A reminder, well have live coverage of mrs. Reagans funeral from the president ial library in simi valley friday at 2 00 p. M. Eastern. White house spokesman josh earnest took reporters questions about the Supreme Court vacancy, last nights president ial primary and this is a one hour portion of todays briefing. Good afternoon, everybody. I do not have anything off the top so we can go straight to questions. Darlene, would you like to start . Do you have anything to add to your reports that u. S. Special forces are questioning the head of the Islamic State units trying to develop Nuclear Weapons . Unfortunately, i do not. Ive seen those reports. At this point im still constrained im still constrained by some Operational Security concerns from answering them. You do know there are u. S. Military forces that are on the ground in iraq that are part of these forces that are dedicated to carrying out raids, collecting intelligence and where possible getting access to high value targets, but
Poverty, lack of basic infrastructure like housing, Public Safety deficiencies among other things. The Unemployment Rate there is totally on acceptable it is near 50 , and an equally large percentage of the population is below the poverty level, and they have made steady progress on Economic Development in recent years, but they really need a boost. As part of the president s efforts, this promise own will help the Navajo Nation tackle the issues outlined in their application, which i have talked a little bit about here. I simply urge you to give consideration to the requests. I know there are many communities in need, but few face the extremely difficult conditions we see on the Navajo Nation. Sec. Vilsack that is one of the reasons we include that area and our strike zone initiative, but you are right, the strikes on would extend that approach to the federal agencies, so i appreciate the comments, senator. Sen. Udall could you tell me a little bit about the strikeforce effort . Sec.
Supply our needs and to lead us toward abundant living. Continue to sustain our senators with your eternal presence remind them that your hand is on the helm of Human Affairs and that you still guide your world. Renew their strength, as you provide them with the courage to carry on. May they refuse to do anything which could bring them regret, remorse and shame. We pray in your strong name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell tonight well welcome the president of the United States for the state of the Union Address. Its his final address, and it gives us cause for reflection. Many of us recall a moment in boston when a state senator became a national star. His rhetorica
Will vote on sometime next week. I also predict, mr. President , that this is the last farm bill that wont be driven by the new realities of people who want their food needs met in new ways. Those food needs are going to be greater, but were going to be less concerned, i would expect, five years from now about farm surpluses and what happens if we grow too much than we are about how we meet the growing food needs of the world, partly because of the population, partly because people once they get better food just want better food. Once you have the variety of food, once you have the experience of better food, nobody wants to go back to the food that they used to have. And were going to see that driving this debate over more over the next few years than we have up until now. Agriculture in many states, including my state of missouri, the number one industry in the state, 16 of our work force is directly involved in agriculture. It continues in state after state. You and i have both heard
Theres no protection for those farmers, then that those farmers go under. They go bankrupt and that way of life ends. And so, yes, so my heart goes out to those farmers that that may occur to. But its a larger issue than just the farmers. Without Crop Insurance, without that protection, those farmers may lose those farms. That means we dont have a food supply that we can count on. That means that the world doesnt have the food that they need to feed the hungry. And i know most people get food from the Grocery Store these days, but it comes from the fields of kansas and illinois and places in between. So its my hope that congress, democrats, republicans, house, senate and the president will Work Together in the coming days to put a farm bill on the floor that we can all get behind, that can go to the president s desk and receive his signature. Weve got a lot of divisions but we should be united today, all of us, in protection, in fighting for the american farmer. And with that i yield b