Friday, August 15, 2014

U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

India Independence Day

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 14, 2014


On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send best wishes to the people of the Republic of India as you celebrate your Independence Day on August 15.
When more than half a billion Indian men and women went to the polls last spring, you were a part of the largest democratic exercise in human history. You showed the world how a diverse people, comprised of citizens from different faiths, speaking many different languages, can determine a common future. And you demonstrated once again the power of India’s example and the power of the core values connecting our two peoples.

I saw first-hand India’s dynamism and the vital importance of deepening the ties between our nations when I travelled to New Delhi last month for our 5th annual Strategic Dialogue. I met students, researchers, and professors at the Indian Institute of Technology who were developing clean energy technologies. I spoke with Indian business leaders about opportunities for American companies to participate in India’s economic revitalization. I joined colleagues from across the State Department and the Obama Administration in a series of in-depth conversations with our Indian counterparts on issues from security, to energy, to educational exchange.

On each of those issues, and in all my conversations, this truth was crystal clear: our partnership has never mattered more.

In this century India and the United States have a common responsibility: to prove that democracies can deliver for their citizens. With the shared prosperity we create for one another and for the world, we can prove to the world the power of our shared ideals.

As India celebrates Independence Day, we celebrate with you. We reflect upon the possibilities of the shared future that India and the United States will shape together.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Pakistan Independence Day

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 14, 2014





On behalf of the President of the United States and the American people, I send best wishes to the people and government of Pakistan as you celebrate your Independence Day on August 14.

Building stronger ties with the people of Pakistan has long been a personal commitment of mine. In the Senate, I was privileged to sponsor what became known as the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill, which continues to provide support for a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Pakistan.

As Secretary of State, I’ve been pleased to work to strengthen this relationship. Since Pakistan’s historic elections last May, the United States and Pakistan have enjoyed great cooperation across the entire spectrum of issues – from energy to security to education.
Our two nations have long understood that education is the most important road to prosperity for the next generation. In keeping with that commitment, the United States now invests more in our Fulbright program in Pakistan than anywhere else in the world.

Our security partnership also remains critical. Stability in Pakistan and the region underpins all of our other shared efforts. We support efforts by Pakistan’s civil society and government to stand up against extremists. We stand by your side in the struggle to develop a Pakistan where Pakistanis have a say and a stake in the nation’s success.

The United States will continue to invest with Pakistan in our shared security and shared prosperity for one simple reason: because the partnership between our two democracies is essential to the prosperity and security of the region and the world.

In the years to come, I look forward to continuing to build upon and strengthen our important relationship.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR AUGUST 14, 2014

FROM:   U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
CONTRACTS
NAVY
The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is being awarded a $295,643,284 advance acquisition contract for the procurement of long-lead items for the manufacture and delivery of 12 Lot II Full Rate Production P-8A aircraft for the U.S. Navy (8) and the government of Australia (4). Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (82.6 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (6.2 percent); Greenlawn, New York (4.2 percent); the United Kingdom (3.5 percent); and North Amityville, New York (3.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2018. Fiscal 2014 advanced procurement aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $152,043,495 and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $55,800,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchase for the U.S. Navy ($152,043,495; 51 percent) and the government of Australia ($143,599,789; 49 percent) under a cooperative agreement. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-14-C-0067).
Bell/Boeing Joint Program Office, California, Maryland, is being awarded $15,170,182 for modification 0006 under previously awarded cost-plus-incentive fee, indefinite-delivery requirements contract (N00019-09-D-0008) for repair of various parts on the V-22 aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (80 percent), and Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (20 percent). Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2017. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $15,170,182 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this non-competitive requirement in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c) (1). Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
ATAP Inc.,* Eastaboga, Alabama (FA8517-14-D-0009); Advanced Technology Systems Company,* McLean, Virginia (FA8517-14-D-0010); Boneal Inc.,* Means, Kentucky (FA8517-14-D-0011); Charleston Logistics LLC.,* Charleston, South Carolina (FA8517-14-D-0012); and Tec-Masters Inc.,* Huntsville, Alabama (FA8517-14-D-0013), are being awarded $231,000,000 maximum firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract under the Third Party Logistics (3PL) Follow-on Service Acquisition. The purpose of the multiple awarded 3PL IDIQ contract is to provide services necessary to source, acquire and ensure delivery of a broad range of support equipment items, on demand, to the warfighter. The preponderance of the work is services necessary to manage and leverage the supply chain for the scope of this contract which encompasses approximately 3,000 national stock numbers. This award is the result of a 100 percent small business set-aside acquisition. A total of five offers were received. The contract has a basic ordering period of three years from date of award with two, two-year performance incentive options for a total period of performance of seven years. Work will be performed predominantly at the contractors' locations mentioned above and is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2021. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $868,696, Consolidated Sustainment Activity Group working capital funds in the amount of $56,192 and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $742,183 are being obligated at time of award. Twenty-five percent of this contract will support foreign military sales; the first orders are for Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia and Thailand. This is not a multiyear contract. The Air Force Sustainment Center Contracting Directorate/PZAAC, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.
Cherokee Nation Red Wing LLC.,* Tulsa, Oklahoma (FA8517-14-D-0014); International Logistics Group LLC.,* Warner Robins, Georgia (FA8517-14-D-0015); and Precision Air Inc.,* Manning, South Carolina (FA8517-14-D-0016) are being awarded a $57,000,000 maximum firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract under the Third Party Logistics (3PL) Follow-on Service Acquisition. The purpose of the multiple awarded 3PL IDIQ contract is to provide services necessary to source, acquire and ensure delivery of a broad range of support equipment items, on demand, to the warfighter. The preponderance of the work is services necessary to manage and leverage the supply chain for the scope of this contract which encompasses approximately 3,000 national stock numbers (NSNs). This award is the result of an 8(a) competitive acquisition and a total of four offers were received. The contract has a basic ordering period of three years from date of award with two, two-year performance incentive options for a total period of performance of seven years. Work will be performed predominantly at the contractors' locations mentioned above and is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2021. This is not a multiyear contract. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $556,915 and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $22,959 are being obligated at time of award. Twenty-five percent of this contract will support foreign military sales; the first orders are for Korea and Chile. The Air Force Sustainment Center Contracting Directorate/PZAAC, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.
UES Inc., Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a $9,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Mechanical Systems Performance Evaluation III. Contractor will conduct basic, applied, and advanced research and development relating to critical turbine engine mechanical system technology targeted for high performance, highly efficient and adaptive turbine engines being developed under the Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine and the Adaptive Engine Technology Development programs. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by Aug. 13, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. Fiscal 2014 Air Force research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $301,081 for Task Order 0001 are being obligated at time of award. Multiyear is not applicable. Air Force Research Laboratories Wright Research Site Aerospace Systems Contracting Branch for Turbine Engines (AFRL/RQKPB), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-14-D-2348 and Task Order 0001).
Ace Technology Partners LLC, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, has been awarded a $7,047,715 firm-fixed-price contract for Fidelis eXtrusion Prevention System (XPS) standard maintenance and software. Work will be performed at Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 29, 2017. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition; 26 offers were solicited and five offers were received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,047,715 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/HNCK, Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8732-13-D-0014 RV01).
Boeing Aerospace Operations Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $6,666,319 modification (P00148) to a firm-fixed-price, time and material, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-reimbursable contract (FA8106-07-C-0001) for a VC-25 Nitrogen Generation System Study to comply with FAA Final Rule FAA-2005-22997. The total cumulative face value of the contract, including the referenced modification is $316,942,806. The contract modification is for engineering services to provide recommended options, risk items and other special conditions associated with the installation of a Nitrogen Generation System in the VC-25A aircraft. Work will be performed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Long Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by May 11, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,666,319 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/WLKLA, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
General Dynamics - OTS Inc., Garland, Texas was awarded a $38,526,856 modification (P0002) to foreign military sales contract (Canada, UAE) W52P1J-13-D-0050 to acquire Mark (MK) 80 General Purpose Bomb Body series: MK82-1= 1,662 each; MK82-6= 12,187 each; MK84-4= 736 each; MK84-10= 3,544 each. Fiscal 2012, 2013, and 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $38,507,104 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is July 31, 2016. Work will be performed in Garland, Texas. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois is the contracting activity.
Spectra Technologies LLC,* Camden, Arizona was awarded a $29,734,914 firm-fixed price contract to procure M303 blasting demolition kits. Funding and work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of Aug. 13, 2019. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey is the contracting activity (W15QKN-14-D-0017).
Voith Hydro Inc., York, Pennsylvania was awarded a $21,920,646 firm-fixed-price contract with options for major rehabilitation of turbine units 1 and 2 at Denison Dam Power Plant, Denison, Texas and to design, manufacture, shop test and install two Francis turbine runner assemblies, including spare parts, tools and lifting devices. Work will be performed in Denison, Texas with an estimated completion date of Nov. 11, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $21,920,646 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa, Oklahoma is the contracting activity (W912BV-14-C-0022).
TCC-NLC JV,* Fife, Washington (W911KB-14-D-0025); Ancor Inc.,* Anchorage, Alaska (W911KB-14-D-0026); and Orion Construction Inc.,* Wasilla, Alaska (W911KB-14-D-0027) were awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract with options for facility repair and renewal at various military installations in Alaska. Funding and exact work location will be determined with each order with an estimated completion date of Aug. 14, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with seven received. Army Corps of Engineers, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska is the contracting activity.
BMI Defense Systems Inc.*, Bryan, Texas was awarded a $12,219,736 modification (P0002) to contract W56HZV-13-D-0109 to acquire 5,064 Gunners Accessory Package (GAP) 2.0 kits supporting the cross platform Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) program. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $12,219,736 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is Mar. 30, 2016. Work will be performed Bryan, Texas. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan is the contracting activity.
Alutiiq Manufacturing Contracts LLC,* Fife, Washington was awarded an $11,478,761firm-fixed-price contract with options to repair the main apron access and alert pavements. Work will be performed at Buckley AFB, Colorado with an estimated completion date of Oct. 20, 2015. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $11,478,761 are being obligated at the time of the award. National Guard Bureau, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan is the contracting activity (W90FYQ-14-C-0001).
Life Technology Corp., Carlsbad, California was awarded a $9,100,000 modification (P00002) to contract W81XWH-12-D-0038 to acquire reagents and consumable supplies for the DNA Identification Laboratory at the Armed Forces Medical Examiners System, Dover AFB, Delaware. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Aug. 14, 2015. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity Frederick, Maryland is the contracting activity.
*Small business
 

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

On the Occasion of Liechtenstein's National Day

Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 14, 2014


On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Principality of Liechtenstein on the occasion of your National Day on August 15.

The United States and Liechtenstein have a longstanding relationship that has endured since 1926, when we signed our first treaty.

Our two nations share a deep interest in supporting democracy, defending human rights and promoting gender equality around the world.

The United States and Liechtenstein are also united by our close commercial ties and common support for free markets worldwide.

As you celebrate this day, we wish you peace and prosperity for the coming year.

AG HOLDER'S ISSUES STATEMENT ON SITUATION IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder on Latest Developments in Ferguson, Missouri

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Thursday following his meeting earlier today with President Obama to discuss the latest developments in Ferguson, Missouri:

“This morning, I met with President Obama to discuss the events in Ferguson, Missouri. Like the President, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Michael Brown.  While his death has understandably caused heartache within the community, it is clear that the scenes playing out in the streets of Ferguson over the last several nights cannot continue.

“For one thing, while the vast majority of protests have been peaceful, acts of violence by members of the public cannot be condoned. Looting and willful efforts to antagonize law enforcement officers who are genuinely trying to protect the public do nothing to remember the young man who has died. Such conduct is unacceptable and must be unequivocally condemned.

“By the same token, the law enforcement response to these demonstrations must seek to reduce tensions, not heighten them. Those who peacefully gather to express sympathy for the family of Michael Brown must have their rights respected at all times. And journalists must not be harassed or prevented from covering a story that needs to be told.

“At a time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community, I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message. At my direction, Department officials have conveyed these concerns to local authorities. Also at my direction, the Department is offering – through our COPS office and Office of Justice Programs – technical assistance to local authorities in order to help conduct crowd control and maintain public safety without relying on unnecessarily extreme displays of force. The local authorities in Missouri have accepted this offer of assistance as of this afternoon.

“Department officials from the Community Relations Service are also on the ground in Missouri to help convene law enforcement officials and civic and faith leaders to plot out steps to reduce tensions in the community. The latest such meeting was convened in Ferguson as recently as this morning. Over time, these conversations should consider the role that increased diversity in law enforcement can play in helping to build trust within communities.

“All the while, the federal civil rights investigation into the shooting incident itself continues, in parallel with the local investigation into state law violations. Our investigators from the Civil Rights Division and U.S. attorney’s office in Missouri have already conducted interviews with eyewitnesses on the scene at the time of the shooting incident on Saturday. Our review will take time to conduct, but it will be thorough and fair.”

8/13/14: Press Briefing by Eric Schultz and Ben Rhodes

ASTEROID REDIRECT MISSION: IDENTIFY, REDIRECT, EXPLORE

REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY ON ASIA-PACIFIC ENGAGEMENT'

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT  
U.S. Vision for Asia-Pacific Engagement
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
East-West Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 13, 2014

MR. MORRISON: Well, thank you. Aloha. I want to welcome everyone. And for our online audience, and also for the Secretary, I’d like to describe who is here in our audience. We have the mayor of Honolulu, Mayor Caldwell. We have our senator, Mazie Hirono. We have our former governor, George Ariyoshi, and our other former governor, John Waihee. We have many members of the business and intellectual and public affairs community here in Honolulu. We have members of the diplomatic corps. We have members of our men and women in uniform. We have the members of the board of governors of the East-West Center. We have the staff of the East-West Center. We have friends of the East-West Center. And most importantly, we have future leaders of the Asia Pacific region. And I was just telling the Secretary, I think yesterday we welcomed 130 new participants from the United States and 40 other countries. They’re here on a unique program to prepare them for being future regional and global leaders.

Now, how do you introduce a man who is so well-known for his own leadership and --

SECRETARY KERRY: First thing, you can just tell everybody to sit down.

MR. MORRISON: Oh. (Laughter.) Please sit down, yes. (Laughter.) Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Anyway, as you know, he has served in war and peace. He was a senator for 28 years; 59 million Americans voted for him for president, including 54 percent of the voters of Hawaii. (Laughter and applause.) But as a former senate staff person, I thought the way to really check him out was to see how his confirmation hearing went. Now, the issues were controversial but the nominee was not controversial, and what his former colleagues said about him, Republicans and Democrats, I think give the essence of the man: extremely well prepared, born in a Foreign Service family, served all 28 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, four years as the chairman of that committee. He knows the languages – several foreign languages, countries, leaders, and issues. He is a man of incredible moral and intellectual integrity. He brings conviction and compassion to his job and great energy. He has been, I think, on his seventh trip to Asia, coming back and so we want to welcome him back to the United States. We want to welcome him to our most Asia Pacific state, and we want to welcome him to the East-West Center, an institution that’s building community with this vast region which is so systemically important to the future of the United States.

Mr. Secretary of State. (Applause.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Well, good afternoon, everybody. Aloha. It’s wonderful to be here in Hawaii, and man, I can’t tell you how I wish I was as relaxed as some of you in your beautiful shirts. (Laughter.) Here I am in my – whatever you call it – uniform. Uniform, some would say. But it is such a pleasure to be here. Mr. Mayor, it’s great to be here with you. And Mazie, thank you. It’s wonderful to see you, Senator. I’m very happy to see you. Thanks for being here. And governors, thank you for being here very much.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests all, it’s a great, great pleasure for me to be able to be here. And President Morrison, thank you very much for that generous introduction. I appreciate it very much.

Charles was way ahead of the curve, folks, in seeing the trend towards regionalism in the Asia Pacific in the early 1990s. And he was calling for community-building within East Asia well before it became a standard topic of discussion on the think tank circuit. So clearly, and to everyone’s benefit, he’s had an ability to focus on the long game. And that is a talent that he actually shares with one of the founding fathers of this institution, a former colleague, beloved to all of you, who became a great friend to me, and that’s Senator Dan Inouye. During my sort of latter years, I actually moved up to about seventh in seniority or something in the United States Senate, and had I not been appointed to this job, with all of the retirements that are taking place, I don’t know, I might have been third or fourth or something, which is kind of intimidating. But as a result of that, I got to sit beside the great Dan Inouye for four or five years in the Senate. Our desks were beside each other, and we became very good friends. He was one of the early supporters of mine when I decided to run for President in ’04, ’03. But most importantly, Dan Inouye, as all of you know, was a patriot above all who commanded remarkable respect and affection of all of his colleagues. And Hawaii was so wise to keep him in office for so many years.

Having just visited yesterday Guadalcanal, having stood up on what was called Bloody Ridge, Edson’s Ridge, and walked into one of the still remaining bunkers that Marines were dug in on against 3,000-plus Japanese who kept coming at them wave after wave in the evening, it’s – it was a remarkable sense of the battle that turned the war. And no place knows the meaning of all of that better than here in Hawaii.

Yesterday commemorated really one of the great battles of the Second World War, and so it gave me a chance to reflect with special pride and with humility about Dan’s service to our country. He was a hero in the war, against difficult circumstances which we all understand too well. But he became the first Japanese American to serve in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, against all the odds of what was still a prevailing sense in our country of misunderstanding between people. And he just never let that get in the way. He shared a very personal commitment to strengthening ties between the United States and the Asia Pacific. And that’s why he championed the East-West Center for decades, and I want you to know that President Obama and I strongly support your mission of bringing people together to think creatively about the future of our role in the region and how we overcome the kinds of inherent, visceral differences that sometimes are allowed to get in the way of relationships, and frankly, in the way of common sense.

We remember too well in America that slavery was written into our Constitution long before it was written out of it. And we all know the struggle that it took – excuse me – to write it out. So as we look at the world today – complicated, difficult, tumultuous, volatile – for so many of us who have spent decades working on issues central to the Asia Pacific, there’s actually something particularly exciting about this moment. It’s almost exhilarating when you look at Asia’s transformation. And like Dan Inouye, I have had the privilege, as many of you have here I can see, you’ve lived a lot of that transformation firsthand.

A number of my – (coughing) – excuse me, it’s the virtue of many hours in an airplane. A number of my ancestors from Boston and from Massachusetts were merchants whose ships dropped anchor in Hong Kong as they plied the lonely trade routes to China. My grandfather, actually, was born in Shanghai and was a businessman who had a partnership with a Chinese businessman. So in our family and in Massachusetts, we’ve had a long sense of the possibilities and of this relationship. Today, East Asia is one of the largest, fastest growing, most dynamic regions in the entire world. And when the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are complete, about 40 percent of global GDP will be linked by a high-standard trade agreement, a trade agreement that creates a race to the top, not a race to the bottom, where people understand the rules of engagement and there’s accountability and transparency, and business and capital know exactly what the rules of the road will be so they’re attracted to invest each in each other’s countries.

After college, I had the privilege of serving in the United States Navy. And I went through Pearl Harbor. I had a remarkable several days here as a young officer on a frigate before we set sail to cross the Pacific. And I drove all over the island everywhere, in places I probably wasn’t supposed to. But I loved it and then spent a second tour in the rivers of Vietnam. And back then, the word Vietnam – just saying Vietnam – carried with it an ominous meaning. It meant war. It meant huge dissent in America, families torn apart. But today, Vietnam, when you say it, has a whole different meaning to most people. It’s now a dynamic country filled with economic opportunity. It’s a market for our businesses and our investors. It’s a classroom for our children. It has one of the largest Fulbright programs in the world. And it’s a partner in tackling regional economic and security challenges.

Such extraordinary transformations have actually become almost the norm in this region. I’ll never forget, 15 years ago, I visited in then Burma – no confusion with Myanmar but now people choose what they want to call it. But I visited with Daw Aung Sung Sui Kyi in the very home in which she was imprisoned for nearly two decades. And this week, I had the privilege of again going back to the very same house – it hadn’t changed, looked the same. She, by the way, 20 years later looks the same. And she is now free to speak her mind as a member of parliament.

It’s remarkable. It doesn’t mean all the president are solved. But these transformations are just some of what makes Asia the most exciting and promising places on the planet.

I am returning, as President Morrison has said, from actually my sixth trip to the Asia Pacific in 18 months as Secretary of State. And later today, I’ll be meeting with our outstanding Commander of United States Forces in the Pacific to review a range of America’s formidable military presence issues. I have returned again and again to this region – I can’t tell you how many times I went, Mazie, as a senator to the region. And we are now – we take our enduring interests there, obviously, very, very seriously.

We know that America’s security and prosperity are closely and increasingly linked to the Asia Pacific. And that’s why President Obama began what is known as the rebalance to Asia in 2009. That’s why he’s asked me to redouble my own efforts in the region over the next two and half years. And that’s why I want to talk to you today about four specific opportunities: creating sustainable economic growth, powering a clean energy revolution, promoting regional cooperation, and empowering people.

Now, these important opportunities can and should be realized through a rules-based regional order, a stable regional order on common rules and norms of behavior that are reinforced by institutions. And that’s what holds the greatest potential for all of us for making progress. We support this approach, frankly, because it encourages cooperative behavior. It fosters regional integration. It ensures that all countries, big and small – and the small part is really important – that they have a say in how we work together on shared challenges. I want you to know that the United States is deeply committed to realizing this vision. President Obama is excited about it. He wants us all to be committed to fostering it and also to understanding why we’re doing it. And frankly, it is this vision that is the underlying reason that so many countries in Asia choose to work with the United States.

You hear some people today talking about the United States retrenching or disengaging. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think we’re more engaged and more active in more countries and more parts of the world than any time in American history. And I can tell you that because just driving over here I was on the phone to people in the Middle East, talking about a ceasefire which is now going to be in place in the next days; talking about the road ahead. Just came back from Afghanistan, where we’re working on the transition to the people of Afghanistan, to their future. We’re engaged with Iran, working on the nuclear program; with the DPRK, with China, and Sudan, and Central Africa. We just had 50-plus African leaders to Washington to talk about the future of American engagement there. We are deeply engaged in a very, very complex world.

But this speech and this moment here at the university and at the center, and the trip that I just made to Asia, are meant to underscore that even as we focus on those crises that I’ve just listed and on conflicts that dominate the headlines on a daily basis and demand our leadership – even as we do that, we will never forget the long-term strategic imperatives for American interests. As Secretary of State, my job isn’t just to respond to crises. It’s also about defining and seizing the long-term opportunities for the United States. And having just traveled to Burma, Australia, and the Solomon Islands, I can tell you that nowhere are those strategic opportunities clearer or more compelling than in the Asia Pacific.

That’s why we are currently negotiating a comprehensive and ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that will create thousands of new jobs here in America as well as in other countries, and it will spur this race to the top, not to the bottom. It raises the standards by which we do business. That’s why we’re elevating our engagement in multilateral institutions, from the ASEAN Regional Forum to the East Asia Summit. And that’s why we are revitalizing our security partnerships with our treaty allies: Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the Philippines. And that’s why we are standing up for the human rights and the fundamental freedoms that people in Asia cherish as much as any people in the world.

I have no illusions about the challenges, and nor does President Obama. They are complex in this 21st century, in many ways far more complex than the bipolar, East-West, Soviet Union-versus-West world – the Cold War that many of us grew up in. This is far more complicated. It’s far more, in many ways, like 19th century and 18th century diplomacy, with states asserting their interests in different ways and with more economic players in the planet than we had in the 20th century with power and with a sense of independence. But what I want to emphasize to you all today is there is a way forward. This is not so daunting that it’s indescribable as to what we can do.

So how do we make our shared vision a reality for the region and ensure that Asia contributes to global peace and prosperity? First, we need to turn today’s economic nationalism and fragmentation into tomorrow’s sustainable growth. I say it all the time: Foreign Policy is economic policy, and economic policy is foreign policy. They are one and the same. There’s no denying that particularly in Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is an engine of global economic growth, but we can’t take that growth for granted.

Because what we face something that is really a common challenge. Across the world, we have seen a staggering growth in youth populations. At the Africa summit it was just underscored to us there are 700 million people under the age of 30. We’ve seen staggering growth in these youth populations. And guess what. In the 21st century, in 2014 when everybody’s running around with a mobile device and everybody’s in touch with everybody every day all the time, all of these people are demanding an opportunity. They’re demanding dignity. And juxtaposed to their hopes, a cadre of extremists, of resisters, of naysayers are waiting to seduce many of those young people into accepting a dead end. And let me tell you, when people don’t have a job, when they can’t get an education, when they can’t aspire to a better future for themselves and for their families, when their voices are silenced by draconian laws or violence and oppression, we have all witnessed the instability that follows.

Now happily, many, if not most governments, in Asia are working to present booming youth populations with an alternative, with a quality education, with skills for the modern world, with jobs that allow them to build a life and a confidence in their countries. That is part of the reason why the young people in Asia are joining the ranks of the middle class, not the ranks of violent extremists. And the fact is that too many countries around the world are struggling to provide those opportunities. There’s a lack of governance, and we ignore the importance of this collective challenge to address the question of failed and failing states in other parts of the world.

In the 21st century, a nation’s interests and the well-being of its people are advanced not just by troops or diplomats, but they’re advanced by entrepreneurs, by chief executives of companies, by the businesses that are good corporate citizens, by the workers that they employ, by the students that they train, and the shared prosperity that they create. That is why we are working with partners across the Asia Pacific to maintain and raise standards as we expand trade and investment by pursuing a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Now, the TPP represents really an exciting new chapter in the long history of America’s mutually beneficial trade partnerships with the countries of the Asia Pacific. It is a state-of-the-art, 21st century trade agreement, and it is consistent not just with our shared economic interests, but also with our shared values. It’s about generating growth for our economies and jobs for our people by unleashing a wave of trade, investment, and entrepreneurship. It’s about standing up for our workers, or protecting the environment, and promoting innovation. And it’s about reaching for high standards to guide the growth of this dynamic regional economy. And all of that is just plain good for businesses, it’s good for workers, it’s good for our economies. And that’s why we must get this done.

Now, every time I travel to Asia, I have the privilege of meeting with young entrepreneurs and business leaders. In fact, at the Africa summit the other day we had this wonderful group of young African leaders – all entrepreneurs, all these young kids in their 20s doing extraordinary things. It’s call the Young African Leaders Initiative, which President Obama started.

In Hanoi last December, I launched the Governance for Inclusive Growth Program to support Vietnam’s transition to a market-based economy. I’ve met with entrepreneurs in Seoul and Manila to talk about how we can drive innovation. On Saturday, I discussed with my ASEAN counterparts the framework for creating business opportunities and jobs that we call Expanded Economic Engagement, or E3. And just yesterday, I met with business leaders in Sydney, Australia to explore ways to reduce the barriers to trade and investment.

To broaden the base of support for this strategy, we need to focus not only on rapid growth, but we also need to focus on sustainability. And that means making the best use of regional institutions. President Obama will join APEC economic leaders in Beijing this fall to focus on promoting clean and renewable fuels and supporting small businesses and women’s participation in the economy and expanding educational exchanges. And just a few days ago, I met with ministers from the Lower Mekong Initiative countries to deepen our partnership and help them wrestle with the challenges of food and water and energy security on the Mekong River.

Ultimately, the true measure of our success will not be just whether our economies continue to grow, but how they continue to grow. And that brings me to our second challenge: We need to turn today’s climate crisis into tomorrow’s clean energy revolution. Now, all of this – all of us in this room understand climate change is not a crisis of the future. Climate change is here now. It’s happening, happening all over the world. It’s not a challenge that’s somehow remote and that people can’t grab onto.

But here’s the key: It’s happening at a rate that should be alarming to all of us because everything the scientists predicted – and I’ll tell you a little addendum. Al Gore – I had the privilege of working with Al Gore and Tim Worth and a group of senators – Jack Heinz – back in the 1980s when we held the first hearing on climate change in 1988. That’s when Jim Hansen from NASA came forward and said it’s happening. It’s happening now in 1988. In 1992 we had a forum down in Brazil, Rio, the Earth Summit. George Herbert Walker Bush participated. We came up with a voluntary framework to deal with climate change, but voluntary didn’t work. And for 20 years nothing much happened. Then we went to Kyoto. We went to all these places to try to do something, and here we are in 2014 with a chance next year in 2015 to do it.

And what’s happening is the science is screaming at us. Ask any kid in school. They understand what a greenhouse is, how it works, why we call it the greenhouse effect. They get it. And here’s what – if you accept the science, if you accept that the science is causing climate to change, you have to heed what those same scientists are telling us about how you prevent the inevitable consequences and impacts. You can’t – that’s why President Obama has made climate change a top priority. He’s doing by executive authority what we’re not able to get the Congress to do. And we’re working very hard to implement the Climate Action Plan and lead by example. We’re doubling the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks on America’s roads. We’ve developed new standards that ensure that existing power plants are as clean as possible and as efficient as possible. And we’re committed to reducing greenhouse gases and emissions in the range of about 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

So we’re heading in the right direction. But make no mistake about it: Our response has to be all hands on deck. By definition, rescuing the planet’s climate is a global challenge that requires a global solution. And nowhere is all of this more evident than in the Asia Pacific. And no two nations can have a greater impact or influence on this debate or this challenge than China and the United States.

During the Strategic and Economic Dialogue last month, Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew and I were in Beijing for two days. And we and China together sent a clear message: The world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China, are committed to advancing a low-carbon economic growth pattern and significantly reduce our countries’ greenhouse gases. And we’re working together to launch demonstration projects on carbon capture, utilization, and storage. We’re adopting stronger fuel efficiency standards for heavy- and light-duty vehicles. We’re advancing a new initiative on climate change and forests, because we know that the threat of deforestation and its implications of a changing climate are real and they’re grave and they’re growing. And I’ll just say to you this is not an issue on which you can be half pregnant. No such issue. If you accept the science, you have to accept that you have to do these things about it.

Now, the United States and China have a special role to play in reducing emissions and developing a clean energy future. But everybody – every nation – has a stake in getting it right. I just came from the Solomon Islands yesterday, a thousand islands, some of which could be wiped out if we don’t make the right choices. The Pacific Islands across the entire Pacific are vulnerable to climate change. And just yesterday, I saw with my own eyes what sea level rise would do to parts of it: It would be devastating – entire habitats destroyed, entire populations displaced from their homes, in some cases entire cultures wiped out. They just had flash flooding in Guadalcanal – unprecedented amounts of rainfall. And that’s what’s happened with climate change – unprecedented storms, unprecedented typhoons, unprecedented hurricanes, unprecedented droughts, unprecedented fires, major damage, billions and billions of dollars of damage being done that we’re paying for instead of investing those billions of dollars in avoiding this in the first place.

That’s why we are deepening our partnerships with the Pacific Island nations and others to meet immediate threats and long-term development challenges. And we’re working through USAID and other multilateral institutions to increase the resilience of communities. And we’re elevating our engagement through the Pacific Islands Forum. And we’ve signed maritime boundaries, new maritime boundaries with Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia in order to promote good governance of the Pacific Ocean and peaceful relations among island nations. And we’re also working on a Pacific Pathway of marine protected areas that includes President Obama’s commitment to explore a protected area of more than a million square miles in size in the U.S. remote Pacific.

We just held a conference on the oceans in Washington the other day with nations all over the world came to it – unbelievably productive. We produced $1.8 billion of commitments to help with fisheries enforcement, anti-pollution, dealing with acidification, and to protect these areas as marine sanctuaries.

The good news is in the end – and this really – it really is good news. Sometimes you have an issue – Mr. Mayor, I know you know this. Governors, you know this. You’re looking at an issue and, man, you scratch your head and you’re not quite sure what the solution is, right? And you work through it. Well, the good news is the biggest challenge of all that we face right now, which is climate change in terms of international global effect, is an opportunity. It’s actually an extraordinary opportunity because it’s not a problem without a solution. The solution to climate change is simple. It’s called energy policy. Energy policy. Make the right choices about how you produce your energy – without emissions, without coal-fired power plants that don’t have carbon capture and storage or aren’t burning clean – then you can begin to produce clean energy.

And the new energy market that we’re looking at is the biggest market the world has ever seen. Think about that for a moment. The wealth that was generated in the 1990s – I don’t know if you know this, but most people think that America got the richest during the 1920s when you had the so-called, even in the late 1800s, robber baron years, and then you had the great names of wealth – Carnegie, Mellon, Frick, Rockefeller, and so forth. And no income tax – wow, gonna make a lot of money.

Guess what. America made more wealth and more money for more people in the 1990s than at any other time in our history. And what it came from, the wealth that was generated then, was the high-tech computer revolution of the 1990s, and guess what. It came from a $1 trillion market with 1 billion users, 1 for 1. The energy market that we’re looking at in the world today is six times bigger, by far more important. It’s a $6 trillion market today with 4 to 5 billion users today, and it will go up to 7 to 9 billion users in the next 30 years. The fastest segment by far of growth in that market is clean energy.

We need to build a grid in America. We need to – we could use solar thermal to produce heat in Massachusetts, in Minnesota, take wind power from our states, sell it somewhere else. We can’t even do that because we don’t have that grid in place.

So I want to emphasize to all of you: We’re not going to find a sustainable energy mix in the 19th century or 20th century solutions. Those are the problems. We need a formula for 21st century that will sustainably power us into the 22nd century. And I believe that, working together, the United States and countries across the Asia Pacific can make this leap. That’s an exciting opportunity and that’s what we’re working on with China today.

The bottom line is we don’t have time to waste. If we’re going to power a clean energy revolution, we have to work together to dampen security competition and rivalry in the Asia Pacific and focus on these other constructive efforts. And so our third challenge is clear: We need to turn maritime conflicts into regional cooperation.

All of us in this room understand that these disputes in the South China Sea and elsewhere, they’re really about more than claims to islands and reefs and rocks and the economic interests that flow from them. They’re about whether might makes right or whether global rules and norms and rule of law and international law will prevail. I want to be absolutely clear: The United States of America takes no position on questions of sovereignty in the South and East China Sea, but we do care about how those questions are resolved. We care about behavior. We firmly oppose the use of intimidation and coercion or force to assert a territorial claim by anyone in the region. And we firmly oppose any suggestion that freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea and airspace are privileges granted by a big state to a small one. All claimants must work together to solve the claims through peaceful means, big or small. And these principles bind all nations equally, and all nations have a responsibility to uphold them.

Now, I just participated in the ASEAN Regional Forum, and we were encouraged there to – we encouraged the claimants there to defuse these tensions and to create the political space for resolution. We urged the claimants to voluntarily freeze steps that threatened to escalate the disputes and to cause instability. And frankly, I think that’s common sense and I suspect you share that. I’m pleased to say that ASEAN agreed that the time has come to seek consensus on what some of those actions to be avoided might be, based on the commitments that they’ve already made in the 2002 Declaration on Conduct.

Now, we cannot impose solutions on the claimants in the region, and we’re not seeking to do that. But the recent settlement between Indonesia and the Philippines is an example of how these disputes could be resolved through good-faith negotiations. Japan and Taiwan, likewise, showed last year that it’s possible to promote regional stability despite conflicting claims. And we support the Philippines’ taking steps to resolve its maritime dispute with China peacefully, including through the right to pursue arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. And while we already live by its principles, the United States needs to finish the job and pass that Treaty once and for all.

Now, one thing that I know will contribute to maintaining regional peace and stability is a constructive relationship between the United States and China. President Obama has made it clear that the United States welcomes the rise of a peaceful, prosperous, and stable China – one that plays a responsible role in Asia and the world and supports rules and norms on economic and security issues. The President has been clear, as have I, that we are committed to avoiding the trap of strategic rivalry and intent on forging a relationship in which we can broaden our cooperation on common interests and constructively manage our differences and disagreements.

But make no mistake: This constructive relationship, this “new model” relationship of great powers, is not going to happen simply by talking about it. It’s not going to happen by engaging in a slogan or pursuing a sphere of influence. It will be defined by more and better cooperation on shared challenges. And it will be defined by a mutual embrace of the rules, the norms, and institutions that have served both of our nations and the region so well. I am very pleased that China and the United States are cooperating effectively on the Iran nuclear talks and we’ve increased our dialogue on the DPRK. We’re also cooperating significantly on climate change possibilities, counter-piracy operations, and South Sudan.

So we are busy trying to define a great power relationship by the places where we can find mutual agreement and cooperation. We’ve seen the benefits of partnerships based on common values and common approaches to regional and global security. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and I met with our Australian counterparts in Sydney earlier this week and we reviewed the U.S.-Australian alliance from all sides. And though we live in very different hemispheres, obviously, and at opposite ends of the globe, the United States and Australia are today as close as nations can get. Our time-honored alliance has helped both of our countries to achieve important goals: standing with the people of Ukraine, supporting long-term progress in Afghanistan, promoting shared prosperity in the Asia Pacific, and collaborating on the United Nations Security Council. And we also agreed to expand our trilateral cooperation with Japan, and that will allow us to further modernize the U.S.-Japan alliance as we address a broader array of security challenges. Similarly, with our ally South Korea, our partnership on a growing range of regional and global challenges has brought much greater security to Asia and beyond.

History shows us that countries whose policies respect and reflect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are likely to be peaceful and prosperous, far more effective at tapping the talents of their people, and far better partners in the long term.

That is why our fourth and final challenge is so important: We need to turn human rights problems into opportunities for human empowerment. Across the region, there are bright spots. But we also see backsliding, such as the setback to democracy in Thailand.

We all know that some countries in the region hold different views on democratic governance and the protection of human rights. But though we may sometimes disagree on these issues with the governments, I don’t think we have any fundamental disagreement with their people.

Given a choice, I don’t think too many young people in China would choose to have less access to uncensored information, rather than more. I don’t think too many people in Vietnam would say: “I’d rather not be allowed to organize and speak out for better working conditions or a healthy environment.” And I can’t imagine that anyone in Asia would watch more than a 130 million people go to the polls in Indonesia to choose a president after a healthy, vigorous, and peaceful debate and then say: “I don’t want that right for myself.” I also think most people would agree that freedom of speech and the press is essential to checking corruption, and it is essential that rule of law is needed to protect innovation and to enable businesses to thrive. That’s why support for these values is both universal and pragmatic.

I visited Indonesia in February, and I saw the promise of a democratic future. The world’s third largest democracy sets a terrific example for the world. And the United States is deeply committed to our comprehensive partnership. Indonesia is not just an expression of different cultures and languages and faiths. By deepening its democracy, and preserving its traditions of tolerance, it can be a model for how Asian values and democratic principles inform and strengthen one another.

In Thailand, a close friend and ally, we’re very disturbed by the setback to democracy and we hope it is a temporary bump in the road. We call on the Thai authorities to lift restrictions on political activity and speech, to return – to restore civilian rule, and return quickly to democracy through free and fair elections.

In Burma last week, I saw firsthand the initial progress the people and the government have made. And I’m proud of the role – and you should be too – that the United States has played for a quarter of a century in encouraging that progress.

But Burma still has a long way to go, and those leading its democratic transformation are only now addressing the deepest challenges: Defining a new role for the military; reforming the constitution and supporting free and fair elections; ending a decades-long civil war; and guaranteeing in law the human rights that Burma’s people have been promised in name. All of this while trying to attract more investment, combating corruption, protecting the country’s forests and other resources. These are the great tests of Burma’s transition. And we intend to try to help, but in the end the leadership will have to make the critical choices.

The United States is going to do everything we can to help the reformers in Burma, especially by supporting nationwide elections next year. And we will keep urging the government – as I did last week – to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine state, and push back against hate speech and religious violence, implement constitutional reform, and protect freedom of assembly and expression. The government owes it to the people of those – of that movement to do those things.

And so, my friends, in the great tradition of our country, we will continue to promote human rights and democracy in Asia, without arrogance but also without apology.

Elsewhere in Asia, North Korea’s proliferation activities pose a very serious threat to the United States, the region, and the world. And we are taking steps to deter and defend against North Korea’s pursuit of a nuclear-armed ballistic missile capability. But make no mistake: We are also speaking out about the horrific human rights situation. We strongly supported the extraordinary United Nations investigation this year that revealed the utter, grotesque cruelty of North Korea’s system of labor camps and executions. Such deprivation of human dignity just has no place in the 21st century. North Korea’s gulags should be shut down – not tomorrow, not next week, but now. And we will continue to speak out on this topic.

So you’ve heard me for longer than you might have wanted to – (laughter) – describing a pretty ambitious agenda. And you’re right; it’s a big deal. We are super engaged. We are ambitious for this process: completing the TPP negotiations, creating sustainable growth, powering a clean energy revolution, managing regional rivalries by promoting cooperation, and empowering people from all walks of life – that’s how we’re going to realize the promise of the Asia Pacific. And this is a region whose countries can and should come together, because there is much more that unites us than divides us. This is a region that can and should meet danger and difficulty with courage and collaboration. And we are determined to deliver on the strategic and historic opportunities that we can create together.

That’s why, together with our Asian partners, we’re developing modern rules for a changing world – rules that help economies grow strong and fair and just, with protections for the environment, safeguards for the people who have both too often been left behind.

That’s why we’re building a region where Asia’s major cities are no longer clouded with smog and smoke, and where people can depend on safe food and water, and clean oceans, clean air, and shared resources from its rivers and its oceans, and with a sense of responsibility one generation passes on to the next to preserve all of that for the future.

That’s why we’re building a region where countries peacefully resolve their differences over islands, reefs, rocks by finding the common ground on the basis of international law.

And that’s why we’re building a region that protects the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms that make all nations stronger.

There is still a long road ahead. But nothing gives me more hope in the next miles of the journey than the courage of those who have reached a different and more hopeful kind of future. And that is the story that I want to leave you with today.

When I became a senator, getting increasingly more and more involved in the region as a young member of the committee and then later as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, the first trip I took in 1986 was to the Philippines. Strongman Ferdinand Marcos had called a sham “snap” election to fake everybody to prove how in charge he was, to preserve his grasp on power. President Reagan asked Senator Richard Lugar and me to be part of a delegation to observe those elections.

And I will never forget arriving in Manila and seeing this unbelievable flood of people in the streets all decked out in their canary yellow shirts and banners of pro-democracy protest. Some of us knew at that time there were allegations of fraud. I was sent down initially to Mindanao to observe the morning votes and then came back to Manila, and was sitting in the hotel there when a woman came up to me crying and said, “Senator, you must come with me to the cathedral. There are women there who fear for their lives.”

And I left my dinner and I ran down to the cathedral. I came in to the Sacristi of the cathedral and talked with these 13 women who were crying and huddled together, intimidated for their lives. And I listened to their story about how they were counting the raw tally of the votes that was coming in from all across the nation, but the raw tally of votes they were counting was not showing up on the computer tote board recording the votes. They blew the whistle on a dictator. We held an international press conference right there in the cathedral right in front of the alter, and they spoke out, and that was the signal to Marcos it was over. Their courage and the courage of the Filipino people lit a spark that traveled throughout the world, inspiring not just a freshman senator from Massachusetts, but popular movements from Eastern Europe to Burma.

Now, I think about that moment even today, about the power of people to make their voices felt. I think about how Cory Aquino rose to the presidency atop a wave of people power when few believed that she could. I think about how her husband fought for democracy, even at the cost of his own life. And I think about how, decades later, their son would rise to the presidency in democratic elections. In his inaugural address, President Benigno Aquino said: “My parents sought nothing less, died for nothing less, than democracy and peace. I am blessed by this legacy. I shall carry the torch forward.”

My friends, today we must all summon up some of that courage, we must all carry that torch forward. The cause of democracy and peace, and the prosperity that they bring, can bring our legacy in the Asian Pacific, it can define it. Our commitment to that future, believe me it is strong. Our principles are just. And we are in this for the long haul – clear-eyed about the challenges ahead.

Thank you. (Applause.)

DEPUTY AG KAPPELHOFF'S OPENING STATEMENT AT CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mark Kappelhoff Delivers Opening Statement at the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Geneva, Switzerland ~ Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Mr. Chairperson, distinguished Members of the committee, and representatives of civil society.   My name is Mark Kappelhoff and I serve as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.   It is an honor to be a member of the U.S. delegation and to share with you some of the Justice Department’s work to address racial discrimination and to fulfill our obligations under the convention.  

Since our founding, the people of the United States have strived to realize our Constitution’s promise of equal opportunity and equal justice for all.   Last month, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark law that relegated the age of legal segregation to the history books.   As President Lyndon B. Johnson said, the act’s purpose was to ensure that all people are “equal in the polling booths, in the classrooms, in the factories, and in hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, and other places that provide service to the public.”

Our nation has made great progress over the last five decades, but the journey is not yet complete.   Our dialogue with this committee allows us to reflect on the great advances we have made as a nation to realize equality and to express our commitment to address the challenges that remain.   Three basic principles guide the Justice Department’s work in realizing the noble goals of our Constitution and laws: expanding opportunity for all; safeguarding the infrastructure of our democracy; and protecting the most vulnerable among us.   Our ceaseless efforts to advance these principles directly enhance our country’s implementation of its convention obligations.

The right to vote is one of the most fundamental promises of our democracy.   Among our highest priorities is ensuring equal access to the ballot box,   and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been our most powerful tool in this effort.   While the U.S. Supreme Court recently invalidated a part of this cornerstone civil rights law, we continue to use every legal tool available to take swift action against jurisdictions that have hindered equal access to the franchise.   For example, the Civil Rights Division is currently challenging discriminatory state election laws in North Carolina and Texas.   Attorney General Holder also is taking steps to ensure that American Indians and Alaska Natives have meaningful access to the polls.

The division continues its work to dismantle racial discrimination in our nation’s schools to ensure that school districts fulfill their legal obligation to provide equal educational opportunity for all students.   We also have targeted racial disparities in school discipline in an effort to end the “school to prison pipeline.”   Working with our partners at the Department of Education, we issued guidance to inform schools nationwide of their responsibility to establish nondiscriminatory policies and practices aimed at keeping young people in the classroom and out of the criminal justice system.   This is just one of many examples the committee will hear during our dialogue of how federal agencies work with state and local officials to advance our implementation of the convention.

The Civil Rights Division and our federal partner agencies continue to handle a large volume of housing and employment discrimination complaints.   This is a stark reminder that, despite the end to legal segregation, our work to combat unfair treatment must persist.   Our robust enforcement efforts have produced tangible results for people’s lives.   Just a few months ago, we obtained our largest-ever settlement in an employment discrimination case involving the discriminatory hiring practices of the New York City Fire Department, which brought jobs to some 290 eligible claimants and $98 million in monetary damages.   And, in 2013, the division collected record civil penalties in resolving employment claims based on citizenship status or national origin under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The division responded forcefully to the housing and foreclosure crisis in the U.S., which hit African-American and Latino families especially hard.   They paid more for loans because of their race or national origin, or were steered to more expensive and riskier subprime loans.   Consistent with our convention obligations, the U.S. brought legal action to remedy these abuses, which has resulted in the three largest residential lending discrimination settlements in the Justice Department’s history.  

We know that law enforcement is dangerous work and most officers are dedicated public servants.   With this in mind, the division has worked hard to produce sustainable models for effective, nondiscriminatory and constitutional policing and prison systems.   Over the last five years, we have achieved 14 ground-breaking reform agreements with police departments all across the United States to address excessive use of force and racial profiling.   We also criminally prosecuted 337 officers for misconduct.   And we are working to improve conditions in America’s prisons — examining, for example, the overuse of solitary confinement—and to safeguard the rights of youth in the juvenile justice system.

The Justice Department also is aggressively prosecuting hate crimes.   As a long-time federal prosecutor, I can tell you first-hand that the devastation caused by a single act of hate can reverberate through families, communities and the entire nation.   No one should have to sleep less easily at night or live in fear that they too might be attacked simply because of their skin color, the country they were born in, their faith or whom they love.

In 2009, we gained a powerful prosecution tool to combat hate crimes when President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.   Armed with this new tool, Justice Department prosecutors over the last five years have convicted over 160 defendants on hate crimes charges – amounting to nearly a 50 percent increase over the previous five years.

I have described for you just some of the Justice Department’s work advancing the promise in America’s founding documents of equality under the law.   We are proud to stand with our fellow agencies in our collective responsibility to fulfill our nation’s obligations under the convention, as well in our shared moral responsibility to eradicate discrimination and ensure equal justice for all.

It is my pleasure now to introduce our next speaker, Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.

36 ARYAN BROTHERHOOD OF TEXAS MEMBERS, ASSOCIATES PLEAD GUILTY TO FEDERAL RACKETEERING CHARGES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
All 36 Charged Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Members and Associates Have Pleaded Guilty to Federal Racketeering Charges in Southern District of Texas
73 Convicted Across Five Federal Districts, Including All Five Active ABT Generals, Effectively Dismantling Organization

The remaining two defendants of 36 accused in the Southern District of Texas of racketeering activities as part of their roles with the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have pleaded guilty, capping a six-year sweeping effort that has led to 73 convictions across five federal districts and the decimation of the gang’s leadership and violent members and associates.   Those convicted were charged with involvement in a criminal organization that engaged in murders, kidnappings, brutal beatings, fire bombings and drug trafficking.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Elder of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)’s Houston Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Division and Special Agent in Charge David M. Marwell of the Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Division made the announcement.

“The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas launched its murderous and racist ideology within the Texas prisons, but unleashed a violent crime wave that jumped the prison walls and spread like a virus,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Today we are announcing sweeping convictions that strike at the heart of the ABT gang: 73 convictions in five federal districts, including the five active generals who ran the organization with an iron fist.   These convictions will ensure that these ABT gang members, from generals to soldiers, spend their years in federal prison paying for their crimes, not committing new ones.”

“Today, public safety is the winner,” said U.S. Attorney Magidson.   “A significant blow to the ABT criminal activities culminated today with the convictions of all 36 as charged in relation to this significant racketeering activity. Only with a coordinated federal, state and local law enforcement effort, could these criminals’ extensive and heinous gang activities be brought before the bar of justice.”

Rusty Eugene Duke of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.   Tammy Melissa Wall of Otto, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to the same charge on Aug. 6, 2014.   Duke and Wall are two of 36 defendants charged in the Southern District of Texas with conducting racketeering activity through the ABT criminal enterprise, among other charges.   With Duke’s plea today, all 36 defendants have pleaded guilty.

The 36 convicted are part of a larger, six-year effort that has led to the conviction of 73 ABT members and associates in cases brought in the Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas and Western District of Oklahoma.

“Today marks a great day for the citizens of Texas,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Elder.   “As they go about their daily lives, they can rest easier knowing that law enforcement across the state is working tirelessly to keep them safe from violent criminals. Finally, this investigation is a great example of ATF’s Frontline Model, which seeks to go after the very worst offenders by maximizing all of our resources.”

“While these convictions have dealt a serious blow to the gang, there are always others waiting to take their place in the organization,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Turner.   “We have a message for them too: Violence and intimidation will not rule the streets of Houston. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue gang leaders and their associates at every level to ensure the safety of our communities.”

Court records and admissions by the defendants have exposed the ABT as a race-based, Texas state-wide organization operating inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and the United States.   Established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system, the gang modeled itself after, and adopted many of the precepts and writings of, the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.   The ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and the promotion of whites as a superior race.   The ABT used murder and the threat of murder to enforce its rules within the gang and maintain a position of power inside and outside of prison.   Over time, the ABT expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.   Once released from prison, ABT members and associates continued to engage in criminal activity on behalf of the enterprise.

Court documents portray the ABT as a highly structured organization run by five generals, each of whom oversees one of five geographic regions of Texas and sits on a steering committee.   Each general supervises two chains of command —one on the “inside” and one on the “outside” of prison.   Reporting to each general is an “inside major” and an “outside major” and each major oversees several captains, lieutenants and sergeants-at-arms and numerous soldiers.

In this prosecution, all five active ABT generals have been convicted, as well as one “acting” general and one former general and founding member.   In addition, the majors, captains and other leaders of the gang from each of the five regions – including Duke – were convicted.

ABT enforced its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, arson, assault, robbery and threats against those who violated ABT rules or posed a threat to the enterprise.   Members, and oftentimes associates, were required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, referred to as “direct orders.”   For example, according to court records, ABT leaders ordered a subordinate to kill a rogue ABT prospect and return the victim’s severed finger as a trophy, engaged in planning to kill a police officer, and ordered the murder of an individual whom the ABT believed had stolen drugs from the enterprise.

Duke, Wall and numerous ABT gang members met on a regular basis at various locations throughout Texas to report on gang-related business, collect dues, commit disciplinary assaults against fellow gang members and discuss acts of violence against rival gang members, among other things.   While females are not allowed to become members of the ABT, Wall and other women convicted in this case associated with the ABT, served as communication hubs for the gang, and engaged in criminal activity for the benefit of the ABT.

By pleading guilty to racketeering charges, Duke and Wall admitted to being members of the ABT criminal enterprise.   They are both scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29, 2014.

This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; Texas Rangers; Texas Department of Public Safety; Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Houston Police Department-Gang Division; Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Office of Inspector General; Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Atascosa County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Orange County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Waller County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Carrollton, Texas, Police Department; Mesquite, Texas, Police Department; Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office; and the Atascosa County District Attorney’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Ed Gallagher and Tim Braley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT GUADALCANAL MEMORIAL IN HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at the American Guadalcanal Memorial in Honiara, Solomon Islands

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
American Guadalcanal Memorial
Honiara, SolomonIslands
August 13, 2014


Well, good afternoon, everybody, and thank you so very much for joining me here this afternoon, for joining all of us here this afternoon. More especially thank you for the privilege to me of being here in this rather extraordinary place where so much was decided by so many courageous people who put themselves on the line.

We are very, very honored this afternoon that two of those people are actually here with us today. And so it's my particular honor to introduce Mr. Charles Chuck Meacham, who was a Marine Raider. Chuck, thank you so much. We honor you enormously. (Applause.) And Mr. John (inaudible), who was a Navy Corpsman during that period of time. Thank you so much, both of you, for your service. (Applause.) I look forward to having a chance to shake your hands and chat with you a little bit afterwards and hear from you personally about this.
I was just down at the Coastwatchers and Scouts Memorial, and I was reading Admiral Bull Halsey's comment that the Coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific. I don't think you could summarize it more effectively than that. That was Bull Halsey, it's the way he talked, it's the way he was.

But he really, I think, brings to mind what was decided here at a time when the world was so divided, Pearl Harbor had been attacked, Midway was sort of strategically a draw, so to speak, although ultimately became to be seen as a much more important victory than it was interpreted immediately. And then of course subsequently this was the first moment right here at Guadalcanal where the United States turned from the preparations and the after-effect of Pearl Harbor into the offensive juggernaut that it became, and it became that because of men like these.

So it's my honor to be here looking out at Iron Bottom Sound. I had no idea there were 48 major ships at the bottom of the sea out there, including two aircraft carriers, two Japanese battleships just over the way by some island. It's quite extraordinary, and the Coastwatchers and Scouts of World War II in the storied campaign of Guadalcanal really do underscore why people talk about the pride of Solomon Islands.

As American naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison wrote in his work, The Struggle for Guadalcanal,"It was among the most bitter and bloody naval battles in history." It was the first major encounter in the Pacific. And the naval battles that took place involved air and sea engagements, each one more bloody and bitter than the next. Wave after wave of Japanese forces kept trying to retake the island to recapture the airfield, and the folks who were here on the ground night after night could see the flashes, hear the battles as the waging war took place on the sea in front of them. And on a daily basis for six grueling months, aircraft would take off from Henderson Field and dogfight in the air, and pilots would be shot down, and most of ours were in fact picked up and brought back, those who survived.

So today we really do come here -- I come here, personally -- with just enormous reverence. As a veteran myself and someone who fought in a very different kind of war, I come here with utter awe for those who served here in the circumstances and the manner in which they served. We remember extraordinary valor of the United States Marines, the storied First Division, who repelled the assault around Lunga Ridge south of Henderson Field. The fighting was unbelievably intense and bloody and difficult, and at times it was hand-to-hand combat, as they repelled nearly 3,000 people trying to come up the ridge from three different locations during the night. The Marines simply refused to back down. This is one of those places where the reputation of Marines was carved. And their victory marked the beginning of the end of the Japanese effort to drive Allied Forces from this island.

More than 70 years later, we come here, and none of us have forgotten the courage of the Coastwatchers who warned American troops of incoming assaults. And one of the folks on the--John Keenan is cited down on the memorial I just saw as saying that if it hadn't been for the Coastwatchers and Scouts, we wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes. That's because they gave them invaluable information about movement, timing so you could prepare.

We also take note in more ways than words could ever describe of the stunning bravery of those Marines who, against all odds, won the first major offensive for the Allies in the Pacific right here. This is where the difference began to be made. And I know that in the early days, the task force that dropped them off after they had left them with food for something like only 14 days retreated and pulled off. These guys were here by themselves, limited to something like two meals a day, not knowing when the next re-supply would come in for sure.

And so on behalf of President Obama, I want to thank those who are here keeping faith with those who lost their lives here, the POW-MIA Accounting Command. Would all those of you taking part in that, just raise your hand, so we can see who's here for that? Well, we thank you profoundly for that. It's hard work, long work. (Applause.)

I had the privilege when I was in the United States Senate working on the issue of opening up our relations again with Vietnam of putting in place the process by which we did POW-MIA in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And I'm proud to tell you today that the United States today has operating the single most extensive, most exhaustive, most comprehensive effort to find remains, return them to their loved ones so that even two generations later people can make peace. And I’m so proud that the United States of America is sending a message about the value of life and the value of those who give their life for their country. We never will forget and will do everything possible, the most exhaustive effort possible, to bring them home.
The Guadalcanal Campaign, as I have mentioned to you, was simply the turning point. And it positioned the Allies to begin to regain control of critical lines of communication between the United States and New Zealand and Australia. And that was the strategy, was to make sure that we were positioned in a place that we could protect that line of supply and communication.
As with all wars, there are many whose names are not recorded on these walls around us and whose courage goes unremarked but, frankly, it’s all the more remarkable for the fact that they put their lives on the line in near certain anonymity, that their sacrifice would be anonymous. And today we remember them, remember their courage, and we try to tell their stories.
We also remember the story, particularly, of the Coastwatchers. I just met a couple of generations removed young folks down in town, who are Coastwatcher descendants. But I also had a chance to meet one of the living Coastwatchers – he may be the last living. And they were our eyes and our ears. And let me just underscore a story that is known so well to so many of you, but it’s now August – what are we, August 10th or something? I can’t even remember the date – 13th. See, when you’re having fun traveling, you lose it.

But on an August day right now, 71 years ago on August 1st, a U.S. patrol boat was cut in half famously north of here – up north of Rendova by Ghizo Island in the straits there – by a Japanese destroyer. And two sailors on that crew were killed instantly, and the rest were left clinging to the wreckage, half of the boat that was still there. The crash was catastrophic by any measure, and to a person, the Navy believed that the entire crew had been lost.

But two Coastwatchers named Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana refused to give up hope. On their own, six days after this incident, they were out there searching and they found the crew of PT-109 on a remote island that they had swum to where they figured the Japanese wouldn’t be and they could perhaps survive. In dugout canoes they took a message that was written on a coconut back to the closest Allied base, and the Allies then launched a search. And the sailors, as we all know as a matter of history, were rescued. We all know that one of those men, the skipper of that crew, was 26-year-old Lt. called Jack Kennedy.

President Kennedy never forgot the heroism of these two Solomon Islanders. And as many of you know, he kept that coconut on his desk as President of the United States. Today, most of them are gone – President Kennedy long before his day, and I was saddened to hear that Eroni Kumana passed away just earlier this month. He was a bridge to that greatest generation. So we mourn his loss, but we do so knowing that the bond between our nation remains stronger than ever, as it was forged right here beginning on the 7th of August in 1942.

And together, the United States and the Solomon Islands are now working together to dispose, still today, of World War II-era unexploded ordnance. And we’re combating climate change, we’re conserving our ocean, we’re managing fisheries sustainably, working towards it. I want to thank our Solomon Island partners for their continued support in locating and repatriating the remains of World War II U.S. Marines and soldiers. We are very fortunate as a nation to count among our citizens young Marines like the ones who served here all those years ago, and what a privilege it is to have a corpsman and member of the Marine Corps here with us today. They answered the call of service, they were prepared, as their brothers were, to make the ultimate sacrifice, and it’s in that spirit that we come here today to remember the First Marine Division which stormed the shores here in the first large-scale ground offensive in the Pacific.
Anyone who’s heard those stories or read some of the history knows the nickname – the “Let George Do It Division.” And that’s because whatever the task, no matter the difficulty, the men of the First Marine Division would say, “Sign me up; I want to serve.” Everybody was George who would get the job done. And when the division stormed the shores that day, they faced a determined enemy. Naval reinforcements withdrew; the men were left behind, as I said, in their support, and chow and ammo were running low, the Japanese forces were closing in fast. But this band of brothers refused to ever throw in the towel. They never gave up. They doubled down. They became the leading edge of America’s successful effort to take control of an airbase that the Japanese were building here. They then finished building that airbase, and as I just learned from the historian a few minutes ago – I wasn’t aware of it, but ultimately there were about seven airbases all around Henderson because there was so much of the American force moving in, in order to end the war. The tide of battle turned right here.

Men from the First Marine Division in fact designed a medal to commemorate the campaign, and they would call it the Let George Do It Medal. Its inscription read, simply, “He is hereby awarded the George Medal of the First Marine Division, to which he is entitled as one who did his share upon the rock.”

So our burden today is not as heavy as theirs, but we still face challenges. The odds are not as long as they did, though we still have hills to climb. But it is clear that if we learn from them and from what went on here, we can summon the spirit and we can understand our charge to resolve so many of the disputes and problems that we face today in the same spirit as the Marines, the Scouts, and the Coastwatchers, who turned the tide of Battle at Guadalcanal.
Thank you all, and God bless. (Applause.)

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