the ink could not be darker. and that is, there's been massive human trafficking. and essentially what the house language did was to weaken the proposal of senator menendez. and then the state department, i think, essentially did not face up to the reality within their own reports and moved malaysia from tier three to tier two, so that they could continue to be part of the negotiations. and i don't see how people can ok in the mirror and not say to themselves, that we have to take into account human trafficking. so i finish with this. there are some positive provisions within the customs bill. but there are also these very difficult and, i think, in some respects dangerous, in the case of currency, worse than innocuous provisions. because in currency it retreats from the little step of meaning that we're going to take. so i congratulate the gentlelady who is such a norble warrior on so many issues -- a noble warrior on so many issues for bringing up this motion to instruct and i urge strong support of it. if i have any time, i yield it back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from new hampshire reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i am prepared to close if the gentlelady from new hampshire is as well. but i obviously want to accommodate her. ms. kuster: thank you. i have one more speaker. mr. brady: i'll reserve this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlewoman from new hampshire is recognized. ms. kuster: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield four minutes to the gentlelady from connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for our minutes. ms. delauro: i thank the gentlelady. mr. speaker, customs bills in the past have been positive. they have been useful trade -- in trade enforcement packages. however, the majority in this body has baked into this legislation harmful provisions that make the fast track law even worse. fails to protect dodd-frank and financial regulations, consumer safeguards. it stops our trade agreements from doing anything to address immigration. it strips out provisions tackling currency manipulation. and a-- an you a -- an abuse that's costing millions of americans their jobs. don't take my word for it. listen to the peterson institute. listen to what they have to say. . left-leaning organization it says that as a result of currency manipulation, that the united states has lost up to five million jobs. why would we go down this road again? why wouldn't we make currency manipulation prohibitive? instead of using language that is not even in the bill, but in a forum that they have put together around the t.p.p. that should countries refrain from currency manipulation, they should avoid currency manipulation. avoid? refrain? what kind of tough enforcement language is that? it is not. what does? what do country does when they manipulate their currency? hey drop the cost of their currency, their goods become cheaper, our goods are more expensive. we don't sell them abroad. you know what happened in mexico with nafta. they talked about all the beautiful provisions, all the tariffs dropping, etc., when they devalued the pesow. it was all gone -- peso. it was all gone. this is without strong, tough -- and it won't be strong and tough because of the senate language, but this is a good faith effort to deal with currency. but in fact currency, the lack of currency enforcement here is going to cause ruination in terms of american jobs and it's going to lower their wages. and already malaysia has devalued its currency, as has vietnam. this agreement bans the united states from making commitments on climate change in trade agreements. and my colleagues have spoken about this. provisions that are necessary for -- to ensure our trade policy does not negate our climate goals. you've got -- what is it, i don't know, 200 countries assembled in the paris to look at how we bring some sanity to climate control. and what we do, we have the president there and these efforts are more important now than ever. and we will be able to do nothing about dealing with the issue of climate. this is a massive step backwards for the already weak environmental obligations in our trade agreements. this bill contains no funding support for the enforcement and monitoring of our trade agreements. lack of enforcement has plagued our trade deals for decades. despite environmental rules in the u.s. free trade agreement, of verwhelming majority timber from peru is illegally logged. despite the labor rules in the colombia free trade agreement, over 118 colombian trade unionists have been murdered. do you have time? ms. kuster: you i yield two minutes to -- i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from connecticut. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two more minutes. ms. delauro: within the last week, vietnam, one of the partners in this agreement, arrested labor activists. 11 colombian trade unionists murdered -- 118 colombian trade unionists murdered. vietnam will not allow organized labor and in their agreement they get a free pass for five years while our jobs just are being drained away. now the congress is reviewing the t.p.p., the largest free trade agreement of its kind in history, it doesn't include countries like vietnam and malaysia where labor and human rights abuses are rampant. my colleagues have talked about malaysia and trafficking and forced labor. where are the values of this nation? when we can take malaysia, that , affics in girls, young girls and say that they've got then better -- they've gotten better and they've gone from a tier three country to a tier two country, just so they can be part of this agreement? where are the values of the united states of america? they're not present here. we can't afford more free trade agreements without adequate enforcement. worst of all this bill weakens protections in so many areas. we are dealing, as i said, in trafficking. it's modern slavery. that is what that is all about. and democrats have been clamoring for years and years for our government to include enforceable labor standards and enforceable environmental provisions and it's fallen on deaf ears. this motion to instruct, and i say to my colleagues, thank you it should his, and pass. it will pass tonight or tomorrow. but it really should not go to conference. there are so many flaws in this ill and in the underlying bill , in the trans-pacific partnership agreement as well. this should not go to conference and in fact put a gloss on a piece of legislation that is one of the worst pieces of legislation that has hit this floor of the united states house of representatives. i thank my colleague. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i am prepared to close if the gentlelady from new hampshire is prepared to do so as well. ms. kuster: yes. mr. brady: thank you. the value of a country's currency is a complex issue. it's determined by a number of factors, how much a country saves, how much it invests, the strength of its economy, its trade flows in and out. it is a complex issue. where republicans and democrats in the white house find common ground is the desire that countries don't manipulate their currency in order to give themselves an unfair trade advantage. the difference is how best to go about it. and because it's a complex issue, there's some very good ideas on all party sides on how best to do that. this motion essentially says, forget those discussions. don't have republicans and democrats from the house and senate work together through this complex issue and find a common solution. this motion simply says, forget all that, there's only one solution, we insist upon it, end the discussions. i don't think that's the right way to go about it. i think, frankly, there are real serious concerns, not just -- just from republicans, but from the white house, on insisting on this one solution. i think our country's better served and those who want to stop currency manipulation are better served by bringing our best ideas together in this conference committee. that's what i'm determined to do. that's what the american public wants us to do, an open, transparent, regular process that brings about the very best solution for america. with that, that is why i urge a no vote on this motion to instruct, and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from new hampshire is recognized. ms. kuster: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to say to my colleague, the gentleman from texas, i think that we do agree at the heart of this about the danger of currency manipulation and the millions of jobs that are lost here in our country. and that's why i rise this evening to offer this motion to instruct the conferees, to include in the conference report language to combat currency manipulation from the senate-passed version of this bill. i also want to associate myself with the comments of my colleagues, because these are bipartisan issues. i have worked with my colleagues across the aisle on human trafficking and i know that my colleagues share my values and are appalled at the egregious efforts that have gone down in malaysia to traffic in young girls. these are not american values that are being expressed. and at this historic moment, as countries across the world gather in paris to protect our society, our whole human kind from the ravages of climate change. so, mr. speaker, i rise this evening to support my motion. i will be asking for a recorded vote and i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. all the time for debate has expired. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion to instruct. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. ms. kuster: mr. speaker, on this i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. -- those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. the chair will entertain requests for one-minute peeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. recently president obama declared climate change to be the number one adversary of the united states. mr. lamalfa: he's proposed regulations to fight this, regulations that not only increase the scope of government but change. we voted to reject those policies. our true enemy has grown in strength and struck one of our oldest enemies. we know this enemy a radical form of islam sworn to destroy western civilization, that abuses and enslaves women, for manufacturing data to computer models for temperature data, temperatures being rounded to up to fit the narrative and the refusal of these agencies to reveal their methodology, the debate on climate change is far from settled. it's time for the president to wake up and realize that no nation should willingly choose to damage its own economy. it's time to end this self-destructive cycle these policies would initiate. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the peeker's a-- speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. just to follow up on the eloquent one-minute by my friend, doug lamalfa, it is extraordinary to think that the esident of the united states about whom some say is the leader of the free world, would and even y publicly worse at a conference of world in effect the worst blow we could hit isis with is for the leaders to come together on climate change. it's hard to believe. the leader of the free world would make such a statement. maybe it was just something that was given to him to read and he read. maybe it was in teleprompter. maybe he didn't have time to hink about what he was saying. because i've talked to too many people in all parts of the world who have dealt directly with radical islamist terrorists. and they make clear, radical slamic terrorists know nothing and respect nothing but power. incredible. just incredible. i mean, growing up, it would ave been akin to bullies beating up, taking from smaller students on a playground and the teacher gathering all the students and other teachers together and saying, i'm going to teach the bullies a lesson. by just ignoring them and reading you a lovely story from our library. i mean, who wouldn't understand that the next day the bullies would be beating people up again and robbing again? it's incredible. such insanity followed terrible in colorado ng springs. as a judge, former judge, former prosecutor, i know. the man who did this needs to be pun herbed. it's wrong. and no one should use any excuse to go in and shoot other people. whether it's an islamic errorist or whether it's a deranged, mentally unstable some thinking they have kind of score to even with people they don't even know. hooting people about whom they know nothing. this story from november 30, fox news, about the three people killed in colorado, fox news -- foxnews.com. two civilians killed in shooting at a colorado planned parenthood clinic were identified by authorities and family members on sunday. jennifer markowski, 35, was accompanying a friend to the colorado springs planned parenthood clinic when she was killed in the shooting rampage. her father told the denver post. -- the "denver post." she grew up in hawaii and met her husband in hawaii before the couple moved to colorado when he was stationed there for the military. haking told the post from his home in hawaii that markowski was a kind-ert -- hearted, lovable person with two children. the second civilian killed was keer stewart, 29, a lifelong friend, amber butler, told the associated press. was r said stewart accompanying someone else. stewart served in the army's fourth infantry division and was deployed to iraq, where butler said he would send her letters describing the horror he is saw on the front lines. quote, he would tell me how terrible it was, how many guy he is watched die. it was terrible for him, butler told the associated press. the army stationed stewart at fort carson in colorado springs in 2013 before he was discharged from the military the following year. quote, he went someplace where people expect to die only to come back and be killed, unquote. she also said he was a standup guy. he would take a bullet for you. he was the most sincere person i'd ever met. markowski and stewart's identities were confirmed by officials who said a full identification would be provided once autopsies were completed on monday. the third victim was garrett swayze, who worked as a police officer at the university of colorado, colorado springs. he was called to assist with an active shooter at the nearby clinic. swayze was married with two children and a co-pastor at oak chapel where he was remembered sunday by pa riggsers who watched a video of him ice skating. another quote, we are learning that eyewitnesses confirm that the man who will be charged with the tragic, senseless shooting, that resulted in the deaths of three people an injuries to nine others at planned parenthood ,ealth center, colorado springs by opposition to after a -- safe nd legal abortion, planned parenthood c.e.o. cowart said. well, that's from vicki cowart. that does not appear to be official. and it always seems if it works better, for example, i would hope that the president's learned by now he shouldn't give opinions about shootings until he knows more about them. don't condemn a policeman when it turns out the policeman was entirely justified because by doing so, you help stir up and divide this nation. that needs to come together. . there's so many questions when i was a prosecutor, when i was a judge, i wanted to know motive. wanted to know what caused people to do what they did. we know why islamic terrorists do what they do. they think that that's contributing to the caliphate and if they happen to die, just as thomas jefferson was told, was reported that jefferson asked why the barberry pirates kept attacking american -- the barbary pirates kept attacking american ships when they weren't a threat to that muslim area, reportedly told that, we believe we go to paradise if we're killed while we're fighting infidels like you. so we know what motivates most islamic terrorists. either they think they're going to go to paradise -- if they think they're going to go to paradise, what a surprise they're going to get, or they think they're contributing to bringing the world under totalitarian domination by one theocrat like the ayatollah khomeini, or al-baghdadi, head of isis. just in our tragedy rearview mirror, unfortunately once again the president in front of a massive group spoke without thinking about what he was saying. i don't know whether it was on a teleprompter again and he hadn't thought about what he was reading to the public, maybe somebody put something in front of him or maybe he was talking off the cuff and hadn't really thought about what he was saying. but this article from alex griswold, dated today, said while giving a press conference in paris, president barack obama told reporters that the mass shootings that plague the united states just never happen in other countries. quote, with respect to planned parenthood, obviously my heart goes out to the families of those impacted, unquote. obama said in response to a reporter's question. quote, i mean, i say this every time we've got one of these mass shootings, this just doesn't happen in other countries. unquote. he's in paris, france. 130 they've just buried people, mostly from mass shootings. probably just finished the funerals. the services for the victims of . e islamic terrorists nd the president says in front so insensitively, that these shootings like the three people in colorado springs never happen in any other countries, as he's standing in a country where it just had 130 people killed mainly in mass shootings. in fact the article says the majority of the 130 deaths were in mass shooting attacks where the isis affiliated terrorists attacked public places with automatic rifles, nearly 100 people alone were killed in just one mass shooting. at the theater. earlier this year. par -- earlier this year, paris was also the victim of a terrorist attack, targeted the satirical magazine charlie hebdo. the al qaeda affiliated terrorists wielded assault rifles, killing 11 innocent people. that was in paris. now, i do realize this article says the 11 people with charlie hebdo, the publisher, the magazine, that those 11 people but s here were innocent obviously again a leader of the united states, our secretary of state, john kerry, addressed on video for the world to see this issue basically was say, yeah, we can understand why the charlie hebdo people were killed. i they did apparently, for goodness sakes, those people used the idea that they had the freedom to speak any way they wanted to. and apparently radical islamic terrorists were insulted, even though the president has said repeatedly, john kerry has said repeatedly, and hillary clinton has said repeatedly, and , that these ay radical attacks by islamic terrorists have nothing o do with islam. well, that's a head scratcher, because if the terrorist attacks on charlie hebdo had thing to do with islam, then why did john kerry think there may have been some justification for islamic rrorists to kill these magazine employees because they said something offensive about islam? if it wasn't about islam, then why were the terrorists killing these magazine employees because they said something about islam? that's a head scratcher. and then, when we look at what the media is saying about the colorado springs shooting, and we look at what people in the mainstream media, whether it's "the view" or other places, talk about, yeah, hitler was a christian, no, he wasn't. and yeah, you know, mcveigh, christian. well, i'm sure that would be a surprise to him. he seemed to brag late in life about being agnostic. hitler certainly wasn't a christian. so, if the president, hillary clinton, john kerry are right, that, gee, we need to worry as much about christians, actually our state department seems to think in their reports that we need to worry more about christians than we do about islamic terrorists, even though there's no indication that the colorado springs shooter was a hristian, and i can absolutely assure you, mr. speaker, no matter what he says his religious affiliation is, he certainly was not a christian, because he certainly was not following the teachings of christ. and the bible makes clear that we're known by our fruits. he's gone in and killed other , ple in this way, illegally then he's certainly not following the teachings of christ. he's not part of the government. there's no justification, .here's been no trial ut it does also raise issues about the effects of the lawlessness of this administration, having had whistleblowers come to me, law-abiding, moral, ethical -- e who want to know we've seen that the justice department will go after and destroy any honest, moral, ethical whistleblower that may reflect poorly on the administration. we've seen reports of the at ng inspector general homeland security changing i.g. reports. we get word that in the intelligence community, reports have been changed from truth to something that would not make the administration look bad. reports now coming out about -- and apparently former intelligence leader flynn talking about this, how the truth that was coming from intelligence in 2012 did not match up with this administration's re-election campaign, so they just changed the reports. i mean, what affect does an administration lying and being lawless have on what traditionally has been a majority law biding country? can it create helplessness, a feeling, or a need that perhaps we need to take the law into our own hands? i would tell anyone, that's never justified. you do it through lawful means, through the government. of course thomas jefferson might say otherwise. what affect does it have when e law of the land, the federal administration governing ruling over the country, required by the constitution to follow the laws that have been passed by congress and signed by the president, this president may not agree with, and he just disregards the laws, say on amnesty, disregards the laws about governing the e.p.a., so they just make up new regulations. and you just create 79,000 pages of new regulations as if you're a dictator in chief. i mean, if hype thetically that were happening, what -- hype thetically that were happening, -- hypothetically that were happening, what affect would it have on people who believed in having a law-abiding country? when the administration over , e country becomes so lawless seems surely it would create a feeling of desperation. what do you do? i've talked to whistleblowers who had that feeling. what do you do? i can't go to the justice department with the truth about what's going on because they'll prosecute me. they'll destroy my family. i'll never be able to make a living again. i've seen what they do to whistleblowers. who just want the administration to be honest and follow the law. what do you do? where do you go? i would submit that the place you go is not to russia to give away our utmost secrets, because that is treason. ut it's bound to be mitigating when an administration makes it so tough to just come forward and state the truth. we find out that this administration had known about general pet race's affair -- petraeus' affair for most of a year, but they waited until general petraeus was in a position to destroy the election possibility, re-election possibilities for president obama. float out about the affair they'd known about for most of the year. and he's destroyed. they prosecute him. because apparently, as i understand it, he provided a calendar to his biogreafer, and search as they might for anything they could hang around his neck of being a lawless activity, as i understand it, they found something in his calendar that could have been said to be classified and so he agreed to plead to that. we find out yesterday there apparently have been around 1,000 hillary clinton emails so far that contain classified information. if chuck colson gets a year and a half for having information , petraeus' posed to life, his livelihood is ruined because they're finally able to find something that might, should have been classified, that he pleads guilty to, having turned over to his biographer. how long do you get for doing that 1,000 times? ust asking, mr. speaker. but, if let's say hypothetically it were true, what president obama and john kerry and hillary clinton keep saying, that you should not say anything negative about the terrorists who claim to be slamic and who say praise be to alaw -- allah and then they kill innocent people, you can't say anything that that's related to radical islam, because that only makes matters orse, well, if they really believe those things they've been saying, and if it were homeland and if security's right, that we need to worry about evangelical christians or people who believe in the authority of the united states constitution, then shouldn't the president, hillary clinton, john kerry, be worried that they're going to stirrup another crusade by besmirching and maligning christianity and christians as routinely as they do, saying, you know, these christian terrorists are so bad or pointing out, we've got bad christians, we've got the crusades. as big christianity is to commit violence as people who say they're islamic , then ts or jihaddists -- i'm just asking, mr. speaker -- wouldn't that indicate that the president, hillary clinton, going rry are actually to be responsible if a christian goes and dozen something violent? i mean, oose -- does something violent? i mean, using their own logic, if they're out there running wn christians as a threat to violence, while saying, you can't say anything negative a t radical islam, and christian does something wrong, well, if you're saying we stirrup radical islamic terrorists by talking about them, then wouldn't you be you, generic, indefinite you, be responsible for saying bad things about a christian, if a christian then does something violent? i'm just asking. applying the president's own logic or lack thereof. there's an article from four that ago by kyle becker said, after the tragic charleston shooting that left nine americans dead, president obama said the following. let's be clear, and i'm quoting the president, this was four months or so ago, at some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. it doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. the president said that four months or so ago and said it again now while he's in paris, where 130 people were just killed in a mass attack. but this article was written four months ago. d it actually charts and says, since most statistics on mass shootings in the world compare apples and oranges by not correcting for population, let's get a chart that makes sense, shall we? so between 2009 and 2013, the author goes through and charts the loss of even -- and charts. the loss of even one life should not be occurring. as someone who has looked a defendant in the eye and ordered him to be taken by the texas department of criminal justice d taken and held until he is put to death and have signed the order requiring a multiple rderer or a kidnapping murderer, torturer, be put to know every life matters. every life matters. every little baby that's cut up nd sold for parts matters. the lawlessness of seeing the planned parenthood videos and ot only not be offended or finding those grotesque and inhumane, but actually having the department of justice stand ready to be either criminal defense firm for planned parenthood, stand by planned arenthood in these alleged horribly egregious violations of umanity. would that invoke helplessness? it shouldn't invoke anybody to violence, but could it? according to this article by 2009 and r, between 2013, rampage shooting fatalities per one million people, norway had 15.3, finland hat 1.85, slovakia had 1.47, israel had 1.38, switzerland had .75 per million and the united tates had .72 per million. even one is too many. and the perpetrator should and must be punished. but if someone has committed crimes in planned parenthood, shouldn't we have an administration that believes in enforcing the laws and at least doing a proper investigation on whether what was said in the videos were true? which certainly indicated orally that there were apparent crimes committed. , ll, since every life matters every black life matters, not ust black lives that are needlessly killed -- or taken by a white person, every black life matters. o matter who takes the life. this article from the chicago tribune, the chicago tribune reports, holiday toll, eight killed 20 wounded over thanksgiving weekend. seems rather ka louse. -- cam louse. the article says -- callus. the article says eight people were killed including a 16-year-old boy and at least 20 others wounded over the weekend in chicago, an increase over last year as the number of gunshot victims rose about 2,700 or the year. 2,700. unshot victims in chicago. when chicago has such strong gun control laws in place. how could that be? it possible that having toughest gun control laws, like washington, d.c. has had, andn't stop violent murders in fact is it possible that places that have the strictest gun control have become murder capitals? certainly appears so in chicago and washington, d.c. this article from chicago dunan was one am of the first victims, he was shot in the head a few minutes before midnight on van buren street in east garrfield park, about a block from his home. police said two people walked up and fired at dunnan. he was pronounced dead at the scene. four other people were wounded between 3:00 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.. two men were killed and four others wounded from 1:20 p.m. on thanksgiving day to 3:15 a.m. on friday. 36-year-old man was killed and two people, including a 14-year-old boy were wounded between friday afternoon and every lessard morning. most violent stretch occurred saturday into sunday when three men were fatally shot and at least four other people were wounded. father of three, home for the holidays, dies in backyard -- in back of the yards shooting. between sunday afternoon and early monday, an eighth person was killed and six other people wounded. told during the last thanksgiving weekend in chicago s five killed, 14 wounded, including a fatal shooting inside the nordstrom store on north michigan avenue. if the president's precious ideas on gun control that certainly his former chief of staff rahm emanuel would have in place in chicago since he has ch power to effectuate the passage of -- the passage hrough the city leaders of ordinances for tough gun control, how could this be? he number of homicides is 444. so far this year, there've been at least 2,740 shootings in chicago, up more than 400 from the same time last year. number of homicides is 444, an increase of 42 from last year. hat is tragic. an article by charles c.w. cook, ovember 23, 2015, anyone who would use terror as an excuse to subvert the second amendment should be tarred and feathered. rather interesting position. article from charlie spearing, 30 november, 2015, in his inaugural speech at the c.o.p. -- at the cop21 climate change summit in paris, president obama acknowledged the terrorist attacks that occurred in the city earlier this month but warned his fellow leaders not to be distracted from focusing on the looming threat of global warming. the president was quoted saying, what greater rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshaling our best efforts o save it. , noring the violent terrorism islamic jihaddists are infecting the world and talking about climate change and obviously, i mean, most thinking people know it's called climate change now because global warming hasn't really been supported for many the now and certainly not rrelation, it's not provable that it's manmade. i do believe in climate change. we have it four times a year in east texas where i live. so we know climate change is a fact. we know that the weather normally works in cycles. we had a witness before our natural resources committee, knows a great deal about climate, and i asked him is it had to t planet earth have been warmer during the days of leif erickson crossing the north atlantic when the no, sir came to greenland? is it true that the planet -- that planet earth was warmer then? and it turns out, according to his testimony, it was much -- the planet was much warmer then. now, we don't know what kind of fuel, what kind of carbon emissions those no, sir boats were putting into the atmosphere but i guess you'd have to figure those no, sir must have really een putting out some pollution from those ships with the sails on them to have created a warmer planet back then than we have now. apparently they were growing crops places on greenland where you can't anymore. my friend, ben shapiro, has an article in "the daily wire," titled five reasons obama's climate change agenda is dangerous. one reason he has highlighted is because we have no idea to what extent the earth is warming. , he sets out some data resources there. number two, we have no clue how much human activity causes climate change. and i would add, if any. but of course we call it climate change now because the data did not support the global warming that was being used in a fear mongering fashion to scare people and so by changing from global warming to climate change , that would allow them to say in the 1970's, as they did, that we're at the beginning of a new ice age, and then 30 years later say, we're heading for cataclysmic global warming that will destroy all loif on planet earth. and now after the long pause in warming that seems to be inexplicable to scientists, ter the release of private emails, information from the university of east anglia some data back, that showed how indicated data was being manipulated so that it reflected things that weren't true about so-called global warming or climate change. ben shapiro's third point, we have no idea how much climate change impacts human life. has discussion and references there. then, fourth, we have no idea what level of dedevelopment would bes me to maintain our current climate. fifth, the solution, destroying carbon-based fuels and capitalism is the problem. he says the left is in an all-out war with the two greatest forces for fighting poverty in history. cheap carbon-based energy and capitalism. the same people celebrating the end of the industrial revolution economic model seem to forget that that economic model, boosted by carbon based fuels, ave led to a massive drop in global poverty. in 1990, 1.9 billion lived under 836 per day as opposed to million in 2015. that's because of the dominance of capitalism and the increased efficiency of technology. it's certainly not because of governmental, environmental on the left say we can maintain our current standard of living while hopping in a time machine to less usage of carbon without reference to market efficiencies. this is foolishness. we have time machines. they are called airplanes. folks on the left ought to fly to countries where people don't have coal, oil, natural gas or free markets and watch them burn cow chips or heat and see how lovely that lifestyle actually is. but president obama has his goals. how many people will have to suffer or die globally because there isn't really the issue after all, the question to him would make us cynical, he assures us. if sin civil means saving lives then perhaps we ought to be cynical of his world conquering redistributionist nonsense. going back to february 7, 2015, an article from christopher booker "telegraph," the if i haddling with temperature data is the biggest science scandal ever. how we are being tricked by awed data, i wrote by paul homewood -- not a lot of people know about that blog, had checked the published temperature graphs for three weather stations in par gay. in each instance, the actual trend of 60 years of data had been dramatically reversed so that a cooling trend was changed to one that showed a marked warming. this was the latest of many examples of a practice long recognized by expert observers around the world, one that raises an ever larger question mark over the entire surface temperature record. checked stations around the original three. in each case he found the same suspicious one-way adjustments. first they were made by the u.s. government climate network and then amplified by two of the main officials service records, the goddard institute for space studies and the national climate data center, which used the warming trends to estimate temperatures across the vast regions of the earth where no measurements are taken. yet, these are the very records on which the scientists and politicians rely for their belief in quote, global warming." he has turned his attention to weather stations between canada 51 degrees west and heart of siberia, and nearly every case, the same one-adjustments have been made to show warming up to one degree centigrade or higher than the data that was actually recorded. this has surprised no one more than johnson who is in charge of climate research for the iceland office and with holmwood has been in touch. johnson was amazed to see how the new version completely disappears iceland's sea-ice years around 1970, when a period of extreme cooling almost devastated his country's economy. one of the first examples of these adjustments was exposed in steve the engineer mcintyre when he discovered a paper, the scienceist later turned activist who ran the goddard institute for space studies. hanson's original graph show temperatures in the arctic as having bench higher around 1940 than at any time since. t as holmwood reveals, temperature adjustments transform arctic history. i had not seen that. hanson's original graph shows temperatures in the arctic as around en much higher 1940 than at any time since. holmwood's interest in the arctic is because of the vanishing of its polar ice and the polar bears has become such a poster child for those trying to persuade us that we are threatened by runaway warming and chose that particular stretch of arctic where ice is hit by warmer water by shifts in the atlantic current. this last peaked at just the time 75 years ago when arctic ice retreated even further than it has done recently. the ice melt is not caused by rising global temperatures at all. of much more serious significance, however, is the way this wholesale manipulation of the official temperature g.h.c.n. has sons never plausibly explained has become the real elephant in the room of the greatest and most costly scare the world has known. this really does begin to look like one of the greatest scientific scandals of all time. mr. speaker, i'm wondering if it might be possible that there is a mainstream media reporter out "new york times," abc, nbc, cbs,t" cnn, those who have lost so many that might ders someday against all of the got and like galileo others received, that might pick up that mantle and do a true investigation from a mainstream media outlet, facing the belittling and criticism of all of the chicken lit wills that are in the current mainstream media and actually gather accurate data, show the fraud, show the wasted money, show the lost lives, show the suffering by running up the price of just so high and show what christopher booker talks about as he finishes his article. this really does begin to look like one of the greatest scientific scandals of all time. as the great philosopher rush limbaugh said, follow the money. if you hear someone saying, let's bring syrian refugees in when we know there's no adequate data to be assured of who they , e, where they're really from check all the money and see if they are part of those dividing up the $1 billion-plus dollars being paid to people to bring refugees into the united states. well, mr. speaker, when this administration goes about driving up the prices of energy as it has, despite its best efforts, gasoline prices came down. last i saw, they had dropped their approval of production om federal land to about 40% -- what had been approved during the bush administration's eight years. less production being authorized by this administration. the e.p.a. with their new regulations on the oil and gas industry. which ultimately if they are successful, congress isn't able to stop them as we should, the price of gasoline will skyrocket s the president said he wanted co-produced to skyrocket and one of my senior citizen constituents told me and i think she said she was 80, she was born in a home that had a wood-burning stove and the cost of energy has gone up, she is worried she may leave this world in a home that only has a wood-burning stove. if this administration has its way, she can't even have a wood-burning stove. but when you see the cost of home energy going up as dramatically as this administration has forced it, and you realize that doesn't really hurt the rich in america to have higher prices for energy . it does hurt business, absolutely does. means they can't give raises because they're spending that money on higher bills. so people are not keeping up with what they should. and then we found out during this administration the unthinkable occurred and the president even admitted it on camera. for the first time in the history of this country ever after this president's policies have been fully implemented for of the nation's .ncome went to the top 1% the president talks so much about helping the middle class and helping the poor has presided over policies that have made the rich put them in a position where 95% of income is going to the top 1%. it had never happened before. this president's policies have made life as difficult for people in america -- i mean not for the people that have the coneyism, general electric, friends of the president, but i'm talking about the distance between the rich and the poor has gotten farther, with fewer people in between. that's tragic. so countries swarm to the global warming conferences and they hope to leave -- just watch, follow the money. they hope to leave with an reement by the united states that will punish american residents and cause them to have to pay more taxes that will be paid to countries around the world. of course they flock to these global warming climate change conferences because they think the president is going to do and that is start sending checks from the american taxpayers to all of these other countries places where their policies have stifled growth, where they don't have the energy we do. how about sending them some energy. send them some coal. they will be far better off. in closing, mr. speaker, let me just remind that you don't have to pay people to hate you. they'll do it for free. we don't have to be sending that money overseas. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur is recognized as the esignee of the minority leader. ms. kaptur: mr. speaker, as europe strains with refugees from the middle east, i rise tonight to address another growing humanitarian crisis in eastern europe. n ukraine. the free world has experienced time and again what happens when innocents support caught by fate under the brutal grip of war and oppression. today that reality looms largely over europe and surely over ukraine. a nation of freedom-seeking people under siege. outnumbered and outgunned due to russia's invasion on ukraine's eastern front. so europe in the western as well as the eastern faces major displacement and humanitarian needs. not seen since world war ii. ukrainians are fighting to choose their own path and surely america with our moral leadership can find a way to help the beleaguered people of ukraine survive the siege and onset of a bitter winter with climate that can be unforgiving. falling as low or more, 25 degrees below zero. to not attend to ukraine now risks ukraine accessing to the free world. if one looks at the size of ukraine in europe, imagine if you -- if ukraine could access to be part of greater europe. that is all held in abeyance now. and also risks millions more potential refugees fleeing from ukraine to western europe for sustenance and more. i call on the obama administration to address the growing humanitarian crisis in europe, not just on the western end, but on the eastern end in ukraine. this is a challenge that can be met. america has done this before. the humanitarian need in ukraine is immediate and growing. and i would like to ask unanimous consent to enter in the record evidence of this growing crisis by the major religious leaders of ukraine. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kaptur: from all confessions, representing, imagine, nearly 90% of the faithful of ukraine. these denominations include baptists, pentecostals, muslims, reform church, lutheran church, jewish religious organizations, evangelicals, the orthodox church of ukraine, the ukrainian bible study society, the ukrainian greek catholic church, the armenian apostolic church, the seventh day advenn tists, the christian evangelical church. it's a very, very long list. i'm going to read this in the record as well as place it in the record. this was sent to president obama in a delegation this last month from ukraine of its top religious leaders parened the obama administration with a request. let me read it. we the undersign odd of the all-ukrainian council of churches, representing ukraine's diverse religious community, appeal to you, on behalf of the people of ukraine, to help address the humanitarian catastrophe, mr. president, gripping our country. the needs are enormous. ranging from medical supplies to everyday items such as food, water, and clothing. they don't even ask for new clothing. they're willing to take used shoes from the united states of america. while the global news media regularly reports on russia's war against ukraine, government reforms and financeable challenges, there is rarely any mention of the extraordinary dimensions of the human suffering caused by moscow's aggression. while ukraine certainly needs greater military financial -- military, financial, and political assistance, our focus here as reals you leaders must be on the humanitarian aspects. as you know, they say, according to the united nations, over five million people, five million, including 1.7 million children, are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. i brought a chart to the floor that shows pictures of just a few of these children. 8,000 people have died and over 17,000 have been injured and wounded. there are over 1,390,000 displaced people, including 174,000 children. here's one child whose only dwelling has been in a bomb shelter since the time of his birth. the challenges of the human tragedy are overwhelming. even the most conservative estimates show that over 65% of projected needs have yet to be met. even on the level of pledges. as representatives of the interfaith community, they say, we witness on a daily basis the challenges an needs of people suffering because of this war. and with the onset of winter an already dire situation will only get worse. we pray for their lives and for the future of our country. while we are grateful for the assistance provided by the united states government to date, we know that the need is so much greater. thus we appeal to you, president obama, to increase assistance and activate the full po ten thombl national guard safe partnership program and the partnership for peace as instruments for alleviating the humanitarian catastrophe we face. one of the stated goals of the partnership for peace is to provide a framework for enhanced political and military cooperation for joint, multilateral crisis management activities, such as humanitarian assistants and -- assistance and peacekeeping. ukraine was the first post-soviet country to join the partnership for peace in 1993. in addition to the assistance provided by the united states government, wering during our travels throughout the united states have come to personally witness the great generosity of the mesh people expressed through numerous, spontaneous initiatives to ship medical and humanitarian shipments to ukraine. time is of the essence, mr. president. they are begging. the people of ukraine need to know that they are not forgotten in their time of need. the instruments anticipated by the national guard, state partnership and partnership for peace programs will allow the american people to more effectively and rapidly access and deliver already-available medical and humanitarian supplies to ukraine, literally within days. we each represent distribution networks through their various religious confessions that cooperate with each other. we now ask for the resources to meet the growing human needs. we pray that god grant you guidance, wise dom, and bless you and the great american nation. god bless the united states and ukraine, sincerely, and i place all their names in the record. i thank the gentleman. the people of the world must meet this imperative. the united nations has reported 2.6 million ukrainians have been displaced by the current conflict in eastern ukraine. so unnecessary because of russia's invasion. a staggering five million ukrainians currently need humanitarian survival assistance. i melt with one religious leader who came to washington and i said, what are you finding? he said, congresswoman, we are in karkif, we need shoes, even used shoes, for the children. currently less than half of those in need receive any assistance at all. if russian aggression were to trigger a flight of these ewe yain -- ukrainians westward it would also add to the dangerous, destabilizing stretch of europe's already-stretched refugee services as a result of what's happening with the immigration and refugee resettlement from the middle east. the situation in ukraine is far from contained. according to a recent report by refugees international, approximately two million ukrainians live close to the cease fire lines separating ukrainian and russian-backed forces. it's hard to see some of these picturesen this chart but what they basically show are bombed out buildings, bridges that are completely destroyed, old women living in buildings where there are no roofs or windows in eastern ukraine, children living in bomb shelters, and people just unfortunately killed because of russian shelling. ukrainian and russian peace settlements likely will take a while but another two million people are living under the control of russian-backed forces. the basic needs of these civilians go unmet daily. shockingly, most international aid work has been suspended there and there are hardly any news stories about this. aid workers have been ejected from regions that are called lujah and donec by russian-backed fighters. some refugees, torn from their villages and towns, have managed to stay in ukraine and survive even after being driven from their homes by violence. how they're doing this, i simply don't know. but these internally displaced are overwhelming the already limited resources of ukraine's local governments which are already stretched thin by russia's invasion. these 1.5 million internally displaced ukrainians lack durable housing or jobs to pay for food. or support their families. and don't forget with russia's invasion, the value of their currency has just plummeted. everything is so much more expensive. how people are making it, i simply don't know. we often talk about refugees in abstract numbers but inside these numbers are the stories and faces of individuals. i just wish people could see the eyes of these parents looking into the future that is so uncertain and is daunting. ukrainian children in these conflict zones are being born under conditions that most americans couldn't even imagine. never having lived without the imminent threat of death or loss. many risk becoming stateless as they've been unable to receive birth certificates, passports, and school certificates. looking into the eyes of children i'm again remind ofede -- of the urgency of this crisis. as freedom loving nations grapple with the ukrainian crisis, let us recall the nation of the european continent remain america's most enduring allies in liberty. to not measure up to meet the current internal challenge for europe is to walk away from liberty's call at freedom's edge in our time. existing efforts to asaste ukraine's eastern regions face a daunting set of challenges. roads leading ukrainian are trapped in separatist areas. they're walking across rubble, down very steep embankments, making matters worse, many of these routes are now scarred by the ravages of war. roads an bridges have been completely destroyed. on roads running through conflict areas, russian-backed fighters require registration by any humanitarian group seeking access to the region. can you imagine? can you imagine what life is like there? the united nations is the only aid group allowed to even enter the russian controlled areas of ukraine. even the u.n. was prevented from delivering a convoy of nine trucks, excuse me, even the u.n. was prohibited from deliver to ian ukraine for three months. as people suffered. and then on november 9, just a couple of weeks ago, the u.n. was finally able to deliver a convoy of nine trucks carrying vital aid to the city of lohan, including 10,000 blanket, 10,000 towels, 5,000 buckets and a similar number of jerry cans and practice sheet, cement and timber for shelter repairs and other winterization needs for demest exitems. that was to one town and did not completely serve their enormous needs. as the u.n. agency head for ukraine said, this is a small drop in the ocean of needs in these conflict-affected areas. can you imagine, millions of people displaced but only 10,000 blankets. millions of people, 10,000 blankets. delivery of basic medical supplies also faces obstacles. there's a shortage of medication that treat critical and common diseases. after his organization was forced out of the area by russian operatives, dr. bart jansen, director of operations at doctors without borders, said the following, and i quote, we are almost the only organization providing treatment for tuberculosis in prisons, insulin -- insulin for diabetic patients products for is those in kidney failure. thousands will be left with little or no assistance. this is the situation ukraine faces. in realtime. what will the world do? what will the united states do? with so many. storehouses of clothe, used clothing, used blab debts, anything to help sustain life there. as temperatures fall across that region, shelter assistance has to be delivered quickly to people living in buildings without windows, without doors, without roofs, and most often without heat. thousands of thousands of displaced people need blankets, winter clothing, shoes, heating coal. if the free world fails to act, it must prepare for the reality that come spring, we will discover more elderly who are dead, more who are ill, more children who have fallen into illness and probably died. simply cut off from assistance, who die from starvation and the cold, needlessly adding to the 8,000 who have lost their lives in this russian-directed invasion. america has long been one of supporting freedom and economic stability across our world. let me remind you in 1947, in a speech laying out what would be the marshall plan following world war i's devastation, war-weary america stood the test of liberty. one of our greatest americans, a statesman, a general, general george c. marshall observed the post-world war i conditions. he urged american involvement in support of recovery knowing that it is logical that the united states should do whatever it is able to do in returning normal economic health in the health without which there can be no political stability and assured peace. those words apply to ukraine today as it did to western europe. our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. he added that struggling nations must take the lead in their own rebuilding and that america's role should be a supporting one. it was really remarkable to go back and to look at the films of the berlin airlift from world war ii and see what this country did. this crisis is not commensurate with what happened after world war ii. but we have a model. we know what to do. why aren't we doing it? i would like to insert into the record separate statements from three religious leaders who are begging the united states of america and its president to pay particular attention to the humanitarian needs of ukraine. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kaptur: the ukranian orthodox church, the archbishop catholic the greek ofht and a rabbi who is head the jewish faith that have presence in that country. and i ask unanimous consent that they be placed in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kaptur: united states has more than just a moral and strategic duty to the sovereign people of ukraine. 20 years ago, the united states, ukraine and the russian federation with the united kingdom came together to find the budapest agreement. this agreement reafffirmed the signatory nations, to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of ukraine. and in return for that promise of protecting those borders, ukraine dismantled its vast nuclear weapons complex, the third largest in the world. with that memorandum in hand, ukraine did what it promised, but what about the other signatory to that agreement? today the budapest memorandum appears to be a hollow promise. it comes as little surprise that russia would break that promise but disappoints me to no end that the free world led by the united states of america seems reluctant to honor its promises to take a more effective role as a coalition of nations and civil society organizations to help ukraine stand on its own in the face of internal carnage perpetrated by russia. nato supreme allied commander in europe, a man who knows an enormous amount about that continent recently expressed his deep concern that our focus has been pulled away from russia's proxy invasion of ukraine. i quote him. folks have taken their eye off of ukraine a little bit because of syria. according to him, the situation is similar to how the world lost focus on the russian invasion of crimea which the united states still considers ukranian territory after russia invaded eastern ukraine. fighting in a region in ukraine has fluctuated and ukranian territory remains under russian occupation with no withdrawal in sight. congress took initial steps to address ukraine's need last year just about a year ago with ukraine freedom support act, legislation we fought hard to pass and which most of our colleagues voted to support. however, conditions continue to worsen. a report of the council of europe acknowledges that the fighting in the east, which began in the spring of 2014 has resulted in extensive damage to schools, to medical facilities, leaving local populations increasingly dependent on outside aid. assistance is needed to meet basic needs and access to clean water, which is a problem ,3,,000. or 1 i sent a letter to victor newland to call for the united states to work with the ukranian government and russia to restore access to humanitarian workers to allow aid to proceed, in particular, i identified the need for access to and this is in working with the religious leaders of ukraine for these quilts, heating stoves, direct financial assistance to these religious groups to help them help others, water pumping station equipment to prevent freezing. electrical repair kits and tools, coal, batteries, clothing and every day necessities, including medical equipment, basic and specialized medicines, emergency medical kits, shoes, socks, long underwear, coats, mittens, hats, redevelopment assistance including economic aid and tools as well as equipment to repair homes, bridges and roads. they don't even request new material. they just request help. i just think to myself how much is thrown away in landfills across this country, items that still have good wear and good possibility. how much is thrown away at construction sites and what we could do to help the people of ukraine. these items are more than just objects to the people of ukraine, it is life itself. the people of ukraine wants desperately to stand on their own to access to the european continent and govern themselves in the light of liberty. i have seen it in their eyes. let us help them weather this terrible storm now. my heavens, if the united states of america could lead the berlin airlift after world war ii in those old tired planes, sending goods to the people of europe, to the people of western yupe them to give them hope, do you mean to tell me that the united states of america can't figure this out especially when the congress has put money in the department of state and department of defense to carry this out with organizations across this great land? last month the all ukranian council of churches and organizations, coming together of diverse religious faiths which represent 85% of ukranian population presented president obama with a letter i referenced earlier, appealing on behalf of the people of ukraine to help dress the humanitarian catastrophe. each is a daily witness of the need of the people suffering because of this unnecessary brutal war, where over 8,000 have already been killed, 17,610 wounded. that was the figure as of october. 2.6 million people internally displaced. five million in need of aid, including 1.7 million children and one in five homes of displaced families damaged or destroyed. surely the free world can figure this out. in marking -- and i do have to say a word about this. a few weeks ago, i stood here in washington with many distinguished ukranian leaders ncluding the first lady of kraine, his holyness, and my dear friend and ukraine caucus co-chair, representative levin to dedicate a memorial in our nation capital to the soviet union's forced starvation of between 2.5 million and 7.5 mill i don't know ukranians whose names are lost to history forever. i think america should also consider doing this humanitarian lift to ukraine because frankly no place on earth suffered more in the last century from brutal turny than did ukraine. perhaps something is owed to those people for what they endured and for the spark of liberty that still breathes so strongly in their hearts and minds. in marking the brutal tragedy of the forced famine, i'm reminded of the importance of teaching the cost of liberty, the need to fight for it and the legacy of that people. through this memorial, we saw to better guard against any oppressive regime that would seek to rule over any people. for at that time, our nation respond reveal and to to that ongoing brutality of forced starvation in ukraine. had the free world acted then, we might have changed the fate of millions. but that did not happen. let us not repeat the blindness of the past. america must act with dispatch to support the freedom-loving people of ukraine. time and again, in moments when the world has found itself at a crossroads, american leadership and action has made the difference. we must be prepared to join with others in this effort to save the children, to save the families, to save the people of ukraine and in doing so, to let liberty march forward. we must do the right thing for our brothers and sisters in liberty. america must act. and we must act as leaders. ukraine is waiting. the world is waiting. i call upon the president of the united states and the obama administration to do what is necessary and achievable to meet the growing humanitarian crisis in ukraine, to relieve the unnecessary suffering of their people and prevent a gigantic refugee crisis from spilling over and impacting european stability. mr. speaker, i would like to also place in the record as part of the special order this evening, remarks by the gentleman from pennsylvania, congressman ryan costello, who could not be here tonight for this special order, but supports these efforts. and in his formal statement includes the important role that the people of southeastern pennsylvania have played in keeping a focus on ukraine and this ongoing tragedy and what the united states of america can do at very little cost to the people here by the mobilization of the hearts of the american people to provide humanitarian assistance to help save ukraine in our own time and day. thank you so much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. general leave is granted. the gentlewoman yields back. does the gentlewoman have a otion? ms. kaptur: i offer a motion to adjourn the speaker pro tempore: the motion is on the question to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, this house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomor quick she was such an authentic person. i always thought there was more to the story of lady bird that had been covered. she became i think the first modern first lady. she had a big staff, she had a very important project, she wrote her book as soon as she left the white house. the moderninvented first lady. >> sunday night on q&a. she incorporates recently released pages of the former first lady's diaries, giving you an inside look at the marriage and political partnership of lady bird and lyndon johnson. >> she is a perfect example of the conclusion i came to which inthose women saw something those men, the ambition, the opportunity to really climate make a work -- make a mark in the world and they married them in spite of parental objections. so she is a good example of that. that's why i decided i had to find out more about her. >> president obama met today with other heads of state at the u.n. climate change conference in paris. then in a press briefing, the president talked about the environment, russia's military involvement in serious civil war, the planned parenthood cleaning in colorado, and securing turkeys borders. this is 50 minutes. president obama: good afternoon. once again, i want to thank the people of france and president élan for their extraordinary hospitality. hosting nearly 200 nations is an enormous task for anybody, but to do so just two weeks after the terrorist attacks here is a remarkable display of resolve. that's why the first place i visited when i arrived on sunday an, so thathe batacl i could pay my respects on behalf of the american people, who share the french people's resolve. it was a powerful reminder of the awful human toll of those attacks. our hearts continue to go out to the victims families. paris, we also see the resilience of the universal values that we share. and based on my discussions with president élan -- president and other leaders, i'm confident that we can continue building momentum and adding resources to our effort to get -- to the and ultimately destroy isil, to disrupt plots against america and our allies, and to bring about the political resolution necessary to resolve the situation and syria and relieve the hardships on the syrian people. this has been a quick visit. of course all visits to paris seem quick. you always want to stay a little bit longer. but we have accomplished a lot here. i have high hopes that over the next two weeks we will accomplish even more. theow some have asked why world would dedicate some of our focus right now to combating climate change, even as we work to protect our people and go after terrorists networks. the reason is because this one trend, climate change, affects trends. if we let the world keep warming as fast as it is an sea levels rising as fast as they are, and whether patterns keep shifting in more unexpected ways, then before long we will have to ofote more and more and more our economic and military resources not to growing opportunity for our people, but to adapting to the very consequences of the changing planet. this is an economic and security imperative that we have to tackled now. handle a nations can lot at once. america is already leading on many issues and climate is no different. we've made significant progress at home, increasing production of clean energy, working to reduce emissions while our businesses have kept creating jobs for 16 straight months and we have been able to lower our unemployment rate to 5% in the process. since we work to china last year to show that the two largest economies can cooperate on climate, more than 180 countries and followed our lead announcing their own targets. the task that remains here in paris is to turn these achievements into an enduring framework for progress that gives the world confidence in a low carbon future. yesterday, but we seek is an agreement where progress pays the way for countries to update their emissions targets on a regular basis, and each nation has the confidence that other nations are meeting their commitments. we seek an agreement that makes sure developing nations have the resources they need to skip the dirty phase of development if they're willing to do their part, and that makes sure the nations most vulnerable to climate change have resources to adapt to the impacts we can no longer avoid. we seek an agreement that gives businesses and investors the certainty that the global economy is on a firm path towards a low-carbon future, because that will spur the kind of investment that will be vital to combine reduced emissions with economic growth. that's the goal. not just an agreement to roll back the pollution that threatens our planet, but an agreement that helps our economies grow and our people to thrive without condemning the next generation to a planet that is beyond its capacity to repair. now, all of this will be hard. getting 200 nations to agree on anything is hard. and i'm sure there will be moments over the next two weeks where progress seems stymied, and everyone rushes to write that we are doomed. but i'm convinced that we're going to get big things done here. keep in mind, nobody expected that 180 countries would show up in paris with serious climate targets in hand. nobody expected that the price of clean energy would fall as fast as it has, or that back in the united states, the solar industry would be creating jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy. nobody expected that more than 150 of america's biggest companies would pledge their support to an ambitious paris outcome -- or that a couple dozen of the world's wealthiest private citizens would join us here to pledge to invest unprecedented resources to bring clean energy technologies to market faster. what gives me confidence that progress is possible is somebody like bill gates -- who i was with yesterday -- understands that tackling climate change is not just a moral imperative, it's an opportunity. without batting an eye, he said we're just going to have to go ahead and invent some new technologies to tackle this challenge. that kind of optimism, that kind of sense that we can do what is necessary is infectious. and you tend to believe somebody like bill when he says that we're going to get it done -- since he's done some pretty remarkable things. and i believe that a successful two weeks here could give the world that same kind of optimism that the future is ours to shape. so, with that, i'm going to take a few questions. we'll start with jerome cartillier of ap. where's jerome? >> good morning, sir, and thank you, mr. president. for months now, you've been asking mr. putin to play basically a more constructive role in syria, basically shifting from defending assad to attacking isil. it appears your calls have not been heard. what's your strategy going forward? president obama: well, i'm not sure that's true. the fact that the vienna process is moving forward, steadily -- not conclusively, but steadily -- i think is an indication that mr. putin recognizes there is not going to be a military resolution to the situation in syria. the russians now have been there for several weeks, over a month, and i think fair-minded reporters who looked at the situation would say that the situation hasn't changed significantly. in the interim, russia has lost a commercial passenger jet. you've seen another jet shot down. there have been losses in terms of russian personnel. and i think mr. putin understands that, with afghanistan fresh in the memory, for him to simply get bogged down in a inconclusive and paralyzing civil conflict is not the outcome that he's looking for. now, where we continue to have an ongoing difference is not on the need for a political settlement; it's the issue of whether mr. assad can continue to serve as president while still bringing the civil war to an end. it's been my estimation for five years now that that's not possible. regardless of how you feel about mr. assad -- and i consider somebody who kills hundreds of thousands of his own people illegitimate -- but regardless of the moral equation, as a practical matter, it is impossible for mr. assad to bring that country together and to bring all the parties into an inclusive government. it is possible, however, to preserve the syrian state, to have an inclusive government in which the interests of the various groups inside of syria are represented. and so, as part of the vienna process, you're going to see the opposition groups -- the moderate opposition groups that exist within syria -- some of which, frankly, we don't have a lot in common with but do represent significant factions inside of syria -- they'll be coming together in order for them to form at least a negotiating unit or process that can move vienna forward. and we're going to just keep on working at this. and my hope and expectation is, is that political track will move at the same time as we continue to apply greater and greater pressure on isil. and with the contributions that the french have made, the germans have recently announced additional resources to the fight, the brits have been steady partners in iraq and i think are now very interested in how they can expand their efforts to help deal with isil inside of syria -- with not just the cohesion of the coalition the united states put together but also the increasing intensity of our actions in the air and progressively on the ground, i think it is possible over the next several months that we both see a shift in calculation in the russians and a recognition that it's time to bring the civil war in syria to a close. it's not going to be easy. too much blood has been shed, too much infrastructure has been destroyed, too many people have been displaced, for us to anticipate that it will be a smooth transition. and isil is going to continue to be a deadly organization -- because of its social media, the resources that it has and the networks of experienced fighters that it possesses -- is going to continue to be a serious threat for some time to come. but i'm confident that we are on the winning side of this and russia is going to recognize the threat that isil sold poses to its people. themselves with those of us who are fighting isil. reporter: to follow on that did you calculation, receive assurances from president putin or president , as far as targeting that that will be the focus of russia's military campaign going forward? change, the outstanding issue seems to

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