committee and technology committee. and a member from the energy and commerce committee. whenever we talk about the issue of privacy we turn to the democrat from california. what is your interest in all of the privacy issues? >> guest: it is rooted in the constitution. if you are in timidated the government is tracking you it feels with the 4th amendment but the 1st amendment, too. the citizens have a right to speak their mind and say what they think is wrong. there are technology issues that i care about. but the real issue is rooted in american freedom. >> host: the fiscal act? >> guest: it was huge. the usa freedom act ended up probably increasing the amount of survilance of legally possible rather than decreasing it which was a great disappointment to me and i think very unfair to the representative and he might disdegree but he is honorable and worked hard to improve the situation. the bill was weakened but we worked through the bill and committee. i still supported it because at that time it improved the situation at least. then after the markup it changed in a way for the worse. it was of course rushed to the floor. i added up how much time opponents had to speak. three and a half minutes to say what was wrong with it. that wasn't possible to do obviously. a lot of the >> kristina trinkle: texas 12 -- 123 to stand for the moment. and it was thrilling to stand for the constitution on a bipartisan bases. >> host: what are the chances of that making it through on the senate side? >> guest:. i don't know. i am never confidant when i try to predict what the united states senate will do. but it will help those trying to make sure we have a constitutional structure when dealing with nsa surveillance. it will help them prevail knowing the house overwhelmingly 3-1 believes in the constitution. whether it is the usa freedom act or whatnot they will have to figure out but i am hopefully we will have a constitutional structure. i did an e-mail to my e-mail list asking them what do you think about this? this is the right thing because it is unconstitutional to do without a warrant. it was huge. 87% said you need a warrant. the american people, i believe, think the constitution matters and i hope the senators do. >> host: you work in a bipartisan bases? >> guest: i do. if you don't agree with someone hundred percent of the time that is no excuse for working with them on something you do. if you look at congressman massy and i we were the co-sponsors. we don't agree on many but we did on this and worked together with other democrats. it is people who could agree on the need for the constitution. people should take comfort in that. people working together for the call common cause on the common good. >> host: how active is your subcommittee on the telecom issues with technology involved? >> guest: not as much as we should be. there is a review under the hearing. i think there is issues relative to how artist are compensated that deserve attention and artist have a complaint about compensation. but i think it has failed to include how to make that happen with the technology industry as much as it could have. we will see where that ends up. >> host: your district in northern california has a lot of tech companies. and southern california with a lot of artist. so you held a hearing on music licenses. are there competing forces in your own state? >> guest: talking to the music folks -- they see the technology sector as the delivery platform. more music is streamed than bought by cd or even downloaded. the tech and artist community need to talk together about how to make it work for the country and there is more of that dialogue going on. if we could get the business interest on board and working out the technical details so it is fair that is likely going to be better than the congress legislating something. >> host: what is the status of copy right legislation? does it stand a chance in the congress? >> guest: i don't know. i had a bill to fix the cellphone unlooking situation. we had a bill that i agreeed to cosponsor and i wasn't needed but to be the good guy i supported it. but the real fix is in changing section 1201 of the act so that you protect copyright instead of focusing on technology. that hasn't been heard. and after the bill was passed we marked it up from committee and it was secretly changed so it was a technology protection. it was brought to the floor on suspension, most members didn't realize that the changes had been included. i was at the airport. i didn't even get a chance to speak on it. jarred pollace spoke briefly. but that is not the way we should legislate or the way the bud body is setup. >> host: what happens when you are at the airport and learn about this stuff? >> i heard about it on saturday in an e-mail and asked a chairman about it but he didn't know. they proceeded anyway. unfortunately the plane didn't have wi-fi. >> host: i wanted to ask you about immigration which is a big issue for the tech community. >> guest: for all communities. the speaker announced we are not doing immigration reform. i think that is a great disappointment. if you go out and ask anybody is your first choice do nothing -- that is not going to be people's choice. some might have disagreements about how to fix a broken system but to do nothing is not what the people sent us here to but apparently that is the speaker's decision. i am going to urge the president he do everything he legally can within current law to make the system work better. there are tools provided in the toolbox provided and he should make use of them. some help separated families, the technology industry and in some cases he cannot do what needs to be done because the law itself needs to be changed. but he needs max out on permitted regulations. >> host: over the past year we have seen several articles and reports about the technology community increasing its presence in washington, d.c. are they starting to -- is washington starting to understand, do you think, the tech community more than it did in the past? >> not really. not for the most part. when they increase their presence 300 percent there is still a small percentage of the old industries that have been here a long time. unfortunately unless you have a basic understanding of the technology itself when unfortunately not everyone does, you are going to make mistakes here. >> host: fcc, net neutrality wrapping up. >> guest: i saw. i have not read the comments. i saw some were pro-fanity laced. one of the big issues in the valley and country is net neutrality which is a term a lot of people don't understand but if you want to decide what you see on the internet or a company to decide? the answer is overwhelming. it is up to me. people don't want to turn the internet into cable tv and that is what the net neutrality fight is about. the solutions are not obvious. we may need to reclassify to internet but we don't want a heavy regulatory hand on the internet. so i think it is appropriate for the fcc to be getting the comments. there a number of creative suggestions coming in. but we need to keep in mind internet like cable tv or internet with the internet and stick with the latter. >> host: would you be okay with reclassificati reclassification? >> guest: i might be if it had provisions of not getting into heavy handed mode. we don't want the government to be regulating content or access either. so as i say it isn't an easy solution but the need for the right solution to keep the internet three is obvious. and some of my colleagues say don't want to start regulating. people have to recall the principle of net neutrality is what lowed the internet to grow. that was the rule of law and we should get back there. >> host: thank you for your time z oe lofgren. >> host: what is the dot com bill? >> guest: the basic premise of the dot com act is to make sure when the last control over the domain name system that we know what we are getting ourselves into. there is a talk of multi-stake holder approach. some governments and businesses are in favor of it. in hearings i found it difficult to define what it means. for some it means tech community and non-government organizations and everyone is involved working for the good of the whole and moving forward. you hear some governments say multi-stakeholder? that means we will be more involved and i would say some organizations and governments that may not be friend to us or internet freedom. so that is why this bill, which is crafted carefully, because a lot of us co-sponsored the bill thought we might be able to go in this direction one day, we are trying to figure out what that means before we let the horse out of the barn and to get definitions because once we release it, we may not get it back. and the rest of the thing that is part of the debating position is -- we have more internet freedom than we ever had. this system was birthed in the united states and grow up and now the whole word enjoys the benefits of a open, transparent system of communication. we would say where is the problem and there is a concern there maybe. >> host: we are talking about the assignment of names and numbers. who runs i can now? >> guest: i can isn't a government organization or nti which is government agency under the department of commerce has kind of the last oversight of kr i can. there is an agreement for them to be doing the job of assigning names and numbers in the domain space but what some people in the international community -- there is a fear on both sides and what is interesting about the bill is there is the same fear on both sides. there is a fear from those saying don't do this because you will empower the government to say we don't trust the united states and we will take it over for ourselves or we want it. or there is people who say well, if we are not careful and don't gate definition of the multistakeholders who is to say they will not allow concerns the bill is simple. all it asks for is a government accountability report, or ig, in essence to say let's look at this, report back to us so we can have as much facts as we can before we release i can. the administration seems to be in a hurry. but i can has made numerous statements this is going to take a while and the transition isn't going on overnight. we are saying let's do the report if it will take a while. it is really curious how controversial this has become which i don't think there shouldn't be any merit for controversy here. >> host: we are nearing august in an election year. what are the chances of this happening in this congress? >> guest: well i have been a member a long time. i love the job. appreciate by the voters sending me back. observers of the institution know that stuff like this may not get finished before we break for an election but folks know we come back and things on the selves that are ready to go could move rapidly through the process. there is some concerns raised by senators in the other chamber not to appoint where a bill has been dropped but where letters have been host: who is going to be running the internet? is there an internet manager out there? >> the question is who is setting the rules for the severs to talk to each other and the fear is that if we don't have an international system people will brock off and that is what the tech community fears as a whole. we are still, you know, a great nation, major commerce industry flows here, i think it would be tough to opt out of the system without having the united states as part of their access for jobs, information sharing and the like. i have heard the arguments on both sides and i reject the premise. >> host: we see examples where they slop and stop traffic like egypt or iran. is that a fear if i can is a multi stakeholder corporation? >> guest: not if it is defined. who is going to be on the board? turkey slowed down the twitter field. in this world and environment saying that is not happening? it is happening. who is the governing body. they just met. the french representative had a fight over the wine.com and also stopped the whole system over regionalization of a product and the way it is named represents an area of france and they don't want the world saying campagna on the internet sight when there is a location in france where only that type of product is made. can you imagine if we going to have a battle that the shutdown the internet debut over campa a campagna? what would happen in the process of the right to discourse? >> host: if the act doesn't pass, what happens? >> guest: the administration keeps moving forward. if friends think is going to be okay, i would hope they are right. >> host: can you as a member of congress ask for a goa report? >> guest: you can. and that is what the senators were in the process of doing. what good is a report if it comes out bad and they made the transition? there is a reason to tie it to the final approval because again what good is a report -- we should have gotten this a week earlier. it isn't like this administration would move previous to having a good analysis of what may happen. >> representative you serve on the energy and commerce committee. the fcc wrapped up their comment period on the set neutrality rules and potential actions. what are your thoughts about net neutrality? >> guest: that is a great question. the chairman is in the hot side on both sides. but where i don't agree with chairman wheeler on a lot, but i do agree if you want to be a major use of bandwith you ought to pay. i do it from the market capitalist model. what my liberal friends thing is this is a constrained type. it can't grow. so we have to get involved and access and have to regulate and have a place on the beat and make sure no one. i would like to spend, especially for products like movies, send a market fee or charge. and i think and i used this numerous tiles in committee hearings and that way to segue into the debate. no one has ever come back and said it doesn't work for that. but you hear the debate and it is against a restricted supply versus more. i am always going to be on sight for more. capital flow, market system, everybody gets more. if you let it work, government has to be here and watch this. and innocentvise -- it will not work >> host: the other half is the potential reclassification of the internet. is that going to happen? and what are your thoughts? >> guest: i hope it does nullnd. it is a terrible idea. it is using law passed in the '30s dealing with cable and internet and make it a utility. again, no one can look at me with a straight face and say that the internet communication system over the past 18 years has moved exponentially and why would you want to federally regulate it? that is crazy. >> secretary of state john kerry talked about the israeli-palestinian conflict. you can see the remarks online but here is some of what he said. >> as you know, i just returned from the middle east and from paris where i had a series of discussions aimed at de-escalating the conflict and ending the rocket and tunnel attacks against israeli civilians and easing the suffering of innocent people everywhere in gaza, israel and the west bank. today we are continuing to work toward establishing an unconditional humanitarian seize fire. one that could begin now and that will stop the fighting. allow desperately needed food and medicine into gaza and enable israel to address the threat, which we fully understand, and which is real, the threat posed by tunnel attacks and to be able to do so without having to resort to combat. that is what could come from a seize fire. we believe the momentum generated boy a humanitarian seize fair fire is the best way to negotiate and find out if you can put in place a sustainable seize fire. one that addresses all of the concerns. the long-term concerns as well. begin to talk about the underlying causes of the conflicts in gaza but they will not be resolved in the contest of the seas fire. it stops the violence that catches innocence in all sides in the cross fire and try to build a sustainable way forward. we also believe any process to provide care to gaza must lead the to disarmorment of hamas and all terrorist groups. we will work closely are israel and partners in support of this goal. we will continue to have these discussions. our discussions over there succeeded in putting a 12-hour humanitarian seize fire in place. as the rollover time for that occurred, regrettablely there were misunderings about 12 hours versus 23. so we are trying to work hard to see if these issues can be clarified in a way that allow the party, allow israel, the palestinian authority and the factions and the other countries involved, working through the egyptia initiative to be able to find way to silence the weapons long enough to be able to negotiate. >> a couple live events to tell you about on c-span 3. >> the house judiciary committee committees hears from a the agency that oversees immigration issues. and ukrainian foreign minister is in washington to meet with the secretary of state kerry and members of congress about the united states response to the situation in his country. social security will be saul volvent for the next 16 years. this is a little more than half an hour. they said they were unsustainable and needed to be changed. good afternoon. welcome. every year the social security and medicare boards of trustees provide a report to congress on the program. this morning they met to complete their annual financial review and transmit the final reports. i would like to thank my fellow trustees and their staff for the hard work. social security and medicare are the most important programs in the united states. they have driven vast improvements and cut elderly poverty by 2/3rds and improving mortality rates by 23%. they are secure right now as the report makes clear and will remain secure in the years ahead. the reports remind us that we must reform the programs if we want to keep them sound for future generations. the projections are the same as last year and those in medicare show improvement. social security and retirement disability have funds for the next 19 years. after that time, it is projected that tax income will be sufficient to finance about three quarters of scheduled benefits. but social security has dedicated funds for only two years. in 2016, projected tax income will finance about 80% of benefits. legislative is needed to avoid reductions in a vulnerable population. this year the trustees reduced the projection for near-term spending growth. the trustees project that the medicare hospital insurance trust fund has resources to cover benefits until 2030 and four additioned years projected in the record last year and 13 more than the last report prior to the passage of the affordable care act. it underscores making reforms to social security and medicare. as the largest generation in american history enters retirement the pressure on the programs is going and we must make changes now so we don't have the make drastic changes later. the president is committed to putting social security and medicare on a stronger footing and put forward a plan to fix the finances. the president is ready to work with congress it usher in responsible reforms and prepared to make tough choices but the president doesn't support proposals that would hurt americans that depend on the programs today or slash benefits for future we prepare to mark anniversa anniversary, we know that medicare is stronger than it was just four years ago. the life of the medicare trust fund has been extended, cost growth is down, the quality of care our parents and grandparents are receiving is improvi improving, it is easier for them to afford prescriptions and get flu shots and diabetes test. the report we are introducing ad added to the affordability claim. last year's report estimated the life fund would be funded for 2026 and in 2009 it was 2017. second, the report finds medicare spending per beneficiary is growing slower than the overall economy. per capita spending grow at .8% over the last four years significantly lower than the growth per capita of 3.1%. finally i want to highlight the report's finding that the part b premium growth has slowed. our proliminary suggest that they will be the same at $104.90 that they were in 2014 and 2013. that is a growth rate of 0 percent. while we need to continue to focus on the long term health of these trust as the secretary mentioned, all of these factors do add up to a stronger medicare. one that means we are better positioned to support our parents and grandparents as they age. with that i introduce secretary perez. good afternoon. this year 1-5 americans will receive social security benefits and 2/3rds of them the benefits account for more than half of their income. older women because they earn less and work longer are reliant on social security. it is important to acknowledge a year ago we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the equal pay act. these gender wage gaps persist as women continue to earn less over their lifetime from their male counter parts it means less they have to save for retirements and receive smaller social security benefits once they stopped working. putting more people to work is crucial for the health of the social security and medicare trust funds and we made huge strides in his area. over the last 52 months we have seen private sector job growth and that is the longest streak on record and we have been keeping records since 1940. the first six months of job growth in 2014 were the strongest since 1999. we have added 10 million new sector jobs. the unemployment rate is down from 7.5% to 6.1%. these are critical issues that affect the financial health of the trust fund because it is not separate from the health of the labor market. the health of the di trust fund is noted in the report and one thing we are doing at the department of labor is making sure people with disabilities have access to the work place. we are implementing a part relating to section 503 that will increase the number of people with disabilities in the workplace. we are working with employers and other key stakeholders and working with my friend on increasing the number of workers with disabilities who can punch their work ticket and go to middle class. they want nothing more to work, feeling they contribu utute to r community and they want to pay taxes. our skills and training agenda, the agenda of job creation is critically helpful in strengthening the social security and medicare trust fund because a strong economy means a strong social security and medicare system. with that, let me friend to carolyn collivan. the social security programs are important for the millions of people that receive benefits. 95% of people are receiving or expecting to receive benefits. as trustees we are responsible for annually reporting on the status of the two programs. the security trust fund reserves are projected to become depleted in 2033 if no legislative changes are made between now and then. continuing income would be sufficient to support 77% of scheduled benefits thchlt ye year -- this year is unchanged from last year. lawmakers should act soon to phase in necessary changes. this gives working, employers and beneficiaries time to adjust to whatever changes are made. the long-range status in this report is slightly less favorable than that shown in the 2013 report. the estimated deficit for the combined social security trust increased from 2.72% of pay roll in last year's report to 2.88% of taxable payroll in this report. this can be attributed to the change in the starting one from 2013-2014 and changings in assumptions and starting data values. the resevers are projected to become depleted than combined social security funds. the depletion occurring in 2016 without further action. the disability program is a vital pot of the safety net. it is of importance to 11 million receiving benefits but it protects all working americans who will need rely on this program to replace their income if they become disarabled in the future. we owe these people a program that is secure and gives timely payments. i will introduce chuck house. >> and i would like to start by thanking the staff, and many dedicated staff of the offices of the social security instruction office and the administration office. since i am the sole republican on the committee i will value the integrity of these. i would like to say thanks for manage this securely. i want to thank the federal trustee bob. the opportunity to learn from bob has been the single-best experience as a public trustee. what seems to become our tradition is i will speak about the social security report and bob takes on the medicare report. the long-term picture this year looks similar to last year's report but the short-term picture is more urgent. we are now but two years from the depletion of disability insurance trust fund in the fourth quarter of 2016. upon the depletion of the reserves there is only sufficient revenue to finance 81% of the benefit. the social security program faces policy challenges but it is important to understand the financing program with medicare is just as severe. the old age and survivors fund faces the larger shortfall. it is equal to 2.55 percent of the programs tax base in worker taxable wages. on the disability side it is .33%. combined it is 2.88 percent of taxable payroll. stow is primarily a symptom of finance strains that affect the plans under law. the primary point we are hitting the depletion point is the baby boomers are in the process of converting from disability to retirement benefits and shifting the pressures to the fund. by any objective measure it is getting late in the game to forge bipartisan com promises for the funds. it is relevant to the economy today more so than the one closed in 1983. the 1983 amendments were controversial and came close to not happening. the longer the legislative action continues to be defered the less likely they will be able to preserve the structure and each year we delay we reduce the number of cohurts. by 2033, the required payroll tax rate to pay the benefits would be 16.6% and that is an increase in 1/3 of social security tax burdens. if we reduced benefits across the board those would have to be 23% and apply to people on the benefits rolls and not people newly coming on. it would be no longer possible to balance between reductions. the moral of the illustration is a solution delays is a solution less likely to occur. now social security's method may not be perfect but it has been accepted on a bipartisan bases for several decades. it isn't a trival exercise to provide a scale on social security. let me talk about the brief changes in the technology sector. we slightly lowered the long-term price inflation to reflect existing trend and policies. we made a slight downward ratio of taxable earning related to total. revenue for social security are a function of taxable earnings whereas benefits grow in por por portion to growth. they added 0.1 percent it the deficit and together it account for the increase of last year's estimate of it 2.7% of taxable payroll to a deficit of 8.8 percent this year. our long-term outlook hasn't changed but we are running out of time to change the regulat n regulations before the funds run o out. because disability and old age insurance is being changed together lawmakers would be wise to act. with that, i turn it over to bob. good afternoon. thank you, chuck, for your remarks. i have found it a tremendous pleasure to work with chuck ever the last four years. i want to extend my appreciation to secretary lou and the other trustees for their contributions to this process. and also to the staff that represented them in their deliberations throughout the year. the staff has shown incredible dedication, commitment and expertise as we put thus together. and staff. we ensure the public that the estimates in the report are objective, use the best data and information available and employ the most appropriate >> the brought broader broader the policies we can consider and the greater the solutions will be crafted that are balanced. i will say a few words about the medicare report. one of them being wonky. the first is that unlike other reports the part b are not current law projections in they don't assume there is going to be a sharp decline in fee payment rates as called by for the sustainable growth rate mechanisms that have been waved. instead we have given the projection that it assumed that lawmakers will increase physician payments by 6/10th of a percent a year when the current sgr fix runs out in march of 2015 and that will continue to 2023. the 6/10th increase is the average increase that lawmakers provided over the decade that proceeds march 2015 when they have waved the srg rules. this baseline change should be making the projections a bit more useful than they have been in the past when they drop the status. the alternative assumptions in which the world is more pessimistic with in the report. they are contrasted at various places and explained in more detail of appendix c. the second part is what reaction lawmakers and the public should have to the improvement in the situation which a number of fellow trustees explained and it is role. nominal changes have been unchanged for two years and grown slowly over the past four year. the part b premium in 2015 is expected to be the same as it this year and was in the previous year. the esmates for the 75 year sef deficit declined from the 2012 report to 1.1 percent of payroll in 2013 report and now down to .87 percent of payroll in this year's report. this report has you heard projects the hi trust fund will be depleted in 2030. four years later than last year and last year's report moved it from 2024 to 2026. some might be tempted to conclude that medicare maybe healing its maladies all by itself and nole further action will be needed. that would not be a prudent conclusion to reach. projections of health expending in the private and public section are uncertainty. the depletion rate has moved six years further into the future over the course of the last three reports it is worth remembering that between the 2010-2011 report it moved five years in the other direction and 11 years ago the projection was 11 years closer a between the 2002-2004 reports. this arises because the base year data, off of which the projections are made, are subject to revision. the balances and part-b spending affected by the strength of the economy. tech nilogical developments. shifts in changes in which health care providers deliver services to beneficiary clients and the non-elderly. each of these introduces uncertainty in the estimates. uncertainty that grows the further out our projection extends. i found myself among those who are optimistic that the recent slow down and growth of spending will continue. our latest projection shows that income will grow faster than the workers income. i conquer with the word repeated in the report and the message that not withstanding the encouragi encouraging experience of the past few years, further legislation will be needed to address the shortfalls of part a and the rising cost of part b. and the sooner lawmakers face reality the better. thank you. >> i think to thank all of my colleagues and trustees for the work to put it together and for the staff for supporting the effort. we will take a few questions from all of you. >> if you could please wait for the microphone to get to you. >> secretary, we have had a couple democrats proposed some changes in the payroll tax allocation to send more money to the disability trust fund. do you support that? >> damian, let me tell you that in the past when we had a situation like this the measures taken in the short term at least to deal with was to do a reallocation of the payroll test rates to support the disability fund. if you look until now and 2016 there is probably no other alternative that could produce the desired results between now and then. so i think it is going to be important for there to be legislation that does reallocate the disability fund. and as we go through the process of looking more broadly at the reforms needed to deal with the longer term questions. i want to underscore that we do have in our budget a number of provisions that would improve program integrity in the disability program and we will continue to push that forward. ... >> other questions? >> i am with the associated press. i would like to ask what is behind the ongoing slowdown of health care cost and how long will that continue? >> lots of things are behind the slowdown and as you know, better than most there is the active debate going on among experts in this area how much is due to the weak economy or to the legislative changes of the affordable care act or how much is due to pressures exerted in the private sector and public sector with a lower utilization with intensity. i think we are probably many years away from being able to allocate these factors with any kind of precision. the question also involves how long will this go on? with respect to medicare we have quite slow growth going out the next couple of years and i think that is a safe assumption into the private sector as well. fee increase of the burden placed on consumers outside of medicare through the high deductible plans. with their choice of providers is dampening spending as well. i have no definitive answer for you. >> there are four points the first is that there is a active debate, how much changes the health care sector in that debate is that the trustees will not settle. you have to remember we're dealing with projections of the future. there is a great sensitivity with trendlines going for word. we are projecting a more favorable trend based on data received today but most of that as a change projection for the future but the amount it has approved to date and and then set at 76 it is a little better but most of that improvement is in the future so we have to be cautious to win for the reality is that much better already to look at a more favorable trend going forward. the third point is don't get too hung up on insolvency. and second, the trust fund balance and dynamics is very different from social security. on that side there is a relatively large buildup with the trust fund and the rather precipitous drawdown but we start off with a very shallow balance with one year's worth of reserves in the trust fund and there will be a very shallow balance for many years. a slight lead could do just that by several years it is with the trust fund balance we had one year and now it is further out and the last point is one has to remember all along that methodology is assuming the substantial slowdown over the next 75 years is starting to occur but that does not mean reality is that much better but that perhaps this is validated as being realistic but but on top of that going for word in that latter years huge you are assuming the rate of growth in medicare. we hope that trend continues. we have been assuming for a long time this will play out in a more favorable direction:former. >> we will take a 15 minute break then reconvene with the senior administration officials. [inaudible conversations] >> in terms of the military equipment the russians are providing those are the main elements but there are others but in terms of heavy weaponry those are the elements. >> going back to what josh said about russia and putin being more culpable, is there any chance or a possibility putin could be charged? >> when it comes to russia culpability they have been directly supporting the separatist and we believe what was used to shoot down the malaysian airliner came from russia. we don't know who was operating the weapons could have come to russia and the top three russian separatists are nationalists so russia has a significance over the separatist and if it so desired coasters cease and desist. so there is a clear and ongoing culpability to deal escalate the situation that all of this has happened including the issue down the point -- pointing exactly we don't know yet to see who handles that information but through increasing support russia bears responsibility for everything it that is going on. >> i now want to get ahead of anything but the point is to emphasize russia bears responsibility and has the ability to do escalate the crisis. that is what we would like to see. [inaudible conversations] good morning everybody. how are you? every but a good? david i want you out here with me. i will make a statement and then i need to rush out to because i have follicles in about 10 minutes. i will leave them with you david is the nominee so cannot say anything at this time by what you to be introduced to all of you as three release international religious freedom report that is a very important statement that underscores a major challenge around the world. it is a pleasure to introduce president obama is nominee to serve as our ambassador at large for religious freedom and when confirmed and if confirmed by the united states senate shall lead our efforts to make progress on this issues by the rabbi but before we begin to want to say a few words with the events in gaza and what is happening or what we are trying to do do. i just returned from the middle east and paris were i had a series of discussions aimed at the escalating the conflict to end the rocket and tunnel attacks against israeli surveillance -- civilians and end the suffering of innocent people everywhere. from the west bank a and israel and the gaza. we're continuing to work to establish the unconditional humanitarian cease-fire that could begin now or stop the fighting to allow desperately needed medicine and other supplies into gaza to enable israel to address the threat which we fully endorse sandy and which is real of the tunnel attacks and to be able to do so without resorting to combat that is what has come from the cease-fire. we believe the momentum generated by age humanitarian cease-fire is the best way to put in place a sustainable cease-fire that addresses all of those concerns and long term as well to talk about the underlying causes of conflict although they will not all be resolved in the context of the cease-fire sustainable discussion but it is important to try to build on the process and that is what we try to achieve the only way it ultimately this will be resolved hopefully if we can make some progress people in and so we try to work hard to see these issues can be clarified in a way for the parties of israel or palestinian authorities or the factions of the other countries involved to work through the initiative to find a way to silence the weapons long enough to negotiate. the cause of peace and understanding is what brings us here today. 60 years ago i was very proud of my colleagues in the united states congress to pass the international religious freedom act that mandates the annual state department report to shine the light of the obstacles that so many people face as they seek nothing more as the ability to be able to worship as they wish. the release of this point report is the abiding commitment to the entire government for the offense meant of freedom worldwide freedom of religion is court to who we are as americans as pilgrim's lead religious persecution landing in my state of massachusetts in salem takes its name from the words meaning peace but we are reminded before long even in salem. trying to get away from religious strife. and women were accused of witchcraft. some were burned at the stake with the emerging differences between religious leaders of massachusetts and congregations and to break away to file -- founded new settlements. rhode island was founded when people who wander through the woods leaving massachusetts and wondered for the entire winter until they broke out of the expanse of water and name dip providence. 100 years after they set sail a catholic woman was executed of the boston commons for a crime of praying to the rose three. in very mindful of the past as americans we push and work and struggle to live up to the promise of their own failing. winthrop born in england but his disagreements with the anglican church inspired him to leave the ship full of religious decisions to seek freedom of worship and he famously said in a sermon before they landed we must consider we shall be a city upon a hill the eyes of all people are upon us. lenient they have spent and they are today. and we are far from perfect no place has never welcomed so many different face says stephen states of america we are extraordinarily proud of. but freedom of religion is a universal values enshrined in the constitution ingrained in every human heart to profess and practice one faith is the right of every human being and that is what we believe. they are properly recognized under international law. promotion of international religious freedom is party for president obama and for me as secretary of state. i am making certain their religious freedom is an integral part of our global diplomatic engagements. the of the release of this is part of those efforts. with this state of religious freedom around the world but does directly shine a light even some of the friends could be made uncomfortable but it does so to make progress. we acknowledge the basic truths the basic freedom is human freedom that is liable especially proud to be joined today by president obama is newly minted nominee as the ambassador at large for international religious freedom -- religious freedom. it is safe to saykbx and his ability to listen and his sense of humor and his tenacity as an advocate over the course of my years at a capitol hill and as one of america's most compelling and committed voices on religion in public life and i could not be more grateful for his willingness to serve on the front lines of the global push for religious freedom and i look forward to this rapid confirmation by the united states senate. one thing is for sure. the rabbi is joining the important effort at the important time. when countries attacked religious freedom they not only unjust they threaten the people that they target but they're own stability. we have sid reports with their detailed or beaten or tortured because of religious beliefs the government of turkmenistan and has passed laws that prevents people from wearing religious attire in public places or impose fines for distributing literature and the authorities continue to arrest and imprison jehovah's witnesses who are conscientious objectors to military service. i want to emphasize this effort is not about naming countries to enlist in order to make us feel we have spoken the truth. i want our designations to be grounded with action to help change the reality on the ground to help people. to help them ensure full respect full rights of all citizens when 75 percent of the world's population still lives in countries that don't respect religious freedom let me tell you we have a long journey ahead of us. we have a long way to go when governments kill and detaining and torture people based on religious belief north korea's stance out again for absolut and brutal repression of religious activity members of religious minorities are ripped from their families from prison camps and arrested and beaten and tortured and killed we have seen reports individuals are arrested for doing nothing more than carrying a bible and north korea is not alone. earlier this month chinese officials sentenced to a christian and pastor to 12 years in prison for peaceful advocacy on behalf of the church community. just last week that will come to the release of the mother of two young children with charges of apostasy is today known -- saddam governments have have had harsh punishment and brutal tactics with no place in the 21st century. u.s. citizen and every new pastor remains in prison the iranian authorities sentenced eight years behind bars simply because of his religious beliefs. we will continue to call for his release but make no mistake we will stand up for religious minority communities under assault in in danger jehovah's witnesses, and muslims so we have a long way to go also wing governments use national security as an excuse to repress members of religious groups in did rush of the government is using even more punitive laws what they call extremist to justify crude measures against people of faith in and in china authorities harass christians and buddhists just for possessing the photograph of the dali lama and prevent weaker muslims for providing muslim education into their children or fasting during ramadan and news pakistan the government will imprison its citizens and confiscate literature. these tactics continued to pose a test but make no mistake they will fail the test of history. one of those troubling trends is cause sectarian violence misplaces families thousands of muslims were displaced in burma for sectarian violence and tens of thousands more are living in camps without adequate care. in pakistan militants killed more than 500 sunni muslims and brutally murdered 80 christians with a single church bombing last year. the pakistan a government yet has to take steps for those responsible for justice. m. boko haram has killed more than 1,000 people over the last year alone including leaders are individuals fettered near churches or mosques or worshipers or herb bystanders we have seen the incredible brutality in this incredible state of iraq will wholesale slaughter of shia muslims and christians in using women and children as human shields. any remaining questions must convert to and pay as a tax or be executed on the spot. around the world extremist groups has been crystal clear about what they stand against so we have to be equally clear what we must and for. we stand for greater freedom and greater tolerance and greater respect for rights and freedom of expression and conscience this report i emphasize we're not eric gally telling people what to believe. we're not telling them how to live every day but asking for the universal values of tolerance with the ability of people to have a respect with their own individuality and choices inserting a universal principle for tolerance the abraham faith today is amanda's lomb a christian have to find new -- new meaning what really is the common inheritance? what does it mean to be brothers and sisters to be a mutual tolerance and understanding? answering those questions is our mission today. edmund burke once famously said all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing this report is the work of good men and women doing something profound let me share with you around the world some of the greatest advocates do their part every day in order to for slaked into darkness. in pakistan and members of the muslim community'' -- for me human chain with solidarity against senseless sectarian violence muslim men stood in front of a catholic church to protect the congregation from a taxi and in london there was a watch team to help the muslim leaders protect there moscow and prevent future attacks. there are many people standing up for this universal tolerance many whose names a and communities we will never know. but they will not receive prizes or recognition the courage to those of marked that makes it all the more remarkable because they put their lives on space in deadlier certainty that the sacrifice is anonymous and believe me that is the definition of courage so while challenges remain i know the power of the human spirit can and will adjust to the rabbis are the bishops but all of us to find the common ground to draw on a common resolve to put very reversal commitments into action. now are -- we will speak further in and i am grateful for you all to be here for this report and allowing me to introduce you to the president's nominee. thank you. [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible] >> sorry i m not the secretary. [laughter] let me pick up where the us secretary left off to talk about the report and the highlights of course, which he already mentioned. in 2013 the international religious freedom report documents how and where the right to religious freedom was violated or protected in 200 countries around the world and reflects the commitment the secretary expressed to the advancing religious freedom and so for my point of view it is fundamental to change the most deeply held convictions this deeply held beliefs are strongly held but the most significant of these, those involving large-scale discrimination rarely a rise naturally. there is usually the additional factor to maintain power or exploit religious differences. authoritarian governments often cannot tolerate independent communities of conscience beyond state control when i was visiting the country in the 1980's and remember seeing how president the authorities were by catholic communities in churches where every sunday sanctuaries were created where people did not the year their government. in the monastery's played a similar role and for some of the persecuted. likewise the chinese government has the ability of spiritual groups to meet bannings than outright persecuting their defenders like the human rights lawyers we urge chinese authorities to release as scheduled to allow him to return to his family without harassment or restrictions. into bet to assert control over religious practices as the secretary mentioned the chinese government restricts the practices of weaker muslims including banning fasting during the month of ramadan. broadly targeting the entire religious or ethnic community in response to the actions of a few of the increase is the violence for extremism reporting harassment throughout the year that the government is making some progress registering those congregations in 2013 and in fighting religious belief. tajikistan remains the only country on earth to ban people under the age of 18 for participating in a religious activitiesyscjtmlñ by trying to divide people across religious or racial lines with issues like interfaith marriage so we have seen the 969 movement with that anti-sentiment to have a long tradition of communities living together and violence targeted by even rights defenders underscore the government's failure to provide adequate security we were deeply saddened earlier this year by the murder of a lawyer in human rights defender leigh as representing the blasphemy and authorities continue to marginalize the community. the secretary mentioned the case in to press for the release and secretary kerry described what is on our mind today. to look debt that carries the murder of the clerics in june these mini courage followers to reject but paid the ultimate sacrifice since then they would enforce the moratorium to expel on muslims or non shia to force them to convert to islam or face execution. in europe many countries see as of rise to target jews or muslims and in hungary the government did not speak vatican's efforts to rehabilitate anti-semitic world war ii figures we urge that government to have constructive dialogue with the 70th anniversary of the world war ii roundup of jews and other brand or days by nazi forces in france concerns of those incidents as well as physical assaults against members of the jewish community with the continued efforts to promote interfaith with anti-semitic and anti-muslim attacks as we have seen in the past seen for political ends reaching far reaching consequences. it is about preserving that respect for diversity that is necessary to keep countries that is painfully obvious as we look around the world today that is why as president obama said that freedom of religion matters to national security and fortunately as the secretary mentioned some of the strongest allies are in communities of faith working to counter religious nature and with catholic volunteers cleaning up graffiti or students in malaysia organizing to visit sacred sites in the neighborhood and also seeing a prodigious leaders stand up to groups like lgbt. as a resource for people all over the world looking to end religious persecution on those responsible to help delegitimizes. thank you. i will take a couple of questions. >> is the overview of 2013 saw the highest level of displacement in recent memory can you quantify that? and secondly, it also gives power to sanction countries that are a gauge in zippier abuse is a and in relation to saudi arabia's treatment if there is any possibility it is thinking of using fat with the report? >> on the first question i am wary of precise or defined talking about places where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced for a variety of reasons. we made that statement at the front because syria of course, the central africa republic it seems to recent memory we have not seen the numbers of people in the conflict religious or sectarian to mention i don't want to throw out numbers we cannot responsibly do that but i think probably the greatest in terms of numbers right now with recent displacement is syria or iraq and we can get back to you it is a tool in some cases with respect to the past the test is what is effective in any particular case that is case by case structure. >> have you raise issues with the lack of freedom like your allies or arab countries? llord day you say you must do this or we do this? >> of course, we raise it publicly it does not talk about the blasphemy law as or the other countries around the world would have raised those laws including numerous diplomatic meetings and private we have vast countries that have such laws that it is never okay to publish the - - punish people about religious beliefs and we have raised that with officials from numerous countries around the world. >> with the religious freedom those have freedom from religion that makes the country with the liberal ire -- allies? >> freedom of conscience is freedom of conscience and it applies to the freedom not to believe in a particular faith. >> one of the countries listed in the report last year the u.s. and china in july and wondered what is the status of that? >> we just had a human rights dialogue with china as we don't need to have a formal dialogue that is labeled a human-rights dialogue in order to raise those concerns says secretary kerry and other officials subsequently had a counter terrorism dialogue that we raise repeated the the issue of persecution of the far west and the impact that we have to fight extremism and violence. we don't have the day right now but we would like to have one but it does not stop from raising the issue. >> regarding the religious structure it has the state department releases these reports what was demolished is this a trend you are worried about? >> there has been cases like that the most recent that you mentioned and we are concerned that people all should have the right to express their religious beliefs that is a value we will stand up for even in countries like china this broad and complex relationships. >> so under the restrictions on the exports of crime control and detection could you please elaborate? >> i will get back. >> guest: that. >> as chris chin's persecuted in iraq there is one area in kurdistan deal had anything to say about that agenda? >> yes. i will refer you to the report with specifics but with the immediate crisis of the other committees that are cleansed one of the steps taken is to talk to the authorities to encourage them to except people who have to flee for their lives and we are pleased they are defectors. >> i have a question for the rabbi. >> i was wondering if you could talk about what the secretary has done to intervene for the american citizen? >> we have numerous occasions to urge the government of iran. >> has the secretary intervened himself? >> i believe the secretary has made his case. yes. >> in the recent years with the central government's not controlling what is going on what is happening before it is syria of more or less, how do you handle this issue? we are talking about government isn't with the islamist in jihadist to dislocating or locating? >> in many cases we're dealing with the non states actors in the iraq and syria like isil the report is very clear but at the same time governments do have greater responsibilities and often through repressive practices create conditions that enable the non state groups to grow and flourish. so we do in this scenario holds governments to a high degree of responsibility. thank you. [inaudible conversations] . we will get your thoughts. joining us is warrant a. she is with politico. >> joining us on the phone is congressional reporter with "politico." the house has its own bill the senate has a version as well. when might the house take up their the gestation in? >> guest: you could see it happening this week but the big problem is there is a lot of contention about this bill are they getting too much money? he will really see john boehner and mccarthy and republican leadership working in the conference before they schedule the vote to have the ability to pass it because democrats will not be joining that effort. >> host: they cannot count on the democratic vote? >> a few reasons. nancy pelosi is reportedly opposed to changing the 2008 anti-trafficking law inowu"dv to through normal order. she doesn't want that to be supplemental because that is immigration policy. there is also the amount being spent. it is much left than what the president had asked for. democrats are not going to come and do what they have done when speaker banner has not been able to call off republican votes. that is unlikely this time. the headline from your colleagues on this issue is they face a big test. it where are the sections in the gop coming from? >> what you see here again is those conservative members of the party of the believe most spending in emergencies should be offset. you have some border state members really want to see more border security measures put in there. you have those who disagree generally with how we are handling immigration. they want to see much more there. this is an interesting group that is opposing this. it could lead to trouble for the gop. story on have another the politico site. here is a quote from corn and. wings of both the democratic party and the republican party willing to do nothing on this if they don't see what they want? either no revisions to the 2008 law or spending for the republicans? >> that israel for republicans. have beenthink they the leading voice on immigration reform. for the august recess they don't think they will be punished if nothing happens. they want to see it done. people have called it shameful. they are standing strong that they wanted separate from the anti-trafficking law. in the republican party you have a split between people who say they will get punished i latino voters in the midterm elections. there are some who don't see that as a threat. you're going to see that play out to that -- throughout the entire week. is a slamdunk for doubts -- senate democrats? a slamdunk is hard to the senate. there is so much acrimony in that chamber. leader andmajority mitch mcconnell get along. it is more likely they will pass something. is it something the house could pass? that is highly unlikely. do the two bodies have to go into conference committee? can they do it before friday which is when the senate leaves for a five-week break? some say of course we should keep working and stay. some say would be against the law to stay past the august recess. it is some procedural archaic rules in the house bylaws and say they have to recess by august. it would be archaic. nobody would be going to jail. those who really stick to the letter of bylaws are talking about that. a question for our viewers. should congress finish this before they leave for the five-week rate? reached between the house and senate on the veterans affairs health care bill. can this get past the wings of a post -- both parties by friday? >> this is much more likely. we really thought it was falling apart. wereummit democratics criticizing. it looked like they were walking away from negotiations. they accused each other of giving up. we are hearing that bernie sanders and jeff miller have reached a deal and come much closer. theire going to unveil proposal for how to fix it. and could actually get past sent to the president before the august recess. host: we will have coverage of that news conference. this is a $15 billion price tag. that, what are some of the highlights? anyou are going to see ability for veterans who have been waiting for medical care to leave the v.a. system and take care

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