample and Firm Information and a very detailed proposal that the white house has put forward on how we think the budget should be funded. If congress decides they dont want to do work and want to pass our budget, we would certainly welcome that. My position is that they would want to wait in. To weigh in. The good news is the Founding Fathers have given that the responsibility of maintaining the powers of the purse, so ultimately it will be congresss responsibility to pass the budget. That is why you have heard me say repeating the repeatedly that it is republicans responsibility and congress to sit down with democrats in congress and find some Common Ground to find a budget that can be passed well in advance of keep the government open, and september 30 two find it at appropriate levels in the best interest of our economy and National Security. The white house will certainly be available to facilitate those conversations, offer advice, and weigh in with our opinion if it is requested. But ultimately when it comes to the responsibility of funding the government of the United States, the responsibility of the president is to put forth his own Budget Proposal, something we did almost exactly six month ago. It is the responsibility of the congressional leadership to pass a budget and put it on the president s desk before the end of the fiscal year. I will remind you one last time, john boehner and mitch mcconnell, in the aftermath of the election, the day after the midterm election, when it was confirmed that republicans would be in charge of congress they penned an oped saying that they would get Congress Moving again. Congresss most basic function, most basic responsibility is to pass the budget. What we know about the progress is it will require the support of at least some democrats in the senate for the budget to pass. That is why we have been urging for months for republicans in the house and senate to sit down with democrats in the house and senate to find this bipartisan agreement. That has been something that republicans have resisted. It certainly runs contrary to the promise that they made to get Congress Moving again. It will come back from their recess in september and will be worried about making all of this getting all of this work done in three weeks. We are worried about it too, and that is why they should start now. The work they need to do now is there across the table from congressional democrats, and find some Common Ground. The Silver Lining of all of this is this is exactly how they work through problems in the past. In 2013, there was a Government Shutdown. In the aftermath, democrats and republicans set down across from each other and hammered out a solution. It was a solution that funded at appropriate levels, above the sequester, both for National Security and the economy. There is a template that we should follow, that has been successful in the past. Republicans, thus far, have resisted. That has been the source of the frustration that i express, and the president expressed in the oval office. Efforts to reject the iran deal i imagine that will be to begin the recess, as we approach the deadline. What will the white house be doing to counter that huge influx of money . Mr. Earnest i think the president convened the call yesterday with americans across the country. Because of his believe in the power of grassroots organizing. Are people all across the country who have been following this issue, and are concerned about making sure that we dont engage in a rush to war, that we have so much more focused on using other elements of american authority, including diplomacy to resolve questions that are relevant to our National Security. In this case, the president has done exactly that. He has used his influence around the globe to build an international coalition. It put in place sanctions that we coordinated with the rest of the global community, including the the largest economies around the world, put intense pressure on iran, compel them to come to the negotiating table, and they voluntarily agreed to shut down every pathway they have to a Nuclear Weapon. To essentially render harmless a heavy water reactor at iraq, and agreed to the most intrusive set of inspections that has ever existed on a countrys Nuclear Program. By following through on this diplomatic agreement and working with the International Community to implement it and enforce it it , is not only the best way to prevent iran from obtaining Nuclear Weapons, failing to do so only makes one in the middle east more likely. That is why the president has advocated so strongly for this agreement. That is why he will continue to do that in the days and weeks ahead, and that is what we will encourage americans all across the country to do. To talk to their friends and neighbors, their coworkers, the people at church, to explain to them exactly what is included in this agreement, and why we believe it is something that should be supported not only by people around the country, but by every member of congress. With that, why dont we look at the week ahead, and you can begin your weekend. On monday, the president will address the second class of 500 mandela fellows at the African Leaders president ial summit. The initiative, luncheon 2010, the United States to leaders in the initiative, launched by the president in 2010, connects the United States to leaders in Subsaharan Africa and provides them with opportunities they need to make a meaningful impact in their communities. The threeday summit will bring together 500 of subsaharan leaders to meet with leaders. Subsaharan africas most promising Young Leaders to meet with the president and other entrepreneurs. The event will be a capstone to the president s trip to africa where he confirmed his commitment to youth across the continent and entrepreneurial approaches to common challenges. On tuesday, the president will host ban kimoon in the oval office. In the afternoon, the president will offer marks at the white house demo day. We will have more details on that over the week. What is that . Mr. Earnest demo day. I think it is short for demonstration. White house demolition day is a different event, but an event that i am similarly looking forward to. On wednesday, the president will deliver a speech on the Nuclear Deal Reached with iran at American University here in washington. On thursday and friday, the president will be here at the white house, but we will have more details on his schedule earlier next week. Daytime . Nighttime . Mr. Earnest we are working on details, but i anticipate the daytime. We will keep you posted. Have a great weekend. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] next, president ial candidates hillary clinton, jeb bush bernie sanders, ben carson and Martin Omalley speak of the urban league convention. Then president obama signs of threemonth extension to the highway funding bill. Energy secretary ernest moniz talks about the iran nuclear agreement. Five president ial hopefuls spoke at a National Urban League Conference in Fort Lauderdale florida. The Democratic Candidates are hillary clinton, Martin Omalley and bernie sanders. The republican candidates are jeb bush and ben carson. This is two hours and 45 minutes