SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SHOUKRY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Secretary's Remarks: Remarks With Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry After Their Meeting

10/12/2014 06:48 PM EDT

Remarks With Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry After Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Cairo, Egypt

October 12, 2014

FOREIGN MINISTER SHOUKRY: (In Arabic.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Sameh. It’s a great pleasure for me to be back in Cairo, and I want to thank President Sisi and Foreign Minister Shoukry for not just the warm welcome that they've issued today to all of us who took part here, but also the tremendous amount of work that they have put into organizing this conference, and frankly, helping to show leadership with respect to one of the most vexing challenges that we face on a global basis. I think all of us are grateful for the effort to convene everybody here. And I want to thank Foreign Minister Brende of Norway also. Norway, as we all know, has had a long, abiding passion for the subject of peace in the Middle East, and going back two decades to Oslo, Norway has really been very much engaged in this effort.

It’s good to be at an event where the results are positive and so many people have come together to contribute significant amounts of money over the next several years. More than 50 countries and organizations came here from near and far, united in our determination not only to rebuild Gaza, but to chart a different course for the future. This is the third time in less than six years that together with the people of Gaza, we've been forced to confront a reconstruction effort. And this is the third time in less than six years that we've seen war break out and Gaza left in rubble. So now is the time to break this cycle, once and for all, and that means addressing both the immediate concerns on the ground as well as the underlying causes of the discontent and anger, frustration, that has fueled this conflict in the first place.

Israel clearly has a right to be deeply concerned about rockets and tunnels and security of its citizens. And Palestinians also have a right to be concerned about day-to-day life and their rights and their future aspirations to have a state. It is possible, in our judgment – President Obama’s, mine, the American people – to bring these parties ultimately together, but you have to believe in that possibility as a starting point. And we do. I’m proud that the people of the United States have provided already $118 million in the last months for immediate humanitarian assistance, and on top of that, some $84 million to the United Nations efforts for the Gaza operations.

Today, I announced an additional $212 million in assistance to the Palestinian people as part of this effort today to create reconstruction funding. This money will mean relief and reconstruction, and it will provide for the distribution of food and medicine, shelter materials, for hundreds of thousands of people in the coming winter. And it will help reconstruct Gaza’s damaged water and sanitation system so that the Palestinians in access – can have access to water on a daily basis that they can drink, and homes that they can return to or start rebuilding.

Now, obviously, it goes without saying that there’s much more to be done. We all understand that. Today is a beginning, not an end. Maybe, to paraphrase an old saying, it’s the beginning of the end with respect to the conflict components, but that remains yet to be seen. In order for the construction to succeed, there has to be real change on the ground. Even the most durable of ceasefires is not a substitute for real security for Israel or a state and dignity for the Palestinians. There is no way to fully satisfy each party’s demands – the full measure of disarmament or security for Israel, or the full measure of rights for Palestinians in Gaza. There’s no way to fully satisfy that without, in the end, building a long-term prospect for peace that builds confidence about the future.

So this is a time to remember what both sides stand to gain by moving forward, and candidly, what will be lost if we do not. Egypt has long played a pivotal role on this issue, from the peace treaty with Israel to its continuous efforts this summer to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. And Egypt remains a key partner for the United States and a leader in the region, and I look forward to conversations further tomorrow with both President al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Shoukry.

During my recent visits to Cairo, I've had candid conversations with President Sisi about the challenges that both of our countries face, and he has underscored that the central issue to Egypt’s future is economic. You got to put people back to work; you've got to build the dignity of day-to-day life; you have to open up opportunity; you have to attract capital; you have to prove to the world that the country is stable and open for business. And that’s what the current government is working hard to do.

And in our meetings today, I reiterated to Foreign Minister Shoukry our strong support for Egypt as it undertakes significant reforms and works towards economic transformation for all Egyptians. Even today, we talked about the possibility of General Electric bringing emergency and immediate power to Egypt and helping to be able to build out the power grid, which is essential to tourism, it’s essential to business, it’s essential to day-to-day life. And we believe there are ways for us to be able to work together and cooperate in these endeavors. And I talked just yesterday with the CEO of the company, who is prepared to work with this government in order to try to help make this kind of a difference.

The foreign minister and I also discussed, as we almost always have, the essential role of a vibrant civil society, a free press, due process under law. And there’s no question that Egyptian society always has been stronger – and is stronger – when all of its citizens have a say and a stake in its success. And Egypt has long been a country with a strong civil society. We look forward, in the days ahead, to Egypt’s announcement for its parliamentary elections in the near term.

And we also continued our conversations to help define the specific role that Egypt will play in the coalition against ISIL. We’re very grateful for President Sisi’s and the foreign minister’s engagement on that. From the word “go,” they have been in discussions and involved. And as President Obama made clear, the United States is committed to degrading and ultimately defeating ISIL. And I’m very pleased to say that more than 60 partners have now committed to joining us in this effort in a variety of ways. Not everybody will play a military role or a direct kinetic role. Some will help with respect to the delegitimization of Daesh’s claims with respect to religion. Some will work to prevent the flow of foreign fighters. Some will work to prevent the flow of funding. Some will work to train and assist and equip. And others will take part in military activity.

But all told, there is a broad-based coalition throughout this region that understands the evil represented by Daesh and that will stand against it, and stand for something – for the people’s rights to have a future that they can determine, not be dictated to, and certainly without fear of being beheaded or raped, children killed, grown people with their hands tied behind their back and shot en masse. This is a grotesque series of atrocities that have no place in the 21st century, and we are not going to go back to Medieval times.

So the coalition required to eliminate ISIL is not only or even primarily military in nature, and we welcome everybody’s contribution to that effort. Particularly, the effort to counter ISIL’s false claims about Islam, a peaceful religion. There is nothing about ISIL, as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia said, or the council that issues fatwas said, nothing whatsoever about ISIL that is related to Islam.

So all of these components have to work together in lockstep. And General John Allen, who is coordinating this – not commanding the military, but coordinating the overall coalition effort – just visited Egypt and other partner countries to make certain that all of the pieces are coming together. As an intellectual and cultural capital of the Muslim world, Egypt has a critical role to continue to play, as it has been, in publicly renouncing the ideology of hatred and violence that ISIL spreads, and we are very appreciative for the work that Egypt is already doing.

This was all a central topic of our discussion in Jeddah just last month, and again today in my conversations with Foreign Minister Shoukry, and it is really important that the religious establishments at al-Azhar and Dar al-Ifta are both fully supportive and understanding of the need to draw these distinctions with respect to religion.

So that’s where we are right now, but we know with absolutely clarity where we need to be in the months ahead, and we are determined to get there. I hope that over the course of the next days and weeks, more partners will come forward and more contributions will be announced, because, as I said a moment ago, ISIL has absolutely no place in the modern world, and it’s up to the world to enforce that truth. So we are committed to working with Egypt and with every nation of conscience and of conviction to degrade and ultimately defeat it wherever it exists.

And Mr. Foreign Minister, I thank you again for the warm hospitality today, for a well-organized conference, for a terrific result. We greatly appreciate your leadership and commitment on so many issues on which we are working together, and I look forward to continuing to work with you. Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER SHOUKRY: Thank you.

MODERATOR: (In Arabic.)

QUESTION: (In Arabic.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, first of all, let me say that the United States, President Obama and myself, our whole country, are deeply committed to the possibility, to the need, the urgency, of having two states that live side by side, two peoples living in peace – Palestinian and Israeli. And we are as passionate and committed to achieving that goal today as we were on the day that President Obama began his term six years ago, and when I became Secretary of State and began the talks that reconvened. Regrettably, those talks fell apart, frankly, over more of an issue of process – the delivery of prisoners and timing and methodology – than over the fundamental divisive issues, even though there were still some differences. I haven’t talked a great deal about those talks and I don’t intend to begin now because we do want to get back to them, but I will summarize it by simply saying that progress was made – significant progress in certain areas – and we have a very clear vision of what each party needs in order to achieve two states. But it is up to the leaders; both leaders must make the decision that they’re prepared to come back and negotiate in order to achieve the peace that everybody in this region hopes for.

There wasn't one foreign minister that I met today, whether in the region or outside of the region, that didn't raise the issue of, “When can we get back to negotiations? How do we get back to negotiations? I hope you’re going to continue to push to get back to negotiations.” A continued refrain, because everybody understands – or almost everybody – the benefits that could come from peace for this region. Imagine the possibilities of the Arab Peace Initiative finally being, in one form or another – not exactly as it’s written today, but through the negotiations, using it as a foundation and a basis, then coming together and negotiating – imagine if all of the countries of the region were free to be able to make peace because Israel and the Palestinians have made peace. Imagine what would happen for travel, for education, for development, for business, for the flow of capital, for travel, for tourism. This would be the tourism center of the world. The possibilities are absolutely – fortunately, not beyond imagination, but really rather amazing.

So we are going to continue to push, but we can’t want to make peace, the United States or Egypt or any other country, more than the people in those two places want to make peace. And we certainly can’t want to do it more than the leaders want to make peace. But we’re going to continue. We are not stopping. We are committed to continuing to put ideas on the table, to continue to talk. As President Obama, however, has said, we have a lot of things on the table and we hope the leaders will make it clear quickly that they’re serious and they want to get back to the business of doing this because, if not, we've obviously going to put focus into those places and things where there’s a prospect of making a difference in the near term because of the urgency of other issues.

But this is urgent at this moment. That’s why I’m here. It’s why the President asked me to come here. And we have deep hopes that we can see the leaders of both the Palestinian Authority and of Israel make the decision that there are reasons they can see in the current construct of events in the region, the current leadership of the region – President Sisi, King Abdullah of Jordan, others – all of whom want to move in this direction and are ready to contribute to it. And hopefully, those leaders will see that this is a moment to actually take advantage of, not to run away from.

FOREIGN MINISTER SHOUKRY: (In Arabic.)

MODERATOR: Our last question comes from Brad Klapper of The Associated Press. I think the microphone’s right behind you. Yes, thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you. Mr. Secretary, I’d like to pick up on your discussions you had today about the effort against the Islamic State. In Iraq, Anbar province could possibly fall, and already hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in Baghdad and its environs are living in fear. In Kobani, on the Syrian-Turkish border, the United Nations and others are warning of a massacre. And in both places, the ground – local ground troops that we’re hoping can turn the tide are clearly not up to the task yet. What is – what will the United States and its allies do to change the dynamic, and urgently, because it looks as if, on the one hand, there’s the threat of a major strategic defeat, and on the other, possible genocidal acts?

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you. A very important question. First of all, obviously we are all very concerned about the reports of gains in Kobani, and we’re closely monitoring the situation. In fact, we’re doing much more than just monitoring it; we’ve been deeply engaged with strikes in the last days. Even today, there were more strikes. And there was news today that they are continuing to hold the town. It has not been taken in completion, parts of it have. But we are in discussions with – I talked with President Barzani the other day. I've talked with Prime Minister Davutoglu a couple of times. And we’re in conversations with our partners in this coalition.

But I want to make it clear that as they make decisions about what the options are, Kobani does not define the strategy of the coalition with respect to Daesh. Kobani is one community, and it’s a tragedy what is happening there, and we don’t diminish that, but we have said from day one it is going to take a period of time to bring the coalition thoroughly to the table to rebuild some of the morale and capacity of the Iraqi army and to begin to focus where we ought to be focusing first, which is in Iraq, while we are degrading and eliminating some of the command and control centers and supply centers and fuel centers and training centers for ISIL within Syria.

Now, that’s the current strategy. And we expect, as we have said, there will be ups and there will be downs over the next days, as there are in any kind of conflict. But we are confident about our ability to pull this strategy together, given the fact that every country in the region is opposed to Daesh, without exception. And whether it’s Iran or Lebanon or Syria itself or Turkey or Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, they’re all opposed, and five Arab nations are involved in conducting attacks in Syria. So over time, we believe that the strategy will build, the capacity will build, Daesh will become more isolated. But ultimately, it is Iraqis who will have to take back Iraq. It is Iraqis in Anbar who will have to fight for Anbar. And we’re confident that just as that happened before, that can and will happen again, though it will take some time to build that capacity in order for it to be able to be effective.


So no one should anticipate – as President Obama said from day one, no one has been guilty of any exaggerated expectation here, certainly not from the Administration. The military leaders, the civilian leaders, from day one, have said this will be difficult, this will take time, we have to rebuild, we have to constitute the coalition, responsibilities have to be divided up, people have to get to their place of responsibility, and that is taking place now.

Meanwhile, ISIL has the opportunity to take advantage of that particular build-up, as they are doing. But I’d rather have our hand than theirs for the long run. And I think there are a lot of people in the region who know that.

FOREIGN MINISTER SHOUKRY: Thank you.

WEST WING WEEK: 10/10/14

EXTRADITED FROM SPAIN: FOUNDER OF VIRTUAL CURRENCY USED BY CYBER-CRIMINALS TO LAUNDER MONEY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Liberty Reserve Founder Extradited from Spain

The founder of Liberty Reserve, a virtual currency used by cybercriminals around the world to launder proceeds of their illegal activity, was extradited from Spain and arrived in the United States this afternoon.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York made the announcement.

Arthur Budovsky, 40, a citizen of Costa Rica, was arrested in Spain in May 2013 after being indicted by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York.  Following his extradition by Spanish authorities, Budovsky arrived in New York this afternoon and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV on Oct. 11, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.  Budovsky will be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote on Oct. 14, 2014, at 12:45 p.m.

“Arthur Budovsky allegedly built Liberty Reserve overseas to provide the international underworld with a crime-friendly digital currency and elude the scrutiny of American authorities. He even renounced his U.S. citizenship to try to escape facing justice in an American courtroom,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “With the cooperation of our foreign partners in Spain and elsewhere, this case and extradition are a clear example that money launderers can run, but they cannot hide from the Department of Justice.”

“For years, Arthur Budovsky allegedly enabled criminals in the United States and around the world to process illegal payments and to launder billions of dollars in crime proceeds through Liberty Reserve,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.  “Budovsky operated Liberty Reserve from Costa Rica, hoping to evade the reach of U.S. law enforcement.  Thanks to the cooperative efforts of our law enforcement partners here and in Spain, he was apprehended and extradited to the United States where he will now face justice.”

According to allegations contained in the indictment and statements made in related court proceedings, Liberty Reserve was born out of Budovsky’s unsuccessful experience running a third-party exchange service, called Gold Age Inc., for another digital currency, called E-Gold. In or about 2006, Budovsky was convicted in New York State of operating Gold Age Inc. as an unlicensed money transmitting business.  In 2007, the operators of E-Gold were also charged with criminal offenses, including money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and subsequently ceased doing business.  In the wake of his own criminal conviction, Budovsky set about building a digital currency that would succeed in eluding law enforcement where E-Gold had failed, by, among other ways, locating the business outside the United States.  Accordingly, Budovsky emigrated to Costa Rica, where he and other defendants began operating Liberty Reserve.

Liberty Reserve, which billed itself as the Internet’s “largest payment processor and money transfer system,” was created, structured and operated to help users conduct illegal transactions anonymously and launder the proceeds of their crimes. The indictment alleges that Budovsky devoted himself to building and expanding Liberty Reserve so that the company could profit from attracting more and more criminal customers, all while seeking to evade the scrutiny and reach of U.S. law enforcement authorities. At all relevant times, Budovsky directed and supervised Liberty Reserve’s operations, finances, and corporate strategy.

Liberty Reserve emerged as one of the principal money transfer agents used by cybercriminals around the world to distribute, store, and launder the proceeds of their illegal activity.  Liberty Reserve was used extensively for illegal purposes, functioning as the bank of choice for the criminal underworld because it provided an infrastructure that enabled cybercriminals to conduct anonymous and untraceable financial transactions.  The indictment alleges that Budovsky was so committed to evading U.S. law enforcement that he formally renounced his U.S. citizenship in 2011 and became a Costa Rican citizen, telling U.S. immigration authorities that he was concerned that the “software” his “company” was developing “might open him up to liability in the U.S.”

Before being shut down by the U.S. government in May 2013, Liberty Reserve had more than one million users worldwide, including more than 200,000 users in the United States, who conducted approximately 55 million transactions through its system totaling more than $6 billion in funds.  These funds encompassed suspected proceeds of credit card fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, computer hacking, narcotics trafficking, and other crimes.

Budovsky is among seven individuals charged in the indictment, which was unsealed on May 28, 2013.  Four co-defendants – Vladimir Kats, Azzeddine el Amine, Mark Marmilev, and Maxim Chukharev – have pleaded guilty and await sentencing before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.  Charges against Liberty Reserve and two individual defendants who have not been apprehended remain pending.

The charges contained in the indictment remain pending and are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Secret Service’s New York Electronic Crimes Task Force.  The Judicial Investigation Organization in Costa Rica, the National High Tech Crime Unit in the Netherlands, the Financial and Economic Crime Unit of the Spanish National Police, the Cyber Crime Unit at the Swedish National Bureau of Investigation and the Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office also provided assistance.

This case is being prosecuted jointly by the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Complex Frauds Unit and Asset Forfeiture Unit in the Southern District of New York, with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Trial Attorney Kevin Mosley of AFMLS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Serrin Turner, Andrew Goldstein and Christine Magdo of the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Magdo is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.

U.S. PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE MAKES REMARKS ON EBOLA TO UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at a General Assembly Session on Ebola

10/10/2014 04:50 PM EDT

Samantha Power

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations 

New York, NY

October 10, 2014

Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership, for convening this extremely timely meeting. And thank you to Deputy Secretary General Eliasson, Special Envoy Nabarro, and Special Representative Banbury for your work, for your briefings, for your clear call to action, and above all, for the dedicated service of you and your staff.

Minister Gwenigale and Minister Fofanah and our distinguished colleague from Guinea, you are on the front lines of this struggle. We are humbled by the brave efforts of your people and stand by you as you face this unprecedented challenge. Everyone in this room must heed the urgent calls you have made today.

This is our 4th time convening at the highest levels of the United Nations to respond to the Ebola crisis. At the first Security Council meeting on September 18th, 134 nations came together to pass a resolution pledging to tackle this deadly outbreak with urgency and vigor – the greatest number of co-sponsors in the UN’s history.

Since then, some countries have punched far above their weight. Cuba – a country of just 11 million people – has already sent 165 health professionals to the region and plans to send nearly 300 more. Timor-Leste pledged $2 million to the effort – what the Prime Minister Gusmao called an act of “Fragile-to-Fragile” cooperation, from one conflict-affected country to others.

Under President Obama’s lead, the United States has contributed more than $156 million to fighting Ebola and deployed more than 100 experts from our CDC. We’re committed to sending 4,000 U.S. forces to the region – a number that will continue to adapt to mission requirements. These forces will oversee the construction of 17 100-bed Ebola Treatment Units, establish a regional training hub where we will train up to 500 local health care providers each week, and provide crucial logistic support to the complex regional operation.

But more countries need to step up. And those of us who have made commitments need to dig deeper and deliver faster. According to the UN’s financial tracking service, only 24 countries have pledged $1 million or more to the effort. Twenty-four countries. The Secretary General has said we need 20 times the international aid that has been pledged so far.

The need is growing, and it is growing fast. The longer we wait to meet it, the bigger the gaps grow, and the harder the epidemic gets to control. In Guinea and Sierra Leone, the number of infections is projected to double every month; in Liberia, infections are projected to double every 2 weeks.

We are facing the challenge of a generation. Every government, every organization, every business, every individual, needs to determine what the absolute maximum is that it can do, and then reach further. That is the only way that we can collectively bend the horrifying curve of this epidemic’s projected growth.

By failing to step up, the world is letting down every one of the courageous individuals on the front lines of this crisis. When we fail to provide doctors and nurses with more clinics and beds, they are the ones who have to turn away sick children, women, and men. Yet we have only a quarter of the beds that we need in Liberia and Sierra Leone. When we fail to ensure burial teams have the protective suits they need, they and their families are the ones who get sick. Yet more than 400 health care workers have been infected, and at least 232 of them have died. We are asking too much of these people. We have to ask much more of ourselves.

As the world’s response lags, Ebola’s spread is having a devastating impact beyond the individuals it infects. Its victims include children’s education in Sierra Leone, where schools have been closed since July. We know what is needed: more nurses, more doctors, more health workers and technicians, more treatment units with more beds and more labs, more protective gear, more medevac capacity, and more money to meet rising costs. As my Ugandan colleague has just described, we also need more education - much more education. If we provide these things, we can curb the spread of this deadly epidemic.

There is no better evidence of the potential to turn the tide than the infected patients who have already been cured in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, thanks to adequate medical care. For example, in just one Ebola Treatment Unit run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Paynesville, Liberia, 236 infected people have been cured. When discharged, patients are given a certificate affirming that they are healthy.

Recently, I watched a video of a woman being discharged from an MSF clinic. Her name was Jenneh Kromah. She had lost her sister and brother to Ebola, but thanks to MSF’s intervention, she survived her infection. After giving Jenneh her certificate, a doctor took off his protective glove and took hold of her hand: a simple, human gesture – but one that could be deadly when someone is infected. That touch, and the dignity and recovery it represents, should give all of us hope.

Until we are also thinking, though, about the taxi or bus that brought Jenneh to the clinic; or the family members who share her home and may also have been exposed to the virus; or all of the other people she may have come into contact with before arriving at the clinic; until we track all of those people and places, and so much more, victories like Jenneh’s and MSF’s will be pyrrhic ones.

And until we can promise the same dignified, quality attention that Jenneh received to every infected person in the affected countries, we will never get ahead of the outbreak. Until then, we will keep falling behind when we need to be surging ahead. The consequences of inaction, or of not enough action, are unacceptably high. And we have a responsibility to come together to meet this challenge.

Thank you.

FTC VIDEO: OPERATION EMPTY PROMISES: JOB AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY SCAMS

SECRETARY PEREZ MAKES STATEMENT ON AWARDING OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT 

Statement on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize

by US Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement today on the awarding of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize:
"I want to congratulate two courageous human rights champions, Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Kailash Satyarthi's tireless campaign to end forced child labor and Malala Yousafzai's fearless global advocacy for the right of boys and girls to an education are helping to transform the global landscape of children's rights.

"The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to the goal of eradicating exploitative child labor by addressing its underlying causes. Through our programs, we have helped parents find and retain good jobs and children gain access to education, so that families can break out of the cycle of poverty that contributes to child labor. Earlier this week, we released the Department's 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, a report that gives voice to voiceless children and serves as a call to action and an instrument for change. In the spirit of Kailash and Malala, we must assume responsibility, as a global community, for bringing about lasting change that promises a better future for children around the world."

HHS ANNOUNCES MEDICARE PART B PREMIUMS AND DEDUCTIBLES WILL NOT RISE IN 2015

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

October 9, 2014

2015 Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles to remain the same as last two years

Premiums, copays and deductibles for other Medicare programs for 2015 also announced

Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell announced today that next year’s standard Medicare Part B monthly premium and deductible will remain the same as the last two years. Medicare Part B covers physicians’ services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.  For the approximately 49 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B, premiums and deductibles will remain unchanged in 2015 at $104.90 and $147, respectively. This leaves more of seniors’ cost of living adjustment from Social Security in their pockets.
According to the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, as compared to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections for 2015 made in 2009, premiums will be more than $125 lower over the course of a year.

“Thanks to slower health care cost growth within Medicare since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, next year’s Medicare Part B monthly premium will remain unchanged for the second consecutive year,” said Secretary Burwell. “The Affordable Care Act is working to improve affordability and access to quality care for seniors and people with disabilities.”

“The stabilization of Part B premiums is another example of how we are containing health care costs to provide a more sustainable and affordable health delivery system. The Administration has taken important steps to improve the quality of care while keeping the cost of Medicare premiums and deductibles the same,” said CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “This means even greater financial and health security for our seniors next year as their premiums will remain unchanged.”

Over the past four years, per capita Medicare spending growth has averaged 0.8 percent annually, much lower than the 3.1 percent annual increase in per capita GDP over the same period.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also announced today that for the small number of beneficiaries who pay Medicare Part A monthly premiums, their monthly bill will drop $19 in 2015 to $407.  Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some home health care services.  Although about 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries do not pay a Part A premium since they have at least 40 quarters of Medicare-covered employment, enrollees age 65 and over and certain persons with disabilities who have fewer than 30 quarters of coverage pay a monthly premium in order to receive coverage under Part A.
 Beneficiaries who have between 30 and 39 quarters of coverage may buy into Part A at a reduced monthly premium rate which is $224 for 2015, a decrease of $10 from 2014.

The Medicare Part A deductible that beneficiaries pay when admitted to the hospital will be $1,260 in 2015, a modest increase of $44 from this year's $1,216 deductible.  The Part A deductible covers beneficiaries' share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period.
Beneficiaries must pay an additional $315 per day for days 61 through 90 in 2015, and $630 per day for hospital stays beyond the 90th day.

For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily co-insurance for days 21 through 100 in a benefit period will be $157.50 in 2015, compared to $152.00 in 2014.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF SPAIN ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

On the Occasion of Spain's National Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 11, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Spain as they celebrate La Fiesta Nacional de España on October 12.

Spain and the United States are united by history and common values. I’ll never forget my first visit to Spain – and to Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls – while I was in college with friends road-tripping our way through Europe. And as Secretary last year, I was honored to host Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo in Washington to discuss our shared security and prosperity and to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s landing in Florida.

For more than two centuries, the United States and Spain have worked for international cooperation, peace and security, and economic prosperity. I look forward to our continued partnership as we advance our shared values in both of our nations and throughout the global community.

I wish you a joyous celebration as you observe La Fiesta Nacional de España.

ACTING AG DELERY MAKES REMARKS REGARDING EXTENDICARE FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery Delivers Remarks at Press Conference Announcing False Claims Act Resolution with Extendicare

Washington, DCUnited States ~ Friday, October 10, 2014

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning and thank you all for being here today.  I am pleased to be joined by Joyce Branda, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, as well as Gregory Demske, the Chief Counsel to the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Protecting this nation’s vulnerable populations – including our seniors – has been, and continues to be, one of this department’s highest priorities.  As more and more seniors rely on nursing homes for care, it becomes increasingly important for us to ensure that they receive the services they need.

Today, we are here to announce that Extendicare Health Services – one of the nation’s largest nursing home chains with 146 facilities in 11 states – has agreed to pay $38 million to resolve allegations that certain of its facilities billed the Medicare and Medicaid programs for nursing care services that were so grossly substandard as to be effectively worthless, while also billing Medicare for medically unreasonable and unnecessary rehabilitation therapy services.  This is the largest False Claims Act settlement the department has entered with a nursing home chain involving “failure of care” allegations.

As part of this historic resolution, Extendicare will also enter into a five year chain-wide corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services.  This agreement will contain innovative staffing requirements intended to ensure that this type of misconduct will not happen again.

This significant resolution reflects a convergence of two of the department’s highest priorities.

First, today’s settlement reflects the department’s commitment to protecting the nation’s elderly and most vulnerable citizens from all forms of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.  Under this administration, the department has redoubled its efforts in the elder justice arena by funding innovative research, developing training materials for elder abuse prosecutors and legal services lawyers; and by raising public awareness.  In fact, just last month, the department launched its Elder Justice Website, a tremendous resource for prosecutors, practitioners, and most importantly, elder abuse victims and their families.  

Second, today’s settlement reflects the department’s commitment to combatting health care fraud.  Given the growing Medicare eligible population, we must make every effort to protect Medicare funds from fraud, waste, and abuse.  Since the Attorney General and the Secretary for Health and Human Services launched the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team initiative in 2009, the department has recovered over $14 billion in cases involving fraud against federal healthcare programs.   The department has aggressively pursued healthcare fraud against virtually every type of healthcare provider and supplier, including hospitals, physicians, hospice providers, and pharmaceutical and device manufacturers.  Today’s settlement with Extendicare is an example of this initiative in action.

Taken as a whole, today’s resolution represents an important achievement on both those fronts.  Our seniors rely on the Medicare and Medicaid programs to provide them with quality care, dignity and respect when they are most vulnerable.  It is, therefore, critically important that we hold accountable those healthcare providers, including nursing home operators, who put their own economic gain over the needs of their residents.

We will pursue with equal vigor those who bill Medicare and Medicaid while failing to provide beneficiaries with the nursing care to which they are entitled and those who provide medically unnecessary services in order to maximize their Medicare billings.  Both of these schemes are forms of elder financial exploitation. Neither will be tolerated by this department.



Finally, before I turn things over to Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce Branda, I wanted to commend the excellent work of the Extendicare team.  Given the scope of the allegations at issue, the investigation was conducted jointly by the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, several U.S. Attorney’s Offices, agents and attorneys from the HHS Office of Inspector General, as well as attorneys and agents from the Medicaid Fraud Control Units of several states.  This settlement, and the underlying investigation, is a compelling example of how federal and state law enforcement can work effectively together and of what we can achieve when we do so.  I am pleased that we are joined here today by representatives of those offices.

With that, I’m happy to introduce Joyce Branda, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, who will discuss the Extendicare settlement in more detail.

BOEING RESOLVES FALSE CLAIMS ALLEGATIONS BY PAYING $23 MILLION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Friday, October 10, 2014

Boeing Pays $23 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations

The Boeing Company paid $23 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for labor charges on maintenance contracts with the U.S. Air Force for the C-17 Globemaster aircraft, the Justice Department announced today.  Boeing, an aerospace and defense industry giant, is headquartered in Chicago.

“Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Justice Department vigilantly ensures that companies meet their contractual obligations and charge the government appropriately,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Government contractors who seek illegal profit at the expense of taxpayers will face serious consequences.”

The government alleged that Boeing improperly charged labor costs under contracts with the Air Force for the maintenance and repair of C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Boeing’s Aerospace Support Center in San Antonio, Texas.  The C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which is both manufactured and maintained by Boeing, is one of the military’s major systems for transporting troops and cargo throughout the world.  The government alleged that the company knowingly and improperly billed a variety of labor costs in violation of applicable contract requirements, including for time its mechanics spent at meetings not directly related to the contracts.

“Defense contractors are required to obey strict accounting standards when submitting billing for work performed on government contracts,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas.  “The pursuit and favorable settlement of this civil litigation was the result of effective teamwork between the Justice Department and the investigative agencies.”

The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit by present and former Boeing employees Clinton Craddock, Fred Van Shoubrouek, Anthony Rico and Fernando de la Garza in federal court in San Antonio under the False Claims Act.  The act permits private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery.  The individuals who filed the suit will receive $3,910,000 as their share of the settlement.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.

The case is United States ex rel. Craddock v. Boeing, Case No. SA-07-CA-0880FB (W.D. Tex.).  The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Weekly Address: America Is a Place Where Hard Work Should Be Rewarded

The President Holds a Town Hall at Cross Campus

DOD NEWS NOW VIDEO: 1100 OCTOBER 10, 2014

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION VIDEO: DEALING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS

BROWN DOG AND THE UNSTRUCTURED WEB

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Brown Dog: A search engine for the other 99 percent (of data)

Illinois-led team develops tools to search the unstructured Web

We've all experienced the frustration of trying to access information on websites, only to find that we can't open the files.

"The information age has made it easy for anyone to create and share vast amounts of digital data, including unstructured collections of images, video and audio as well as documents and spreadsheets," said Kenton McHenry, who along with Jong Lee lead the Image and Spatial Data Analysis division at the National Center for Supercomputing Application (NCSA). "But the ability to search and use the contents of digital data has become exponentially more difficult."

That's because digital data is often trapped in outdated, difficult-to-read file formats and because metadata--the critical data about the data, such as when and how and by whom it was produced--is nonexistent.

Led by McHenry, a team at NCSA is working to change that. Recipients in 2013 of a $10 million, five-year award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the team is developing software that allows researchers to manage and make sense of vast amounts of digital scientific data that is currently trapped in outdated file formats.

The NCSA team, in partnership with faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Boston University and the University of Maryland, recently demonstrated two services to make the contents of uncurated data collections accessible.

The first service, the Data Access Proxy (DAP), transforms unreadable files into readable ones by linking together a series of computing and translational operations behind the scenes.

Similar to an Internet gateway, the configuration of the Data Access Proxy would be entered into a user's machine settings and then forgotten. From then on, data requests over HTTP would first be examined by the proxy to determine if the native file format is readable on the client device. If not, the DAP would be called in the background to convert the file into the best possible format readable by the client machine.

In a demonstration at the Brown Dog Early User Workshop in July 2014, McHenry showed off the tool's ability to turn obscure file formats into ones that are more easily viewable. [Watch a video of the demo.]

The second tool, the Data Tilling Service (DTS), lets individuals search collections of data, possibly using an existing file to discover other similar files in the data. Once the machine and browser settings are configured, a search field will be appended to the browser where example files can be dropped in by the user. Doing so triggers the DTS to search the contents of all the files on a given site that are similar to the one provided by the user.

For example, while browsing an online image collection, a user could drop an image of three people into the search field, and the DTS would return images in the collection that also contain three people. If the DTS encounters a file format it is unable to parse, it will use the Data Access Proxy to make the file accessible.

The Data Tilling Service will also perform general indexing of the data and extract and append metadata to files to give users a sense of the type of data they are encountering.

McHenry likens these two services to the Domain Name Service (DNS), which makes the Internet humanly navigable by translating domain names, like CNN.com, into the numerical IP addresses needed to locate computer devices and services and the information they provide.

"The two services we're developing are like a DNS for data, translating inaccessible uncurated data into information," he said. According to IDC, a research firm, up to 90 percent of big data is "dark," meaning the contents of such files cannot be easily accessed.

Rather than starting from scratch and constructing a single all-encompassing piece of software, the NCSA team is building on previous software development work. The project aims to potentially bring together every possible source of automated help already in existence. By patching together such components, they plan to make Brown Dog the "super mutt" of software.

This effort is in line with the Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBS) program at NSF, which supports the development of McHenry's software. DIBBS aims to improve data science by supporting the development of the tools, technologies and community knowledge required to rapidly advance the field.

"Brown Dog today is developing a 'time machine' set of cyberinfrastructure tools, software and services that respond to the long-standing aspiration of many scientific, research and educational communities to effectively access, share and apply digital data and information originating in diverse sources and legacy environments in order to advance contemporary science, research and education," said Robert Chadduck, the program director at NSF who oversees the award.

Projects supported by DIBBS involve collaborations between computer scientists and researchers in other fields. The initial collaborators for the Brown Dog software were researchers in geoscience, biology, engineering and social science.

Brown Dog co-principal investigator Praveen Kumar, a professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the director of the NSF-supported Critical Zone Observatory for Intensively Managed Landscapes is developing ways to exploit Brown Dog for the analysis of LIDAR data. He hopes to characterize landscape features for the study of human impact in the critical zone.

"These technologies will enable rapid investigation of large high-resolution datasets in conjunction with other data such as photographs and ground measurements for modeling and cross comparison across study sites," Kumar said.

McHenry is also a team member on a new DIBBS project that applies some of the insights from his work to data-driven discovery in materials science.

Brown Dog isn't only useful for searching the Deep Web, either. McHenry says the Brown Dog software suite could one day be used to help individuals manage their ever-growing collections of photos, videos and unstructured/uncurated data on the Web.

"Being at the University of Illinois and NCSA many of us strive to create something that will live on to have the broad impact that the NCSA Mosaic Web browser did," McHenry said, referring to the world's first Web browser, which was developed at NCSA. "It is our hope that Brown Dog will serve as the beginnings of yet another such indispensible component for the Internet of tomorrow."

-- Aaron Dubrow, NSF
Investigators
Jong Lee
Praveen Kumar
Kenton McHenry
Michael Dietze
Barbara Minsker
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

DOD VIDEO: ABOUT 100 MARINES ARRIVE IN LIBERIA TO SUPPORT CONTAINMENT OF EBOLA OUTBREAK

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK TOUTS $675 MILLION GENERATED FOR TAXPAYERS IN 2014

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 

Ex-Im Bank Announces $675 Million Generated For Taxpayers in FY 2014

Washington, DC – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) today announced it has transferred $675 million in deficit-reducing receipts to the U.S. Treasury's General Fund for fiscal year 2014. Ex-Im Bank supports U.S. jobs and equips U.S. exporters to compete on a level global playing field by financing the export of American goods and services when the private sector is unable or unwilling to do so. For its insurance, loan guarantee, and loan programs, Ex-Im Bank charges fees and interest, and the amount transferred represents what Ex-Im Bank earned in excess of its operating costs.

Ex-Im Bank is a self-sustaining federal agency, meaning it covers its own congressionally-determined appropriation. Over the last two decades, Ex-Im Bank has generated a surplus of more than $7 billion for U.S. taxpayers.

“The mission of the Export-Import Bank is to support job growth, strengthen communities, and empower U.S. businesses to sell more made-in-America products overseas," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “American businesses produce some of the highest quality, most innovative goods and services in the world—that we are able to support them while also helping to reduce the deficit is a bonus for taxpayers, and a testament to the hard work and risk management efforts of Ex-Im Bank’s staff.”

SECRETARY KERRY MAKES REMARKS WITH UK FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Wind Technology Testing Center

Boston,, Massachusetts

October 9, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you very much. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. First of all, there is nothing better than being home in Boston on a beautiful October day. The only thing that is missing, the Red Sox are not in the playoffs, not this time. Foreign Secretary Hammond, I want to share with you the four most important words in Boston sports are, “Just wait till next year.” (Laughter.) We’ll be back.

It’s very special for me to be back here for a lot of different reasons, and Deval, our superb governor, just hit on some of them. But since I’ve been privileged to be Secretary of State, I’ve now had occasion to travel and be either in the trail of or in the company of Deval Patrick. And we went to Panama together for the inauguration of the new president, and the reason Deval was there is he has been totally focused on jobs and opportunities for Massachusetts and for the United States, and he’s been a terrific ambassador in that cause. And I’m not at all surprised to hear that he has just come back from a clean energy conference in London, because as governor, he has made absolutely certain that Massachusetts is leading the way with respect to clean energy, future energy, renewable alternative, and together, with states like California, we really are setting the trend.

I might also point out the fact, which I’m very proud of as a Massachusetts citizen, that the governor has set the next big step of helping to move us forward by setting the goal for ending all reliance on conventional coal generation in the next four years, and that is something I don’t believe any other sitting governor in the United States has had the foresight to do. So Governor, thank you very, very much for that. (Applause.)

I also want to thank Massachusetts’s terrific Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Maeve Bartlett for her great work to help make Massachusetts more energy-efficient and the most energy-efficient state in the nation. As the governor just mentioned, not once, not twice, but for the third straight year in a row, we are leading the nation in energy efficiency, and I’m proud of that. I also want to brag on her brother for a minute. Those of you who don’t know it, but Maeve is the youngest sister of one of my oldest friends in politics and life, and a great citizen of our state, Tommy Vallely, and we will not hold that against you, Maeve. (Laughter.)

I want to also thank Alicia Barton, the CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and Rahul Yarala, executive director of the Wind Technology Testing Center, for showing us this remarkable facility here today. And most of all, I want to express a very warm Massachusetts welcome to our guest, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. We’re really happy to have you here today. We’re grateful for your leadership, and I’ll say a little more about that, but thanks so much for being with us here. And Mr. Ambassador, Madam Consul General, thank you for being here with us too.

It was in a time of war and a time of challenge when exactly 70 years ago this year, Sir Winston Churchill first talked about the special relationship between the United States and Great Britain. And his deep conviction expressed then that unless we always kept the United States and the United Kingdom together in that special relationship untold destruction would be the result. Well, seven decades later, our two countries are confronting real danger together, taking it on, stopping it, and ultimately, we will defeat it – not just on the battlefield against ISIL, but we’re also together confronting what is a “gathering storm” of this century. The gathering storm that Sir Winston also warned about. And there is no element of that gathering storm more critical than climate change.

Together, both of our countries recognize that never before has a threat like climate change found in its solution such a level of opportunity – the opportunity to unleash the clean-energy economy that will get us out of this mess but also take us forward towards a safer, more sustainable future.

Now I know that climate change to some people can just seem like a very distant, future prospect, maybe even a future challenge. That’s dangerous, falling prey to that perception, because it’s not. And it would be very dangerous to lull ourselves into believing that you can wait with respect to any of the things that we need to do to meet this challenge.

Climate change is already impacting the world in very real and significant ways. This past August was the hottest August the planet has ever seen in recorded history. And each year of the last ten years, a decade, has been measured as being hotter than the last with one or two variations of which year followed which, but as a decade the hottest in our recorded history.

There are now – right now – serious food shortages taking place in places like Central America because regions are battling the worst droughts in decades, not 100-year events in terms of floods, in terms of fires, in terms of droughts – 500-year events, something unheard of in our measurement of weather.

Scientists now predict that with glaciers and melting of the ice at the current rates, the sea could rise now a full meter in this century. A meter might not seem like a whole lot, but let me tell you, think about it just in terms of Boston. It would mean about $100 billion worth of damage to buildings, to emergency costs, and so on.

And thinking about climate change as some distant challenge is dangerous for other reasons too. We still have in our hands a window of opportunity to be able to make the difference. We don’t have to face a future in which we’re unable to talk about anything except adaptation or mitigation, already present in our planning. But the window is closing quickly. That’s not a threat; that’s a fact. If all of us around the world do not move to push back against the current trend line of what is happening in climate change, we will literally lose any chance of staving off this threat.

The good news is that we actually know exactly how to do it. This is not a challenge which has no solution. This is not a challenge that’s out of our reach. The solution is staring us in the face. It’s very simple: clean energy. The solution to climate change is energy policy. And the best news of all is that investing in clean-energy economy doesn’t just mitigate the impacts of climate change and make our communities cleaner and healthier. It actually also reinvigorates our economies and creates millions of good jobs around the world.

Let me just share with you something. We in Massachusetts ought to be particularly tuned into this. In the 1990s, America created more wealth than at any other time in our history, more even than the famous 1920s and ’30s, when people read about the history of the Carnegies and the Mellons and the Rockefellers and the Fricks and so forth. We created greater wealth in the 1990s in America than we did when we had no income tax in the 1920s.

And the truth is that that came about as a $1 trillion market with 1 billion users – remember the one for one – in technology, in personal computers, in communications. And guess what? Every single quintile of income earner in America saw their incomes go up. Everybody did better. Well, the energy market that we are looking at today, in a nation that doesn’t even have a national grid, a nation that has an east coast grid, a west coast grid, a Texas grid, and a line that goes from Chicago out into the west towards Dakotas – that’s it. We have a huge, gaping hole in the middle of America. We can’t take energy from solar thermal in the Four Corners down there by New Mexico and Colorado and California and bring it to the northeast where we need it. We can’t take energy from those wind farms of Minnesota or Wisconsin or Iowa and sell it south, or our wind ultimately from Cape Wind because we don’t have a transmission system.

Guess what? $1 billion of investment in infrastructure is somewhere between 27,000 and 35,000 jobs. And if we were to do what we know we need to do to build the energy future of this country, we’ll put millions of people to work, and here’s the kicker: The market we’re looking at is a $6 trillion market with four to five billion users today, climbing to a potential 9 billion users by the year 2050. It is literally the mother of all markets. Governor Patrick understands that. Massachusetts has understood that. But we have not yet been able to translate that into our national policy.

So once again, I’m proud Massachusetts is setting the trend. Massachusetts is leading by example. And that’s why many in the United States and the UK who are leading by example. And as the governor said, we’re a little behind them in terms of some of the things we ought to be doing, behind Europe in some respects. But in the United States we’re now targeting emissions from transportation and power sources, which are 60 percent of dangerous greenhouse gases. And at the same time, we bumped our solar energy production on a national basis by ten times and we’ve upped our wind energy production on a national basis by more than threefold thanks in large part to facilities just like this one.

So because of the steps that we’re now taking, we’re in a position to put twice as many people to work in the energy sector, nearly double the amount of people currently employed by oil and gas industry. This is the future. It’s already a $10 billion chunk of the Massachusetts economy and growing; 90,000 – almost 100,000 – people employed here in Massachusetts; 6,000 companies statewide are defining this future. And the Massachusetts wind testing center that we’re in now helps ensure that the global wind power industry is deploying the most effective land-based offshore wind turbine technologies to be used around the world.

This is global, what’s happening here, and that’s why Philip Hammond and I wanted to come here today, to underscore not just to Massachusetts but to America and to the world what these possibilities are. And the fact is that there is a lab not unlike this, a Narec blade testing facility in the United Kingdom city of Blyth. So we share this vision in very real ways.

I’d just say to all of you here that people need to feel the pressure from you. You all know what politics is about. I’m not in it now, but I’m dependent on it to help make the right decisions so that we move in the right direction. A clean energy future is not a fantasy. Changing course and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change is not a fantasy. And supporting healthier communities and ecosystems and driving economic growth and job creation – none of that is a fantasy. And for those people who still stand in the way, for those people who even still today want to try to question whether or not their science is effective or not, I’d just ask you – ask a simple question: If we’re wrong about this future, what’s the worst that could happen to us for making these choices?

The worst that could happen to us is we create a whole lot of new jobs, we kick our economies into gear, we have healthier people, healthier children because we have cleaner air, we live up to our environmental responsibility, we become truly energy independent, and our security is stronger and greater and sustainable as a result. That’s the worst that happens to us.

What happens if they’re wrong? (Applause.) If they’re wrong – catastrophe. Life as you know it on Earth ends. Seven degrees increase Fahrenheit, and we can’t sustain crops, water, life under those circumstances.

So I know, with Philip Hammond and I and President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron and a whole bunch of leaders around the world know, we need to go to Lima, Peru this year and we need to push forward on an agreement, and next year in Paris we need to reach an agreement where we live up to our responsibility to future generations and make all the difference in the world.

I am proud that we have a great colleague to help us in this fight, an individual who understands the security connection of this better than most because he just finished serving as the Secretary for Defense in Great Britain and was transferred into this role as the Foreign Secretary for Great Britain.

So will you please welcome a terrific partner, a great colleague in this endeavor, Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain. (Applause.)

FOREIGN SECRETARY HAMMOND: Well, thank you, John, for that introduction, and one of the great things about having just been Secretary of State for Defense is that I’m quite used to speaking in aircraft hangars, which have vaguely similar acoustics to this room today. John, it’s a huge privilege to be here, to be invited to visit your hometown. Thank you for that. Thank you for the things that you’ve shown me today. And thank you to our hosts for hosting this event in this world class facility. It’s a fascinating snapshot of the degree of global collaboration that is going on as the green energy business develops on a worldwide basis.

I know that we’re looking at a facility here that is testing blades made in Europe, in China, in Brazil, as well as in North America. And nothing could more encapsulate the global nature of the challenge and the global nature of the response to that challenge. This is a city with a worldwide reputation not only as a seat of learning, but also as a hub for cutting-edge technology, and it’s been a great pleasure to see some of that here today.

Those of you who are working in the low-carbon energy sector know that you are generating jobs and investment for the long term. But above all, you know that you’re in the front line in the battle against climate change. Secretary Kerry, the governor, and I are in complete agreement that this is a battle that we have to win for the sake of our long-term security. When we think about keeping our nation safe, we have to plan for the worst-case scenarios, and Secretary Kerry just spelled out in very, very graphic terms how that equation works. We have to take the precautionary principle, we have to plan for the worst possible outcome, and we have to protect future generations from the impacts of those.

In the case of unchecked climate change, even the most likely scenario could have catastrophic consequences: a rise in global temperature similar to the difference between the last ice age and today, leading to rising sea levels, huge movements of people fueling conflict and instability around the world, pressure on resources, and a multitude of new risks to global public health. The worst case is even more severe: a drastic change in our environment that could see heat stress in some areas surpass the limits of human tolerance, leaving as the legacy of our generation an unimaginably different and more dangerous world for our children and our grandchildren.

So we have to act on climate change, but by doing so we will not just protect the future from the worst effects of climate change; we will bring tangible benefits to our people here and now. We’ll get cleaner air, more efficient transport, better cities, better health. And more than that, the technological transformation that is required will provide a greater stimulus than the space program did 50 years ago, generating massive new opportunities for innovation, jobs, and economic growth.

For too long this debate has been dominated by purists and idealists, people who are happy with the notion that we would have to sacrifice economic growth to meet the climate challenge. I think you’ve heard from all three of us on this platform this morning that we reject that choice. We do not accept that we have to choose between our prosperity and the future of our planet. Indeed, we are demonstrating across the world – here in Massachusetts, in the UK – we are demonstrating that the response to climate change can be a generator of economic growth, innovation, and quality jobs.

In the UK, 92 percent of business leaders think that green growth is an opportunity for their own businesses. Demand for green goods and services is growing faster both here and in Europe than the general economy is growing. Globally, as Secretary Kerry has said, the green economy will be worth over $6 trillion by 2030, and it’s expanding all the time.

But the full range of benefits is beyond our ability to estimate. The dividends of technology are often unpredicted and unpredictable. The potential is immense. And by seizing the initiative now, we can take first-mover advantage.

Moreover, in addition to creating jobs and growth, embracing green technology increases our energy security. At a time of international turbulence, this is an advantage we should not underestimate. And we in Europe, facing Russian energy bullying on a grand scale as we approach the winter, understand that better than most people. ISIL’s assault on Iraq poses another serious threat to our energy security, which could have knock-on effects in global energy markets and the prices that we pay at the pump.

Here in the U.S., the shale revolution has eased worries about dependence on overseas oil and gas, and in the UK we are committed to exploiting the potential of shale as part of our energy mix. But over the longer term, renewable energy sources, like those being developed and tested here, will be critical to reducing our vulnerability to energy supply shocks.

So the benefits of addressing climate change are multiple, but it will not happen by itself. It requires leadership, leadership that is now, some would say, at last beginning to take shape. Britain is leading by enacting into our domestic law the most demanding emissions targets in the industrialized world. We’ve already reduced emissions by more than a quarter, putting us on track for an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050. We have the world’s leading carbon-trading center in London, and we’ve established the world’s first green investment bank.

Here on this side of the Atlantic, Boston is leading with its innovative technology. Northeastern states collectively are leading with their Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Other states, from Iowa to Texas to California, are leading in their separate ways. And John, if I may say so, you are leading with your tireless diplomacy on this issue.

The U.S. has begun to take on the leadership role, which, as the world’s biggest economy, is essential if we are going to make progress globally. And there are signs that these efforts are inspiring others to follow, with positive steps from China, from India, from Brazil. This is a momentum that we have to harness and increase if we are to secure an effective global climate deal in Paris next year. And I look forward to working with Secretary Kerry and our partners in the European Union in order to bring that about.

But it isn’t just about governments and diplomacy. Scientists and universities are shaping the debate. Ordinary people and civil society are helping to keep this issue in the spotlight through actions like the Climate March a few weeks ago, but also through their own individual choices as consumers, which in turn drives the vital role that businesses have to play, shaping their investment, channeling innovation to support the fight against climate change.

Both here and – in the U.S. and in the UK, business is at the heart of our approach. We will get this job done by going with the grain, by using the power of the market, by creating the necessary incentives and structures to mobilize the creativity of private businesses to respond to the challenges of climate change. It is a complex task, but as Secretary Kerry said, it is not rocket science; it is something that we know how to do, we just have to put our shoulders to the wheel and get it done.

Fifty years ago, the U.S. showed us how a strategic challenge – putting a man on the moon – could guarantee innovation through economy-transforming investments. Today, we have an opportunity to do that again in response to the challenge of climate change. If we are to achieve our common goal of limiting climate to two degrees Celsius, we need everyone to play their part. It is clear that we have no time to lose.

Secretary Kerry just repeated his oft-repeated remark, that the window of time is still open for us to be able to manage this threat. But as he, himself, observed, that window is fast beginning to close.

To counter the threat and to seize the opportunity that rising to the challenge of climate change represents we have to act now. And by acting now, we will not only maximize our changes of avoiding catastrophic climate change, we will increase our resilience and create huge new opportunities for growth and innovation in all our economies. That is what I call a true win-win situation. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

AG HOLDER'S STATEMENT ON COURT RULING AGAINST TEXAS VOTER ID LAW

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Attorney General Holder Statement on Federal Court Ruling Against Texas Voter Identification Law

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement late Thursday after a federal district court ruled in favor of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Texas' voter identification law:

"We are extremely heartened by the court's decision, which affirms our position that the Texas voter identification law unfairly and unnecessarily restricts access to the franchise. Even after the Voting Rights Act was seriously eroded last year, we vowed to continue enforcing the remaining portions of that statute as aggressively as possible. This ruling is an important vindication of those efforts.

"We are also pleased that the Supreme Court has refused to allow Wisconsin to implement its own restrictive voter identification law.

"This Department will never yield in its commitment to protecting that most sacred of Americans' rights - the right to vote."

NSF ON THE BRAIN AT REST

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

What happens to your brain when your mind is at rest?

Kavli Prize winner recognized as pioneer in research in the development and use of brain imaging techniques

For many years, the focus of brain mapping was to examine changes in the brain that occur when people are attentively engaged in an activity. No one spent much time thinking about what happens to the brain when people are doing very little.

But Marcus Raichle, a professor of radiology, neurology, neurobiology and biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has done just that. In the 1990s, he and his colleagues made a pivotal discovery by revealing how a specific area of the brain responds to down time.

"A great deal of meaningful activity is occurring in the brain when a person is sitting back and doing nothing at all," says Raichle, who has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. "It turns out that when your mind is at rest, dispersed brain areas are chattering away to one another."

The results of these discoveries now are integral to studies of brain function in health and disease worldwide. In fact, Raichle and his colleagues have found that these areas of rest in the brain--the ones that ultimately became the focus of their work--often are among the first affected by Alzheimer's disease, a finding that ultimately could help in early detection of this disorder and a much greater understanding of the nature of the disease itself.

For his pioneering research, Raichle this year was among those chosen to receive the prestigious Kavli Prize, awarded by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. It consists of a cash award of $1 million, which he will share with two other Kavli recipients in the field of neuroscience.

His discovery was a near accident, actually what he calls "pure serendipity." Raichle, like others in the field at the time, was involved in brain imaging, looking for increases in brain activity associated with different tasks, for example language response.

In order to conduct such tests, scientists first needed to establish a baseline for comparison purposes which typically complements the task under study by including all aspects of the task, other than just the one of interest.

"For example, a control task for reading words aloud might be simply viewing them passively," he says.

In the Raichle laboratory, they routinely required subjects to look at a blank screen. When comparing this simple baseline to the task state, Raichle noticed something.

"We didn't specify that you clear your mind, we just asked subjects to rest quietly and don't fall asleep," he recalls. "I don't remember the day I bothered to look at what was happening in the brain when subjects moved from this simple resting state to engagement in an attention demanding task that might be more involved than simply increases in brain activity associated with the task.

"When I did so, I observed that while brain activity in some parts of the brain increased as expected, there were other areas that actually decreased their activity as if they had been more active in the 'resting state,"' he adds. "Because these decreases in brain activity were so dramatic and unexpected, I got into the habit of looking for them in all of our experiments. Their consistency both in terms of where they occurred and the frequency of their occurrence--that is, almost always--really got my attention. I wasn't sure what was going on at first but it was just too consistent to not be real."

These observations ultimately produced ground-breaking work that led to the concept of a default mode of brain function, including the discovery of a unique fronto-parietal network in the brain. It has come to be known as the default mode network, whose regions are more active when the brain is not actively engaged in a novel, attention-demanding task.

"Basically we described a core system of the brain never seen before," he says. "This core system within the brain's two great hemispheres increasingly appears to be playing a central role in how the brain organizes its ongoing activities"

The discovery of the brain's default mode caused Raichle and his colleagues to reconsider the idea that the brain uses more energy when engaged in an attention-demanding task. Measurements of brain metabolism with PET (positron emission tomography) and data culled from the literature led them to conclude that the brain is a very expensive organ, accounting for about 20 percent of the body's energy consumption in an adult human, yet accounting for only 2 percent of the body weight.

"The changes in activity associated with the performance of virtually any type of task add little to the overall cost of brain function," he continues. "This has initiated a paradigm shift in brain research that has moved increasingly to studies of the brain's intrinsic activity, that is, its default mode of functioning."

Raichle, whose work on the role of this intrinsic brain activity on facets of consciousness was supported by NSF, is also known for his research in developing and using imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography, to identify specific areas of the brain involved in seeing, hearing, reading, memory and emotion.

In addition, his team studied chemical receptors in the brain, the physiology of major depression and anxiety, and has evaluated patients at risk for stroke. Currently, he is completing research studying what happens to the brain under anesthesia.

"The brain is capable of so many things, even when you are not conscious," Raichle says. "If you are unconscious, the organization of the brain is maintained, but it is not the same as being awake."

-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Marcus Raichle
Related Institutions/Organizations
Washington University School of Medicine

2ND VP OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA TO GIVE UP OVER $30 MILLION OF ASSETS PURCHASED WITH CORRUPTION MONEY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea Agrees to Relinquish More Than $30 Million of Assets Purchased with Corruption Proceeds

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement of its civil forfeiture cases against assets in the United States owned by the Second Vice President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue that he purchased with the proceeds of corruption.    

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Director Thomas S. Winkowski of U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement made the announcement after the settlement was signed and lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

“Through relentless embezzlement and extortion, Vice President Nguema Obiang shamelessly looted his government and shook down businesses in his country to support his lavish lifestyle, while many of his fellow citizens lived in extreme poverty,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “After raking in millions in bribes and kickbacks, Nguema Obiang embarked on a corruption-fueled spending spree in the United States.  This settlement forces Nguema Obiang to relinquish assets worth an estimated $30 million, and prevents Nguema Obiang from hiding other stolen money in the United States, fulfilling the goals of our Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative: to deny safe haven to the proceeds of large-scale foreign official corruption and recover those funds for the people harmed by the abuse of office.”

“While this settlement is certainly gratifying for the many investigators and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring it to fruition, it is undoubtedly even more rewarding for the people of Equatorial Guinea, knowing that at least some of the money plundered from their country’s coffers is being returned to them,” said Acting ICE Director Winkowski.  “ICE remains steadfast in its resolve to combat foreign corruption when the spoils of these crimes come to our shores and we are committed to seeking justice and compensation for the often impoverished victims.”

According to court documents, Nguema Obiang, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, received an official government salary of less than $100,000 but used his position and influence as a government minister to amass more than $300 million worth of assets through corruption and money laundering, in violation of both Equatoguinean and U.S. law.  Through intermediaries and corporate entities, Nguema Obiang acquired numerous assets in the United States that he is agreeing to relinquish in a combination of forfeiture and divestment to a charity for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea.

Under the terms of the settlement, Nguema Obiang must sell a $30 million mansion located in Malibu, California, a Ferrari automobile and various items of Michael Jackson memorabilia purchased with the proceeds of corruption.  Of those proceeds, $20 million will be given to a charitable organization to be used for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea.  Another $10.3 million will be forfeited to the United States and will be used for the benefit of the people of Equatorial Guinea to the extent permitted by law.

Under the agreement, Nguema Obiang must also disclose and remove other assets he owns in the United States.  Nguema Obiang must also make a $1 million payment to the United States, representing the value of Michael Jackson memorabilia already removed from the United States for disbursement to the charitable organization.  The agreement also provides that if certain of Nguema Obiang’s other assets, including a Gulfstream Jet, are ever brought into the United States, they are subject to seizure and forfeiture.

Next week, the parties will request that the court enter appropriate orders to implement and enforce this agreement.

This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office.

The investigation was conducted by ICE, Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Foreign Corruption Investigations Group and the HSI Asset Identification and Removal Group in Miami, with the assistance of the HSI Office of the Special Agent in Charge for Los Angeles, the HSI Attaché Office in Rome, HSI Attaché Office in Madrid, HSI Attaché Office in London and the HSI Attaché Office in Paris.  HSI established the FCIG in 2003 to conduct investigations into the laundering of proceeds emanating from foreign public corruption, bribery and embezzlement. The cases are worked jointly with representatives of the victimized foreign governments. The FCIG’s goal is to prevent foreign-derived, ill-gotten gains from entering the U.S. financial infrastructure; to seize assets identified in the U.S.; and to repatriate these funds to the victimized governments. Since the initiative’s launch, HSI has effected 220 seizures involving more than $146 million worth of property and assets.

The case was handled by Trial Attorneys Woo S. Lee, Stephen A. Gibbons, and Della G. Sentilles and Assistant Deputy Chief Daniel Claman of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, with substantial assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Welk of the Central District of California.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance

The department appreciates the extensive assistance provided by the Government of France in this investigation and prosecution.

VIEW OF A SPACEWALK AT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

FROM:  NASA 

Caption By NASA.  On Oct. 7, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman (pictured here) and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst completed the first of three spacewalks for the Expedition 41 crew aboard the International Space Station. The spacewalkers worked outside the space station's Quest airlock for 6 hours and 13 minutes, relocating a failed cooling pump to external stowage and installing gear that provides back up power to external robotics equipment. Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA operated the Canadian robotic arm, maneuvered Gerst during the course of the spacewalk and served as the spacewalk coordinator. A second U.S. spacewalk is set for Oct. 15. Wilmore will don a U.S. spacesuit and follow Wiseman outside the Quest airlock for a 6-1/2 hour excursion. Gerst will serve as the spacewalk choreographer. The goal of the excursion is to replace a failed voltage regulator component on the starboard truss of the station. They will also move external camera equipment in advance of a major reconfiguration of station modules next year for the arrival of new docking adapters for commercial crew vehicles. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Alexander Gerst.

NASA VIDEO: TOUR OF RX J1131-1231

SOME E*TRADE SUBSIDIARIES IN TROUBLE OVER ALLEGED UNREGISTERED SALES OF MICROCAP STOCKS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an enforcement action against current and former brokerage subsidiaries of E*TRADE Financial Corporation that failed in their gatekeeper roles and improperly engaged in unregistered sales of microcap stocks on behalf of their customers.

An SEC investigation found that E*TRADE Securities and E*TRADE Capital Markets sold billions of penny stock shares for customers during a four-year period while ignoring red flags that the offerings were being conducted without an applicable exemption from the registration provisions of the federal securities laws.  E*TRADE Securities remains an E*TRADE subsidiary while E*TRADE Capital Markets was sold earlier this year and is now called G1 Execution Services.

E*TRADE Securities and G1 Execution Services agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying back more than $1.5 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest from commissions they earned on the improper sales.  They also must pay a combined penalty of $1 million.

In addition to the enforcement action, the SEC staff today published a Risk Alert and FAQs to remind broker-dealers of their obligations when they engage in unregistered transactions on behalf of their customers.

“Broker-dealers serve an important gatekeeping function that helps prevent microcap fraud by taking measures to ensure that unregistered shares don’t reach the market if the registration rules aren’t being followed,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “Many billions of unregistered shares passed through gates that E*TRADE should have closed, and we will hold firms accountable when improper trading occurs on their watch.”

According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, the failures by E*TRADE occurred periodically from March 2007 to April 2011.  The securities laws generally require all offers and sales of securities to be registered with the SEC unless those offers and sales qualify for an exemption.  When brokers facilitate an unregistered sales transaction on behalf of a customer, they must reasonably ensure that an exemption does indeed apply.

The SEC’s order finds that three customers of E*TRADE routinely deposited to their E*TRADE accounts large quantities of newly issued penny stocks they had acquired through private, unregistered transactions with little-known, non-reporting issuers.  The customers claimed that these penny stocks were “freely tradable” and they placed orders for E*TRADE to sell the securities to the public through “resales” without any registration statements in effect.  Following the resales, the customers immediately wired the sales proceeds out of their accounts.

According to the SEC’s order, E*TRADE encountered numerous red flags indicating potential improper sales of securities.  Nevertheless, the firm relied on a registration exemption for broker-dealers that permits them to execute a customer’s unregistered sales of securities if, after a reasonable inquiry, the broker-dealer is not aware of circumstances indicating that the customer is violating registration requirements.  E*TRADE initially failed to identify any exemptions potentially available to these customers.  When it later identified the purported exemptions upon which the customers claimed to be relying, E*TRADE failed to perform a searching inquiry to be reasonably certain that such exemptions applied for each unregistered sale executed by the three customers.

“E*TRADE failed to fulfill its obligation to determine whether any exemptions applied to  the sale of billions of shares of securities thereby depriving investors of critical protections under the federal securities laws,” said Stephen L. Cohen, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “Firms must take their reasonable inquiry obligations seriously and do more than check the box, particularly when red flags are apparent.”

The SEC’s order finds that E*TRADE Securities and G1 Execution Services violated Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933.  In addition to the monetary sanctions and without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, the two firms agreed to be censured and consented to the order requiring them to cease and desist from committing or causing any future violations of the registration provisions of the Securities Act.  

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Deborah R. Maisel and Richard E. Johnston with assistance from Kyle DeYoung.  The case was supervised by Jennifer S. Leete.

SECRETARY KERRY MAKES REMARKS WITH HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER LAURENT LAMOTHE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks With Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

October 9, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us for a minute. I’m very happy to welcome the Prime Minister of Haiti Laurent Lamothe here to Washington. And in doing so I welcome a good friend, a good partner in the major efforts to meet the challenges of Haiti, which are significant because of the devastating earthquake and some of the needs to push for political reform. The government has worked hard and we have worked hard and the international community has worked hard to make a difference to the lives of the people of Haiti.

I have many Haitians who live in Massachusetts that I was proud to represent as a United States senator for many years, and so I would always hear very personal stories of the challenges in Haiti. And we have a deep interest in the United States in helping to continue down this road of both democracy and economic growth and development.

There is work to be done, and particularly, as we know, there is the challenge of completing the task of having local and legislative elections as soon as possible, being able to set the date and hold those elections to complete the task of Haiti’s transition. Unfortunately, that is being blocked now politically. I spoke with President Martelly just the other day about this, and we intend to try to work very closely to move forward. This resistance – the unwillingness to allow the people to be able to have this vote – really challenges the overall growth and development progress of the country. You need to have a fully functioning government. The president has been working very hard, the prime minister working very, very hard, to pull people together to make this happen.

So we’ll talk about that today and we have very, very high hopes that we can make progress with respect to that, because that will facilitate our ability to continue the progress and complete the task of helping the people of Haiti to have the day-to-day lives they deserve and want, and which we want for them.

So Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. Thank you.

PRIME MINISTER LAMOTHE: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.

I want to thank Secretary Kerry for having us today. It’s a great pleasure and honor to be here. It’s my second visit. I used to be foreign minister here – of Haiti, so I’m very, very happy to be able to discuss Haiti’s progress. We came a long way after a devastating earthquake that took away 250,000 lives, 500,000 people were wounded. The country had $14 billion in damages. And 50 percent of the population of Port-au-Prince was homeless. That’s the situation we found.

Today, 98 percent of that population has been relocated. The country is progressing very much, and that’s thanks very much to the U.S. support of Haiti’s growth, Haiti’s progress. We have a thriving industrial park in the northern part of Haiti.

Haiti has tremendous challenges ahead of it. We have the elections that we have to organize, and like the Secretary said, we’re working very hard to organize those elections as soon as possible. We have the energy security that we wanted to address, and the rule of law and security in general.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Secretary Kerry for the time, and also all the leadership that you’ve shown in the Ebola, I would say, mobilization of the world. And Haiti stands by your side in order to assist in any little way that we can in this effort that affects all of us.

Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir.

QUESTION: Mr. Prime – Mr. Prime Minister --

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, so can you confirm that the elections won’t take place as scheduled on October 26th and that you will have to postpone them?

PRIME MINISTER LAMOTHE: All – everything is ready for the election to take place. We have the financing that’s in place. The electoral council is in place. We have the security plan that’s in place. We’re missing one thing, which is the electoral law, and the electoral law has to be voted by the senate. And at this moment, there is six senators who’ve been sitting on the law for the past 200 days, seven months. So we are working feverishly in a dialogue with different sectors to try to get them to vote that law in order for us to have elections as soon as possible. But if it was up to us, we would have it tomorrow.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Thank you all very much.

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA SPEAKS AT THE FASHION EDUCATION WORKSHOP