Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140822

Finding. It started under george w. Bush and was completed under president obama. There was a National Climate assessment that is required i law every four years. Republicans voted for that in 990. It calls out the dangers of Carbon Pollution and says it will increase ozone and asthma and hospital admissions. Climate change is projected to Harm Human Health by increasing groundlevel ozone. They specifically cite more Carbon Pollution as increasing Global Temperatures and increasing premature deaths and ozone and particle pollution. Is there any one of the four of you that has a problem with that analysis . Ok. Hey agree with that. I want to talk to my friend from alabama. I want to ask you this question. I have respect for your office and your opinion. Isnt it true that alabama lost all recent major Clean Air Act cases . They lost their legal challenge in the Supreme Court. In the White Stallion case they lost to the epa endangerment finding. Isnt that a fact . I dont doubt what youre saying. You dont recall losing those cases . I think youre right. I think that is important. I know you have talked about the impact in florida, you are already seeing. I went in a helicopter over the miami region. When you see how much water is there it takes your breath away. I wonder if you could talk about how local communities are joining together to address the Climate Change. Do they have bipartisan support . The particularly in the south florida area, six counties have basically come together specifically to work on adaptation measures dealing with the problems they are already facing. Saltwater intrusion, the drainage systems, they Impact Todays problem. The Sea Level Rise of eight inches has a significant impact. Because of the level above sea level but also the terrain and the sub surface, this causes a significant issue in that part of the state. We see local governments struggling with the issue and spending significant amounts of money. My sense is that is going to be an expanding issue. It is going to be an expanding problem in the south florida area. In the nearterm. I met with the group in the miami area including scientists, they are concerned about what is happening today and how it will be exaggerated over the next 10 years. They are not talking about longterm. They are talking about 10 years. When it comes to environment we have big differences. When it comes to preparing we have come together. I want to mention that we have taken steps. This is the time for senators questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I am frustrated again. I am frustrated at the cartoonist nature of the assertions. Going after strawmen instead of having a detailed, serious discussion. I think senator bosemans comment of the 97 figure really goes to that. 97 to leave in this consensus about Climate Change. It is defined so broadly that all the republican members of this committee would be among the 97 . I hope we can get beyond going after strawmen and having these artoonish conversations. With that theme of science, let e start there. Who has graduate advanced degrees in the Natural Sciences . Et me ask you. One of these areas with cartoonish claims and outlandish claims is about evere weather. What is the historian record of the severity and frequency overall of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and loods. As you have had in past testimony, the Analysis Shows that these of nonincreased. In terms of major storms. If that is the specific question, there has not been an increase in tornadoes and major storms according to his analysis. That is one of the most common rallying cries about this cartoonish debate. Lets talk about real science. We have a huge issue which is whatever we do, what is the rest of the world doing . These posters illustrate what china is doing. There are other countries that are a factor. With this in mind, will the epa rule as constructed have a significant affect on global average temperatures or sea evel rise . If the United States acts alone it will have a very insignificant effect. That does leave open if this is supposed to be a leadership ction or a scientific. If the nine states acts alone it will be minor. Could i make a comment about Sea Level Rise . Goahead. Time is limited. Most of the comments were about Sea Level Rise. It is wellknown to geologists and that the sea level has been rising since the end of the last ice age. The average estimated rate has been afoot a century. Hat is natural background. It has risen 10 inches in one place since 1930. That is within the natural background. This is on my time. That is completely natural. Lets go on to the other big mpact that we can measure. This is not a theoretical iscussion. Europe has been living this in the last 10 years. It is in the process of essentially reversing course. Europe is facing pain and ease climate rules. Cole returns to german utilities. Soaring energy and housing forces some to turn to food banks. It Renewable Energy in spain. What should we observe and learn from that European Experience . In terms of the treatment in this medical analogy, carbon policy is the equivalent of medieval bloodletting. It has not worked. It is not constraining admissions in world markets. There are two things you have to notice. There is a market developed to argue against taking action ith respect to carbon. There is a market developed for financial trading desks. They want to lobby to undertake this option. It is a strong industry right now. There are Interest Groups pushing for this. This will not work. Thank you mr. Chairman. I want to go to the epa administrators. I have a chart here of u. S. Gdp sense to depression. President johnson signed the first Clean Air Act in 1963. It was amended in 1970, 1977, nd 1990. I would like a quick answer. Has gdp gone up or down since each of these cleanair act aws . It has gone up. I cant disagree with that. That is fact. The Clean Air Act amendments that we are responsible for were followed by 10 recordsetting years in gdp growth. Interesting. Not a bloodletting. I would not say that. I agree with your chart. It has gone up. Lets keep going. Do you think that finding new ways of dealing with Climate Change could you create jobs in our economy by unleashing innovation in the marketplace . There is no question about it. It will create jobs. I looked on it, we have one industry already that is producing a lot of jobs and that is the Nuclear Energy industry. It releases no Greenhouse Gases while producing power. The 1990 amendments created n enormous number of jobs. Without question jobs will be created. It will impact jobs. I think we have a responsibility focus on how to we provide assistance to those whose jobs are being impacted. Let me move to another example. This is the Regional Initiative across the northeast in terms of the impact that has had in reducing Greenhouse Gases and overlapping with an economy across the northeast that is continued to grow over those years. Since the red g8 was put in place, there has been a 40 reduction in Greenhouse Gases n thosetes on average. In addition, it is help to save consumers money and created jobs. It is generated 750 Million Dollars in economic value in the state of massachusetts alone from 2009 to 2013. I would like to submit all of that Economic Data for the record. Without objection. Maybe you could talk about that, governor. The job creation aspect of this. T is a core argument here. Thank you, senator. I think it is fair to say that there are going to be jobs that will be impacted i whenever decisions we make. We have an obligation to the best we can for those who will be impacted to find other ways of earning a living and recognize that these things are real. One of the things you learn as a governor is you cannot make a decision that has an equal impact on everyone. Some people will not see the same benefit as others. It is your obligation to do what is in the best interest of the greatest number of people and mitigate the downside for those who will be negatively impacted. We see that time again. And we do that in this country. Mr. Thomas, there is an argument for more observation of climate variables. You mentioned sea level and heavy rainfall in your testimony. Sea level rise and rainfall have been measured by scientists for decades. They are not theoretical or models. What are the impacts of those changes. N your own home state. Clearly, south florida is dealing with Sea Level Rise as it impacts salt water intrusion in our coastal area and drainage water. Drainage systems are critical to the overall wellbeing of many of the coastal communities in south florida. The Sea Level Rise is an issue. Just as it is in a number of other states. I know the technological change made the delivery of milk obsolete. There was an absence of jobs were created to revolutionize the way that industry operated. We have to embrace it. The creation is obvious. We keep talking about the Clean Air Act amendments. Only did i vote for them, i was a cosponsor of those. They worked. That was dealing with real pollutants. It was never meant to deal with co2. I think we all understand that. The successes were there. You can use that as an rgument. Senator bozeman has diffused the 97 . He has answered that. I have a question for the three f you. Have to say this. Dr. , youre the only scientist on this panel. I was in copenhagen when this broke. Everything was predicated on the assumption that this was going to be accurate. I was there when im at gate broke. We already are it. They had manipulated reports and covered up errors. They wanted to make their case stronger than it was. The way that was covered up in our media, we have an alarmist biased in our media, it asnt. Throughout the world. The uks telegraph said it was the worst scientific scandal of our generation. It was overpowering. The guardian said it was a major blow. As a scientist, why do you think there are people who still believe that this science that was generated, if you look t my website, i listed hundreds of scientists who disagreed with the ipc see. I have asked myself this question many times. I look at the facts. I checked all the facts. The ipc see report is not onsistent. Why do so many people believe that . I puzzled about that a great eal. What i can say is one of my favorite books was published in 841. We are running out of time. I dont think there is a scientific answer. It is a popular issue. I try to look at the facts. I worked very hard to try and determine the effects of this over my career. I feel this data has changed. It is less of a danger than we hought before. You being the only economist on this panel, when this first started a lot of us were believing it was true. It happened that i chaired this committee. When i found out that they were talking about the cost, the m. I. T. Came out. All of them came to the same conclusion that the cost of this, the cost of cap and trade, would be between 300 billion a year and 400 billion year. I would not be surprised by that. That is consistent. My question is this, those bills, all of them were talking about regulating the emissions of entities that committed 25,000 tons or more. The Clean Air Act regulates 250 ons or more. S an economist, if it is true, what would it cost American People if they were able to successfully regulate the Clean Air Act . Orders of magnitude more. That is a good answer. Thank you. Senator bozeman. Thank you. You addressed arkansas as one of the most of the gold targets. They will be straight state level impacts. How will these impact opportunities for states like arkansas and what that will ean for consumers . To the extent that consumers in these states drive energy from lance in those states, they will pay more for their electricity. This is where things get wonky. You will have cross state effects. Will arkansas be able to buy commissions from other states to satisfy their admissions . How will we control that . Other thorough world countries in the know not to even bother to check the validity of the permits they are selling on the markets. We need to deal with these details. Until we sit down and look at these and look at the job losses that are very real, the fed does this at every meeting. They look at economic output. We need to look at this with each and every increase. Just waving your hands and saying it will be find is a level of policy that is orders of magnitude greater than anything we have done before. From my perspective, they arise because of problems in the arket. We have lots of little security crises. None of them affected the economy. We can do this. We can put the economy at risk. I think we need to think about this hard before we just die then. This is why we have a congress and congressional hearings is to go through all that theoretically and make sure that we do it not in haste. You mentioned gravity. In order to make something not be used, you have to raise the price. That is a method of doing it. You mentioned the 30 figure. What with that due to the cost f utilities . It is about five dollars and california is at 11. They are just adding to the cost of energy with no upside benefit. 30 is going to raise prices further. 45 in the northeast was cited today. I would expect that they would go up. Leadership is not just grabbing this failed system out of the e u. Or this ineffective system out of california and popping it down nationwide. Leadership is thinking more deeply about the implementation of carbon policy and coming up with Something Better than the rest of the world has put together so far, implementing it and then having the rest of the world follow. Thats why i cited the National Monetary commission with respect to the federal reserve. We did that. We have the best central bank of the world. Like or hate the details of it. We still lead throughout the world and we owe it to our citizens to put together a very thoughtful approach, to put together a meaningful approach to put together the carbon to help the world while also pricing economic extern nalt thats very real. So doctor, you would be one of the 97 thats talked about and certainly you feel like man is contributing and this and that, but certainly are not one that feels like the mod els are acceptable and i suspect you have many cohorts in the same camp. I think the key thing is science is not a rule by majority method. Thats the important thing. Its discovery. And i would like to quote the inventor of the polio crack sin. He said, i get into a dialogue with nature and put the question to nature not to my colleagues because thats from whence the answer must come and thats what i do i always look at the data. And also Richard Fineman one of the great 20th century quantum fizz sists said science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. So to keep saying its a majority thats not a scientific statement and its not correct. Ive spent 50 years working on Climate Change in a very constructive way. And what i can tell you is that since about 1990 the data has started to move in the other direction away from an important effect by human beings. And thats just what the facts show. Thank you very much. My concern is certainly we need to examine the increased risk of this. But i can tell you theres tremendous increased risk for the men and women sitting back there in the hard working people of arkansas if we are talking about a 45 or much greater probably in our case increase in utility prices as far as jobs. We talk a lot about income disparity in this country. What does that do to working moms, single what does that do to people on fixed incomes . Again, thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you very much, senator bozeman. That will conclude the questioning. Let me just say some final thank yous to our witnesses who are here. I appreciate particularly the efforts of the former administrators. I would ask if mr. Riley and mr. Thomas would answer my question for the record. The record will be kept open for an additional two weeks for anybody who wishes to add material to the record. I will ask unanimous consent to put in a review of the investigations that were prompted by what is called climategate but i contend is more accurately called climategate gate. In my view, the scandal is the phony sandal that was whipped up by scientific work that was then reviewed by i think six different authorities including american investigators, independent investigators, university investigators, and british investigators and every one of which gave a full clean bill of health to the science. So, too, i think that needs to be part of the record if members are going to bring up so called climategate. And then there has been some reference to the projections by the chamber of commerce as to what this proposed e. P. A. Regulation might cost. Some of our colleagues have leapt to cite that report but i think it is important for the hearing that we also include the Washington Post analysis of their claims which earned four pinocchios depending on how far you get from the truth you get more pinocchios relating back to the story of the pinocchio the wooden doll whose nose would grow when he wasnt being truthful. I will include the Washington Post four pinocchio finding about that. Also an organization named politifact which analyzes claims made in the political debate and tries to do a very neutral analysis of their accuracy. And politifact ruled that a false for that report. I think it is in the interest of fairness that those be admitted and i will ask unanimous consent that those two documents be admitted. With that said mr. Chairman senator sessions . To wrap up, i thank the panel for your testimony. This is an important issue. I believe dr. Batkin is correct in the saying that actual Empirical Data is not confirming the projections we have seen so far in a host of other areas and i will be spinning maybe some documents to that effect. I think it is important for congress and to ask questions. Also, i would just say it is unacceptable that scientists like dr. Botkin and others are being adversely treated as a result of their statements and Scientific Research that sometimes contradicts the powers that be. So thank you. You are very welcome. Always a pleasure to work with my ranking member. However much we might disagree on things, he is a very courteous colleague and we always work well together. I think that this was not a hearing on the science, it was a hearing with the experience of previous administrators. If we were to do a hearing on the science, then i think we would be adding the scientists from noaa and the scientists from nasa and the science entities who back the United States defense establishment and a great establishment of every Scientific Organization in the country. Perhaps dr. Botkin is right and they are all wrong, but im not sure that would be the prudent course for our country. Thank you very much. We are adjourned. Each friday night, cspan American History tour travels the country to explore Historic Places and hear from authors about some of the events and people that shaped the nation. Tomorrow night, the Civil Rights Movement with a look back at Martin Luther kings letter from birmingham jail, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the life and death of medgar , evers. He witnessed a legend when he was only 12 and he said when he asked his father why would they do that to him and his father said that is what they do. So he said im sure he was a little bit angry, frustrated. He was hurt. So getting away from it, i said getting away from mississippi he enlisted into the army when he was only 16 and served in world war ii. As he traveled he talked about , defending america. It didnt matter about the color of his skin until he came back home to mississippi and on his 21st birthday he tried to register to vote. He and his brother charles who was also a veteran and other veterans. He said these group of white men turned them around with shotguns and ran them off and medgar says we ran, we did not go up against those men but made medgar get serious. See more from the American History tour of the Civil Rights Movement tomorrow night beginning at 8 00 eastern on tonight beginning at 8 00 eastern on cspan. Here are some highlights for this weekend. Tonight on cspan and primetime, important sites in the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Saturday night at 8 00, highlights from the new york ideas for him forum. Sunday, q a with Charlie Rangel at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Tonight at 8 00 on cspan2, in depth with reza aslan. Saturday at 10 00, ben carson. 11 00 p. M. Eastern, Lawrence Goldstone on the competition between the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtiss to be the predominant name and manned flight. On cspan3, a look at hollywoods portrayal of slavery. Anniversary of the battle of bladensburg. Former white house chiefs of staff discuss how president s make decisions. Find our Television Schedule at cspan. Org and let us know what you think about the programs you 3400, oring, 202626 email us. Join the cspan conversation, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. Coming up cspan, a Georgia Chamber of mmerce for him with candidates for the u. S. Senate. Eric holder announcing a 17 billion settlement with bank of america for its role in the financial crisis. Later, rick perry talking about immigration policy and Border Security. The two candidates running in Georgias Senate race participated in a forum hosted by the Georgia Chamber of commerce. Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue. They talk about transportation, national defense, and immigration. They are vying for the seat of Saxby Chambliss. This is 40 minutes. Welcome to you all. Thank you for being here. Im john pruitt, retired newscaster for wsb, and they pulled me out of retirement and dusted me off in order to moderate a forum. Were sold out here and this will be televised live by wmaz. Perhaps some other outlets. We will be seeing rebroadcasts of the forum on other Media Outlets around georgia. So its going to receive wide exposure because this is the first time candidates Michelle Nunn and david perdue have been on the same stage. In order to preserve the utmost time for this exchange, we would ask you to refrain from applause or audience reaction with the exception to when the candidates are introduced and at the conclusion of the forum. I want to tell you a few words about the format that was agreed to by both campaigns after some negotiation. Each candidate will have an Opening Statement of five minutes. Following the fiveminute Opening Statement from Michelle Nunn and david perdue, well go into a series of questions that will be posed by me. Through prior agreement, those will cover four basic topic areas immigration, transportation, defense and health care. The candidates know the topics. They do not know the questions, which will come from me. If there is a need for rebuttal, that will be at my discretion and i also have the ability to follow up. The candidates will have two minutes to answer each question posed to them. Following that there will be closing statements of two minutes apiece. So are we ready for the introductions . Thank you very much. I might need this. We will be seated at center stage and ill be in the middle. The candidates will be at my right and left and as i move to the center stage, let me be sure everything is working here with this mike. Yes, it is. Well be passing the mike. So were set to go. Please join me in welcoming the republican and Democratic Candidates for the u. S. Senate seat from georgia, Republican David Perdue and democrat Michelle Nunn. [applause] please be seated. Welcome to you both. And well begin with a fiveminute Opening Statement. First Opening Statement comes from david perdue. Well, good afternoon. Its nice to be here with the chamber. Appreciate you guys hosting us today. I feel right at home today for two reasons. One, like you, ive spent the last 40 years working in the global economy, completing, providing products and services to customers. And in so doing, adding value to our economy and creating opportunities for people to provide for themselves and their families. The second reason, i am home. I was born down the street at macon hospital. I grew up in Warner Robins. My mom and dad were schoolteachers. I grew up working on our family farms. My wife bonnie and i met in first grade and weve been married 42 years. Weve been blessed with two sons and three grandsons. One of my first paying jobs was in Warner Robins in a program that taught preschoolers how to read. When you show a child a book for the first time and you teach him to read, that never leaves you and ive carried that with me all my life. Like many of you, i worked my way through college and graduated from georgia tech working construction jobs and warehouse jobs but in this race im learning how to say go, dogs. You tech guys, dont worry, im still there. [laughter] i started a career right here in georgia after tech with a firm that worked with Many Companies and we spent the first half of our career here in georgia. After that my family and i took off, literally, climbing in the career that we had and rising to senior positions later in Companies Like reebok, sara lee and later being chairman and c. E. O. Of dollar general, where i oversaw the rapid expansion of that firm, adding thousands of jobs and creating thousands of new stores. Id never been in politics before but i got in this because i felt like we had a fullblown crisis in our country and i felt i could add value. If you look at the debt we have today, 18 trillion almost. But thats not the worst of it. What were not talking about is another 86 trillion coming at us in unfunded future liabilities. The total is over 100 trillion. Thats 1 million for every household in our country. Its the greatest threat to our National Security and our very way of life. And thats not the end of it. Even after putting 3. 5 trillion into our economy, this economy is flat right now because of bad government policies. Today we have fewer people working as a percentage of our working force than weve had since jimmy carter was president. The majority of Small Businesses have either stopped hiring or have cut back hiring because of overregulation. You know, you have to look at the situation and try to figure how did we get in this mess . I think to answer that question, first you have to look at the makeup of the United States senate. Today we only have about 10 people in the United States senate who have any business experience and even those people have been in elected office longer than theyve been in business. We have very few people who understand the Free Enterprise system. And combine that with the gridlock, the selfimposed gridlock that we have up there and you end up with this failed administration creating devastating rules for you and me out here in the working world. But the gridlock up there is not necessary. On harry reids desk today are over 300 bills that have been passed in the house. Some of these bills had 2 3 majorities. That means they were bipartisan bills but theyre stuck in harry reids office because of one reason. That allows this president to run our government with executive order and regulatory mandate. Its created a failed administration. Any way, any measure. Foreign policy, immigration, health care. Education, the debt. The economy. But it doesnt have to be this way. We need to get back to the founding principles of our founders. Conservative principles. Economic opportunity. Fiscal responsibility. Limited government. Individual liberties. If we do that, we win this race, we take back the senate from harry reid and we start getting results again in washington. Together, we can turn america back toward a position of strength and prosperity. Thank you for having us, i look forward to our conversation. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] our next Opening Statement now from Michelle Nunn. Thank you, john. Thank you, david. Its good to be in this conversation with you and thanks to the chamber. You all have a tremendous turnout here and its a testament to the great work that youre doing in the state and the leadership that youre showing on behalf of the business community. I see a lot of folks in this audience that ive worked with over the last number of decades. 26 years ago i gathered with a small group of people at manuels tavern and we had our first Public Meeting there and we went from a few dozen people with a dream to mobilized volunteers to a network that included hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and eventually, seven years ago, we merged with president george h. W. Bushs points of Light Organization and together we created an organization that last year mobilized 4 million volunteers. We used to send out a post card with five or six projects on it. Deliver meals to home bound or tutor kids and no we now complete over 20,000 projects every single month. So im seeing what happens when we apply creativity and entrepreneurship and innovation to getting things done. I know what it means to take an organization from just a couple of thousand dollars to a 30 million budget. I know what it means to try to make payroll to try to cover , your employees with health care. I also know what it means to make hard choices but with the end in mind of sustaining a lasting and Stronger Organization than the way you found it. Perhaps the most important lesson i learn and carry with me and the values that i work side by side with volunteers to really find common ground, to collaborate, to problem solve with a focus on getting things done for people and putting aside differences. Like you, ive sat through lots of business meetings and Church Meetings and p. T. A. Meetings and people dont always get along and yall know that. But they keep at it. They dont walk out, they dont shut down, they keep going and they solve real problems and thats what we need more of in washington. I hear that from people all over the state. There are some comments than there are some common sense things we can do to solve problems. They tell me we need to invest in our infrastructure, we need to alleviate the regulatory burdens strangling Small Businesses. Reform our tax code. Reduce the Corporate Tax rate. We need to tackle our longterm debt. We need to work to do that in a bipartisan fashion and we also need to invest in our kids and invest in education. So we need to provide the certainty to folks like you to be able to invest. We need to break the gridlock in washington and thats what ive been talking about, about sending someone to washington whos focused on partnership and getting things done together. But thats not what ive heard from david over the course of the year during the campaign. In fact, within minutes of winning the election for the republican nomination, david said this election is about prosecuting the administration and the president. But i dont agree about that. I think this election is about the hopes, aspirations, dreams of georgians and fighting for georgians. David was asked recently if there was a democratic idea he could work on with the democrats and he failed to be able to answer that. Couldnt think of one. If you look at his issues, you have a support for the Government Shutdown, against common core, something that the chamber has worked hard around. You have a record that says im against the farm bill. Thats what david said, the bipartisan farm bill, and you also have the refusal to Work Together around comprehensive Immigration Reform. So that sounds a lot Like Washington as usual to me and i know that we can do better in washington and i know that we must. I know that we must Work Together. You know, davids allies have been running a lot of tv ads. Youve probably seen me standing with president obama. Whats interesting about that picture is it was taken at president george h. W. Bushs library and if you widen the lens, president george h. W. Bush was there. So i have the experience of working together across the aisle, of getting things done, even when there are differences of opinion and i think thats what wee need, people who are going to problem solve and not prosecute and i pledge to be a partner to georgias businesses, workers, and a fierce advocate fordans citizenry georgias citizenry. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] since this is an Opening Statement, im not going to have rebuttal. There will be a closing statements and programs you could work in some responses during the course of the q a. If a candidate is mentioned by the other candidate, there is a chance to respond but the Opening Statement is a little sacrosanct, but lets move into questions. For basic topic areas and the first question is on health care, which, of course, means the Affordable Care act. These candidates have very differing views on obamacare. Mr. Perdue, you favor repealing obamacare. And ms. Nunn, you favor it but seem to have some reservations. I am curious if you could tell us what is it about the Affordable Care act that seems to prevent you from fully embracing it. What changes would you make if you should go to washington . I think we need to fix some of the things that are not working with aca. Ive been saying this for the last year. There are challenges with it. Including when im from southwest Georgia People tell me theyre paying among the highest rates in the nation. We need to add a more affordable tier. For families and individuals. I think we need to extend tax credits to Small Businesses. I was one of the first ones to raise my hand and say we need to delay the employer mandate to make sure we get it right. Repeal the cut that is threatening our rural hospitals because georgia is not expanding medicaid. Those are the things that i think we need to fix and im willing to work with whoever is a person of good will to do that. I do not think that we need to go backwards. I do not think that we need to be having the same conversation. David has said that he wants to repeal this. I ask you, do we really want to be having this same argument about aca in six years . Cant we come together and build upon some of the things that are working . I dont think we want to go back to a time when people who had preexisting conditions who were not able to get Health Insurance. I meet people every single day to tell me they have Health Insurance for the first time because they had a preexisting condition. I dont think we want to go backwards and tell parents that they cant cover their children up until age 26 on their Health Insurance. I had a father who told me i sleep better at night because im able to cover my kids. I think we want to go forward, not backward. I dont think we want to be locked into the kind of gridlock that is emblematic of the refusal to say lets Work Together to focus on what really matters to georgians and that is, are they getting Quality Health care at good prices and are we getting more people covered . I think if we keep that in mind we can do good things and actually make a difference in the lives of georgians. Thank you. Shes really posed my question to you. You want to repeal obamacare but how realistic is that given the view by many thats the law of the land and there are some indications that the Affordable Care act is slowly beginning to gain public support as the benefits for some become known. Is it unfixable . What would you put in its place . And what about the time lag . Absolutely i think its unfixable. I dont think you can repair this. This goes against the grain of our american heritage. I think we proved in the 1980s, that a Free Enterprise society has a leg up over one that has a managed economy when we brought down the soviet union with the strength of our economy and the power of our ideas. When this president told us we could keep our insurance, im not sure what he meant by that. Like you, millions of insurance millions of americans have had their insurance canceled. My wife and i had our personal insurance canceled. We had a high deductible, catastrophic coverage, it was perfect for us with a major carrier. We were told that wasnt good enough so we now have a new policy that my federal government says is ok for me. It has a lot of things i dont need and my rates doubled. The problem is this government , has not no government has proven they can manage this big a part of our economy. If you look at how good a job theyre doing with the veterans administration, it might give you some indication of what this is going to look like in a few years. In my opinion it needs to be repealed and replaced. We have good alternatives but the one i personally like the best is congressman prices own h. R. 2300. It deals with affordability and doesnt deny access the way this one does. I dont believe the bureaucrats in washington getting between patients and doctors, doctors and Insurance Companies, and Insurance Companies and patients is a better way to go than the freemarket solution. Followup to both of you. What about the problem of georgias rural hospitals that are closing because the federal subsidies that are not coming largely because georgia didnt extend medicaid . It is largely coming because of obamacare. They cut the rates. We need to give more power to the states to deal with and have more flexibility to deal with the priorities that they have in these rural and smaller hospitals that have a disproportionate share of medicaid and medicare patients. I think the medicaid patients i personally think that the medicaid payments to the states should come back in the form of block grants. Get that gives the legislature more flexibility. I know youve been vocal on this issue as well. Whats your solution to these georgia rural hospitals going out of business . Ive been talking to folks that run rural hospitals and that are partners to rural hospitals around the state. The first thing is they tell me is that we should have expanded medicaid as a state. That we are not allowing 650,000 people that should have access to have access. Were paying their emergency bills and we are sending the elsewhere. Dollarswe have not done that, so we need to be pragmatic and repeal the cuts that are threatening these rural hospitals. We need to Work Together. We cant afford to be gridlock. We need to fix whats not working and not have a stalemate while folks in Rural Communities suffer. From the continued closure of these hospitals. Thank you. Lets move to transportation. As you know, georgia gets about half of its road building funds from the federal Highway Trust Fund, which is running on empty. Its depleted. The gas tax is the basis for the Highway Trust Fund. It hasnt been raised since 1993 and to compound the problem not keeping up with inflation, you have americans driving less and driving more fuelefficient cars. Less gas purchased and thus less revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. But if georgia loses those federal funds it would be a big blow. Road projects would come to a halt. You said you will not raise taxes under any circumstances mr. Purdue, but whats the alternative to keep the federal funds flowing to georgia . This is a perfect example of what happens when Big Government tries to allocate our resources out here. This is a much bigger issue. It is not just the roads its , the entire infrastructure. Were spending a fracture of what we need to be spending in our infrastructure just to maintain it. Not necessarily to improve it so we can be competitive with other countries around the world. If you look at the port of savannah, its taken us 17 years to get approval through the e. P. A. And our legal system to deepen that port five feet. In the meantime, china has added one of their major ports in the last three or four years. Were losing our Competitive Edge because were not paying attention to our infrastructure. It is one of the five a sick one of the five basic precepts of economic development. Regulatory control, educated work force, water, cheap power and infrastructure, thats how you grow an economy. The problem right now in every one of those areas, we have difficulties. In this case, we have hope. There is 480 billion of redundant Agency Expenses in the federal budget. I said that right, 480 billion dollars of redundant agencies. We dont have a problem of not having enough money. We have a problem of it going to the right purposes. Investment in infrastructure, roads, airports, rail, have economic return for our economy. That is where the money needs to be spent. Not in redundant agencies. No vote for a gas tax hike . No, sir. Same question to you ms. Nunn. Would you vote for a rise in the gas tax . Which has not been raised since 1993, to keep federal trust fund dollars coming to georgia . I do not believe we should be raising taxes either. I also share davids sensibility about the importance of infrastructure. We have to find a way of investing in infrastructure. We have a dplus grade from our civil engineers. China is spending three times what america is spending on our infrastructure. We have to have the capacity to Work Together. We also need to, we talked about certainty in washington. We cant keep kicking the can down the road with threemonth extensions or sixmonth extensions. We have to have a longterm view. Again, what it takes, we will work across the aisle, embrace partnership in getting things done. I think the savannah port and the deepening of the harbor is a perfect example. It did take almost 17 years to get that done. And i think the example, the real illustration of why we need to change that, is we have too many people who are not willing to Work Together to get the kinds of things done that we all know are practical and need to happen. Unlike david, i dont believe you can prosecute your way through. You have to be able to work with the president , together, across the aisle in congress, to get it done. That is what we need more of in washington. I do think that is essential to create conditions for economic growth. I have to follow up for both of you. The Highway Trust Fund is empty. It has to be funded. In fact, there is a bipartisan move in the senate to do that. So this talk is wonderful, but the road building projects are online, the bulldozers are ready to go. They need money. What do you do shortterm to keep money flowing . Ms nunn . There are purposeful choices we need to make about how we invest. We know investment in infrastructure and education creates returns and enables growth. It is actually the way that we do enable more funds to have the capacity for the things we need to get done. So i think we do have duplication in government. We do have to make choices. And i would make the choice to invest in our infrastructure as a part of a strategic outline working together with others in congress. Briefly, what do you do . The funds run dry and the bulldozers cannot we have that in so many areas in our country today. We have ways and means right now in the congress between the house and senate to take care of that. But they have to reallocate, reprioritize how the money is spent. That is what we send them to do. Just adding a new gas tax is the easy way out. That would be an easy answer. But we have an 18 trillion debt, and another 86 trillion in things were not even talking about yet. Here we are going to add another tax on Small Businesses and individuals there is a better way to do this if the people in congress would get together and just get it done. Thank you very much. Next topic area is immigration. As you know, the Immigration Reform act passed the senate in bipartisan fashion and never came to a vote in the house because of conservative republican opposition. You indicated that you favor that bipartisan bill in the senate. But president obama in the next few weeks is going, we are told, to make an executive action announcement. We dont know what hes going to say, but there is considerable speculation he may attempt to find ways to make it easier for the 11 million, maybe not all of 11 million, but some Illegal Immigrants in the country to gain legal status. My question to you, Michelle Nunn, do you think the president , in absence of congressional action, should take action . What would you like him to say . Let me start by saying that i do support the bipartisan comprehensive legislation that was really worked very hard toward by folks like the chamber and unions and farm bureau. Folks as diverse as Chuck Schumer and marco rubio. When all those people agree, it is something you need to take a real look at. This is probably one of the sharper contrasts you will find between david and myself. David embraces what i believe is the attitude of gridlock in washington, that has not enabled us to get this done. We talk about what is happening on the border. The immigration bill passed in the senate would have enabled us to invest in 20,000 security agents on the border, and a Surveillance System that would make a real difference. So when you look at what david has said about this, not only did he oppose this, he ran ads distorting the position of the chamber, the compromise position many folks in this room worked towards creating. And i dont think that is what we need. David sat in the room with folks at the chamber and said, after 10 minutes, he walked out in anger. He said that. This is the kind of issue we need to be able to stay at the table to work out, to make a difference around, and really address our economy, jobs, and the deficit. All the economists i have talked to have said this is the right thing to do for our country, and we need to move forward with that. But i do believe we need to have congress and the president Work Together. We need to get out of the executive order business and into the compromising and collaboration and Partnership Business in washington. Do i read that, you would prefer president obama not to call an executive action . I believe we should have Congress Making the compromises and partnerships with the executive branch that will enable us to do this legislation. Thank you very much. You said you cannot really talk about comprehensive Immigration Reform until we secure the border. But surely you have thought about and have some ideas about what to do about the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, many of whom are important to the states economy, in particular the states agriculture industry. What do you do about these folks . Do you deport them . What is your solution . Also, i would like your comments on the expected executive action by the president. I think the fact that implied amnesty is on the table is one reason why we have the debacle on the border today. This has been this president s position all along. I disagree with that. I think the first thing that we have to do is break this complex issue into its components. It is what you do everyday in business. The first component we have to solve, are we going to follow the law of the land, enforce the laws we have in the books to protect and secure our borders. I personally think it is more than an immigration issue. It is a National Security issue. Today, the immigration issue is broader than Illegal Immigrants. 40 of people here illegally came in on a legal visa and just overstayed their visa. This federal government is not even enforcing the visa laws that we have. In addition, if you look at the Legal Immigration problem, it may be big or bigger than the illegal problem. We are bringing in twice as many legal immigrants today as during the two highest periods of our history. 18801920 and then the 1980s. This has not been a bipartisan thing. This is this president with executive orders doing this. I really believe we have to take a conference of a cumberland comprehensive look at this, because there are needs. Having grown up and worked on farms, i understand the needs of farmers to get access to legal labor. Right now, the h2a program is built by bureaucrats, for bureaucrats, and it is very cumbersome for these farmers. I believe it needs to be streamlined so they can have access to legal labor. Next general area of inquiry is defense. Military bases in georgia are very important to the states economy. We lost fort gillam and Fort Mcpherson and the Naval Supply School in athens in the last brac, base realignment and Closure Commission in 2005. There is word there may be another brac coming up in the next couple years, which raises the question, could Dobbins Air Reserve base be on the line . Kota Robins Air Force base be on the line . My question to each of you, and i will start with you, david perdue. As a freshman senator, what can you do to protect georgias military bases and be sure the cuts in defense, which are coming, dont endanger National Security . Well, i grew up just down the road. If you listen quietly you might hear a few planes going off. As i was growing up, during the cuban missile crisis i was riding a bicycle to football practice and listening and watching. Every four minutes or five minutes, a tanker or a b52 took off to do the route around cuba. As a young kid i thought, how important it is to have that type of security. That was a time when they had the Nuclear Bomb Threat training in our school. We have all been there, you get under your desk. But in all seriousness, i believe the greatest threat to our National Security and to our defense is this debt and the fact we are not taking it seriously. If you look at what we are trying to do around the world right now, we have confused our allies and encouraged our enemies because of this confused Foreign Policy we have. To have a strong Foreign Policy, you have to have a strong defense, but to have a strong defense, as we proved with the soviet union, you have to have a strong economy, and you cannot be borrowing at the level we are borrowing right now internationally and do that. Bracieve that if another round comes, i will be fighting to grow the economy to make sure we have a strong defense. I will work with these private organizations like 21st century and the chambers of commerce to make sure we communicate the strategic intent of these bases and the strategic importance of location. These bases are not here by mistake, and i intend to keep them here. Thank you. Michelle nunn, as you know, georgia has long been somewhat protected from military cutbacks. Walter george, richard russell, even your dad, sam nunn, your great uncle, they were part of the establishment that kept bases secure. But those days are gone. Same question to you. How do you, as a freshman senator, protect military bases in georgia, which are of great importance to local communities economically, and be sure that defense cuts do not endanger the National Security at a time of such world peril . I have been able to travel around and meet with the base community, folks doing such a good job. The 21st century partnership. We have such a proud heritage of support for our military in georgia, with nine bases, 140,000 men and women serving under d. O. D. , 20 billion of economic impact. Secondhighest enlistment rate of any state in the country in our military. The first thing i would say is, i disagree with those in washington and the president who believe this is the time to cut our military. I dont believe that. I believe the world is a dangerous place right now. We have asked our men and women to sacrifice enormously over the last decadeplus, and we need to continue to have the strongest and best military in the world. We have a wonderful heritage of bipartisan leadership in georgia. Ive heard my dad say on a number of occasions, there was never a closure during his 24 years in the senate. That is not a coincidence. We need someone who is able to commit to being a steward on the Armed Services committee. I have committed to do that. We need someone who will work to preserve and protect bases, but also expand the mission. I was at kings bay. They have 20 additional capacity. We need to bring capacity to continue to contribute to the military in georgia. I think gridlock is the enemy of our capacity here, and, if you look at the sequestration, i was talking to a captain in the to a Major General in the marines, he said sequestration has done more to hurt our readiness than anything else in the last few decades. The government shut down for and for load the Government Shutdown and furloughed about 4000 people just down the road. We need to Work Together to preserve and protect military bases and our military capacity. Any rebuttal on support of the shutdown . Not at all. That speaks for itself. The situation we had in washington was over obamacare. What i was saying, we cannot default on our interest payment. This is one of the things that is sacrosanct and i thought we had a lot of people beginning to talk about that. We have covered the four basic topic areas the candidates agreed to. I wish we could keep going, but under the rules we have the forum is approaching conclusion. Time for closing statements. By prior agreement, the order was determined, and Michelle Nunn has the First Closing statement. First of all, thank you, david, thank you. I look forward to more spirited conversations. Thanks again to the chamber for hosting a terrific gathering. I was here last year with you all, just getting my campaign started. You were honoring Saxby Chambliss for a number of achievements. One of those achievements was his work with senator warner on the longterm debt. I think that kind of bipartisanship, that kind of statesmanship, that kind of collaboration is what we need more of in washington. It has been the theme of my campaign. As i travel around the state, it has been responsible for the energy and excitement we see. We had 200 people in the hot sun waiting for us when we got here, just to say we are ready for real change, for the kind of civility you want to bring to washington. And it is responsible for the 50,000 folks who have given time or resources to the campaign, and at the heart of taking on issues we can deal with with a practical and pragmatic sensibility. Some of the issues we have talked about here today. Protecting and preserving our national defense. Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Making sure we are investing in the right things, smart things like infrastructure and our kids, education. David and i have different real world experiences. I have experiences about lifting people up to the last 26 years, building and growing organizations and getting things done for the people of georgia in a collaborative way, a proven way of working across party lines. I think that is what we need more of. I dont think we need more prosecutors. We need more problem solvers. I think we need more collaboration and less conflict, and that is what i pledge to bring. I have been telling people all over the state i am interested in carrying forward the georgia moscow the georgia motto values wisdom, justice, and moderation. I invite you to join me in this. Thank you. [applause] thank you very much. Now, the closing statement from david perdue. Thank you, john, and thank you for hosting me today. Our politicians have created a fullblown crisis in america. I think it will take somebody from the outside with the right experience to make a difference. I believe that in this race we should be talking about issues and priorities that address the crisis. Americans always do well dealing with crisis. I have been very clear about my priorities throughout this entire campaign. I believe we really have to get serious about stopping obamacare. I think we have to get serious about stopping this outrageous spending and rein in outofcontrol expenditures. Third thing, we have got to grow our economy and create jobs. That happens by reforming our tax structure, reducing regulations, and unlocking our energy resources. The fourth thing, we need to secure our borders and create an immigration system that makes sense in a free society that has the rule of law. I just believe that this race is very simple. The decision in this race. If you like whats going on in washington, then vote for my opponent. Because she knows she will be nothing more than a proxy for harry reid and barack obama, nothing will change. But if you are as outraged as i am by the size and scope of his government, by the arrogant policies that are failing this administration, and the sheer magnitude of the debt they are piling on the backs of our kids and grandkids, then stand with me and lets take our country back. Together, we can bring america back to a position of strength and prosperity. Thank you, again, for having us today. I look forward to future conversations. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you to both of you for the stimulating exchange of ideas in this forum. I am sure this will not be the last time the two of you are on stage together as the Campaign Continues to build momentum heading toward election day in november. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your attention. Good to be with you. Thank you. [applause] thanks. Very nice job. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] on the next washington tribune chicago columnist Clarence Page talks about events in ferguson, governmentd past reports on civil unrest. We conclude our discussion on president Lyndon Johnsons Great Society with a look at what led to the creation of the Consumer Product safety commission, the agencys current commissioner, robert adler, joins us. Then, ian meade with the bureau of Economic Analysis and mark hamrick with bankrate. Com. Calls andur phone comments on facebook and twitter. Beginning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan. This month, debates on what makes america great, evolution, and genetically modified foods. Issues with indepth looks at Veterans Health care, irs oversight, student debt and campus sexually assault, infectious disease, and food safety. And our history tour. Find our tv schedule a oneweek advance at cspan. Org and let us know what you think about a programs you are watching. 6263400, email us, like us on facebook, or follow us on twitter. Attorney general eric holder thursday announced a nearly 17 billion settlement with bank of the 2000or its role in eight financial crisis. The settlement is the largest in u. S. History and comes just a few months after settlements with countrywide and jpmorgan chase. Attorney general holder talked about his recent trip to ferguson, missouri and the investigation into the murder of journalist james foley by islamic militants. This is half hour. Small crowd today. Thank you all for being here. Im joined today by the associate attorney general tony west, United States attorney for the district of new jersey paul fishman, United States attorney for the Eastern District of new york loretta lynch, the United States attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Ann Thompkins, acting United States attorney for the Central District of california, kentucky, stephanie yanukura, Kentucky Attorney general jack conway, Maryland Attorney general doug gansler, acting Inspector General the federal Housing Finance aid michael stevens, and associate regional director enforcement William Hicks of the United States securities and exchange commission. We are here today to announce a historic step forward in our ongoing effort to protect the American People from financial fraud and to hold accountable those whose actions threaten the integrity of our Financial Markets and undermined the stability of our economy. The department of justice has reached an agreement with bank of america totaling over 16. 6 billion in penalties in consumer relief. This constitutes the largest civil settlement with the single entity in history, addressing conduct uncovered in more than a dozen cases and investigations. And it addresses allegations that bank of america, Merrill Lynch, and countrywide each engaged in pervasive schemes to defraud Financial Institutions and other investors with residential mortgagebacked securities or rmbs. As a part of the settlement, bank of america has acknowledged in the years leading up to the financial crisis in 2008 that it, Merrill Lynch, and countrywide sold billions of sbacked toxic loans whose quality and level of risk they knowingly misrepresented to investors and to the United States government. These loans contained material underwriting defects. There were secured by properties with inflated appraisals. They failed to comply with the federal, state and local laws, and they were insufficiently collateralized. Yet these Financial Institutions knowingly and fraudulently marked and sold these loans as sound and reliable investments. We are still on multiple occasions when confronted with concerns about their reckless practices, bankers at these institutions continue to mislead investors about their own standards and to securitize loans with fundamental credit, compliance, and legal defects. Under the terms of the settlement, the bank has agreed to pay 7 billion in relief to struggling homeowners, borrowers, and communities affected by the banks conduct. This is appropriate given the size and scope of the wrongdoing at issue. Unfortunately, because congress has failed to extend the law ensuring that most of this relief would not be taxable income, this debt relief will create Tax Liability for many consumers. That is why the department secured a commitment from bank of america to pay a portion of a settlement, over 490 million to defray some of this Tax Liability. And our settlement requires the bank to notify all consumers of this potential Tax Liability. But that is not enough. Today i also call upon congress to extend the tax relief coverage of the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act of 2007. Until congress acts, the hundreds of thousands of consumers we have sought to help through our settlements of j. P. Morgan chase, citigroup, and now bank of america, may see a significant tax bill just as theyre beginning to see the light at the end of a dark financial tunnel. I want to be very clear. The size and scope of this multibilliondollar agreement goes far beyond the cost of doing business. This outcome does not preclude any criminal charges against the bank or its employees. Nor was it inevitable over these last few weeks that this case would be resolved out of court. I want to thank associate attorney general west, especially, for his leadership in helping to obtain a resolution we announced today which is both historic and commences with the conduct at issue. I want to recognize each have i went to recognize each of the u. S. Attorneys and state attorneys general who have come together to make this landmark settlement a reality. This is merely the latest example of the important work the president s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task force is making possible. This agreement complemented the actions of the tax for his of the task forces working groups including the residential mortgagebacked securitys fraud working group, members of which played key roles in advancing this case. I have in order to chair this task force since its inception in 2009 and would like to thank each of the members who contributed to this outcome and are continuing to advance a range of open matters both civil and criminal across the country. At this time i would like to turn the podium over to the associate attorney general who will provide additional details. Thank you, mr. Attorney general. Thank you all for being here today. This morning, we demonstrate once again that no institution is either too big or too powerful to escape appropriate enforcement action by the department of justice. At nearly 17 billion, as the attorney general noted, this resolution with the bank of america is the largest that the department has ever reached with a Single Institution in American History. But the significance of this settlement lies not just in its size. This agreement is notable because it achieves real accountability for the American People. In addition to the billions of dollars the bank will pay, bank of america has agreed to sign a statement of facts in which it admits publicly its repeated failure and repeated failures of its affiliates Merrill Lynch and countrywide, to disclose to investors key facts about the actual quality of the loans they packaged up into residential mortgagebacked investment securities. Or rmbs. The statement of facts details evidence we uncovered in three separate investigations conducted by u. S. Attorney Ann Thompkins of the Western District of North Carolina, the Central District of california represented here by the acting u. S. Attorney stephanie yanukura, and the district of new jersey, led by u. S. Attorney paul fishman, whose case largely drove the discussions that led to the resolution we are announcing today. His investigation found that Merrill Lynch knew, based on its own due diligence, that substantial numbers of the loans was packaging in the rmbs and selling to investors failed to meet underwriting guidelines, did not comply with applicable law, or were inadequately collateralized. All contrary to representations merrill was making to investors. The cases in california, North Carolina, involving countrywide and the bank of america respectively, those also involved in similar conduct with varying degrees of egregiousness. But all of them involved bank of america or its affiliates saying one thing to investors about the quality of the loans they were packaging into rmbs, yet in reality, knowing the facts indicated something quite different. It is like going to your Neighborhood Grocery store to buy milk that is advertised as fresh, only to discover that store employees knew the milk you are buying has been out on a loading dock unrefrigerated the entire day before, yet never told you but the condition of the milk. Like you got home to pour yourself that glass of milk, investors such as Public Pension Fund and federally insured Financial Institutions, they were unpleasantly met with millions of dollars of losses when the securities they had invested in soured. The statement of facts doesnt end with the banks admissions about its securitization of risky mortgage loans. The statement also achieves accountability by requiring bank of america to accept responsibility for faulty loan origination practices that in many cases, resulted in misrepresentations about the quality of those loans to fannie mae, freddie mac, and to the federal housing administration, and also which concluded to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds. As uncovered in the investigations conducted by u. S. Attorney general Loretto Lynch in new york and the u. S. Attorney and his office in the Southern District of new york. Taken together, these cases have construed it to a civil penalty of 5 billion as reflected in this settlement, the largest civil penalty in history. In addition to accountability, this historic resolution is also significant for what it achieves in terms of restoration. It requires that those were Holding Accountable today, they have to shoulder some of the responsibility for repairing the harm caused by their conduct. And in this case, that is achieved by the 7 billion in consumer relief the attorney general mentioned a moment ago, this is one of the Largest Consumer relief packages we have ever assembled with a single financial institution, and its impact could benefit hundreds of thousands of americans who are still struggling to pull themselves out from under the weight of the financial crisis. And some of the key consumer relief measures include affordable rental housing, where bank of america will provide millions of dollars in financing for affordable rental housing with a focus on Family Housing and opportunity areas, what of the one of the most critical needs in housing today. Committee reinvestment and it put civilization, where the bank will invest at least 100 million in committed he development funds. Legal aid organizations, and housing counseling agencies, and in some areas, bank of america will donate properties to nonprofits that will allow nonprofits to make productive use of those Properties Come something that can help bring back the vibrancy of neighborhoods that have been challenged by dormant, abandoned buildings. Perhaps most important, this consumer relief will allow for significant loan modification, where the bank will provide certain homeowners with mortgage principal reductions that will bring their loantovalue ratios down to 75 , along with a permanent Interest Rate of 2 . In plain english, was Something Like this can mean. Imagine a distressed homeowner has a mortgage of 250,000, but is under because the fair market value of her home is only 150,000. Under the consumer relief plan, this type of consumer relief, over one of a 37,000 of her mortgage debt will be wiped out. The midterm mortgage will come down to about 112,000. So instead of 250,000 mortgage, she got a mortgage of 112,000. She has a house that used to be a liability, now it is an asset with equity. That is real consumer relief and is made possible by this settlement. One other form of relief the attorney general mentioned, which really merits emphasis, is this before Congress Allowed the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act to lapse at the end of last year, consumers who received the type of relief i just described, they were not liable for any federal taxes that they might go might owe on the consumer relief the received. But now you see the act is no longer enforced. Until it is extended, consumers will be on the hook for paying taxes on any consumer relief they make it from the settlement. So to help consumers to fray that federal Tax Liability, we negotiated as part of the settlement a 2525 tax relief fund. Once a consumer receives relief such as a principal writedown or mortgage forgiveness, 25 of the value of that relief will be made available to help offset the Tax Liability that may be incurred by the consumer up to 25,000. Now, this type of relief, this was going to help tens of thousands of consumers to offset, at least, in part, any taxes that may result from the consumer relief they receive as a result of the settlement, but as the attorney general noted, this is only a temporary fix. The fund isnt large enough to cover every potentially affected consumer, which is why the best solution to this problem is for congress to heed the attorney generals call to extend the tax relief coverage of the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act. As i have said before at these press conferences with announcing these types of resolutions, the consumer relief that we are offering here as a result of the settlement, it wont solve every problem and wont cure every ill created by the financial crisis, but it will do something that is very important. It will offer hope to thousands of americans, hundreds of thousands of americans who are still laboring under upsidedown mortgages or struggling in neighborhoods that are beset by Vacant Properties or fighting to avoid foreclosure for themselves and their families. And i think that alone makes efforts like these worth trying, which is why were not letting up and were not going away. It is why we will continue to pursue these cases either in litigation through the courts or to a significant resolution, whichever is in the best interests of the American People. Let me say todays resolution would not be possible were it not for the Extraordinary Partnership that really defines the collaboration with and among this Justice Department, our sister federal agencies, and the committee of estates attorneys generals. My thanks to the fdic, fha, sec, trusted attorneys general beau biden of delaware, jack conway of kentucky, doug gansler of maryland, to california, and lisa madigan of illinois and Eric Schneiderman of new york was also one of the cochairs of the working group. One final note, there are so many people who deserve recognition for the hard work that they did to make todays announcement a reality. But allow me to name just a special few. The assistant u. S. Attorney who was the driving force behind the maryland investigation in the district of new jersey. The director of the group, jeff graber. And counsel stacy grigsby. And my deputy chief of staff cindy chang. Thanks to all of them for their dedication and repeated allnighters of the last several weeks. It has made a real difference. Now i will turn it back to the attorney general. Before we go to any questions, let me add a few words about the situation in ferguson. Yesterday, i visited ferguson in order to be briefed on the ongoing federal civil rights investigation into the august 9 shooting death of michael brown. The investigation i launched more than a week ago. During the course of my visit, i met with Law Enforcement as well as community leaders. We had constructive discussions about the importance of maintaining peace, diverting future acts of violence or vandalism and ensuring Public Safety as well as the need for outreach and engagement to rebuild a fractured trust between community and the Law Enforcement community that it serves. Going forward i will continue to get regular updates and closely monitor the situation as it unfolds. Although our investigation will take time, though i cannot discuss the specifics of this case in greater details since it remains open and active, the people of ferguson can have confidence in the federal agents investigators and prosecutors who are leading this process. Our investigation will be fair. It will be thorough. It will be independent. Ive seen a lot in my times as attorney general but a few things have affected me as greatly as my visit to ferguson. I had the chance to meet with the family of michael brown. I spoke to them not just as attorney general, but as a father of a teenage son myself. They, like so many in ferguson, want answers. In my conversations with dozens of people in ferguson yesterday, it was clear that this shooting incident has brought to the surface underlying tensions that have existed for many years. There is a history to these tensions, and that history simmers in more communities than just ferguson. Law enforcement has a role to play in reducing tensions as well. As a brother of a retired Law Enforcement officer, i know firsthand that our men and women in uniform perform their duties in the face of tremendous threat and significant personal risk. They put their lives on the line every day and often have to make splitsecond decisions. The National Outcry we have seen speaks to a sense of mistrust and mutual suspicion that can take hold in the relationship between Law Enforcement and certain communities. I wanted the people of ferguson to know i personally understood that mistrust. I wanted them to know while so much else may be uncertain, this attorney general and this department of justice stands with the people of ferguson. I hope the relative calm we saw last night can be enduring. People take great pride in their town. Despite the mistrust that exists, they reject the violence we have seen over the past couple of weeks. In that sense, while i went to ferguson to provide reassurance, in fact, they gave me hope. My commitment to them is that long after this tragic story no longer receives this level of attention, the Justice Department will continue to stand with ferguson. We will continue the conversation this incident has sparked about the need for trust building between Law Enforcement officers and the communities they serve, about the appropriate use of force, and the need to ensure fair and equal treatment for everyone who comes into contact with the police. Thank you. Good morning. Mr. Attorney general, does the 17 billion settlement exonerate bank of america of any future litigation . And why only allocate 7 billion . Why should the bulk of the penalty go to the government instead of consumer relief or Pension Funds that lost money . Well, this certainly does this resolution, to first question, certainly does bring to a close certainly a part of the chapter for bank of america. There are things that are very specifically carved out. We have made public our settlement agreement, and there are some very clear areas in addition to criminal liability and in addition to liability of individuals in the criminal or civil that have been carved out from this agreement. But in terms of the breakdown of the money, much of the money is actually going back to Public Pension Funds. For instance, when you look at the past resolutions we have been able to reach with j. P. Morgan, for example, or with citi, where states have been involved in those resolutions, we have seen no state attorneys general return funds they get out of those settlements back to Public Pension Funds which have suffered losses. So i think one of the benefits of a resolution like this is that we can actually begin to compensate Public Pension Funds that were victims of this as well as help to bring some relief to struggling homeowners and other consumers who are victims of the financial crisis. [indiscernible] actually, 5 billion will go to the United States as a fine, but the rest of the cash that is being provided by bank of america actually goes to compensate losses that were suffered because of losses on the investments. Question for the attorney general regarding the ferguson situation, if i could. You talked about the mistrust. You talked about the anger in the community. Many of them believe the officer used excessive force. You promised an aggressive and independent investigation, but you cant guarantee the facts will lead to prosecution and or a conviction. How much patience to think the community can and should have . I was actually heartened by the response that i got out there yesterday when i talked about doing a thorough and fair investigation, a fair process. I think that seemed to satisfy a great number of people. It will take time for us to develop all of the facts and all of the evidence and see were the case will ultimately go. I think people were concerned that there was not going to be the kind of investigation that i have promised and that in fact will occur. We have been working very diligently out there. I got a briefing from the fbi agents and the prosecutors who are involved in this case. I think significant progress has been made. But it will take some time. I think patience is in abundance in ferguson. It doesnt mean this thing should drag on. We will try to do this as expeditiously as we can. On the other hand, at the end of the day, it is most important we get it right, and that means thoroughness, completeness is what we will emphasize. Each of the settlements comes with an assurance that they do not preclude future criminal charges against the banks or their employees. So why havent there been more criminal prosecutions, and what can we expect Going Forward . We are many tools in the toolbox when it comes to financial fraud. I think what you have seen one of the reasons theyre so effective, the lower burden of proof a lot of times, they are more effective because we can move on them quickly. But that does not preclude us being able to use any of the other tools in our toolbox. So i wont comment on any particular criminal investigation, whether one exists or not. But i will say it is very intentional that we carve out criminal liability and the liability of individuals under these settlements. Mr. Attorney general, you spoke of the mistrust in ferguson. People in ferguson referred to other incidences, many of them reported in the news in which they feel that were mistreated by police. There was a tasting death. I know you spoke to the victims sister yesterday. You have been for leaning on the pattern and practice investigations. Is that something that can be done, and where is your team on that . Theres nothing i want to announce at this time with regard to that possibility, but there are number of tools the Justice Department has with regard to examining Police Misconduct cases. Have you looked into those past incidences . I will say were keeping our options open. What was the greatest thing you learned yesterday visiting with the families . What did that give you personally that you can bring to this case . The real desire on the part of the people of ferguson to be treated fairly and have a Good Relationship with people in Law Enforcement. A desire to be seen as equals, a real desire to have healing. There is a real fracture out there now. People are trying to work their way through. As i indicated to them, out of this tragedy comes a great opportunity for reforming that community. It i think that is something we can do nationwide. This has engendered a conversation i think we are to have. But he cant stop at the conversation. It is time to take concrete steps. The Justice Department is hopefully going to be a leader in that effort. Citizens and state and local officials have to be a part of that effort as well. Do you have concerned that the local prosecutors our investigation is independent, it is going to be thorough, it is going to be fair. Im really confident that at the end of the day the investigation we are going to be doing will be thorough and will be fair. Do you have concerns that immediately struck you that you would have concerns about . No. Cnn. I would like to ask you about the murder of journalist james foley. I was interested in what role the Justice Department plays in the investigation of that, if you are trying to identify the specific individual, if there are any suspects, if you are looking at the leadership that might be involved in this. Also, i was interested in what role the Justice Department may have played, if any, in negotiations for mr. Foleys release and the rescue efforts. First, let me just say that we are as appalled i am as appalled by the brutal murder of jim foley as all the rest of us are. It was heartbreaking to see his parents yesterday, who showed a composure that from my perspective was almost incomprehensive, and my heart goes out to them. The Justice Department is actively pursuing this case. We have an open criminal investigation. Those who perpetrate such acts need to understand something. This Justice Department, this department of defense, this nation, we have a long memories and our reach is very wide. We will not forget what happened, and people will be held accountable, one way or the other. I want to take note of the fact that jim was a journalist and he gave us a view of the world in very dangerous circumstances. I think that in part is what led to his death. He was a journalist, and he was a symbol of what is right about the United States. As i said, the matter is an open investigation and one that we will be pursuing vigorously. Was the Justice Department familiar with the efforts to free him through negotiations . I dont want to comment on what i would consider a National Security matter. Did you watch the video, and what was your reaction if you did . I dont want to comment on that. Thank you. Thank you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] the American Bar Association continues its twoday conference on Homeland Security policy today, what the discussion on cyber security. I will include thomas mcdermott, assistant to Homeland Security department. That is live at 3 10 p. M. Eastern. Here are some of the highlights for this weekend. Tonight on cspan in primetime, we will visit important sites in the history of the soul rights movement. Saturday night at 8 00, highlights from the new york ideas forum, including a cancer biologist. Withn sunday, q and a turley wrangell at 8 00. Tonight at 8 00, indepth with reza aslan. Afterwards, retired neurosurgeon ben carson. Goldstar onwrence the competition between the Wright Brothers and glenn curtis. Tonight on cspan3, a look at hollywoods per trail of slavery. The battle of bladensburg and the burning of washington. Sunday at 8 00, they discuss how president s make decisions. And our schedule one week in advance at cspan. Org. Let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. Call us, or email us. Join the conversation. Like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. Morning, Texas Governor rick perry was speaking about immigration policy and Border Security. That is followed by washington journal at 7 00 with your phone calls and the latest news. Texas governor rick sperry spoke about Border Security and the situation in iraq. He talked about what the u. S. Should be doing to combat isis. Almost oneoccurred week after governor perry was indicted for a in abuse of power that stemmed from a veto threat he carried out against a texas district attorneys office. He began his speech by addressing the charges. Thank you for the invitation to be here today. I refer to this as the wellspring of wisdom in washington, d. C. Thank you, heritage, for what you do. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this today. For the program. You do, a fact, look eternally young. Some of you may not know this. Rich has been ahead of National Review for as long as ive been governor of texas. Its a pretty lengthy timeframe. You dont get to stay around that long unless you are really good at what you do, or just really lucky. I suggest those of those are good things. It doesnt hurt to be both. As he shared with you, and some of you might have heard that there are some interesting things going on back in my home state. Right now, there are a few Public Officials in Travis County who have taken issue with an exercise of my constitutional veto authority. These are fundamentally, principles that are very important. Namely, a governors power to veto legislation and funding, and the right of free speech. I am very confident in my case, and i can assure you that i will fight this attack of our system of government, and with my fellow citizens, both republicans and democrats, i am to defend our constitution and stand up for the rule of law in the state of texas. [applause] to all of you who work here at heritage or at National Review, you are for Republican Leaders across the way. You have for 5. 5 years been among the leading voices of the opposition. Every bit as much as William F Buckley and ed fuller and the whole conservative movement of another era, you have carried the flag when it wasnt easy. For conservatives across america, you have kept the supplies coming. You have been there with recent arguments, principled reasoned arguments, principled criticisms, in a spirited debate. You have been there to show optimism and camaraderie, and that is the mark of every good cause from my perspective. You have been holding the ground as best you can, and more than that, pointing away back for a new conservative majority. We have 29 months left in the presidency of barack obama. That is the bad news. The good news is, hes got exactly 136 days left until the next congress convenes with a Republican House and a republican senate. [applause] he will get a little taste. You will get a little taste of checks and balances. He has an appointment, if you will, come january 3, with constitutional limits. The election of 2014 is americas last chance to pass judgment on the obama presidency. And something tells me hes not going to like it. You know, how different it is, as we look back now, when you think about how his presidency began. He came in the crying the smallness, the pettiness of washington and washington politics. He was the constitutional lawyer that was going to govern a different way, uniting the country and the lien respect across party lines. And maybe you remember the part about improving americas standing in the world. There were all kinds of offenses for us to atone for. Our reputation, we were told, needed some polishing, and he was the right guy for the job. The constitutional law background is worked out in a rather interesting way, when you think about it. 20 times, unanimously, the Supreme Court has had to set him straight on the limits of executive power. And when an american president is constantly exceeding his lawful authority, it doesnt exactly do much for bipartisan goodwill either. He has taken to saying, if Congress Wont act, i will. Which certainly serves up a certain element of our society out there. The problem is, weve still got two elected branches of government in this country