Transcripts For CSPAN Road To The White House 20150323

Translator people on both sides of the taiwan straits are members of one big family. As long as we continue to appear to the one china adhered to the one china principle and consensus, oppose Taiwan Independence and promote peaceful relations, we will be able to lay more solid foundations for business cooperation. To boost the Economic Cooperation between the two sides, we need to get both wheels in motion. The one well is to enhance institution building, for example, to continue to pursue egg five. The other is for opening up, as far as the mainland is concerned, closer attention will be paid to the investment by taiwan businesspeople on the mainland. Here, i would like to ask you to convey a message to these people, which i believe will prove to be reassuring to them. That is, the mainland will continue to protect local rights and interests of taiwan businesspeople on the mainland and continue to pursue professional policies as appropriate. In terms of opening up, we will give priority to taiwan in terms of the intensity of opening up. We welcome people from taiwan businesses especially and including the young people, to come to the mainland to pursue their own careers and business opportunities. We also want to further enhance personnel enter flow between the sides to blend the hearts and minds of people and bring them closer to each other. Thank you. Question [speaking mandarin] translator with the republic of korea, in the last few months of 2014 chinas cpi covered at about 1. 5 . In january of this year, the figure was a mere 0. 8 . Are we to conclude that china has entered deflation . Some argue that china is exporting deflation to other parts of the world. And this has also affected the r. O. K. What is your response to this . Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator about deflation there are multiple criteria in evaluating deflation in the world. A major criteria on is the consecutive negative growth of overall Consumer Prices in a country. When it comes to cpi in china, last january we had positive growth. The figure for february i dont think there has already been deflation in china. Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator recently, Consumer Prices in china have been quite low. But china is not exporting deflation to other parts of the world. The truth is, we have only been receiving deflation. Levitt give you an example. Last year, china bought 300 10 Million Metric Tons of crude oil. And about 930 million tons on international markets. The physical volume has been on the rise, but the volume contained has declined because of the tumble in International Commodity prices. We are prepared to cope with such a situation, and at the same time, what we hope more to see is that there will be a quicker Global Economic recovery , and the global recon economy will regain momentum and robust growth. Question [speaking mandarin] translator with china daily. Some people have come to the conclusion that china has become the number one economy in the world. And it is posing a challenge to the leadership status of the United States. But at the same time, they argue china is still free riding in some international affairs. What is your response to such a view and what are your considerations for the advancement of chinau. S. Ties . Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator the first part of your question, about that china has become the largest economy in the world, i have heard such a view when i traveled abroad on foreign visits. The dial is fielded there are some elements of misleading exaggeration in this conclusion, because according to standards china is still the second largest economy in the world. More importantly, our cap per capita gdp is behind 80 countries in the world. Sometime before this years festival, i paid a visit to places in chinas western region. I visited two rural homes. One had a mother and son living in a very shabby place where the wind could be felt if you are in their home. Because the family is so poor the sun has yet to get married. The other home has produced a college student. There is a boy and a girl in that family. For the tuition fees to go to college for the boy, his younger sister has to work in cities to support the college fees, and she could not come home for family reunions wearing spring festivals. Its truly pains me to see our People Living in such distress. I am sure there are many more such families in the vast land of china. By the standard of the world bank, we still have 200 million chinese living in poverty. So i can say that china is still a developing country in every sense of the term. Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator china needs to run its own affairs well and maintain its development at a reasonable speed. I believe that in itself, is chinas major contribution to the whole world. Actually, at the same time, china is assuming greater do international obligations, and responsibilities. Talking about chinas free riding, for such a big country as ours, how could it be easy for it to get a get a ride on anybodys train . I think what china is doing is working with other countries in pursuit of common progress. Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator developments will remain the top priority for china, and we need a peaceful International Environment for us to focus on our domestic development. When it comes to chinau. S. Relationship, this is a relationship between the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world. We have proposed that china and the United States Work Together to build a new model of major country relationship wagering Mutual Respect and no conflict or confrontation. This year, president gee thinking will president will visit the United States, boosting chinese ties. Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator admittedly, there are differences between china and the United States. More importantly, the two countries share common interests. When differences are properly held the two sides can have more extra energy to further expand their interests. One highlight in the chinau. S. Relationship is that the two sides are advancing negotiations of an investment treaty. This is built around preestablishment of national treatment. This in itself is to break the ceiling over chinau. S. Business cooperation and will open up more new diner mentions for the growth of chinau. S. Ties. Naturally, the negotiations will take time. It has already sent out a very clear message to the international community, that chinau. S. Ties will get even closer and will put the overall chinau. S. Relationship on more solid footing. Question [speaking mandarin] translator with Hong Kong Economic times, my question is about the constitutional reform in hong kong, which is a keen interest of the people of hong kong. We are getting closer to the date for voting on the plan of constitutional reform in hong kong. Recently, there have been quite tough statements made by the central leadership on this particular topic. Many people are not so optimistic about the prospect for constitutional reform bills to be adopted. I want to know if, and also, for the first time, you said that we need to strictly comply with the constitution and basic law at the same time. Does this mean that the Central Government is tightening its policy towards hong kong . And will that affect the relationship between the Central Government and the hong kong ser . And will that lead to uncertainties in the cultural and business interactions between the sides . Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator it is the basic state policy of chinas government to adhere to the principles of one country, two systems. The people of hong kong governing hong kong, the people of macau to bring macau. And both regions enjoying a high degree of autonomy. Some people are worried, if the Central Government is tightening its policies towards hong kong. I believe such a worry is not necessary. It is true that, in this years government report, it is said that money one needs to strictly comply with the constitution and the basic law. This in itself shows our commitment to ensuring the consistence and full implementation of the one country, two systems principle. This principle has been written into the constitution, and the basic law of hong kong ncr. They formed the constitutional basis of the hong kong sar. It is also stipulated in the basic laws of hong kong what systems should be practiced in hong kong. The one country, two systems principle reflect the will of the country and the people, and cannot be changed at will. You may feel that ive been very careful in choosing your words in answering your question. This is because you asked a question that relates to the law, so i need to answer it with utmost seriousness. Premier li [speaking mandarin] translator the Central Government will continue to firmly support the government of the hong kong ser and the chief executive of hong kong ser in governing the region in accordance with the law. The Central Government will give stronger support to hong kong for its unique role in chinas reform, opening up and modernization drive. We hope that there will be changes between the hong kong and the mainland, and both sides benefit from such closer exchanges, in business, cultural, and other fields, and all people involved in these exchanges will be satisfied and have their wellbeing boosted. Question thank you very much. I have a question of Foreign Policy that is including europeans, including the president the presence of Russian Troops in ukraine. Does china think this is the correct response to International Law . A couple of days ago, the russian president mentioned on television how we planned the invasion of crimea. Is crimea, for china part of russian now . Or is it still part of ukraine . Translator [speaking mandarin] premier li [speaking mandarin] translator china follows independent Foreign Policy of peace. On the issue of ukraine, china has adopted an objective and just position. We respect ukraines independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Sometime ago, and my meeting with the president of ukraine when i visited europe, these are also the words i said to him. He asked me if we could make them public. I said, no problem. Use my words and publish them in newspapers. Translator premier li [speaking mandarin] translator the same time, the issue of ukraine has added to the complexity of the geopolitical situation and also exerted its impact on the process of Global Economic recovery. We hope that there will be a negotiating settlement of this issue. As for crimea, there are conflicts and causes behind this issue. We also hope to see a political settlement of this issue through dialogue. We hope that there will be harmonious coexistence between neighbors and what we hope to see is the pursuit of Common Development and winwin outcomes between European Countries and all countries in the world. I believe that is an interest of all sides, china included. Thank you. On the next washington journal, a look at the 2016 republican budget plans with president of the committee for a responsible federal budget. Then talking about the freedom of information act and how the Obama Administration and other federal agencies have responded to requests for disclosing government files. Also, a discussion on the Social Security administrations socalled masterfile and how inaccurate records had led to improper payments to deceased individuals. We will also take your calls and look for your comments on facebook and twitter beginning live, 7 00 a. M. Eastern, on cspan. The center for American Progress tomorrow hears from former secretary of state hillary clinton. She will be part of a conversation on urban development opportunities. That is live at 10 00 a. M. East and on cspan. Over on cspan 2, we will be live from Liberty University in virginia, where ted cruz is scheduled to speak. He is expected to announce his candidacy for president , making him the first to officially enter the 2016 president ial race. Again, live coverage on cspan 2 starting at 10 00 a. M. Eastern. Monday night on the communicators, we met up with tim moynihan at the Consumer Electronics show in las vegas. He gave us a tour of the latest technology. Organic light emitting diode. It refers to the backlight system. It uses led backlight to color liquid crystal display. This one is using the individual particles as a source of light. So they can be turned off and on independently. With an led set there will always be some sort of light seeping through. To my eyes, this is pretty amazing. This is 4k and oled, the big buzzwords at this years show. This is sort of the holy grail of tvs. Monday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on the communicators. Consideration of attorney general nominee Loretto Lynch was delayed last week in the senate because of differences over a Human Trafficking bill. Senators spent much of the week trying to advance the measure with several procedural votes falling short of the 60 votes required, leaving her nomination still pending in the senate. Senate minority whip dick durbin came to the floor wednesday to speak about the delay. Sen. Durbin mr. President , this is the executive calendar of the United States senate. This calendar tells us the nominations that are pending before the United States senate where action is needed. It is one name to be found on this calendar on page 4, a name which has been sitting on this calendar longer than any nominee for attorney general of the United States of america over the last 25 years. This name has been sitting on this calendar for 20 days, which does not sound like an extraordinary long period of time, but it turns out that the previous nominees were moved so quickly on the Senate Calendar that the last five combined, by democratic and republican president s, took less time to be confirmed than this one made one name. What is the name . It is loretta e. Lynch of new york come up to be attorney general, a name that was submitted to the United States senate by barack obama to make history. A name, a nominee to make history. Because, you see, this is the first africanAmerican Woman in the history of the United States to be nominated to serve as attorney general. It is a civil rights milestone that her name has been submitted. I sat through the judiciary hearing and it was a packed room. All the tv cameras were there. Loretto lynch cant Loretto Lynch Loretta Lynch came, sat at the table with her family around her with Close Friends gathered from all over the United States, and this woman calmly, in a dignified way, gave the most compelling testimony i have heard of any witness before the Senate Judiciary committee including those who came before us seeking to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court. She was excellent. No one laid a glove on her. No one raised any concern about her nomination. When the public witnesses were invited to come in to comment on her nomination, senator Patrick Leahy of vermont asked all of them, is there anyone of you that opposes the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be attorney general . Not one. Not one. And here we are now, with this nomination pending longer than any attorney general nomination in the last 30 years. Why . Why has the Senate Republican leadership decided to target this woman and to stop her from serving as the first africanamerican attorney general of the United States of america . There is no good reason. There is no substantive reason. She has been an extra nerve prosecutor an extraordinary prosecutor in new york. She has the support of so many outstanding organizations. The National District Attorneys Association supports Loretta Lynch. The federal Law Enforcement officers association, the International Association of chiefs of police, the major cities chiefs association, the association of prosecuting attorneys, the Fbi Agents Association supports Loretta Lynch. A long list of republican and democraticappointed former u. S. Attorneys, including Patrick Fitzgerald from my state of illinois, a former fbi director appointed by a republican president , a former attorney general from the george w. Bush and ministration, the list goes on and on. The fact is, there is no substantive reason to stop this nomination. The republican majority leader announced over the weekend that he was going to hold this nomination of Loretta Lynch until the bill, which is pending before the senate, passes whenever that may be. And so Loretta Lynch, the first africanAmerican Woman nominated to be attorney general, is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate Calendar. That is unfair. It is unjust. It is beneath the decor and the dignity of the United States senate. This woman deserves fairness. She seeks to lead the department of justice and the United States senate should be just in its treatment of her nomination. To think that we would jeopardize her opportunity to serve this nation and to make history is fundamentally unfair. What is the issue . The issue is this bill, an important bill, a bill which relates to Human Trafficking. As chairman of the constitution subcommittee, i have held hearings on the subject and it is heartbreaking. Heartbreaking to hear how primarily young women have been enslaved and exploited, not just around the world, but in the United States. I support this legislation and i think we should move it forward. What is holding us up is very simple. One sentence. Out of a 112page bill, there is one sentence on pages 50 and 51 that relate to the issue of abortion. I need not tell anyone following this debate how controversial and divisive that issue can be and has been for so many decades in the United States. The fact is, that issue has nothing to do with Human Trafficking. It should be abated at another moment, another time. Sadly, this one sentence in this 100page bill is holding up from being considered on the floor. If the senior senator from texas is the lead sponsor of this bill , would come to the floor and safely remove this one sentence, this bill would pass this afternoon overwhelmingly. There is no question about it. He knows it. We have told him that. We offered that to him. But he refuses. And so this good bill languages on languishes on the calender. The senate is mired in controversy and Loretta Lynch sits on the calendar for another day. Mr. President , it has been 130 days since president obama nominated this woman to serve as our attorney general. That is more than three times the time it took for us to confirm attorney general ashcroft. 2. 5 times the slowness it took to confirm attorney general mckay c. Twice as long as it took to confirm attorney general holder. It is time for us to give Loretta Lynch an opportunity to continue to serve america, to make civil rights history by allowing this africanAmerican Woman to step forward and serve. It is time to stop holding her hostage to a political debate on the floor of the United States senate that has nothing to do with her obvious qualifications to serve this nation. I yield the floor. Those comments prompted a reaction one day later from arizona senator john mccain. He spoke from the senate floor for about five minutes and was followed by a response from senator durbin. Sen. Mccain i come to the floor today to address a very serious accusation leveled yesterday against republican members of this body by the democratic with whip, the senator from illinois. With some regret i do this with some regret. We have been friends for many years. We served in the house together and here, in this body, and have worked together. That is why i was so surprised and disappointed in the comments that he made yesterday on the floor of the senate, comments that were totally inappropriate and remain on the floor of the senate. My colleague from illinois said, and i quote, republican majority leader announced he was going to hold this nomination of Loretta Lynch until a bill, which is pending before the senate, passes, whenever that may be. Then he went on to say, and so Loretta Lynch, the first africanAmerican Woman nominated to the to be attorney general , is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the Senate Calendar. That is unfair, it is unjust, it is beneath the decorum of the United States senate. What is beneath the decorum and dignity of the United States senate, i would say to the senator from illinois, is for him to come to this floor and use that imagery to suggest that racist tactics are being employed to delay ms. Lynchs confirmation vote. Such inflammatory rhetoric has no place in this body and serves no purpose other than to further divide us. Perhaps my colleagues and the senator from illinois, in particular, need to be reminded of their own record when it comes to the treatment of africanamerican women whose nominations were before this body. In 2012, Janice Rogers brown, an africanamerican, was nominated to serve on the u. S. Board of appeals for the district of columbia, a court that had never included an africanAmerican Woman judge. The senator from illinois voted to filibuster her nomination in 2003 and again in 2005, when she was finally confirmed after waiting 684 days. The senator from illinois voted against the historic nomination. I would never suggest, even with built rhetoric veiled rhetoric, that her race was the reason for his opposition. And he should extend that same courtesy to me and my colleagues. I would also like to remind the senator from illinois about how we were able to fill vacancies in the u. S. District court of arizona last year, effectively alleviating a judicial emergency with tremendous bipartisan support. We confirmed a diverse and historic slate of six nominees which included a hispanic, an africanamerican, and the first native American Woman ever to serve on the federal bench. But there race had nothing to do with their successful confirmations, just as ms. Lynchs race should have no impact on her consideration in this body. Those six judges were approved because each had shown a commitment to justice, public service, and the people of arizona. They demonstrated the demeanor necessary to serve with integrity. I would further point out to the senator from illinois that at no time has the majority leader ever indicated he would not bring the lynch nomination to the floor. In fact, the opposite is true. We have made it clear time and again that we would consider the nomination as we have disposed of the bipartisan trafficking bill. The senator from illinois and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have filibustered this bill over a manufactured crisis. We could have considered the lynch nomination this week. They chose otherwise. I deeply regret that the senator from illinois chose to come here yesterday and question the integrity and motivation of mine and my republican colleagues. It was offensive and unnecessary. I think he owes this body, ms. Lynch, and all americans an apology. I yield the floor. Sen. Durbin i am glad that i have heard my colleagues comments firsthand and i would like to respond to them directly. As of today, Loretta Lynch, the president s nominee for attorney general, has been had her nomination pending before the United States senate 131 days. How does that compare with previous nominees for attorney general question general . It is three times longer than general ashcroft was pending before the United States senate. 2. 5 times longer the time taken to confirm attorney general mccasey. Twice as long as the time to confirm attorney general holder. Why . In some cases, these nominees had questions that were raised by members of the senate. Questions about their political views, their background, legitimate questions requiring time to answer. I sat in the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing for this nominee emma Loretta Lynch. Nominee, Loretta Lynch. There were no questions raised of anytime questioning her ability to serve as attorney general. None. My colleague from arizona notes the fact that i have voted against africanamerican nominees in the past. It is true. I am not arguing that every moment member of the senate should vote for Loretta Lynch simply because she would be the first africanAmerican Woman to serve in that capacity. All i am saying is that she deserves the same fair treatment we have given to other nominees for this job. She has now been pending before the senate longer than any nominee for attorney general in the last 30 years. She has been on the calendar now waiting for a vote for a longer. Of time for a longer period of time than the last five nominees for attorney general combined. Why . It has nothing to do with her qualifications for the job which are the very best. Why in the world are we taking this important post, attorney general of the United States of america, why are we taking this important civil rights moment when the first africanAmerican Woman in history is being given an opportunity to serve, and entangling it in the politics of the senate . A week ago, senator mcconnell said right outside this chamber that he was going to call their nomination her nomination this week. We breathed a sigh of relief. Then, over the weekend, he announced she would not be called until a bill pending on the floor is passed. Yes, i am upset and frustrated on her behalf. To think that she is being treated in this manner. I am not going to use any pejorative terms other than to say i believe it is insensitive for the senate to hold her up for such a lengthy time with no objection to this womans character, fitness and ability to continue to serve the United States. She has served, you know. She is currently in a position as the u. S. Attorney in new york. She has the support of the following organizations the National District Attorneys Association, the federal Law Enforcement officers association, the International Association of chiefs of police, the major cities chiefs association, the association of prosecuting attorneys, the Fbi Agents Association, and a long list of republican and democraticappointed former u. S. Attorney including Patrick Fitzgerald and scott lazar from the North District of illinois. She has the support of former fbi director louis freeh and attorney general Larry Thompson from the george w. Bush administration. Under normal circumstances, this would be an easy ask for the president , to bring a person of this quality to the senate for confirmation. She had three votes supporting her in the Judiciary Committee from the republican side. I do not understand the objections of the others, but i respect whatever their reasoning. All that i am asking for, all the president is asking for, all the senate is asking for is a vote. A vote. Bring her off the pages of the calendar before the senate for a vote. Do not make it contingent on some bill or some political agreement in the future. Let this woman, who has led such an extraordinary life, have her chance to continue to serve the United States of america. That, to meet, is to me, is only fair and just. I yield the floor. The 2016 republican budget plans for the house and the senate. A top priority remains increased defense spending. We talked with the capitol hill reporter. Paul krawzak is budget reporter for cq roll call. The headline says senate and house take different paths to boost defense spending. How different are they and how much are they going to add to defense . Paul they would both at about 40 billion to defense next year. The reason the pats are different is because teh paths are different is because the Senate Proposes to reduce defense spending later in the decade, about 2022. The house has a different plan. The house would offset some of that increase, but it is possible that that plan will be changed and they will remove the requirement to offset that. This increase in defense spending is all through this overseas contingent operations. Explain that to us. Paul both budgets would stick with the sequester caps on Discretionary Spending that are in law. That allows 523 billion of defense spending next year. They are sticking with these caps, but to provide more money for defense, they are using more funding, funding for the war against terrorism. They are increasing that. That funding is outside the caps. So that is how they get around the caps. Cspan and cspan networks covered the markups. In the house markup, Kevin Mccarthy came in to help them work out some difficulty over the defense spending print what was the issue and how did they resolve it . Paul i am not sure they resolved it yet. The plan from house leaders was to add a couple billion dollars more to defense spending and also to remove the requirements that the defense spending be offset because some of the defense hawks in the house are concerned that if that money has to be offset, it might be impossible to offset it and then they will not have the money to spend. It looks like they are contemplating putting something in the rule which would remove the offset requirement. Rex on another issue, in terms of domestic spending, you tweeted about the Supreme Court ruling that the gop wants and could complicate the budget. How would it do that . Paul this is one of the impressive things about this. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in june on the challenge to the Health Subsidies of the Affordable Care act. If the Supreme Court rules the Health Subsidies are illegal the republicans are going to want to have a plan to at least temporarily replace those subsidies. One way they could pass that plan without democratic support is through the budget reconciliation process. They wrote reconciliation instructions into these budgets which are very general and will give them the flexibility to write a replacement plan responding to the Supreme Court decision after the Supreme Court decision. How do the senate and house plans and to the president s request for increased the mastech spending . Paul they dont. Both plans keep nondefense spending, domestic spending at the statutory cap levels. President proposed increasing both defense and nondefense and paying for it with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. Republican plans do not increase domestic spending. It seems there was a good deal of chafing over the spending caps. The defense chairman was seeing he would like to see the caps lifted legislatively. Is that likely to happen . Paul there is a good chance that can happen. What a lot of republicans foresee is that after these public budget resolutions are past, they could reach an agreement on a budget deal similar to the one that was put together by paul ryan and patty murray, which would actually raise the caps for defense and nondefense. You would have to pass a law to do that. Best case scenario, the house and the senate finish the work on the budget resolutions by the end of the week. What is the deadline to get a final version out of congress . Paul the deadline is april 15 for the house and senate to agree on a common budget resolution. They are shooting to meet that deadline, but they do not have to because there is no penalty for not meeting the deadline. They could pass it after the deadline as well. Paul krawzak covers the budget for cq roll call. Read more at cq. Com. Thanks for the update. Coming up next, our conversation with retired army general Daniel Bolger on this weeks q a. Then David Cameron takes questions from members of the house of congo house of commons. It are, a News Conference with lee keychain li kiqiang. This week, our guest is retired army general Daniel Bolger, author of why we lost a generals inside account of the iraq and afghanistan wars. He talks about his deployments to those to war zones. His thoughts on what went wrong, and his ideas on how to move forward as conflict continues in the two countries. Brian general Daniel Bolger