Transcripts For CSPAN Politics And Public Policy Today 20161118

Do you see any changes in that in terms of a different relationship between the president elect and the kremlin . No i dont. The russians recently deployed their loan carrier and conducting some ops off of that. Presence sustained a of their artillery and the deployment of a very advanced their deployment air defense system. , clearly theicates russians are there to stay. They want to maintain a presence and base in syria, their only base outside of the former soviet union, the Permanent Base they maintain. I expect their planning on expanding. Russia. Ust question on the 30,000 foot question, and that is one aspect of the putin doctrine has been to enhance his own stature at home by provoking confrontation provoking confrontation with the west, by trimming for his people at home the United States the russian equivalent to the great satan. With hishe square that comments or overtures to the president elect . Kremlin words, does the needed the american bogeyman to maintain popularity at home and how will they deal with that conflict if there is a different relationship between the president elect and the kremlin . Clearly can say is to this spiritd of nationalism in russia by , and ing to citizenry think somewhat as a distraction or offer opposition for the economic amortizations that the russian population continues to suffer because of their economic straits they are in and the continued contraction of their economy. He does exhort an appeal to patriotic spirit of the russian people. His standing up to opponents of the west. Reaffirming in their minds a russian greatness. Let me ask one last question, both director clapper and secretary work about isis and the campaign in syria. There have been a number of statements from the pentagon about the timing of the campaign against raqqa. I have had concerns about whether we have the forces to undertake that. Whether it is premature. But there have been Public Comment about two imperatives accelerating that campaign and one is an intensification of plotting by isis against the United States and the need to move quickly. The need to diminish that threat. And the other is the fear of people, isis figures, leaving mosul and reinforcing efforts in raqqa. How much are those two concerns driving that campaign and how do you ascribe that threat to the United States from isis at the moment in terms of external Operations Planning . And the military tradeoff of moving more quickly than the forces are prepared but the necessity of cutting off people that are fleeing mosul . The Campaign Design that was settled on a year ago today is generally going on along the lines of which we expected. It always was to isolate mosul and raqqa and then to reduce them. We are far ahead on the Mosul Campaign because we have reliable partners on the ground. The Iraqi Security forces, especially their Counterterrorism Service have really been getting after the bad guys. We have been providing a lot of support in going after the external operations leaders, both in iraq and syria. That is the president s and that secretarys number one concern going after the external ops guys and we have had a lot of success. The campaign to isolate raqqa was always number two in the queue. The Syrian Democratic forces are the isolation force and they are in the process of isolating raqqa and the force that will ultimately reduce raqqa is now being determined among all of the actors in the region. Meanwhile, we continue to head every single external ops guy, either on the front or al qaeda in syria or isil. We are having a lot of success in doing so. I dont think we can make a direct correlation between as the pressure increases on the caliphate and it shrinks, that we can relate that directly or we dont have evidence to heightens the threat to the homeland. That has been a constant with isil and i dont think there is a direct relationship between the diminishment of their territory and the magnitude of that threat. It is still a concern of ours. We have had a lot of success in taking out both leaders of the external operations and some of their lesser lowerlevel people. I yield back. Mr. Khan awaits is recognized. Russia today the propaganda arm of putin is wellfunded. They have a scheme, a playbook that says, if we can force the americans to question one another, how does the line of questioning relative to trying to create some sort of a sinister link between whatever mr. Trump may have done how does that play into the playbook . As trained professionals, intelligence professionals, is that in fact exactly what they are trying to get us to do . Dir. Clapper they have incurred some budget cuts on their network and have not been all that successful in conveying messages here in the u. S. They do broadcast elsewhere and that is exactly what they tried to do particularly in europe. Having traveled there and watched rt, they are focusing much more on europe then the than the United States. It is in their playbook. If you look at what they did in ukraine and elsewhere, they get the citizens to turn on themselves. That line of questioning you will hear all day today will be playing directly into the rt playbook and they are quite successful in europe. Turning from that though, we have been fighting in afghanistan and iraq for a long time. Can you give us a couple of examples where we are better today than when we first started Lessons Learned that are now part of the norm versus dir. Clapper in terms of sharing intelligence with dod . Gathering and sharing. Are you better now than you were in 2003 . Dir. Clapper i think so. Can you give us some examples . Dir. Clapper i cannot go into specifics in this setting. I did visit kuwait, the Task Force Command there last week. I was briefed on some examples of the contributions the agencies have made, specifically nsa and dia. General townsend was very high in his praise regarding what the Intelligence Community is doing on his behalf. I think this is emblematic of the relationship because these are combat support agencies in dod as well as well as being parts of the Intelligence Community. I am happy to give you specific examples that would be classified to illustrate that. You mentioned joint duty and the successes early on. I had questions regarding the impact it would have on the personnels career paths, if they left their home agency and went somewhere else. Can you talk about the impact that has had on Career Development . Are commanders willing to give up their best and brightest to go to the intel agencies . Is the joint duty working the way you intended . Congressman, i will take a first crack at this. In my experience, the joint duty program for Intelligence Officers has soft to model the has sought to model the successes of the joint tours of duty on the military side under Goldwater Nichols which had been successful in driving that integration in the last 30 years for the military. The same is starting to play out in the intelligence joint duty program. My observation is that in almost all cases, individuals who serve a joint duty gain experiences that make them far more valuable and developed as leaders for the Intelligence Community upon completion of that joint duty tour. That said, one of the things we need to continue to work on in the years ahead is how to make that return back to the Home Organization even more effective so that in a seamless way, they are able to come back to their Home Organization, to the right kind of job that fully leverages that kind of assignment. We have had to go to school on this a bit on how to manage this arrangement. It is easier and more convenient when you manage a workforce that is selfcontained within a particular agency. In my own headquarters, where we have maintained 40 of our workforce, our detail ease from other components and you do need to Pay Attention to that and manage their assignments, ensure they get appropriate ratings and bonuses where appropriate. And i think though the enrichment of the force, and the professional capability of the force is far better. There has been a profound sociological change in the Intelligence Community. Thousands of employees have deployed multiple times since 9 11. And that has had i think of profound change in the professionalism and the identification with the mission of our civilian employees. Your time has expired. Thank you, chairman. Thank you gentleman for your service. Mr. Clapper, a word of advice when you talk about retirement. You mentioned your wife. A friend of mine retired and his wife said i married you for better or for worse but i did not marry you for lunch. Good luck on that. In the time we have, would you give us a little of your thoughts concerning the homeland and security what are your priorities or chief concerns besides Cyber Attacks . To me, it is a concern that the attacks could be more could be generated from the outside but also less sophisticated and harder to stop or even know about. Dir. Clapper you have touched on what is of great concern to us not so much the massive complex attack that we suffered on 9 11 but rather those caused by individuals or small cells of people. That is a tremendous challenge for us. One of the things i have tried to work in my time as dni is promoting not only the horizontal integration across our agencies but also vertically with the state, local, and private sector. I think we have made a lot of improvement there. I will for example be meeting with my Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Advisor Group tonight which is an Outstanding Group of chiefs of police and Law Enforcement intelligence representatives who do great work. I think the creation and operation of the Fusion Center Network Across the country which are increasingly becoming more internetted is a great bulwark against foreign attacks. But i will leave this job concerned about the impact of socalled lone wolves or homegrown extremism. That is a very complex problem that requires i think first and foremost community involvement. Intelligence and Law Enforcement can do so much to help clarify the picture of what that threat is. Congressman, may i say that in addition to counterterrorism and Cyber Threats that the director mentioned, on the military side, we also think about threats to the homeland regarding more traditional military capabilities involving missiles. A one of the main projects we have underway is to look at how to improve our intelligence indications and warning to better be able to respond to those types of contingencies as well. I think it is important to think about the full spectrum of threats to the homeland that we face. I have heard several talk about the affects of sequestration on our protection of the homeland. What concerns me is if you could add a thought and i note this and i know it doesnt come out of this committee but Homeland Security grants to local governments cut by 50 roughly in the last five years transportation security grants, 75 . Infrastructure was zeroed out. Your thoughts . Dir. Clapper sequestration the specter of sequestration which runs through 2021 continues and potentially has impact across the board. That is something we struggle with every program year and of course the uncertainty that creates and the painful trades we have to make they are a fact of life. Programmatically it has become the new norm having lived with it for five years. Mr. Pompeo i sit on a joint task force along with others looking into the manipulation of intelligence at Central Command. Have you had a chance to read the interim report filed by the task force . Dir. Clapper i have read that. Mr. Pompeo there are clear cases of intelligence manipulation. What accountability for any Person Associated with that has been held . What we have been waiting for is the completion of the ig investigation. Mr. Pompeo we have soldiers in the field and we had intelligence not getting to the right place. To tell a soldier that they are waiting for an ig report is unacceptable. Tell me who has been held accountable. I would have to ask if any particular people have been held accountable. What we have said over and over again is we expect the highest standards in the Intelligence Community. Mr. Pompeo did we get that . Director clapper spoke to the overall assessment is we are improving. Congressman, i will add that we are not able to take authoritative personnel related actions on these instances and allegations until the ig investigation is completed. It has taken quite a while. We are as eager as this committee is to get the result of that ig investigation and be able to take action on those. In the interim, there are some systemic and management actions we have taken on the dod side working closely with director clapper and his team. First and foremost, as director clapper mentioned, in the natural changeover of duties at Central Command with the commander and the j2, we both have along with the director of dia strongly emphasized the need for the j2 to look at the situation. We have also taken a number of initiatives. We are in the process of ensuring that there is an ombudsman in place. Someone analysts can come to anonymously. Report concerns that they may have and have an advocate. I am glad you are doing those things. They sound great to me. I have to tell you that the American People and our soldiers deserve not to wait to hold accountable those folks who put Bad Information in the field. There are indications that information was withheld from the president ial daily briefing. Is that accurate . Dir. Clapper i am aware of the reports and the examination done by our analytic integrity officers found no substantiation of that. There are also press reports that say you had conversations with great frequency circumventing the chain of command. You testified that they come to the National Level only through the dia. How do you square conversations you are having with the j2 add one command with that testimony . Dir. Clapper the conversations i had with the j2 was only for tactical updates. Not to discuss a broad assessment. And i would also comment that in every one of these it was a split screen and the j2 was always represented in these dialogues. The reference to a assessment the reference to assessment finding their way into National Intelligence estimates or pdb articles is done through the Defense Intelligence agency, not direct from centcom or any other command. Director clapper, president obama removed irans designation as a proliferator. Did iran change its activities in any way to prompt this removal . Dir. Clapper i believe, if i am correct, iran is still a statesponsor of terrorism. I dont think we have reclassified iran. The designation was removed as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction. Can you tell me if irans behavior has changed to justify such a removal . Dir. Clapper i cannot say that irans behavior has changed. It has continued its aggressive Missile Development and missile fielding. In terms of its proliferating to other countries, i cannot i would have to research that and provide on a classified basis if we have information on that. Thank you mr. Clapper. Thank you mr. Chairman. I want to devote my five minutes to the topic of Cyber Security. And in particular let me start with you director clapper and thank you for your service. We really appreciate all you have done over the length of your long career. I would like to start with you. Let me give you the bulk of the time. What i am interested in is not achievements and the progress we have made because clearly we have with integration system but Integration Center and Everything Else, but as you think about withdrawing on the field, what would you identify as the most specific weaknesses, unaddressed vulnerabilities, areas of focus for both the ic and this committee in terms of our defense against Cyber Threats . Dir. Clapper we need i think we make a healthy investment in the National Intelligence program on intelligence to support Cyber Threats. Obviously, it is always good to have more money but i think as a proportion of Everything Else we have to look at, i think we are in reasonably good shape. But the challenge for us is always going to be the fundamental fact that the internet is insecure and any time you have a dependency on internet, we are going to be playing catchup in reaction to defending our networks. The other issue i would mention is the creation of both the substance and the psychology of deterrence in the cyber realm. That has been a challenge. The issue there is whether you react on a binary basis or asymmetrical basis via cyber us all and you react in the cyber context or do you retaliate some other way . I think that is going to be a challenge for the country is the challenge as you identify it one of the development of the doctrine or is it a technical issue . Dir. Clapper i think it is more the development of a doctrine and policy. And developing a body of law through experience. It took hundreds of years to develop the law of the state which may be a rough analog to where we are with cyber. And we have not had enough time get to develop that body of law. And until such time as there are some norms developed and we have a firm definition of what deterrence means and that is recognized by both state and nonstate actors, were going to have a problem with cyber defense. One specific question on that topic. The committee has spent a great deal of time in the Cyber Security information sharing act. How are we doing with respect to the private sector, working with security agencies to address the cyber threat . Is there enough communication, or is there more that can be done . Dir. Clapper i think there is. I think this is a shared responsibility a cross the ic. Fbi is involved. And very importantly the department of Homeland Security. This also, when you say engagement with the private sector, that is as big as all outdoors. And finding the right and keeping active the right conduits so that we can share and by the way the sharing needs to be two ways, down to us and from us to them. But i think there is a lot of improvement that have been made. The department of Homeland Security has made huge strides there but that is not to say that there is not more to do. I yield back. In terms of Cyber Security, the number one thing we are turned to do is secure our networks. We have made progress on this. We are building of our cyber workforce. We should have all of the Cyber Mission teams in fy 17 and making sure that we have the right people. The other thing we are really worried about and we are looking at heart is the internet of dod things. All of our Weapons Systems that we generally operate today were designed in an era where Cyber Security threats were not that stressing. So going through all of the different systems that we have, identifying cyber vulnerabilities and prioritizing them has been a big focus of the department. We have a cyber scorecard briefed every month to six weeks and we are looking at all of these different factors on trying to improve our Cyber Security. We have a long way to go but we have made a lot of progress. Thank you mr. Clapper for your service. I would like to get back into this centcom discussion. And the reason why we investigated this and the first investigated this in the first place. As you remember, general jim mattis left abruptly in 2013. The director of intelligence remained in place for the first part of 2014. Under general austin, and around june, that changed. There was a turnover. People over at centcom. Intelligence started coming out regarding mosul which was inaccurate. I think everyone can look back at that now and say mosul did fall. It did not have the capabilities that some people thought. But the intelligence since then has been in dispute. As you know, 40 of the workforce, twice the number of typical commands felt that the final product had been somewhat distorted. And through our review, many of those employees to this day believe that the culture at centcom has been somewhat toxic to use a word that came up time and time again. Right now, we are back in mosul again. We have people there. How do we know that the intelligence coming out of centcom today is anymore reliable then it was coming out two years ago . Dir. Clapper we do not depend only on centcom for intelligence reporting. In fact, one of the reasons i do consult with them is to ensure that we are on the same page. So, we have other National Assets that tell us whether what we are seeing operationally or what we are hearing reported operationally comports with what we are seeing through intelligence. And my observations through the Current Campaign are that they do. As you know, we have the largest number of folks working in intelligence at centcom than at any of the commands. We spend quite a bit of money to make sure that these folks are wellequipped and well manned to make sure that they provide the best intelligence to the were to the war fighter and the Combatant Commander as possible. Are you confident that is occurring today . That the intelligence coming out of centcom has improved . I think it is beyond dispute that we had a problem to years had a problem two years ago. Has that been cleared up . Dir. Clapper i am somewhat removed from the command but from what i have observed, that is the case. I dont know if you were here earlier when i quoted the latest statistics statistic from our statistics latest statistics from our analytic survey which reflects a positive trend. The number of respondents reflecting analytic integrity issues has declined. And importantly, their comments on management response when they did have issues has increased. The behavior the reflections of this at centcom are beginning to level out and comport with all of the other combatant commands. I do think by virtue of the change in commanders and the change in the j2, that that has been a change in the. A change in me atmosphere a change in the atmosphere. I have been encouraged by the trends, particularly this year. Thank you. I am going to tell members that we have three votes now with a motion to recommit. I am going to try and keep this open so members can come back. At the end of the motion to recommit, we will have to end the hearing. Mr. Murphy is recognized. Mr. Murphy how important is it that we have rules of engagement with cyber to let adversaries know, statesponsored or not, that they know that there will be a response . Dir. Clapper this gets to the point about developing a body of law. And conveying those messages is much easier with nationstates because everyone recognizes that there are mutual vulnerabilities. The greater challenge for my part is the nonnation state entities which over time are going to develop more capabilities in the cyber realm to commit to render a tax. So i think the notion of building a sense of deterrence, the psychology of deterrence is going to be difficult. I think there are is certainly progress with the chinese as a result of the agreement struck in september of 2015. And we will have to see whether that is continued. But i think the greater challenge is nonnation state entities. With things moving as quickly as they do with technology and cyber, how has your experience been for recruiting the best talent in the world to make sure we are a step ahead . Dir. Clapper we have sustained a level of recruitment and we continue to be able to bring great, young people into the community. The greater challenge is retention. They will come to us either as young civilians or as military and then they become very attractive and appealing to commercial sector. So then, we have a challenge with retaining people in the face of some pretty appealing compensation packages that a lot of our people have had experience in the Intelligence Community get and that makes them very attractive. I think we would be remiss if we did not pick your brain briefly in what you think and based on your experience over the next 510 years, the greatest threats we face as a nation. What we are doing to address that and what we should be doing especially with a new administration coming in. Dir. Clapper are you speaking only of cyber . In general. Dir. Clapper that is a hard question to answer because from an intelligence perspective, we have to be a alert to all of these threats. I wish i could rank them and pick and choose which ones to worry about but unfortunately, they are all a problem for us. So whether it is the nationstate challenges posed by the likes of russia, china, north korea, and iran or transnational concerns like counterterrorism, like proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which is personally a growing concern for me. The challenges posed in the cyber dimension. We have to, and our approach has been to try to maintain a balance so that we can protect and to address the full range of threats. So i am hesitant to try to pick one and say this is the one that is going to confront us or say this will be the worst in the next 510 years. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I am pleased to hear that things are better at centcom. I served on that investigation and clearly we have concerns about what went on in 2050. Born in 2015. I know that has been addressed to some degree. What are the root causes in your opinion of the unacceptable command climate that was existing at centcom at the time . This is something that secretary carter and i have discussed. We want to know what happened and why it happened. We have been looking to director clapper and the undersecretary of defense to say this is what we think the problems were. We have tried to get after it. The thing that the secretary and i, trying to stay above the ig investigation is simply to say, we expect, we expect all of our intelligence analysts to have full freedom to say what they need to say, to speak truth to power, we expect the chain of command to pass that information up the chain. Every decision we make on the campaign is based on the assumption of good intelligence. So, it is very important to us and we are waiting the judgments of the intelligence professionals on how we can improve. When do you expect that we will get that . We have gotten a lot of information on our committee and our investigation. Open source news has provided much information. When do you expect we will get Something Back . It is hard to right or wrong if you keep playing with that. How do you avoid it happening again when we are taking far too long to figure out what happened and why it happened. We have honed it down to the j. It to the section in the chain where things seem to change. Why is it taking so long and we have gathered so much information . One of the largest jobs is to one of the hardest jobs is to be patient when these type of investigations are ongoing. I cannot tell you when it will be finished. I dont know that you should be patient actually. I think it is time we come forward and let the American People know what was taking place. At least let this committee know what had been taking place. Hopefully, it is corrected. Frankly, i am surprised you are content with 25 in this survey as being an acceptable number. I would be shooting for a lot less than that. And you are free to comment, director clapper if you would like to. Dir. Clapper i think it is important to bear in mind that we are having this is a debate about subjective subjects. Where there can be room for honest analytic disagreements because we are always operating from incomplete or lessthanperfect facts. And so, people who are experts in this can have and do have honest disagreements. So i do not find the figure, again given the subjectivity of the subject matter, i do not find that alarming and that is pretty much on a par with the behavior. I would be more concerned if it were zero. If there were no disagreements no dissent anywhere at anytime. That would be disturbing to me. I would want to know why that is so. I can understand that argument for the 25 , but i sure cannot for the 40 . That does not fly in the face of what is going on at the other commands and that is unacceptable. The fact that we have had so many whistleblowers come forward speaks volumes. We have an obligation here to have oversight. Lives depend on this as you well know. Lives depend on the type of reporting that is going up. So, we have had plenty of testimony on our side. There should be something that the ig should come forward with and very soon. Not just try to run out the clock. I would think that before you go, this would be something you would want to have resolved and taking care of. Dir. Clapper yes it is. Your report took me and the rest of the Intelligence Community to task for seemingly sitting on our hands and not doing anything and not taking corrective action about this which we were enjoined not to. I would like to get this resolved. In the interest of general grove who hasral moved onto another assignment, exactly what the ig finds will be important and it would be great if it happened before i leave. And if i may, i do need to clarify my statement about resignation. It is not effective until noon on january 20. Not immediately. I appreciate your time and service to the country and i hope this is wrapped up and rectified so that we can move forward in a positive way before you leave. Thank you. Mr. Castro is recognized. Mr. Castro director clapper, thank you for your service to the nation in this role and so many others before it. We appreciate it very much. We have just, off of unprecedented intrusion from a Foreign Government in our democratic process in an election that just finished last week and also unprecedented intrusion in a director of our Intelligence Community. Based on those two things, i have a few questions. The first is, do we know whether the russian government or those responsible for the hacking of the democratic committee, share any information with americans during the last year or year and a half . Dir. Clapper i would rather not respond off the top of my head. In any event, this would probably be best left to a classified session. Ok. I will be sure to follow up with you on that. A second question is as head of the u. S. Intelligence community, do you believe that the fbi director comey breached any protocol in his actions during the last month . Dir. Clapper i have no reason to question the director. I have i think extremely highly of him. So whatever actions he took, and he did so with what he thought was best. I have no basis to question him. Thank you, mr. Castro. I am going to get back to the remaining questions that i have. So i will try to get through them quickly. Secretary work, are you familiar with the decision by eucom in 2011 . Where the requirement for the new center was to be an hour outside of london . I do know that an aoa suggested that we should consolidate at raf crown. But the requirement was specifically to be an hour outside of london. Are you aware of this requirement . I am not aware of a specific requirement. I am aware ofaoa the analysis that was done to support the move. Director clapper are you aware of this . Dir. Clapper no, i am not. This committee has learned that the decision was made before an aoa was ever completed. They claimnd that despite dods claims that they looked at 16 locations, 15 of the 16 alternatives there is no documentation on 15 of the 16 other alternatives. Do you know what happened to this documentation . Dir. Clapper no sir. I do know that the investigation occurred approximately six years after that was done. One of the things they did say that we were lacking documentation that the most important conclusion that they made was that our actions were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of describing the ods describing dods rationale for choosing raf. That to me is a slamdunk. Except for the fact that this committee cannot find any documentation of any work done on 15 of the 16 sites that you supposedly looked at. All i can say is that three different secretaries of defense, two undersecretaries of defense for intelligence, we have had three successive aoas. They were looked at in an audit by the gao and they said our conclusions were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of making our decision. In my view, we have looked at this three different times. Congress itself has agreed with our finding by funding phase one of the project. And they also approved phase two , subject to my determination and certification that we spoke to earlier. So, you think it is ok that there is no evidence that shows you ever looked at 15 of the 16 sites . I will have to go back and look it was described by gao as the dod body of evidence. Another finding. Straight out of the report was that dod provided the required information in response to committee direction and statutory provision. We have evidence that a commanders decision brief was done in 2011 where the requirement was an hour outside of london and we have had people testify to that fact. After the fact, it appears that there is no information. You can do all the studies you want, but if you have people come to this committee and say we are not going to give congress the answers because we do not like the tone of the letter. You delay those answers. I am sorry, there is no evidence here that shows essentially someone just wanted to go there in 2011 and that was the decision made then and everything since then there is no documentation to document why that decision was made. Let me go back to the director on july 27, 2015, i visited you in your office and informed you that a whistleblower had approached the committee and indicated false information had been provided to the Committee Regarding the Intelligence Center. Do you remember that meeting . Dir. Clapper yes. On march 21 this year, you told the chairman and myself that if we moved to the Intelligence Center outside of the london suburbs, that civilians and contractors would not move to the new location. Can you explain why that is the case . Dir. Clapper i dont think i said that. I think i said that based on briefings i had received at Jac Molesworth that the civilians probably would not move. That was the specific reference. What a general statement that they would not go anywhere else i do not believe i said that. They would go other places. Dir. Clapper i dont know. The specific issue that i was briefed on was reaction to the possibility of a move to the air base in the azores. This was a briefing by no, this was a briefing from the commander when i visited there i am not sure when. The commander of the jac. He said that the civilians would not move there. Dir. Clapper yes, these are older people that have children in schools, particularly of high school age. I do not think that the general reaction to that, to move to an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean was not very positive. That has been compounded by the section 414 of the intelligence authorization act, taking away their Housing Allowance which is discriminatory and has had a negative impact, not only on dia civilians but ic employees in general. Itself like we are making decisions based on where people want to live. Dir. Clapper this whole moving was a wash to me. I did not get involved until there was the potential of expense. When i got into this, and discovered that it would have potential morale impacts and people would probably not take their families to that airbase. In light of the facilities that they knew were not there. Are you aware that the azores islands are a popular vacation spot and have daily flights . Dir. Clapper no, i am not. Do we have trouble getting people to move to hawaii . Dir. Clapper actually, we do because there are issues there with compensation for the very high cost of living. That is problematic as well. With the cost of the living in the azores is low. Dir. Clapper you are talking about hawaii . Last i checked, it was a popular vacation spot. Dir. Clapper it is. You can spend a lot of money for a couple of weeks but living there and supporting a family, it is quite expensive. The azores is also a popular vacation spot and has a cheaper cost of living. Dir. Clapper in hawaii, there are high schools and medical facilities and commissaries. And that is lacking right now at that airbase. Last i checked, i do not think anything was lacking there. In i dont know if mr. Schiff is going to be back. Have we heard . I want to thank you for appearing today. The committee remains deeply concerned about these issues. We look forward to the ig centcom report and the igs report on false information and misleading information provided to congress. Hopefully, the ig can get to the bottom of these problems and help the committee uncover what exactly has happened here. Our robust oversight will continue for the remainder of this year and into the next congress, but i want to thank all of you for your service and your attendance here today. The meeting is adjourned. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2016] coming up, president obama and ongoing Merkel Angela merkel holding a joint News Conference in berlin. Remarks by Supreme Court Justice Clarence thomas. Later it look at Vice President elect mike pence as he visits with lawmakers. On friday, the 2016 National Lawyers convention. 11 15 a. M. , remarks from nikki haley. At noon, will hear from senator ted cruz in texas. At 5 30, will hear from ben sasse. The Federalist Society 2016 National Lawyers Convention Live here on cspan. On friday a panel on the election of donald trump and the president ial transition process. With former white house officials and scholars taking part in an event hosted by the washington center, live it 10 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan two. We are students to participate in the studentcam documentary competition by telling us what is the most urgent issue for our next president and Incoming Congress to address in 2017 . Our competition is open to all middle and high school students, grades six through 12. Students can work alone or in a group up to three to produce a documentary. A grand prize will go to the student or team with the best entry. 100,000 in cash prizes will reap will be rewarded and shared. Is january deadline 20, 2017. That is inauguration day. More information go to our website. President obama and Angela Merkel held a joint News Conference thursday. The leaders spoke about their eight years of friendship and transatlantic partnership. This is about an hour. Chancellor merkel welcome to the president of the United States of america, to germany. In his capacity as president , the United States, let us remind ourselves, after visiting us in his capacity as candidate here in berlin, we then met in other places. We saw each other when he gave a speech at the brandenberg gate. We met again at the g7. Then hanover fair comes to mind, and today he is again here in berlin. Eight years are coming to a close. This is the last visit of barack obama to our country, to germany. I am very glad that he chose germany as one of the sort of stopovers on this trip. And thank you very much. Thank you for the friendship youve always demonstrated. Thank you for the reliable friendship and partnership you demonstrated in very difficult hours of our relationship, so let me again pay tribute to what weve been able to achieve, to what we discussed, to what we were able to bring about. Difficult hours come to mind, as i said. Those that had a bearing on the cooperation of our intelligence services, and im very grateful that barack obama, as president , very much put protection of privacy on the agenda. Today, due to the threat of islamist terrorism all over the world, through the threat of isis, we recognize how important the cooperation with intelligence services. First and foremost of the United States services is we need this cooperation, let me say this from a german perspective very clearly. Our bilateral relations are very good. Theyre very close. In the areas of business, the economy, the United States, america were our most important trading partner. Both for germany and the European Union. The European Union and the United States of america are the big, important economic areas for us. Which is why ive always come out strongly in favor of concluding a trade agreement with the United States of america. We have made progress, quite a lot of progress. It cannot be stopped, those negotiations, but well keep what we have achieved so far and im absolutely certain that one day well come back to what we have achieved and build on it. That is my deep conviction. Globalization. I think we share this conviction. Is that globalization needs to be shaped politically, it needs to be given a huge face, but we a human face, but we cannot allow to fall back into preglobalization times. This conclusion of trade agreements that go beyond the mere trade agreement, customs agreements, are most important. Im very pleased we were able to bring this to fruition between canada and the e. U. We have made great progress, particularly if we look at one of the great global issues, namely climate protection, the engagement of the Current Administration under the leadership of barack obama, this Paris Agreement would never have come about. There has been a change in the attitude in the United States towards that agreement. But there is also a better cooperation with china. So last year we were able to conclude a paris climate agreement, which will lead the way for the rest of the world. Which is groundbreaking. And together well see Sustainable Development goals of the agenda, 2030, for the whole world. This is indeed a change that we see and step by step will be implemented. Theres another point i wanted to mention here, particularly the engagement and commitment to africa. For us europeans, africa is a neighboring continent thats of prime importance. We as germans, we as members of the European Union will have to deal with this. It will be at the top of our agenda. There are a lot of areas where we cooperate, fight against isil, for example, here, germany was able to contribute to a certain extent, in certain areas. Well continue to do so. For example, in supporting the peshmerga in air policing. But we also have to acknowledge that the United States of america bear most of the burden. They bear the brunt of this responsibility, so i take your remarks very seriously, barack, that the European Union as a whole, but also germany needs to recognize that this is our alliance, our common alliance, a Cross Atlantic alliance, that we have to step out our engagement. In the long run we will not be allowed to accept this imbalance as regards to the contributions we give to this alliance and we have understood this message and we have started to react. We have worked very closely together, for example, in afghanistan. Were continuing to do so. Im very pleased that this military engagement together with a political road map that weve developed, we were able to continue. We want to bring about a political solution there. We worked very closely together on the issue of annexation of crimea and russias attempt to actually conquer ukraine and actually they did so, conquered part of the territory. We tried to come to a peaceful settlement here on this. Our interests are very much aligned. Our attempts, our cooperation are very much aligned. We continue to build on what weve already achieved in these last months of the administration and we will continue also with the new administration. This is the end of an eightyear cooperation that was very close indeed. From a german point of view, germanamerican and europeanamerican relations are a pillar of our foreign policy. Foreign policy that is obviously guided by interests, but that is very much also committed to shared values. So we have a platform, democracy, freedom, respect of human rights, that we would like to see respected all over the world and also a Peaceful World order. We have shared those values, we continue to share those values, and obviously we will continue to cooperate with the new administration. But today i think the word gratitude is at hand. Thank you very much for this cooperation. President obama its wonderful to be back in berlin. This is my sixth visit to germany. It will not be my last. I have somehow continued to miss octoberfest. Thats probably thats Something Better for me to do as a former president rather than as president. Ill have more fun. Its also wonderful to be back with my great friend and ally, chancellor merkel. As i reflect back over the last eight years, i could not ask for a steadier or more reliable partner on the world stage. Often through some very challenging times. So i want to thank you for your friendship, for your leadership, and your commitment to our alliance. And i want to thank the german people for the incredible partnership that our countries have been able to establish all these years. Last week marked the 27th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. The United States was proud to stand with the people of germany as this nation and this continent reunited and rebuilt and reached for a Better Future. Its a reminder that the commitment of the United States to europe is enduring and the rooted in the values we share. Values that angela just mentioned. Commitment to democracy, commitment to rule of law, our commitment to the dignity of all people. In our own countries and around the world. Our alliance with our nato partners has been a cornerstone of u. S. Foreign policy for nearly 70 years. In good times and in bad. And through president s of both parties. Because the United States has a fundamental interest in europes stability and security. The commitment that angela and i share to this guiding principle has formed the basis for our conversations this afternoon. We discussed our efforts to keep our countries competitive and create jobs and opportunity on both sides of the atlantic. The negotiations on agreements like ttip have been challenging and obviously at a moment when theres concerns about globalization and the benefits that accrue to particular people, it is important that those negotiations and channels of communication remain. Because ultimately what we have shown over the last several decades is that markets and trade and commerce can create prosperity in all of our countries, that the not a it is not a winlose situation, but it can be a winwin situation. At a time when the european project is facing challenges, its especially important to show the benefits of economic integration by continuing to invest in our people and working to reduce inequality, both within and across our countries. I reiterated our hope that the britains exit from the e. U. Will be done in an orderly and transparent fashion and preserve as closely as possible the economic and political and security relationships between the u. K. And e. U. And i continue to believe what i said in hanover. That the e. U. Remains one of the worlds great political and economic achievements and that those achievements should not be taken for granted. That they need to be nurtured and cultivated and protected and fought for. Because the achievements that weve seen on this continent, in contrast to a divided europe of the previous century, are ones that remind us of how important it is that we Work Together. And that we are willing to uphold principles that have resulted in unprecedented prosperity and security throughout europe and around the world. With the threat of Climate Change only become more urgent, angela and i focused on the need for american and e. U. Leadership to advance global cooperation. Both of our nations were proud to join the paris climate agreement, which the world should work to implement quickly. Continued Global Leadership on climate, in addition to increasing private investment in clean energy, is going to be critical to meeting this growing threat. Of course we discussed our commitment to meeting shared security challenges from countering cyberthreats to ensuring that iran continues to live up to the terms of the iran nuclear deal. I commended angela for her leadership, along with president hollande in working to resolve the conflict in ukraine. We continue to stand with the people of ukraine and for the basic principle that nations have a right to determine their own destiny. And we discussed the importance of maintaining sanctions until russia fully complies with the minsk agreement. As part of the coalition against isil, were putting that terrorist network under tremendous pressure. Here in berlin this Week Coalition members are working to make sure we remain focused on our mission to destroy isil. Were very grateful for the vital contributions germany has made to this fight. Training local forces in iraq, sharing intelligence, providing reconnaissance aircraft, including the recent deployment of additional nato awacs. And as Iraqi Forces Continue the liberation of mosul, im pleased that nato will be meeting the commitment we made in warsaw to begin training Additional Forces in iraq, which started this january. We also continue to stand united with germany and our nato allies in our ongoing efforts to build peace and stability in afghanistan. On syria, its clear that the indiscriminate attacks on civilians by the assad regime and russia will only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe and that negotiated end to the conflict is the only way to achieve lasting peace in syria. Angela and i also agree the need for a comprehensive and humane response to the devastating humanitarian crisis in syria. And for the influx of migrants and refugees from around the world. We need to build on the progress achieved at the u. N. Refugee summit, which yielded new commitments from some 50 nations and organizations. The United States is doing our part by increasing the number of refugees we resettle and i want, again, to commend angela and, more importantly, the german people, for the extraordinary leadership and compassion that you have shown in the face of what i know is a very difficult challenge. You are not alone in trying to deal with this challenge. This is not an issue that any one country should bear. But its in need of an international response. I not only intend to make sure that we have put in place more robust support from the United States, but im hoping that that continues beyond my administration. On this final visit, i am reminded of the visit i made here before i became president. It was eight years ago. I had no gray hair. But i believe today what i said then. If you want a model for what is possible, if you want to see how to build a peaceful and prosperous and dynamic society, then look at berlin and look at germany, look at chancellor merkel. Her personal story helps to tell the story of incredible achievement that the german people have embarked on. And i think its something that you should be very proud of. It is not inevitable that we make progress. It requires hard work. Sometimes it may seem as if progress is stalled. But what the history of postwar germany shows is that strength and determination and focus and adherence to the values that we care about will result in a Better Future for our children and our grandchildren. On behalf of the American People, i want to thank the german people, i want to thank chancellor merkel for your deep friendship and your steadfast partnership. [inaudible] thank you very much. Mr. President , you and the president elect have very different views on russia. After your meeting with him last week, can you assure chancellor merkel that a Trump Administration would also support strong sanctions against moscow . Similarly, what have you told president putin about russias influence on the u. S. Election and how would you advise European Countries to deal with the same threat . Lastly, if i may, would you like to see your friend, chancellor merkel, run for reelection next year . [laughter] president obama now your german. Showing off. Has the american president calmed you in the sense that on the policy of his successor on Climate Change and russia, he has allayed your fears . Are you concerned that the common european policy towards russia will collapse and also the election of mr. Trump, and would you as a sign of civility, wouldnt you actually have to declare that you are going to be a candidate again . President obama well, i try to make it a rule not to meddle in other peoples politics. All i can say is that chancellor merkel has been an outstanding partner. And chancellor merkel is perhaps the only leader left among our closest allies that was there when i arrived. So, in some ways we are now the veterans of many challenges over the last eight years. And although we have not always been in sync on every issue, in terms of our core values, in terms of her integrity, her truthfulness, her thoughtfulness, her doing her homework, knowing her facts, her commitment to looking out for the interests of the german people first, but recognizing that part of good leadership on behalf of the nation requires engaging the world as a whole and participating effectively in multilateral institutions, i think shes been outstanding. So, it is up to her whether she wants to stand again and then ultimately it will be up to the german people to decide what the future holds. If i were here and i were a german and i had a vote, i might support her. [laughter] but i dont know whether that hurts or helps. [laughter] with respect to russia, my principle approach to russia has been constant since i first came into office. Russia is an important country. It is a military superpower. It has influence in the region, and it has influence around the world. And in order for us to solve many big problems around the world, it is in our interest to work with russia and obtain their cooperation. I think we should all hope for a russia that is successful, where its people are employed and the economy is growing and they are having good relationships with their neighbors. And participating constructively on big issues like Climate Change. So, ive sought a constructive relationship with russia, but what ive also been is realistic in recognizing that there are some significant differences in how russia views the world and how we view the world. The values that we talked about, the values of democracy and free speech and International Norms and rule of law, respecting the ability of other countries to determine their own destiny and preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity, those things are not something that we can set aside. And so on issues like ukraine, on issues like syria, weve had very significant differences. And my hope is that the president elect coming in takes a similarly constructive approach, finding areas where we can cooperate with russia, where our values and interests align, but that the president elect also is willing to stand up to russia where they are deviating from our values and International Norms. And i dont expect that the president elect will follow exactly our blueprint or our approach. But my hope is that he does not simply take a real politic approach and suggest that, you that if we just cut some deals with russia, even if it hurts people, or even if it violates International Norms, or even if it leaves smaller countries vulnerable, or creates longterm problems in regions like syria, that we just do whatevers convenient at the time. That will be something that i think well learn more about as the president elect puts his team together. I am encouraged by the president elects insistence that nato is a commitment that does not change. And his full commitment to nato as the foundation for our International Security i think is very important. Finally, in terms of my conversations with president putin, these are conversations that took place before the election. As i indicated, there has been very clear proof that they have engaged in cyberattacks. This isnt new. Its not unique to russia. There are a number of states where weve seen lowlevel cyberattacks and industrial espionage and, you know, other behavior that we think should be out of bounds and i delivered a clear and forceful message that, although we recognize russias intelligence gathering will sometimes take place even if we dont like it, theres a difference between that and them either meddling with elections or going after private organizations or commercial entities, and that were monitoring it carefully and we will respond appropriately if and when we see this happening. I do think that this whole area of cyber is something that at an interNational Level we have to work on and develop frameworks and International Norms so that we dont see a cyber arms race. A lot of countries have advanced capabilities and given the vulnerabilities of our infrastructure, and our economies to digital platforms, we have to be careful in making sure that this doesnt become a lawless, lowlevel battlefield. And weve started trying to put together some principles that were adopted in the g20, the g7, and at the u. N. Levels. But a lot more work remains to be done on that front. Chancellor merkel well, allow me if i may to underline, first of all, that im very much impressed that, in spite of a very tough election campaign, this transition period in the United States of america, because it follows democratic principles, is working smoothly. Because this is all about the American People, its about the destiny of the American People. The Outgoing Administration is sharing its knowledge, its expertise with the incoming administration. And this to us is a sign of encouragement. To continue the good cooperation that we have built between the United States of america and the republic of germany, that is in our mutual interests, so we will continue this. I will continue this, i approach this with an open mind and ill do it on the basis of a deep conviction with president elect donald trump. Secondly, on russia, i can only repeat what the president said previously. This is all about respecting certain principles. Im saying this from a european vantage point, from a german vantage point. The fact that for over 70 years we have been able to enjoy peace, to live in peace, very much depends on territorial integrity and sovereignty of each and every european country being respected. In european history, the reverse would be the start of a very bitter road down a slippery slope. And we have to nip this in the bud. We have to stand up resolutely against such attempts. But we are pinning our hopes on political efforts, which is why we launched the normandy process, in close coordination with the United States of america. Particularly from a german perspective, from the european perspective, i can only say again, russia is our neighbor. Just look at poland. The european perspective. So we have an interest in seeing this relationship be a good one. We have a lot of historical ties, of course. A history that we share. But this Community Keep from us wherever we feel there are very grave differences of opinion to raise them with them. But, again, with political means and always trying to work for political settlements. This is what im going to continue to work on. On the question of whether ill put up a candidacy, i will do this at the appropriate time and this is not today. Reporter german press agency. Mr. President , your country is divided. You are the first black president , first africanamerican president , who did so many things so differently, who raised so much hope all over the world. Do you think that you have perhaps in a way put too much of a strain, maybe too much demands on the americans, and to what extent do you think your successor may well be a threat to the rest of the world, security, because there are, after all, Nuclear Weapons here in germany to which he has access now. Will you want to be now, madam chancellor, see to it, new Administration Try to make europe and germany less dependent on the United States and are you afraid of this wave of populism hitting germany, hitting europe as well . And the personal question. President obama, paid tribute to you as an outstanding politician. You are somewhat more sober when you describe your partner. How difficult is it for to you take leave today of your partner . President obama my guiding principle as president has been to try to do the right thing, even when its not politically convenient. To look at longterm trends in our economy, in our society, in the international sphere, and using my best judgment, shape policies that will serve the American People, keep them safe, keep our economy growing, put people back to work, and best ensure peace, cooperation and stability around the world. And based on current surveys of Public Opinion in the United States, it turns out that the majority of americans think ive done a pretty good job. That we havent in fact gone too fast, as you describe it. But what is certainly true is that the American People, just like the german people, just like the british and people around the world, are seeing extraordinarily rapid change. The world is shrinking. Economies have become much more integrated. And demographics are shifting. Because of the internet and communications, the clash of cultures is much more direct. People feel, i think, less certain about their identity, less certain about economic security. Theyre looking for some means of control. And what that means is that the politics in all of our countries is going to require us to manage technology and global integration, and all these demographic shifts in a way that makes people feel more control, that gives them more confidence in their future. But does not resort to simplistic answers or divisions of race or tribe or a crude nationalism which can be contrasted to the pride and patriotism that we all feel about our respective countries. I think that our politics everywhere are going to be going through this bumpy phase. But, as long as we stay true to our democratic principles, as long as elections have integrity, as long as we respect freedom of speech, freedom of religion, as long as there are checks and balances in our governments, so that the people have the ability to not just make judgments about how well government is serving them, but also change governments if theyre not serving them well, then i have confidence that over the long term, progress will continue. And i think its especially important for those of us who believe in a world where were interdependent, that believes in mutual interests and Mutual Respect between nations, its particularly important that we reach out to everybody in our countries, those who feel disaffected, those who feel left behind by globalization, and address their concerns in constructive ways. As opposed to more destructive ways. And i think that can be done. But its hard, it requires creativity, it requires effective communications. Part of whats changed in politics is social media and how people are receiving information. Its easier to make negative attacks and simplistic slogans than it is to communicate complex policies. But well figure it out. So, ultimately, i remain optimistic about not just americas future, but the direction that the world is going in. And part of what makes me most optimistic is if you look at the attitudes of young people, across the board young people are much more comfortable with respecting differences, they are much more comfortable with diversity, they are much less likely to express attitudes that divide us between us and them. They see themselves as part of a global economy, that they can navigate successfully. And are showing enormous creativity and entrepreneurship and working with each other across borders. So thats where the future is. But we have to create that bridge. To the future. And that means making sure were paying attention to the wages of workers in countries, making sure that were investing in their education and their skills, that we are growing the economy in smart ways and rebuilding our infrastructure and investing in science and development, and that we stay true to those values that helped get us here. And if we do that, i think were going to be fine. Chancellor merkel well, on the issue, first, of independence of germany. After the time of initial socialism, germany has been given an enormous amount of help, particularly and also from the United States of america, the fact that we were able to enjoy german unification is due first and foremost through the help of the United States of america. And ever since germany was able to regain its unity, its an an strongerin an even position to give its contribution to upholding this order to which we feel committed and for which particularly people in the german democratic republic stood in the streets to keep this up, to maintain this order. Particularly also in our country. Now, were trying to do more than it used to be 26 years ago. And there are a number of other areas where we have to also make a stronger contribution. We will all have to do more in development cooperation. Its important that these disparities in the Living Conditions cannot be allowed in this digital period to be two markets. Each and every one must be given an opportunity to participate. Which is why germanys fate in many ways depends on the firmness of its alliance with nato, with the European Union, we cannot stand alone with 80 million people. In this world of today, you cant achieve much if you stand on your own. So alliances are part of our destiny as a nation, part of our future as a nation, and this is what guides me in my policy, what guides my government as a whole. Secondly, this wave of populism that seems to engulf us, look at, in your words, to come from the United States. Look at the european parliament. There are a lot of people who are looking for simplistic solutions, who are sort of preaching policies of, well, very unfriendly policies. We have them here in europe too. We have them here in germany too. To take up where the president left off, digitization is, in a way, a disruptive force, a disruptive Technological Force that brings about deepseated change, transformation of society. Look at the history of the printing press, when this was invented, consequences, or industrialization, what sort of consequences that had. Very often it led to enormous transformational processes within individual societies and it took a while, until society learned how to find the right kind of policies to contain this and to manage it. I think we live in a period of profound transformation. Very similar to when we had a transition from Agricultural Societies to industrial societies. When we see shifts of huge production lines from certain areas to other countries, people tend to ask the question, wheres my place in this modern world . We have this here, they have it in other countries. Trying to keep a society together, trying to keep the older and the younger people together, trying to keep those who live in rural areas together with those who live in cities is one of the most important and most noble tasks of politicians these days. Trying to see to it that each and every one can find his or her place. But those that belong to certain groups say, we are the people, and not the others. That is something that we cannot allow to happen. That is something that i think at the time in the g. D. R. , at the time when we had this, where the people stood in the street and said, we are the people, that was something that filled me with great joy. The fact that these people have hijacked it is not something that fills me with great joy. We have to find new ways of addressing people, new ways of getting into contact with people, but im optimistic that we will be able to do so. Now, taking leave from my partner and friend, well, yes, it is hard. If youve worked together with somebody very well, leavetake leavetaking is very difficult. But we are all politicians. We all know that democracy lives off change. So, in the United States of america, the constitution has very clear stipulations on this. Its a top rule. Eight years. Thats it. Out goes the president and a new one comes in. If its in the german interest to have good transatlantic relations, well, the task is also to look ahead. But we have freedom of movement in the whole of germany. So if we want to see each other, well, im game. So were not completely out of this world, as we would say. [inaudible] reporter thank you very much, mr. President. You spoke a great deal about what you characterize as a crude form of nationalism, perhaps, on the rise. Im wondering if would you advise some of those protesters at home to stop demonstrating against some of the charged rhetoric that has been used by donald trump. And im wondering as well if youve advised your successor to be extra mindful of what you see as some very worrisome trends, particularly when it comes to making powerful staff picks. In these final weeks of your presidency, do you believe you have any leverage to stop Bashar Alassad and vladimir puten from continuing to bomb aleppo . Chancellor merkel, id like to ask you, Bashar Alassad has described donald trump as a natural ally. Your own foreign minister has described donald trump as a preacher of hate. Im wondering, would you tell americans that they now have a perception problem . President obama one of the great things about our democracy is it expresses itself in all sorts of ways. And that includes people protesting. Ive been the subject of protests during the course of my eight years. I suspect theres not a president in our history that at some point hasnt been subject to these protests. So, i would not advise people who feel strongly or are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign. I wouldnt advise them to be silent. What i would advise, what i advised before the election, and what i will continue to advise after the election, is that elections matter, voting matters, organizing matters, being informed on the issues matter. And what i consistently say to young people, i say it in the United States, but ill say it here in germany and across europe, do not take for granted our systems of government and our way of life. I think there is a tendency, because weve lived in an era thats been largely stable and peaceful, at least in advanced countries, where Living Standards have generally gone up, there is a tendency, i think, to assume that thats always the case. And its not. Democracy is hard work. In the United States, if 43 of eligible voters do not vote, then democracy is weakened. If we are not serious about facts and whats true and whats not, and particularly in an age of social media where so many people are getting their information and sound bites and snippets off their phones, if we cant discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems. If people, whether they are conservative or liberal, left or right, are unwilling to compromise and engage in the democratic process, and are taking absolutist views and demonizing opponents, then democracy will break down. I think my most important advice is to understand what are the foundations of a healthy democracy and how we have to engage in citizenship continuously, not just when something upsets us, not just when theres an election or when an issue pops up. Its hard work. The good news is i think there are a lot of young people, certainly who were involved in my campaigns and continue to be involved in work, not just politically but through nonprofits and other organizations that can carry this hard work of democracy forward. I do think sometimes there is complacency. Here in europe there are a lot of young people who forget the issues that were at stake during the cold war. Who forget what its like to have a wall. There are times when i listen to the rhetoric in europe, where an easy equivalent somehow between the United States and russia and between how our governments operate versus other governments operate, where those distinctions arent made. Ive said many times around the world that, like any government, like any country, like any set of human institutions, we have our flaws, weve operated imperfectly. There are times when weve made mistakes. There are times when where ive made mistakes or our administration hasnt always aligned ourselves with the values that we need to align ourselves with. Its a work of constant improvement. But i can say to the german people that the United States has been good for germany. Has looked out for germany. Has provided security for germany. Has helped rebuild germany. And unify germany. And i can say across europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech and around Civil Liberties and an independent judiciary and fighting corruption, those are principles that, you know, not perfectly, but generally we have tried to apply not just in our own country, but also with respect to other foreign policy. And that should be remembered. Because at an age where theres so much active misinformation and its packaged very well and it looks the same when you see it on a Facebook Page or you turn on your television, where some overzealousness on the part of, you know, a u. S. Official is equated with constant and severe repression elsewhere, if everything seems to be the same, and no distinctions are made, then we wont know what to protect. We wont know what to fight for. And we can lose so much of what weve gained in terms of the kind of democratic freedoms and marketbased economies and prosperity that weve come to take for granted. That was a long answer, wasnt it . I dont remember if there was a second part to it. I got all caught up in that one. Reporter i asked if would you advise the president elect [inaudible] president obama yes, i did. I did. He ran an extraordinarily Unconventional Campaign and it resulted in the biggest political upset in perhaps modern political history. American history. And that means that he now has to transition to governance. What i said to him was that what may work in generating enthusiasm or passion during elections may be different than what will work in terms of unifying the country and gaining the trust even of those who didnt support him. Hes indicated his willingness to his understanding of that, but youre absolutely right. That has to reflect itself not only in the things he says, but also how he fills out his administration. And my hope is that thats something that hes thinking about. Because not only is the president of the United States somebody that the entire country looks to for direction, but sets the agenda internationally in a lot of ways. With respect to syria, we are going to continue to work as we have over the last five, six years to push towards a political transition and settlement. It would be naive of me to suggest that with russia committed militarily as it is to supporting what in many cases are barbarous tactics by the assad regime to crush the opposition, the sort of indiscriminate bombing that weve been seeing, not just in aleppo, but in many parts of the country over the last several years, it would be naive of me to suggest that theres going to be a sudden 180degree turn in policy by either assad or russia or iran at this point. But we are going to continue to make the argument, we are going to continue to try to find humanitarian steps that can reach the people there. Were going to continue to try to obtain cessations of hostilities that lessen the human tragedy. And the migration thats taking place. But ultimately the way this is going to be resolved is going to have to be a recognition by russia and a willingness to pressure assad that a lasting, durable peace with a functioning country requires the consent of people. You cannot purchase peoples consent through killing them. They havent made that transition yet. But were going to keep on trying. Chancellor merkel i think i can speak for the whole of the federal government when i say that we are no longer in election mode in the United States, were in postelection mode. Theres an interest of the federal government of germany to cooperate well with the United States of america. We believe these are shared values. And should be shared values. The president of syria has actively tried to kill his own people. In the most terrible way, he has brought untold suffering to the people. When you talk to the refugees, some of them have fled to germany. They can tell you their personal stories. A great majority of them fled from assad. Most of them not even from the i. S. I do not see him as an ally. Reporter mr. President , you describe your hopes and great historical terms. Let us break this down to months and years. The fact that Stephen Bannon was made as chief strategist, the fact that prominent republicans chose not to join the transition. What makes you confident that President Donald Trump can be of benefit . Madame chancellor in regards the , words of the president said you can this demand too much from you and germany because too much is expected from you . President obama i am always optimistic. There are times when i was in the oval office and people would come to me with all kinds of political problems, policy problems, national problems, and my team would get discouraged and depressed. I would say to them, i have to be optimistic because the odds of somebody named barack obama being president of the United States were very low. The fact that in my lifetime, i have seen such enormous positive change in the United States and around the world. It tells me that although history does not flow in a straight line, it moves in the way of justice and freedom and a better life for people. We have to fight for it. We have to work for it. What makes me cautiously optimistic about my successor and the shift from Campaign Mode to governance there is something about the solemn responsibilities of that office. The extraordinary demands that are placed on the United States, not just by its own people but by people around the world. That forces you to focus. That demands seriousness. And if you are not serious about the job, then you probably will not be there very long because it will expose problems. Even when you are doing a good job comic even when you are attentive, there are so many things to come across your desk that people will question you and you will have opponents and critics. And you figure that out pretty fast when you are sitting there. I think the president elect will see fairly quickly that the demands and responsibilities of a u. S. President are not ones that you can treat casually. Big complexa country, the only way you can be successful is by listening and reaching out and working with a wide friday of people. Variety ofide people. It is my hope that that is what will happen and i will do everything i can in the next two months to assure that will happen. It is absolutely true that chancellor merkel will have significant responsibilities, has had extraordinary if she chooses to continue, you are right, she will have big burdens. I wish it could be there to lighten her load somewhat, but she is tough. , i know what it means to carry burdens because the fact of the matter is, if there are problems around the world, the first questions people ask is why washington is not doing something about it. Importanty it is so not to discount or take for granted the importance of the Transatlantic Alliance. This is probably the best place for me to end. , theternational forums United States and germany are not always perfectly aligned. America and europe are not always perfectly aligned, but the voice that speaks out on who isof some dissident jailed halfway around the world, the voice who is expressing concern about some child in an african village who does not have clean Drinking Water or has a terrible disease, the voice that insists on rules and norms governing international affairs, the voice that helps to steer the world away from war wherever possible, that is our voice more often than not. ,e are not always successful but if that voice is absent or if that voice is divided, we will be living in a meaner, harsher, more troubled world. We have to remember that. Whoever is the u. S. Resident, whoever is the chancellor of germany, whoever is the leader of other european nations and other democracies around the world, they need to recognize that. There are going to be forces that argue for cynicism, for looking the other way with some , thingslses problems they will not champion, because sometimes it is politically convenient. If we dont have a strong Transatlantic Alliance to stand up for those things, we will be giving to our children a worse world. We will go backwards instead of forward. U. S. President is, whoever the chancellor of germany is, we need to know that and our citizenry needs to remember that. This isor merkel a cooperation based on friendship. I feel this is a very good and positive message and encouragement. Secondly, i fortunately know very many people and many more that i do not know, many politicians, who stand up for the same values of democracy and open society and respect for the dignity of man. I feel that we are in a community of people who stand up for these values and try to maintain them, and wherever they are not respected, stand up for peoples rights to enjoy them, as well. This is worth every effort. We are gratified to know there are many people who feel committed to this goal. Thank you very much. Coming up, Justice Clarence thomas on the life and legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia appeared then mike pence visiting lawmakers on capitol hill. After that, briefings by nancy pelosi and paul ryan. On friday, more from the Federalist Society convention. At 11 15, remarks from nikki haley. At noon, senator ted cruz of texas. Tiered benasse sasse. On friday, the Supreme Court oral argument in miami versus the bank of america and wells fargo. The court will decide if miami can sue the banks under the fair. Ousing act we will have that at 8 00 eastern on cspan two. We have a special webpage at cspan. Org to help you follow the Supreme Court. Supreme court near the righthand top of the page. You will see four of the most recent oral arguments heard this term. Click on the view all those quote to see all of the arguments. You can also see many appearances i the justices or watch justices in their own words, including oneonone interviews from the past few months. Calendar for this term, a list of current justices with links to quickly seall of their appearances on cspan, along with other videos available on deman follow the Supreme Court on cspan. Org. Next, Supreme Court Justice Clarence thomas on the life and legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia appeared his remarks were part of an event hosted by the Federalist Society National Lawyers convention. [applause] Justice Thomas thank you all. Thk u l. Amangth introduction it makes me want to quit while i am ahead. Moment i may take a moment of personal liberty and recognize my dear friend Maureen Scalia and the entire scalia family. [applause] Justice Thomas id also like to point out that my bride is here, virginia. [applause] we seem tomas travel like nuns. We travel in pairs here. [laughter] Justice Thomas i have been very, very fortunate, ive seen many of my friends here. Quite a few of my former law clerks and my adopted law clerks are here. I have no idea how many. Would you please stand so i can at least see who you are. [laughter] [applause] Justice Thomas well, thats pretty humbling. Thank you all. This is an unbelievable crowd. This is an amazing conference or convention and an amazing dinner. That was a very touching video. It certainly got to me. Im wondering, im sitting here pondering, why is this spoon and this fork up here . [laughter] its amazing the things that distract you, you know . [laughter] Justice Thomas before i go on, id like to just also say good evening to martha alito and my colleague sam alito here. [applause] Justice Thomas im not running for office. These are important people in my life. [laughter] Justice Thomas and that starting with that beautiful film and so much of what is going on here, much has been said about my friend, Justice Scalia. Since his untimely and very sad passing this february. And much more will be said during this convention. The convention appropriately dedicated to his legacy. Though much may be said about him, little needs to be said for him. His opinions, books, articles, speeches, lectures, and countless other exchanges of ideas leave his voice forever with us. Many of you may recall but not so fondly, the heady days of the 1970s when the emphasis in constitutional law was on rights. There was also a focus on the use of judicial power. In those days, we began the study of law with marbury vs. Madison. The constitution, though, it was set out at the beginning of our case books, was but an afterthought. Rarely to be consulted or disturbed. This state of affairs did not sit well with Justice Scalia. He traveled far and wide, challenging students and all who would listen, i can hear his voice, what do you think is the reason that america is such a free country . If you think that a bill of rights is what sets us apart, youre crazy. Every Banana Republic in the world, every president for life, has a bill of rights. The bill of rights for the former evil empire, the union of soviet socialist republics, was much better than ours. He would then make his point. Without the structural constraints that the constitution places on government power, the bill of rights is just words on paper. Or in a more originalist vein, merely a parchment guarantee. Limits on judicial power were of special concern to Justice Scalia. This concern informed his approach to statutory construction and constitutional interpretation. Our role as judges was to be confined to the words of those who drafted the constitution or enacted the law in question and what those words meant to the people when they were drafted. In short, the original meaning. We as judges do not get to freelance or put our personal gloss on these laws. Even in areas in which others might just tune out from boredom, such as jurisdiction, standing, or ripeness, Justice Scalia was ever vigilant, guarding against judicial power being exercised where judges had no authority. Thus encroaching on the authority of other branches or the states. Once this abiding concern in Justice Scalias commitment to the canons of statutory construction, who else would labor so diligently and exhaustively on a book on the 57 canons of construction . [laughter] Justice Thomas as an aside, i watched on a number of occasions as he dragged himself out of his office after laboring over his court work only to work endless hours on his book, reading law. As complicated and intricate as these canons may sound, they all serve a single purpose, uphold the structural constraints of the constitution in order to protect our liberties. We as judges employ the canons to discern the commonly understood meaning of the words chosen by congress. We do not resort to our own predilections to divine what Congress Might have intended. As hard as he worked, he seemed to savor every chance he had to argue for an approach that enhances liberty and restrains the exercise of government power. Along the way, he seemed to relish doing his work, sprinkling it with humor and his wonderful flair for prose. Though the work was monumentally serious, he just seemed to have fun doing it. And how well he did it. I cant resist citing a few of his memorable quips. When he drafted a particularly good one, he loved to give me a dramatic reading. [laughter] Justice Thomas brother clarence, you have to hear t one. Then, a not so quick computer search took place until the handiwork appeared. While a judge on the d. C. Circuit and the statutory interpretation case about labeling requirements for meat products, of all things, he quoted bismarck to warn us that, no man should see how laws or made. Are [laughter] Justice Thomas later in lambs chapel, he famously described the courts lemon test for the constitutions of establishment clause as, and i quote, some ghoul in a night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad about after being repeatedly killed buried. Groans] he always did that when he read it. [laughter] Justice Thomas it talks about our establishment clause , jurisprudence once again frightening the little children and the School Attorneys of center marichis Union Free School district. I dont know where that came from, but he always did it. To register his disagreement about the constitutionality of abortion buffer zones in hill v colorado, Justice Scalia said if forbidding peaceful, nonthreatening but uninvited speech from a distance closer than eight feet is a narrowly tailored means of preventing the obstruction of entrance to medical facilities, the governmental interest, the state asserts, narrow tailoring must refer not to the standards of versace but to those of omar the tent maker. [laughter] Justice Thomas i have no idea where he gets these things. [laughter] Justice Thomas likewise, in maryland v. King, he rejected the courts decision that swabbing the cheeks of arrestees was a constitutional search. In his words, and i quote, i doubt that the proud men who wrote the charter of our liberties would have been so eager to open their mouths for royal inspection. [laughter] Justice Thomas and in lee vs. Weisman, Justice Scalia lamented, i find it as efficient embarrassment that our establishment clause, jurisprudence, regarding holiday displays has come to require scrutiny more commonly associated with interior decorators than with the judiciary. T at least he went on, interior decorating is a rock hard science compared to the psychology practiced by amateurs to decide whether a prayer during a Graduation Ceremony was too coercive for high school students. To be sure, he would be biting at times. Of the courts opinion, in National Endowment for the arts versus finley, he said, the operation was a success. But the patient died. [laughter] Justice Thomas what such a procedure is to medicine, the courts opinion in this case is to law. [laughter] Justice Thomas and scalia the critic did not discriminate. Of my majority opinion in navarrete by the way, i did not get a dramatic reading of this one. [laughter] Justice Thomas of my majority opinion in navarrete vs. California, a case involving the constitutionality of a search of a suspected drunk driver, based on an anonymous tip, he wrote, and i quote, the courts opinion serves us a freedom destroying cocktail. I have no idea where he got that. [laughter] Justice Thomas he blamed his law clerks, but i have better ideas. Justice scalia also asked the Big Questions that have long perplexed philosophers and judges alike. Questions like, what is golf . [laughter] in pga tour vs. I am surerote that the framers of the constitution aware of the 1457 edict of king james ii of scotland prohibiting golf because it interfered with the practice of archery fully expected that sooner or later the paths of golf and government, the law and the links, would once again cross and that the judges of this august court would someday have to wrestle with the ageold jurisprudential question for which their years of study in the law have so well prepared them. [laughter] Justice Thomas is someone riding around a golf course from shot to shot really a golfer . [laughter] [applause] Justice Thomas in one Campaign Finance case, he reminded us of the timeless truism that Campaign Promises are, by long democratic tradition, the least binding form of human commitment. [laughter] Justice Thomas and in another, that we American People are neither sheep nor fools when it comes to campaign speech. And we will not soon forget Justice Scalias rebuke of legislative history in chisholm vs. Roemer. There the court reasoned that the absence of legislative history could be likened to the dog that did not bark. Justice scalia responded, and i quote, apart from the questionable wisdom of assuming that dogs will bark when something important is happening, we have forcefully and explicitly rejected the conan doyle approach to statutory construction in the past. In ascertaining the meaning of a statute, a court cannot in the manner of Sherlock Holmes pursue the theory of the dog that did not bark. We are here to apply the statute, not the legislative history. And certainly not the absence of legislative history. Statutes are the law. Though sleeping dogs lie. For decades in cases big and small, Justice Scalia delighted us with his command of the english language, his rape year ierlike prose and often sidesplitting humor. But tonight, i charge us with the following responsibility that these words spoken and written by Justice Scalia not be the final words in support of originalism and constitutionalism. Rather, they ought to be a prologue. 153 years ago, almost to the day, president lincoln said at gettysburg, the world will little note nor long remember what we say here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. That we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. And that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth. Justice scalia has done his part to preserve our liberties and to properly interpret our laws and our constitution so that this government of the people shall not perish. His lifes work is now ours to finish. At the risk of being repetitive , but with the hope of clearly establishing a point, Justice Scalias project was simple. If we adhere to the structure of government, prescribed by our constitution, we protect liberty and freedom. The limitations on legislative power in article one, the limitations on executive power in article two, and the limitations on the judicial power in article three, those are our constitutional safeguards. Those protect our liberty and our freedom. Madison put it best in federalist 51. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this. You must first enable the government to control the governed. And in the next place, oblige it to control itself. Justice scalias daily task as he saw it was to oblige the government to control itself and to convince americans to implore their government to do the same. Only with limited government is our liberty secure. For Justice Scalia, the constitution is a prescribed structure, a framework for the conduct of government. In designing that structure, the framers themselves considered how much commingling of the branches was acceptable and set forth their conclusions in the document. The constitution answers this most important question. Who will decide . The congress, the president , the courts, the states, the people . And when the branches of government dare to tinker with the constitutions answer, to that most important question, the question of who will decide, Justice Scalias wrath was sure to come down upon them. Perhaps Justice Scalias project requiring more than mere parchment barriers between the branches of government seems academic to some, but it is anything but academic. As Justice Scalia in his dissent, the separation of powers may prevent us from righting every wrong, it does so in order to ensure that we do not lose liberty. Without this separation of powers, the picture Alexander Hamilton painted of an allpowerful congress, the hideous monster whose devouring jaws spare neither sex nor age nor high nor low, nor sacred nor profane becomes a reality, that hideous monster the reserve power of the states, it devours our freedom and our most innate desire to be left alone. With unchecked congressional power, congress can commandeer the states to do the work of the federal government that it cannot do, as Justice Scalia wrote for the court in prince vs. United states. With unchecked congressional power, congress can shirk its legislative duties and avoid political accountability by delegating legislative power to a group of outsiders. As Justice Scalia humorously stated in mastretta vs. United what results is a sort of Junior Varsity congress, incompatible with our constitutional structure. Without the separation of powers, the branches take it upon themselves to determine just how much of the purely executive powers of government must be within the full control of the president. In morrison vs. Olson, the wolf came as a wolf according to Justice Scalia. When congress appropriated executive power for itself, and created the office of independent counsel. Without the separation of powers, the executive branch no less coopts the legislative power for itself. With unchecked executive power, federal agencies are emboldened to legislate without limitations in the nearly 180,000 pages of the coat of federal regulations. Judicial deference to Agency Decision making becomes a rubber stamp for agencies to do as they please, and they can freely pretend that congress hides , in ants in mouse holes Justice Scalias words, when congress instructs them to act. As the political branches of power so too do the courts. Today it is the view of many that the Supreme Court is the giver of liberties. What an odd conception of government that we the people are dependent upon the third branch of government to grant us our freedom. It is this last point for which we remember Justice Scalia so well. As he said, at times seems incapable of admitting that some matters, any matters are none of its business, and from a saysnt, todays decision that my ruler and the ruler of 320 million americans coast to coast is the majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court. The opinion in these cases is the furthest extension and fact and the furthest extension one can even imagine of the courts claim to power to create liberties that the constitution and its amendments neglect to mention. This practice of constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine always accompanied as it is today by extravagant praise of liberty , robs the people of the most important liberty they asserted in the declaration of independence and won in the revolution of 1776. The freedom to govern themselves. With such unchecked judicial power, we americans leave it for the least accountable branch to decide how existing rights or expand our contract. A decision that so often hinges upon which particular rights are judicially favored at the time and which are not. With such unchecked judicial power, we leave it for the least accountable branch to decide what newly discovered fundamental rights should be appended to our constitution. To our constitution. Of course, as Justice Scalia remarked, these newly discovered fundamental rights are neither set forth in the constitution nor known to the nine justices of our court any better than they are known to nine people picked at random from the kansas city telephone directory. Bet ondd, i had rather the folks in kansas city. [applause] Justice Thomas or perhaps nine truckers at a flying j truck stop. With such unchecked judicial power, the court day by day, case by case, is busy designing as justiceion, scalia once quipped, instead of interpreting it. In any ordinary year, Justice Scalia would have spent the summer teaching these lessons about the separation of powers to a group of students studying abroad. And by this time, he would be back hard at work on a biting but always insightful and entertaining opinion imploring the branches of government to respect their constitutional roles and their limits. But alas, this has been no ordinary year. This summer, i had the distinct but sad pleasure of filling in for my dear friend in a separation of powers course in nice, france, and my colleagues and i very sadly have begun this term without him. When i joined the court in 1991, scalia and i would have seemed an unusual pair. An odd couple. He, raised in queens and the son of an italian immigrant and a first generation american, one a professor of romance languages and the other a schoolteacher, and i, raised a decade later by my barely literate grandparents in savannah, georgia. But together, we soon became our own band of brothers. By 1991, Justice Scalias role on the court was well established. I merely joined the fray, or more accurately, was thrown into it. It was my great honor that we spent almost 25 years together in pursuit of this common goal. To preserve the structure of government crafted by our framers. What i will treasure most, though, is much simpler. The chance to spend so many years down the hall from my friend nino, whether he was with me or against me in a particular case, we did what we thought the constitution obliged us to do. We honored our oaths and we trusted each other. Tonight, i charge each of you to join this band of brothers, as shakespeares king henry implored, preparing his own troops for a seemingly hopeless battle against french, the good man shall teach his son the story of our fight and in it shall be remembered, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my her, atlemen in england now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks that fought with us upon st. Crispins day. Each of us here, men and women, young and older, need not think ourselves accursed for our st. Crispins day lies before us. And whether we in this room here tonight ultimately win or lose the effort to reclaim the forms of government that our framers intended, it is our duty to stand firm in the defense of the constitutional principles and structure that secure our liberty. Like Justice Scalia, we must do what the constitution obliges us to do. It is now for us, the living, to be dedicated to the Unfinished Business for which Justice Scalia gave his last full measure of devotion. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Thank you, Justice Thomas. I have two things. First, let me apologize for the silverware. [laughter] ill find a better implement to quiet the crowd. But second and more important, we at the Federalist Society want to there is not much you can give a justice of the Supreme Court, but we wanted to give you a small token of how much we appreciate you and how much we will honor your call tonight to once more into the breach. It is a photo of you and Justice Scalia. [applause] on friday, the Supreme Court oral argument in miami versus the and wells fargo. The court will decide if miami can sue the banks under the Fair Housing Act for discriminatory mortgages given to africanamerican and hispanic homebuyers that resulted in loan defaults, foreclosures and default tax revenues for the city. We have a special webpage at cspan. Org to help you follow the Supreme Court. Go to cspan. Org and select Supreme Court near the top right of the page. You will see four of the most recent oral arguments heard by the court this term, and click on the view all link to see all of the arguments. You can also find many appearances by Supreme Court justices or watch justices in their own words, including oneonone interviews from the last few months. Calendar for a this term, a list of all current injustices with links to quickly see all of their appearances on cspan, as well as many other Supreme Court videos available on demand. Follow the Supreme Court at cspan. Org. As we can, cspans cities tour along with our Cable Partners will explore the literary life and history of pittsburgh, pennsylvania. On cspan2, here about Andrew Carnegie on how his innovative spirit transferred transformed pittsburgh into the Steel Capital of the world. Understood things from a scientific and engineering point of view whereas other people were going by a seat of their pants operation. Think by looking at some of the materials we have selected a lovearnegie really had for learning and through this wonderful institution felt this would be a way for the public to escape into another world. Thehen an author explains contributions of pittsburgh africanamericans since world war ii, including civil rights and black power movement. The long haul of that story is that black people in pittsburgh, in the ohio river valley, became part of a new industrial environment that really took off in the period after the civil war. On American History tv on cspan3, we will tour the antiwar hall museum andy w arhol museum. These are really great insight into just how selfconscious he actually was. I think a lot of people have a vision of him being a very cool and aloof, and he was cool and aloof but it came with a lot of work. Watch our tour of pittsburgh, pennsylvania on cspans book tv. Tv on American History cspan three. Vice president elect mike pence was on capitol hill thursday meeting with members of congress. He spoke with Congressional Republicans as well as Charles Schumer of new york and House Democratic leader nancy bloody pelosi. Can you tell us how the meeting went . Really well. Let me say, we had a very good meeting with the Vice President elect and we talked about going to work. He described President Trump as a man of action and we are anxious to go to work both on the transition as well as the policies in place. They are working on their 100 day plan and 200 day plan. What else was memorable to you . Did he mention anything about the transition of the cabinet . He encouraged anyone to submit their names. They are in the process of making those decisions. He talked about 400 positions that need to be filled quickly and how he would love to have our help and support in some morning some porting names. Does that mean you will have to budget resolutions next year . That is what is under consideration right new, a budget resolution for fy 17 in the first part of the year and another later on. Those conversations are underway right now. Ok. Thank you. Overwhelming. He was very positive and people are very excited. He served 12 years and he has a lot of dear friends and i think people are very excited to get to work on the new agenda. Did you talk about transitions . He talked about his role in the transition and others. A lot of members wanted to say hello again, they were excited about being on the Transition Team but more portly to get the economy moving again. Any names . Know, we talked about policy. Shes the best administrator. We are going have a nice conversation. Thank you. Go. Ll right, lets afternoon, everyone, thank you for being here as i welcome the Vice President elect. It is our honor to have also his daughter charlotte with us today. It is always nice to have the future in the room. To welcometo here is like walking meeting him back to the house of representatives. We had a conversation about how we can Work Together on infrastructure, issues that ,esult related childcare similar to the conversation i had with the president elect last week. The bush family participated in the conference in houston a year or so ago. I did that to make him feel at home. Anyway, we had a respectful ,onversation, as you all know we respect the service that we have in congress and respect the positions our colleagues have and respect the people who have sent them here. Thank you, mr. Vice president ,. Or the opportunity Vice President elect, mike. Thank you for your hospitality and what i trust will be the first of many conversations as we move forward toward inauguration and thereafter. Im grateful for the time you and i worked together when i served in this building, and as i said to you before, i was found you to be a worthy of thet and a leader loyal opposition. I have Great Respect for you and for your service to the country and i was pleased today to be able to convey the respect of president elect donald trump to you personally. Working in the transition, but part of the transition is also making plans for the first 100 days at the direction of the president elect. I am meeting not only with leader pelosi but leader schumer and speaker ryan and senator mcconnell, and we are beginning to discuss areas that we might move forward on together. That is what the American People want us to do, is to find ways to revive our economy, improve american lives, enhanced security of the nation, and im grateful to begin those discussions on behalf of the president elect with you today. Thank you. As you can hear, and as you know, the Vice President elects leadership, you will be a very valued player because you know the territory. Disrespect of the sensitivity and knowledge of the president elect, you know the territory, and in that territory we will try to find our Common Ground when we can and stand out ground when we cannot. [indiscernible] weekly briefing, House Democratic leader nancy pelosi addressed Upcoming Party elections and expressed confidence she would retain her post. It took place before representative tim ryan of ohio announced his plans to challenge leader policy. Pelosi. Ms. Pelosi good morning, everyone. Were in the midst of House Democratic caucus. So, the last time we met, i was very positive that Hillary Clinton would be the next president of the United States and walk into the oval office as one of the best qualified president s in our countrys history. Of course, were all very disappointed, more than disappointed, hard to accept the results. But accept we do. Peaceful transfer of power is what america and our democracy is about. Im very proud of the speech that secretary clinton made, her concession speech really exhorted us to be hopeful, to be positive, and to find our Common Ground, and that is what we intend to do. After winning the presidency, the electoral college, but losing the popular vote, i think that says to president elect trump that he has a responsibility to try to bring people together, not continue to fan the flames of division and bigotry. Later today, ill meet with Vice President elect pence, and it is my hope that we can discuss areas where we can Work Together, find construct constructively. As weve always said, we have a responsibility to find Common Ground, but to stand our ground when we cant. I just left, as i said, our caucus, where from the beginning of it we heard from our new 27 democratic members. As our founders intended, these new members coming are the constant reinvigration of the congress. And it was invigorating indeed to hear everyone make a little presentation there. Pretty exciting. At that caucus, that was todays caucus, we meet almost every day, that will be our intention to continue, our focus was largely on the economy. And i presented a frame to our members for them to change, adjust or whatever, but to consider infrastructure three is. Infrastructure, innovation and inclusion. All three of which strengthen each other. In terms of infrastructure, we democrats have always been advocates for strong infrastructure in our country and we hope we can have the biggest, the most robust infrastructure legislation that we can achieve, working with in a bipartisan way. But we are, again, not just settling for the lowest common denominator, but moving forward with something big. I can talk more about that. Innovation is central to how we build our infrastructure. When we talk about blue collar ur baut trluco thuctu dhivextiudriin and has 169 democrats. At was as of yesterday. Sd wt e st. Fry rs,er dryveouqu yb su t wdyle tis mi. Uepeng