Senators mark kirk and Robert Menendez have introduced a bill which adds economic sanctions against iran for its nuclear program. It restores some sanctions that were lifted when i ran into negotiations with the u. S. And imposes new sanctions on Senior Iranian officials and their families. The Senate Banking committee met today to work on the bill. This is an hour. [inaudible conversations] the meeting will come to order. As we are getting a quorum here we will move to Opening Statements. We will then consider a Nuclear Weapon free iran act of 2015. I would like to come in at this time senators kirk and menendez for their tireless efforts and i mean tireless over so many months including this legislation. Earlier this week we heard testimony from Senior Administration officials and a panel of experts on the need for iran sanctions. I will note that this testimony is an addition to the at least 11 other times Administration Officials have testified before Senate Committees on iran sinc
Vo advisory teams on the ground, joint tactical Forward Air Controllers and other groups. These are small numbers of highly trained professionals. They would make all of the difference going out there with iraqi forces, be they peshmerga, National Guard or awakening sunni or the iraqi army, the nine brigades forming. Theres a huge difference between how these people perform and other conflicts perform when you have american advisers with them and how they perform without them. We dont have the luxury of having them perform in an inaccurate way. That needs to be done right now. And i dont understand why the administration is dragging its heels when it hears from dempsey, hears from others this is something that should be and is being contemplated. Thats it. A. Mbassador ford, your three recommendations for president obama. The first would be within the region itself to prioritize. I think most everyone would agree that syria and iraq are probably the two highest priorities because of th
Indian country but also an issue for all of rural america. Its why i included in my opening remarks the fact that we in 2014 established nearly 10 million of contribution toward expanded Broadband Access. We have completed the rule making process to institute and implement the new farm bill provisions you referred to. Thats now putting us in a position to begin making decisions about where resources go. We announced today the project in mexico which is the first project under the substantially Underserved Trust Area provisions of a previous farm bill. Thats 5. 5 million that will be committed to expanded Broadband Access in new mexico. We are very much committed to this. I would say that there are two specific ways that you can address the issue. One is through our normal program, Distance Learning telemedicine program. Now with the new farm bill rules well certainly be prioritizing areas that are most in need. Working with the fcc to make sure that they put pressure on Telecommunicati
That it was giving too much power to the president. Do you agree with that . What is your view of this . I have mixed feelings. Youre talking about the authority that is given for the trade agreements. And what is the tpa, the actual acronym trade promotional authority. Trade promotional authority. There is an argument to be made by some on the separation of powers that by giving this authority to the president that youve taken power that should be the congress. There is also i guess, another argument that these are really treaties and they ought to be actually done as treaties and theyre not, theyre done by simple majority. But im also a big believer in free trade, i think free trade is a good thing. So there have been libertarians or libertarian conservatives, my father included who voted against some of the trade deals because they felt like they gave up sovereignty to international bodies. I think it is a valid point. I have voted for the trade deals, though because like a lot of t
To law school and, look im in electricity. Theres jobs for people across the spectrum of interest. Its not all about stem. We need people of all the different disciplines. How about a round of applause for our speaker. Thank you so much for being first at the National Press club we hope many future ferc chairman follow our lead and come see us at the National Press club. I would also like to thank the National Press club staff including its Journalism Institute and the Broadcast Center for organizing todays event. Finally heres a reminder you can find more information not only about todays event but all of our activities at the National Press club at the National Press club website. Thats press. Org. Also, if youd like to get a copy of todays program you can go to that website, press. Org. Thank you very much. We are adjourned. Were live on capitol hill this morning as the House Banking Committee is meeting to mark up or finalize a bill introduced by bob kirk and Robert Menendez that w