REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA ON FY2015 BUDGET

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
Remarks by the President Announcing the FY2015 Budget
Powell Elementary School
Washington, D.C.

11:38 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  I’m here at Powell Elementary School, and just had a chance to see some of the outstanding students here.  And I thought it was appropriate for me to say a few words about the budget that I sent to Congress this morning -- because obviously the budget is not just about numbers, it’s about our values and it’s about our future, and how well we are laying the groundwork for those young children that I was with just a few moments ago to be able to succeed here in America.  These kids may not be the most excited people in town on budget day, but my budget is designed with their generation and future generations in mind.

In my State of the Union address, I laid out an agenda to restore opportunity for all people -- to uphold the principle that no matter who you are, no matter where you started, you can make it if you try here in America.

This opportunity agenda is built on four parts -- more good jobs and good wages; making sure that we’re training workers with the skills they need to get those good jobs; guaranteeing every child access to a world-class education; and making sure that our economy is one in which hard work is rewarded.

The budget I sent Congress this morning lays out how we’ll implement this agenda in a balanced and responsible way.  It’s a road map for creating jobs with good wages and expanding opportunity for all Americans.  And at a time when our deficits have been cut in half, it allows us to meet our obligations to future generations without leaving them a mountain of debt.  This budget adheres to the spending levels that both parties in both houses of Congress already agreed to.  But it also builds on that progress with what we’re calling an Opportunity, Growth and Security Initiative that invests in our economic priorities in a smart way that is fully paid for by making smart spending cuts and closing tax loopholes that right now only benefit the well-off and the well-connected.

I’ll give you an example.  Right now, our tax system provides benefits to wealthy individuals who save, even after they’ve amassed multimillion dollar retirement accounts.  By closing that loophole, we can help create jobs and grow our economy, and expand opportunity without adding a dime to the deficit.

We know that the country that wins the race for new technologies will win the race for new jobs, so this budget creates 45 high-tech manufacturing hubs where businesses and universities will partner to turn groundbreaking research into new industries and new jobs made in America.

We know -- and this is part of the reason why we’re here today -- that education has to start at the earliest possible ages.  So this budget expands access to the kind of high-quality preschool and other early learning programs to give all of our children the same kinds of opportunities that those wonderful children that we just saw are getting right here at Powell.

We know that while not all of today’s good jobs are going to require a four-year college degree, more and more of them are going to require some form of higher education or specialized training.  So this budget expands apprenticeships to connect more ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs.  And we know that future generations will continue to deal with the effects of a warming planet, so this budget proposes a smarter way to address the costs of wildfires.  And it includes over $1 billion in new funding for new technologies to help communities prepare for a changing climate today, and set up incentives to build smarter and more resilient infrastructure.

We also know that the most effective and historically bipartisan ways to reduce poverty and help hardworking families pull themselves up is the earned income tax credit.  Right now, it helps about half of all parents in America at some point in their lives.  This budget gives millions more workers the opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit.  And it pays for it by closing loopholes like the ones that let wealthy individuals classify themselves as a small business to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

This budget will also continue to put our fiscal house in order over the long-term -- not by putting the burden on folks who can least afford it, but by reforming our tax code and our immigration system and building on the progress that we’ve made to reduce health care costs under the Affordable Care Act.  And it puts our debt on a downward path as a share of our total economy, which independent experts have set as a critical target for fiscal responsibility.

As I said at the outset, our budget is about choices.  It’s about our values.  As a country, we’ve got to make a decision if we’re going to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, or if we’re going to make smart investments necessary to create jobs and grow our economy, and expand opportunity for every American.  At a time when our deficits are falling at the fastest rate in 60 years, we’ve got to decide if we’re going to keep squeezing the middle class, or if we’re going to continue to reduce the deficits responsibly, while taking steps to grow and strengthen the middle class.

The American people have made clear time and again which approach they prefer.  That’s the approach that my budget offers.  That’s why I’m going to fight for it this year and in the years to come as President.  Thank you very much, everybody.

Q    Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, Mike.

Q    Do you have response to President Putin’s press conference this morning?  Is Chancellor Merkel right that he’s lost touch with reality?  And have you spoken with him again personally?

THE PRESIDENT:  I haven’t spoken to him since I spoke to him this past weekend.  But obviously, me and my national security team have been watching events unfolding in Ukraine very closely.  I met with them again today.  As many of you know, John Kerry is in Kyiv as we speak, at my direction.  He’s expressing our full support for the Ukrainian people.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been working with our partners and with the IMF to build international support for a package that helps to stabilize Ukraine’s economy.  And today we announced a significant package of our own to support Ukraine’s economy, and also to provide them with the technical assistance that they need.  So it includes a planned loan guarantee package of $1 billion.  It provides immediate technical expertise to Ukraine to repair its economy.  And, importantly, it provides for assistance to help Ukraine plan for elections that are going to be coming up very soon.

As I said yesterday, it is important that Congress stand with us.  I don’t doubt the bipartisan concern that’s been expressed by the situation in Ukraine.  There is something immediately Congress can do to help us, and that is to help finance the economic package that can stabilize the economy in Ukraine, help to make sure that fair and free elections take place very soon, and as a consequence, helps to deescalate the crisis.

In the meantime, we’re consulting with our international allies across the board.  Together, the international community has condemned Russia’s violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.  We’ve condemned their intervention in Crimea.  And we are calling for a de-escalation of the situation, and international monitors that can go into the country right away.

And, above all, we believe that the Ukrainian people should be able to decide their own future, which is why the world should be focused on helping them stabilize the situation economically and move towards the fair and free elections that are currently scheduled to take place in May.

There have been some reports that President Putin is pausing for a moment and reflecting on what’s happened.  I think that we’ve all seen that -- from the perspective of the European Union, the United States, allies like Canada and Japan, and allies and friends and partners around the world -- there is a strong belief that Russia’s action is violating international law.  I know President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations, but I don’t think that’s fooling anybody.

I think everybody recognizes that although Russia has legitimate interests in what happens in a neighboring state, that does not give it the right to use force as a means of exerting influence inside of that state.  We have said that if, in fact, there is any evidence out there that Russian speakers or Russian natives or Russian nationals are in any way being threatened, there are ways of dealing with that through international mechanisms.  And we’re prepared to make sure that the rights of all Ukrainians are upheld.  And, in fact, in conversations that we’ve had with the government in Kyiv, they have been more than willing to work with the international community and with Russia to provide such assurances.

So the fact that we are still seeing soldiers out of their barracks in Crimea is an indication to which what’s happening there is not based on actual concern for Russian nationals or Russian speakers inside of Ukraine, but is based on Russia seeking, through force, to exert influence on a neighboring country.  That is not how international law is supposed to operate.

I would also note just the way that some of this has been reported, that there’s a suggestion somehow that the Russian actions have been clever strategically.  I actually think that this has not been a sign of strength but rather is a reflection that countries near Russia have deep concerns and suspicions about this kind of meddling, and if anything, it will push many countries further away from Russia.

There is the ability for Ukraine to be a friend of the West’s and a friend of Russia’s as long as none of us are inside of Ukraine trying to meddle and intervene, certainly not militarily, with decisions that properly belong to the Ukrainian people.  And that’s the principle that John Kerry is going to be speaking to during his visit.  I’ll be making additional calls today to some of our key foreign partners, and I suspect I’ll be doing that all week and in through the weekend.

But as I indicated yesterday, the course of history is for people to want to be free to make their own decisions about their own futures.  And the international community I think is unified in believing that it is not the role of an outside force -- where there’s been no evidence of serious violence, where there’s been no rationale under international law -- to intervene in people trying to determine their own destiny.

So we stand on the side of history that I think more and more people around the world deeply believe in -- the principle that a sovereign people, an independent people are able to make their own decisions about their own lives.  And Mr. Putin can throw a lot of words out there, but the facts on the ground indicate that right now he’s not abiding by that principle.  There is still the opportunity for Russia to do so, working with the international community to help stabilize the situation.

And we’ve sent a clear message that we are prepared to work with anybody if their genuine interest is making sure that Ukraine is able to govern itself.  And as I indicated before, and something that I think has not been emphasized enough, they are currently scheduled to have elections in May.  And everybody in the international community should be invested in making sure that the economic deterioration that’s happened in Ukraine stops, but also that these elections proceed in a fair and free way in which all Ukrainians, including Russian speakers inside of Ukraine, are able to express their choice of who should lead them.

And if we have a strong, robust, legitimate election, then there shouldn’t be any question as to whether the Ukrainian people govern themselves without the kinds of outside interference that we see Russia exerting.

All right, thank you very much, everybody.

END

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS TO PRESS AT KYIV EMBASSY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at a Solo Press Availability

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

U.S. Embassy Kyiv

Kyiv, Ukraine

March 4, 2014

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SECRETARY KERRY:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Let me say, first of all, how incredibly moving it was to walk down Institutska Street and to have a chance to be able to pay my respects on behalf of President Obama and the American people at the site of last month’s deadly shootings.  It was really quite remarkable, I have to tell you, to see the barricades, see the tires, see the barbed wire, see the bullet holes in street lamps, the extraordinary number of flowers, the people still standing beside a barrel with a fire to keep them warm, the shrouded vision in the clouds and the fog of the buildings from which the shots came, and the pictures, the photographs, of those who lost their lives, of the people who put themselves on the line for the future of Ukraine.

It was deeply moving to walk into a group of Ukrainians spontaneously gathered there and to listen to them, to listen to their pleas of passion for the right not to go back to life as it was under former president Yanukovych.  One woman who pleadingly said how poor they were, how the rich lived well, and how those in power took the money, and how they were left behind.  And particularly, one man who told me that he had recently traveled to Australia, and he had come back here, but he came determined to be able to live as he had seen other people live in other parts of the world. 

So it was very moving, and it gave me a deep, personal sense of how closely linked the people of Ukraine are to not just Americans, but to people all across the world who today are asking for their rights, asking for the privilege to be able to live, defining their own nation, defining their futures.  That’s what this is about. 

And the United States extends our deepest condolences to those whose grief is still very fresh and those who lost loved ones, who bravely battled against snipers on rooftops and people armed against them with weapons they never dreamt of having.  These brave Ukrainians took to the streets in order to stand peacefully against tyranny and to demand democracy.  So instead, they were met with snipers who picked them off, one after the other, as people of courage, notwithstanding the bullets, went out to get them, drag them to safety, give them comfort, expose themselves.  They raised their voices for dignity and for freedom.  But what they stood for so bravely, I say with full conviction, will never be stolen by bullets or by invasions.  It cannot be silenced by thugs from rooftops.  It is universal, it’s unmistakable, and it’s called freedom. 

So today, in another part of this country, we’re in a new phase of the struggle for freedom.  And the United States reaffirms our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to international law.  We condemn the Russian Federation’s act of aggression.  And we have, throughout this moment, evidence of a great transformation taking place, and in that transformation we will stand with the people of Ukraine. 

Today, Ukrainians are demanding a government with the consent of the people.  And I have to say that we all greatly admire the restraint that the transitional government has shown as it makes this transition.  They have shown restraint, despite an invasion of Ukrainian homeland and a Russian Government that has chosen aggression and intimidation as a first resort.  The contrast really could not be clearer:  determined Ukrainians demonstrating strength through unity and a Russian Government out of excuses, hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation, and provocations. 

In the hearts of Ukrainians and the eyes of the world, there is nothing strong about what Russia is doing.  So it’s time to set the record straight.  The Russian Government would have you believe it was the opposition who failed to implement the February 21^st agreement that called for a peaceful transition, ignoring the reality that it was Yanukovych who, when history came calling, when his country was in need, when this city was the place where the action was, where the leaders of the nation were gathered in order to decide the future, he broke his obligation to sign that agreement and he fled into the night with his possessions, destroying papers behind him.  He abandoned his people and eventually his country.

The Russian Government would have you believe that the Ukraine Government somehow is illegitimate or led by extremists, ignoring the reality that the Rada, representing the people of Ukraine, the elected representatives of the people of Ukraine – they overwhelming approved the new government, even with members of Yanukovych’s party deserting him and voting overwhelmingly in order to approve this new government.  It was thanks in part to the votes from Yanukovych’s own party that the future of Ukraine changed.  And today, the Rada is the most representative institution in Ukraine.

The Russian Government would also have you believe that the calm and friendly streets – one of which I walked down but many of which I just drove through – that somehow these streets of Kyiv are actually dangerous, ignoring the reality that there has been no surge in crime, no surge in looting, no political retribution here.  The Russian Government would have you believe, against all the evidence, that there have been mass defections of Ukrainians to Russia, or that there have been mass attacks on churches in eastern Ukraine.  That hasn’t happened, either.

They would have you believe that ethnic Russians and Russian bases are threatened.  They’d have you believe that Kyiv is trying to destabilize Crimea or that Russian actions are legal or legitimate because Crimean leaders invited intervention.  And as everybody knows, the soldiers in Crimea, at the instruction of their government, have stood their ground but never fired a shot, never issued one provocation, have been surrounded by an invading group of troops and have seen an individual who got 3 percent of the vote installed as the so-called leader by the Russians.

They would have you believe that Kyiv is trying to destabilize Crimea, or that somehow Russian leaders invited intervention.  Not a single piece of credible evidence supports any one of these claims – none.

And the larger point is really this:  It is diplomacy and respect for sovereignty, not unilateral force, that can best solve disputes like this in the 21^st century.  President Obama and I want to make it clear to Russia and to everybody in the world that we are not seeking confrontation.  There’s a better way for Russia to pursue its legitimate interests in Ukraine.  If you were legitimately worried about some of your citizens, then go to the government.  Talk to them about it.  Go to the UN.  Raise the issue in the Security Council.  Go to the OSCE.  Raise it in one of the human rights organizations.  There are countless outlets that an organized, structured, decent world has struggled to put together to resolve these differences so we don’t see a nation unilaterally invade another nation.  There’s a better way for Russia to pursue its legitimate interests in Ukraine.

Russia can choose to comply with international law and honor its commitments under the Helsinki Final Act under the United Nations Charter.  If it wants to help protect ethnic Russians, as it purports to, and if they were threatened, we would support efforts to protect them, as would, I am told, the Government of Ukraine.  But if they want to do that, Russia could work with the legitimate Government of Ukraine, which it has pledged to do.  It cannot only permit, but must encourage, international monitors to deploy throughout Ukraine.  These are the people who could actually identify legitimate threats.  And we are asking, together with the Government of Ukraine, together with the European community, for large numbers of observers to be able to come in here and monitor the situation and be the arbiters of truth versus fiction.  Russia, if it wanted to help deescalate the situation, could return its troops to the barracks, live by the 1997 base agreement, and deescalate rather than expand their invasion.

Now, we would prefer that.  I come here today at the instruction of President Obama to make it absolutely clear the United States of America would prefer to see this deescalated.  We would prefer to see this managed through the structures of legal institutions, international institutions that we’ve worked many years in order to be able to deal with this kind of crisis.  But if Russia does not choose to deescalate, if it is not willing to work directly with the Government of Ukraine, as we hope they will be, then our partners will have absolutely no choice but to join us to continue to expand upon steps we have taken in recent days in order to isolate Russia politically, diplomatically, and economically.

I would emphasize to the leaders of Russia this is not something we are seeking to do; this is something Russia’s choices may force us to do.  So far, we have suspended participation in the preparations for the Sochi G8 summit.  We have suspended military-to-military contacts, and we have suspended bilateral economic dialogue, and we are prepared to take further steps if Russia does not return its forces to the barracks and engage in a legitimate policy of de-escalation. 

At the same time, the United States and its partners – our partners – will support Ukraine.  We will support it as it takes difficult steps to deal with its economy.  And I appreciate the meeting that I just had with the acting president and the prime minister and other leaders as we discussed how to strengthen the economy and move rapidly towards free, fair, open elections that can take place very shortly. 

We are working closely and we’ll continue to work closely with the IMF team and with international partners in order to develop an assistance package to help Ukraine restore financial stability in the short run and to be able to grow its economy in the long run.  I’m pleased to say that this package includes an immediate $1 billion in a loan guarantee to support Ukraine’s recovery, and we are currently working with the Treasury Department of the United States and with others to lay out a broader, more comprehensive plan.  We will provide the best expertise available to help Ukraine’s economy and financial institutions repair themselves, and to work towards these free, fair, fast, inclusive elections.

We’re also working with the interim government to help combat corruption and to recover stolen assets, and we are helping Ukraine to cope with Russia’s politically motivated trade practices, whether it’s manipulating the energy supply or banning the best chocolates made in Ukraine.  The fact is this is the 21^st century, and we should not see nations step backwards to behave in 19^th or 20^thcentury fashion.  There are ways to resolve these differences.  Great nations choose to do that appropriately. 

The fact is that we believe that there are a set of options available to Russia and to all of us that could move us down a road of appropriate diplomacy, appropriate diplomatic engagement.  We invite Russia to come to that table; we particularly invite Russia to engage directly with the Government of Ukraine, because I am confident they are prepared to help work through these issues in a thoughtful way. 

I’m very proud to be here in Ukraine.  Like so many Americans and other people around the world, we’ve watched with extraordinary awe the power of individuals unarmed except with ideas, people with beliefs and principles and values who have reached for freedom, for equality, for opportunity.  There’s nothing more important in this world.  That is what drives change in so many parts of the world today. 

It’s really partly why the world is in such a state of transformation in so many different places at the same time, because we’re all connected.  We all understand what other people are doing and the choices they have and the lives they get to lead.  And all over the world young people are saying:  We do not want to be deprived of those opportunities.  That’s what this is about.  And it is about all those who value democracy and who support the opportunity for this country to join the legions of others who want to practice it. 

The United States will stand by the Ukrainian people as they build the strong, sovereign, and democratic country that they deserve, and that their countrymen and women just so recently gave their lives in extraordinary courageous acts in order to ensure for the future.  We must all step up and answer their call.

I’m happy to take some questions.

MS. HARF:  Great.  Thank you.  The first question is from Andrea Mitchell of NBC.  There’s a microphone coming. 

QUESTION:  Thank you very much.  Mr. Secretary, U.S. officials have been saying that Vladimir Putin will be isolated by his actions.  Yet today, he seemed defiant, speaking for an hour, taking questions.  He said, among other things, that Russia reserves the right to take any action, to use any means – obviously, military means.  He described events here as an unconstitutional coup.  He denied that there were any Russian troops in Crimea, occupying Crimea.  He blamed the crisis on United States interference, saying that the U.S. --

SECRETARY KERRY:  He really denied there were troops in Crimea?

QUESTION:  Yes, he did.  He also blamed the crisis on the United States, saying that the United States was acting as though it were conducting an experiment across the ocean on lab animals, on rats here.  And he showed no sign of being ready to step down – step down or de-escalate the military presence in Crimea.  There have been fire – shots fired today.  There’s the presence reported of naval Russian ships along the isthmus between Ukraine and Crimea. 

So with all of that, how has the U.S. pressure worked against Putin?  What is your reaction to his assertions?  And also, while you were here you met with many leaders.  You did not meet with Yulia Tymoshenko.  Is she viewed by the United States as not part of the solution or as possibly part of the problem?

SECRETARY KERRY:  Well, let me answer the last part of the question first: not at all.  I thought I actually might bump into her, but I didn’t.  I had the meetings with the current group that represent the parties that have come together and most likely presidential candidates at this moment who – with whom I’ve been in touch and working with.  I met with a number of them in Munich previously, and so we continued that conversation.

But with respect to President Putin’s comments, I’ve spoken as directly to President Putin today as I can to invite him to engage in a legitimate and appropriate dialogue, particularly with the current Government of Ukraine, knowing that there’s an election in 90 days and the people of Ukraine will have an opportunity to ratify their future leadership.  The fact is that in the eastern part of the country, Russia recently tried to get a couple of city councils to actually pass something asking for Russians to come in.  And lo and behold, those councils did the opposite.  They said, “We don’t want Russia to come in.  We want our independence.” 

And I think that it is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further.  Russia has talked about Russian-speaking minority citizens who are under siege.  They’re not.  And in fact, this government has acted remarkably responsibly by urging total calm, by not wanting to have any provocation, by avoiding even their troops who have a legal right to resist the invasion of other troops, but has ordered them not to engage to give a pretext of anybody being in danger.  Here in the streets today, I didn’t see anybody who feels threatened, except for the potential of an invasion by Russia. 

So I would hope that President Putin, who is insisting against all evidence everywhere in the world about troops being in Crimea that they’re not there, that he will step back and listen carefully that we could like to see this de-escalated.  We are not looking for some major confrontation.  But – and I do not believe that his interests, which we understand – a base, strong ties, everybody knows that Khrushchev gave the Crimea to the Ukraine back in 1954 or ‘6, I think it was.  We all know these things.  There’s a long history of connection.  We get it.  But those things can continue and be worked out through the legal process, through the direct relationship with the Government of Ukraine.  It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve.  That is not 21^st century, G8, major nation behavior.

And what we are looking for here is a responsible way to meet the needs of the parties but respect the integrity, the sovereignty, the territorial integrity of Ukraine.  And in fact, the UN Charter, the Final Act of Helsinki, the 1994 Budapest Agreement, and the 1997 Base Agreement between Russia and Ukraine all require a certain set of standards which have not been followed here.

So again, we would like to see President Putin address the problems not by deploying forces, not through confrontation, but by engaging in the time-honored tradition of diplomacy, of discussion, of negotiation, and let’s find a path forward which puts everybody on a track that benefits this region and the world more effectively.

QUESTION:  And will Germany stand with you against (inaudible)?

SECRETARY KERRY:  Excuse me.  We will be having further discussions.  I think the President will be talking before long with Chancellor Merkel.  I’m having more conversations with Foreign Minister Steinmeier.  And I believe we will stand united.  I believe that.

Yes.

MS. HARF:  Okay.  Our final question comes from Maria Korenyuk of EuroNews. 

QUESTION:  (Off-mike.) Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY:  Well, let me answer the second part first.  We’re working on support as rapidly as we could make it available.  We already have people working on the economic – with the IMF team, consulting with the government, working to get the facts together.  We’re trying to actually define the needs as accurately as is possible, and as I said to you, we’ve announced the $1 billion loan guarantee.  We actually have the money appropriated.  We know where we’re heading with that.  We have additional initiatives that can be quickly put together as our team works in Washington. 

The President has instructed all of us to look at every option available with respect to direct economic aid.  And the President, particularly, yesterday when he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in the White House, made a statement about Ukraine in which he asked Congress, which has been making very strong statements about support for Ukraine, to come to the table quickly with an economic package appropriated by the Congress.  We want that to happen immediately.

So this is urgent.  We understand that.  I don’t think it’s appropriate for the United States or any other country to come here, talk about the strength and courage of the people in the streets, to underscore the value of democracy and of freedom that people are fighting for here, and then just walk away and not doing anything about it.  So we are committed, and we are going to work to do what we can within our system as rapidly as possible. 

And with respect to the first part of your question, I – our purpose is to try – I’ve said this several times today – I want to repeat it.  We have lots of options, obviously.  There are lots of tools at the disposal of the President of the United States and the United States of America and other countries.  But none of us want to escalate this so that it becomes the kind of confrontation where people can’t find a reasonable path forward and where, as a result, you’re stuck in a place that’s very hard to climb down from.  That is not where we would like to see this go, which is why President Obama is stressing and wants me to stress our effort to try to find a way forward which allows Russia to have its interests – and they do have some interests – to be properly listened to and properly taken into account in the system. 

I have heard each Ukrainian leader who’s talked to me acknowledge that they understand that, that there will be a relationship with Russia.  There is a capacity for a strong relationship between Ukraine and Russia, but it is a relationship that shouldn’t be at the expense of not being able to have a relationship with the rest of the world, and not be forced on them, and not a relationship that precludes the full sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation of Ukraine being respected.  That’s what should guide this, and that’s exactly what is motivating our efforts here right now.

Thank you all very, very much.  I appreciate it.  Good to be with you.  I’m sorry.  We have, unfortunately, a schedule to stay on and I apologize for that.  I would like to take more questions but we’ve got to run.  Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS IN KYIV, UKRAINE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Meeting With Staff and Families of Embassy Kyiv

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Kyiv, Ukraine

March 4, 2014

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AMBASSADOR PYATT: I’ll just say, Mr. Secretary, let me present to you the team of Embassy Kyiv, the hardest working embassy in the U.S. Foreign Service today. (Laughter.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Wow. I’ll tell you, I go to some places and the ambassador says that and I say, “Okay.” (Laughter.) But here, you are the hardest working embassy in the world right now. Thank you very, very much for all that you are doing. Geoff, thanks so much for your leadership.

I think character is sometimes shown when the whole world is watching and people see character, but more often than not, real character is shown when people aren’t watching or when you don’t think they’re listening – and they’ve been listening to him. We all know that. But this guy is attentive to all of you, to staff, to family, to everybody’s concerns, and I hope you will join me in just saying thank you because I think we have a terrific ambassador here and a great leader here. Thank you. (Applause.)

Thank you very much. And I see – you guys know we got a bunch of Marines here who help protect us. Thank you. Semper Fi and thank you for your service to our country, all of you in uniform, and some of you I know are not in uniform but you serve in the military or as attaches or otherwise. Thank you very much for your service, all of you. (Applause.) Thank you.
I guess we have, somewhere in the vicinity, about 100 Americans assigned here and several hundred, 300 or more, foreign nationals who work for us. And I just want to say a word to all of you, but let me speak first to the foreign nationals. How many of you are foreign nationals? How many of you are – thank you. We can’t do this without you. And so I want to say, profoundly, thank you to you, because you facilitate our ability to really understand what’s happening, to understand the country, and you are great ambassadors for us in the country because you can explain what we’re really all about and what we try to accomplish, so I thank you very, very much. I know sometimes somebody may criticize you or say, “What are you doing working with them,” and you put yourselves on the line, and we admire you enormously and everybody here thanks you for your service to us. We appreciate it. (Applause.)

And then – now I know we’re living right now under a sort of – one of those tricky moments where we have an authorized departure and some folks who are in Warsaw. And it’s hard. It’s hard even if you’re unaccompanied here. It’s hard to have family and loved ones separated. This is a difficult time. We are witnessing transformation globally. I cannot tell you how many embassies I go to that are sharing a level of tension today that makes being in the Foreign Service or Civil Service – civil servants but also working in tense situations, and our Marines all around the world know, given the experience of Benghazi, what we see in the attempted plots on many places in the world.

There are bad guys out there. There are bad folks out there who incidentally don’t have a program for educating people. They don’t have a program or complaint with the government about its healthcare system. They don’t have anything whatsoever to say about macroeconomic policy or how you develop jobs, how you’re going to take care of growing populations of young people who need opportunity. They don’t say anything about that. All they do is say, “You got to believe what I believe, and if you don’t, we’re going to kill you.” It’s the antithesis of everything that we have fought for since the days of the founding of our country. It’s an anachronism that runs against everything that we thought we had resolved in the course of the 20^th century in two great World Wars and several other wars where we learned about how we can best help people live a fuller life and have the right to fulfill their aspirations.

But we got some people out there who are ready to throw over whole governments or take over governments simply to say no – no to modernity, no to opportunity, no particularly to women in so many parts of the world, no to education for children. So this challenge is much bigger, folks, than a lot of people have really kind of focused on. And here, particularly, we are witnessing a real throwback to 19^th century behavior – imperialism. At the butt of a gun we’re going to impose our will and we’re going to deny you the right to be free. And particularly, some of those people I met today on Institutska Street when I was walking down there and I went over to talk to a few people, these women came up to me and pleaded and said, “Don’t let us go back to have to live under a man like Yanukovych who steals our future, who steals from us.” Met a man who said, “I went to Australia last year,” said, “I came back here, but I want to live like I saw people be able to live in Australia.”

People want respect, they want opportunity. That Tunisian fruit vendor who burned himself, burned himself because he was exhausted by the corruption of his government and the denial of his opportunity to be able to live his life, sell his fruit. We take a lot of things for granted unfortunately in America. We’re privileged to be able to, as much as I think we shouldn’t. You don’t. None of you do. Every one of you has chosen to be here because you’ve joined the Foreign Service or the Civil Service or you’re representing one of the other agencies that are represented in the Embassy because you want to make a difference and you believe you can make a difference. And I’m here tonight to tell you, you are making a difference – tough as it is sometimes, as small as the gesture may seem sometimes. Here in the consulate division and somebody walks in to get their visa – how they’re treated, how they’re greeted, how fast we react, how much we respect them may be their only contact with America or our values, particularly if they’re denied the opportunity to get the visa.

So everybody here is an ambassador, and I just want to thank you tonight for being willing to be on the front lines. Thank you on behalf of President Obama and our country for representing us on the front lines of a struggle now that could define a lot of things going forward. Whether or not we can peacefully make the institutions of rule of law work when a country is in violation of the UN Charter, the Final Act of Helsinki, its own basing agreement with Ukraine, as well as the 1994 Budapest agreement where we all agreed we would protect Ukraine from external attack, and here they are externally taking over and trying to annex Crimea.

So we got a lot of work to do, but rest assured there aren’t a lot of jobs around where you can get up in the morning and go to work and know that you’re doing something that’s bigger than yourself, that’s exciting, that may change day by day where you get as much intellectual input, as much information, as much opportunity to know people in other parts of the world, learn other languages, learn other cultures, and carry the values of the United States of America with you every single day.

So I say God bless you, thank you, we’re proud of you, keep up the good work, and we will ultimately achieve many of the goals if not all of the goals we’re chasing. Thank you. God bless. (Applause.)

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR MARCH 4, 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

CONTRACTS

ARMY

Boeing Co., Mesa, Ariz. was awarded a $1,156,446,681 modification (P00007) to contract W58RGZ-12-C-0055 for full rate production of the AH-64E Apache helicopter, seventy-two remanufactured helicopter systems, ten new helicopter systems, and for refreshing five crew trainers , refurbishing one crew trainer, and integrated logistics support, peculiar ground support equipment, initial spares, over and above, and engineering studies.  Fiscal 2013other procurement funds in the amount of $380,043,678 and fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $494,322,830 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2016. Work will be performed in Mesa, Ariz.  Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.

Torch Technologies, Inc., Huntsville, Ala. was awarded a $70,997,405 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for missile element simulation which will enhance and maintain the current suite of missile modeling simulation, hardware-in-the-loop and prototype development facilities. Funding and work performance location will be determined with each order.  Estimated completion date is Feb. 11, 2019.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-14-D-0017).

DRS Tactical Systems Inc., Melbourne, Fla. was awarded a $12,596,227 firm-fixed-price contract for improved platform integration kits for the M777A2 and M119A3 howitzer.  Funding and work performance location will be determined with each order.  Estimated completion date is Feb. 27, 2019.  One bid was solicited with six received. Army Contracting Command, Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. is the contracting activity (W15QKN-14-D-0036).

NAVY

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $1,294,817,351 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-2116) to continue construction preparation efforts and provide the ability to procure additional material and advance construction activities for CVN 79.  Huntington Ingalls Inc. will provide all services and material in preparation for construction of CVN 79 including necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advance planning; advance procurement for detail design and procurement of material; advance construction; life cycle support; logistics data and other data to support the anticipated fiscal year 2015 contract award of the detail design and construction of CVN 79.  The modification allows continuation of ongoing planning, construction and material procurement that are aligned with the optimal build plan for the ship, and it affords an opportunity for the shipbuilder to incorporate further construction process improvements into the construction plan.  Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be completed by October 2017.  Fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy ($69,724,812) and Fiscal 2014 research, development, test & evaluation ($1,200,000) funding in the amount of $70,924,812 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C. is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Liverpool, N.Y., is being awarded a $16,237,711 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of specialized test equipment and associated technical data packages and adapters required to perform testing of line replacement modules for the E-2D AN/APY-9 radar system.  Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y., and is expected to be completed in February 2017.  Fiscal 2012 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $16,237,711 are being obligated on this award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-14-C-0145).

Lockheed Martin Corp. Owego, N.Y. is being awarded $10,630,597 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 7048 against a previously awarded firm-fixed-price long term contract (N00383-09-D-021F) for the repair of 13 items in support of the Multi-Mode Radar System, and the Electronic Measurement System for the H-60R Helicopter.  Work will be performed in Owego, N.Y., and work is expected to be completed by March 2015.  Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of 10,501,093 and Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement, Navy funds in the amount of $129,504 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(1).  The NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Atlantic Diving Supply doing business as ADS Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Va., has been awarded a maximum $776,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for the procurement of commercial type construction equipment.  This contract is a competitive acquisition, and eighteen offers were received.  This contract is one of up to ten contracts being issued against solicitation number SPM8EC-11-R-0003 and with requirements that specifically call for construction equipment within the product line and will be competed amongst other contractors who receive a contract under this solicitation.  This is a five-year base contract.  Locations of performance are Virginia, Iowa, North Dakota, Kansas and Georgia with a Mar. 2, 2019 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2019 defense working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPE8EC-14-D-0013).

Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark., has been awarded a maximum $444,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for commercial chicken items. This contract is a competitive acquisition, and nine offers were received. This is a three-year base contract. Locations of performance are Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Carolina and Mississippi with a March 3, 2017 performance completion date.  Subsistence overseas prime vendors will order from this contract in support of overseas military customers.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., (SPM300-14-D-4002).

West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eatontown, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $70,947,789 modification (P00062) exercising the first option year on a one-year base contract (SPM2D0-07-D-0004) with nine one-year option periods for various pharmaceutical products.  This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.  Location of performance is New Jersey with a Feb. 26, 2015 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 war-stopper funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

I Solutions Direct Inc., Fort Washington, Pa., has been awarded a maximum $68,724,679  modification (P00101) exercising the third option year on a two-year base contract (SPM8E5-10-D-0004) with three one-year option periods for carbon steel bar, sheet, and plate materials. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania with a Mar. 3, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Whippany, N.J., has been awarded a maximum $49,375,502 modification (P00008) exercising the second option year on a one-year base contract (SPM2D0-12-D-0002) with seven one-year option periods for various pharmaceutical products.  This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.  Location of performance is New Jersey with a Mar. 5, 2015 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 war-stopper funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

Admiral Metals Servicenter Inc.,* Woburn, Mass., has been awarded a maximum $47,801,294 modification (P00101) exercising the third option year on a two-year base contract (SPM8E5-10-D-0001) with three one-year option periods for steel alloy, stainless steel, bar, sheet, and plate materials.  This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.  Location of performance is Massachusetts with a Mar. 3, 2014 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2015 defense working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

I Solutions Direct Inc., Fort Washington, Pa., has been awarded a maximum $46,641,107 modification (P00101) exercising the third option year on a two-year base contract (SPM8E5-10-D-0002) with three one-year option periods for carbon steel bar, sheet, and plate materials.  This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.  Location of performance is Pennsylvania with a Mar. 2, 2015 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies.  Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2015 defense working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

TW Metals, Carol Stream, Ill., has been awarded a maximum $43,478,335 modification (P00101) exercising the third option year on a two-year base contract (SPM8E5-10-D-0003) with three one-year option periods for various carbon steel bar and plate materials. This is a fixed-price with economic-price adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Illinois with a Mar. 3, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal year 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

Charleston Aluminum LLC,* Gaston, S.C., has been awarded a maximum $35,363,758 modification (P00101) exercising the third option year on a two-year base contract (SPM8E5-10-D-0006) with three one-year option periods for carbon steel bar, sheet, and plate materials. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. Location of performance is South Carolina with a Mar. 7, 2015 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

Short Bark Industries, Inc.,** Vonore, Tenn., has been awarded a maximum $23,339,900 modification (P00102) exercising the first option year on a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-13-D-1030) with four one-year option periods for various types of Permethrin Army Combat Uniform coats. This is a firm-fixed-price contract.  Locations of performance are Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and Mississippi with a Mar. 4, 2015 performance completion date. Using military service is Army.  Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2015 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

Universal Sodexho, Tacoma, Wash., has been awarded a maximum $10,800,000 modification (P00027) exercising the fifth bridge contract on a two-year base contract (SPM500-05-D-BP07) with three one-year option periods for maintenance, repair and operations supplies for the Korea Region. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. Location of performance is Washington with a June 30, 2014 performance completion date.  Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds.  The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.

AIR FORCE

DLT Solutions, LLC, Herndon, Va., has been awarded a $45,973,106 delivery order (6K15) on an existing firm-fixed-price, blanket purchase agreement (W91QUZ-06-A-0002) for software maintenance and support for perpetual enterprise Oracle software licenses used throughout the Air Force and the U.S. Transportation Command.  Work will be performed at Herndon, Va., and is expected to be completed March 31, 2014.  Fiscal 2014 research and development, operations and maintenance, TRANSCOM Working Capital funds in the amount of $10,454,875 are being obligated at time of award.  Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/HIK, Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Ala., is the contracting activity.

*Small Business

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CONFERENCE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Conference

Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State

Washington Convention Center

Washington, DC

March 3, 2014

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Norm, thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you all, 14,000 strong or more. (Applause.) Howard, Howard Friedman and Executive Director Howard Kohr, incoming president Bob Cohen, incoming chairman Michael Kassen, outgoing chairman Lee Rosenberg, and Ambassador Ron Dermer and Ambassador Dan Shapiro. I don’t know where our ambassadors are. Would they – somebody ought to applaud both of them here. (Applause.) There they are. Thanks for your own, Norman.

Let me tell you, it really is an enormous pleasure for me to be able to be here. It’s a privilege. And good to see so many friends, all 14,000 of you – a little frightening to see myself on about eight, nine, ten screens up here – (laughter). The last time I spoke to AIPAC, I joined your national summit in Napa Valley. I did it via satellite. And you were in the vineyards, I was overseas – a different kind of vineyard. So today, I think I’m getting the better end of the deal because I am here with you in person, and your wine selection is a lot more limited this time.
I have to tell you, I had the pleasure of speaking to AIPAC back in the 1990s, it was a great honor, and every time I come here, whether I get a chance to talk to a smaller group during the daytime sessions or otherwise, this is a remarkably inspiring gathering – people from every corner of the country coming together to demonstrate our deep support as Americans for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. (Applause.)

And it is no exaggeration. It’s not just words to say that every single one of you brings here such a special passion to a cause that you so fiercely believe in. And let me tell you something unequivocally: After almost 30 years in the United States Senate, I can tell you that is precisely why AIPAC’s work is in the best traditions of American democracy, and I thank you for practicing it. (Applause.)

I want you to know that in my judgment, these democratic values are stamped in the DNA of both the United States and Israel. But we also share something much deeper than that. Like no other two countries on the planet, against the deepest odds, both America and Israel confidently, purposefully set out to be examples to the world. Think about it. From its earliest days, Israel has always said it’s not enough just to be one of many in a community of nations; Israel has strived since Isaiah’s time to serve as a light unto the nations. (Applause.) And that responsibility to be a light unto the nations sounds actually unbelievably similar to something that we as Americans know is part of who we are, too.

My grandfather ten times over – too hard to count in other terms – was a man by the name of John Winthrop. And he came to what was then the New World, and he came in search of freedom, freedom to worship as he wished. He was a minister. He and his congregants were outcasts, persecuted, heading into a rough and unforgiving land with no guarantee even of survival. And on his way here, he delivered a now fairly famous sermon at sea in which he called on his community to create a city upon a hill in their new home, America.

So whether you call it a city upon a hill or a light unto the nations, it actually means the same thing: being a model to the world. It means having a home that sets a standard, a standard of dignity and a standard of freedom. So the foundation of the friendship between the American people and the people of Israel was actually laid centuries before a single stone was set under the U.S. Capitol or under the Knesset. And looking around this room tonight, it is clear that our friendship has never been stronger. (Applause.)

And I’ll tell you why. Because today, as Israel faces serious challenges to her future, it is America that will stand firmly by her side. (Applause.) I will tell you that with the leadership of President Obama – and you can look it up, you can measure it; this is not an exaggeration, it’s a matter of fact – there has been a complete, unmatched commitment to Israel’s security. The record of this Administration in providing aid and assistance, consultation, weapons, help, standing up in various international fora, fighting, I am proud to tell you, is unrivaled. And the bottom line, pure and simple, has been making sure that Israel has the means to defend itself by itself and defending Israel’s right to be able to do so. That is what we’ve done. (Applause.)
Security. Security is fundamentally what President Obama is committed to. And so too is he committed to using the full force of our diplomacy to resolve the two great questions that most matter when it comes to ensuring the security of Israel: preventing a nuclear Iran and ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Applause.)

Now let me start with Iran because I know there are many questions. I know many people – there’s been a healthy debate about the approach. We welcome that. But let me sum up President Obama’s policy in 10 simple, clear words, unequivocal: We will not permit Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, period. (Applause.) Now, I added an eleventh word just for punctuation. (Laughter.)

But I want you to understand there are no if, ands, or buts. This is not a political policy. This is a real foreign policy. And we mean every word of what we say. You have the word of the President of the United States that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. Now, as we said at the outset, and I say it again today, our diplomacy is guided by a simple bottom line: No deal is better than a bad deal. (Applause.) And we absolutely will not accept a bad deal. We are committed to a deal that gets the job done. (Applause.)

Why? Because we get it, we understand it. As President Obama said in Jerusalem, no one can question why Israel looks at the Iranian program and sees an existential threat. We understand it. We understand it in our gut. And we also know something else. This is not some favor that we do for Israel. This is something that is also in the interest of the United States of America, and it’s in the interest of countries surrounding Israel. (Applause.) A nuclear bomb for Iran would also threaten the stability of the region, indeed the entire world. It would produce an arms race among the surrounding countries. There is no way the world is safer anywhere in the world with a nuclear weapon in Iran, and we are not going to let it happen, period, end of story. (Applause.)

Now, to do that, to achieve this all-important goal, important for America’s security and for Israel’s security, it is crucial that we seizes what might be the last best chance to be able to have diplomacy work, and maybe the last chance for quite some time. Because the reality is only strong diplomacy can fully and permanently achieve the goal. Those who say strike and hit need to go look at exactly what happens after you’ve done that, whether that permanently eliminates the program or opens up all kinds of other possibilities, including Iran leaving the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, not even allowing IAEA inspectors in, not living under any international regimen. That’s a possibility. Only strong diplomacy can guarantee that a nuclear weapons program actually goes away for good instead of just going underground and becoming more dangerous. Only the exhaustion of diplomacy can justify more forceful options if you have to take them in the end.

So we say – President Obama and myself and others – we say let’s seize the diplomatic moment. And that’s what we are trying to do. And the truth is it is strong diplomacy that has actually made this moment possible. And we need to give it the space to work. We need to make sure that if this opportunity were to elude us, it is not because we are the ones that close the window.

Now, I understand the skepticism. I’ve been around this city for 29-plus years as a senator, became chairman of the foreign relations committee, worked with most of the members of your board and with AIPAC and others around the country, and proud to tell you that during that time I had a 100 percent voting record for Israel. (Applause.)

And I’m not coming here to stand up in front of you and tell you that I know that Iran is going to reach an agreement. I don’t know. I don’t know what they’ll do. I don’t know if they are able to make some of the tough decisions they’re going to have to make in the months ahead. But I know that if the United States is going to be able to look the world in the eye and say we have to do something, we have to have exhausted the possibilities available to us for that diplomatic peaceful resolution. Let me make it clear our approach is not Ronald Reagan’s and the Soviets –We’re not looking at this and saying trust, but verify. Our approach is a much more complex and dangerous world – it’s verify and verify. And that’s what we intend to do. (Applause.)
Now, there is very good reason for these sanctions to exist in the first place, and good reason that we have kept the architecture of these sanctions in place. And we continue to enforce it even as we negotiate a comprehensive agreement. In the last weeks, we have announced additional sanctions with respect to individuals who have been tempted to go around it or violate it. We have not changed one piece of the sanctions architecture. And yet we are able to negotiate. Our eyes, my friends, are wide open. This is not a process that is open-ended. This is not a process that is about trusting Tehran. This is about testing Tehran. And you can be sure that if Iran fails this test, America will not fail Israel. That, I promise. (Applause.)

Now, we have taken no options off the table, but so far there is no question but that tough sanctions and strong diplomacy are already making Israel and America safer. The first step agreement, the first step agreement – it’s not an interim agreement, it’s a first step agreement – and the agreement that’s in force today didn’t just halt the advance of the Iranian nuclear program for the first time in a decade; it’s actually rolled it back. And we all remember how Prime Minister Netanyahu highlighted Iran’s 20 percent enriched uranium in the 2012 speech at the United Nations. Well, today Iran is reducing its stockpile of 20 percent uranium. And without the agreement in force today, the opposite would have been in effect. The stockpile would have grown even more dangerous, and the amount of breakout time that they have would have grown smaller. Because of the agreement, Iran will soon have to take its entire stock of 20 percent enriched uranium down to zero. Zero. Zero. (Applause.) You don’t have to be a math major to know that Israel is safer when Iran has zero uranium enriched to 20 percent, and that’s what we’ve achieved.

The same independent inspectors who also tell us that Iran has halted its advances on the heavy water reactor known as the Arak reactor, without the agreement in force today, we could not have stopped them making progress on the Arak heavy water reactor, plutonium reactor. Iran has also stopped enriching all uranium above 5 percent, and it has given inspectors daily access to the facilities at Natanz and at Fordow. You know Fordow, you’ve heard about it, that underground facility that was a secret for so long. We’ve never had people in it. But because of this first step agreement, we now have people inside Fordow every single day telling us what is happening. (Applause.)

None of these things would have happened without forceful diplomacy by the United States and our international partners. But now, my friends, we have to finish the job. Like I tell my staff, there aren’t any exit polls in foreign policy. It’s results that count, final results. And that means we have to let forceful diplomacy keep working in order to put this test to Iran.

Now, right now we are carefully – and I mean carefully – negotiating a comprehensive agreement. We are consulting with our friends in Israel constantly. The minute Under Secretary Wendy Sherman finished her last set of meetings in Vienna the other day, she went immediately to Israel, briefed thoroughly on the talks, then went to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and continued to brief and briefed our European partners.

You might be asking: If no deal is better than a bad deal, what does the United States consider a good deal? Well, you have my word – and the President’s – that the United States will only sign an agreement that answers three critical questions the right way. First, will it make certain that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon? Second, can it continuously assure the world that Iran’s program remains entirely peaceful as it claims? And third, will the agreement increase our visibility on the nuclear program and expand the breakout time so that if they were to try to go for a bomb, we know we will have time to act?

Those are the tests. Those are our standards for any comprehensive agreement. It’s that simple. And those objectives, if they’re not met, then there won’t be an agreement. (Applause.) Now make no mistake, make no mistake; we can’t resolve the answer to those questions. It’s up to Iran. It’s up to Iran to prove to the world that its program is peaceful, and the world will hold Iran accountable.

Now, if it turns out that Iran cannot address the world’s concerns, I guarantee you it will face more pressure, Iran will face more pressure, more and more isolation. And Congress will introduce more tough sanctions. And let me assure you – I know Eric Cantor is here, sitting here – I assure you it’ll take about two hours to get it through the House and the Senate and it won’t be delayed and the Congress will have to do nothing more than schedule the vote, because President Obama and I fully support those sanctions under those circumstances. (Applause.)

In the meantime, as I said earlier, we are enforcing every letter of the existing sanctions. I have personally instructed every State Department bureau and mission around the world to watch vigilantly for any signs of the sanctions being skirted. And to any country that wants to trade with Iran with these sanctions firmly in place, the United States will tell them exactly what I have told foreign leaders in no uncertain terms: Iran is not open for business until Iran is closed for nuclear bombs. (Applause.)

Now, strong diplomacy is also essential to another threat to Israel’s security: ending the conflict with the Palestinians, and in doing so, preserving the Jewish and democratic nature of the state of Israel. (Applause.) I’ve had some folks ask me why I’m so committed to these negotiations and why I’m so convinced that peace is actually possible. And they ask, “Why does John Kerry go to Israel so often?” I think I heard Steny Hoyer say he’d been there 13 times, Eric Cantor who’s been there 12 times. I’ve been there more times than that just in the last nine months. (Laughter.) And I’ve been in the Middle East more times than even that in the last months because I don’t always wind up going to Israel.

But apart from the question, I’m surprised because people ask, because apart from my affection for Israel which dates back to my first visit back in 1986, and it just strikes me that it’s the wrong question to ask, why do I go. This isn’t about me. This is about the dreams of Israelis and the dignity of Palestinians. It’s about reconciling two peoples who want at long last to live normal secure lives in the land that they have fought over for so long. It’s about answering King David’s timeless call that we seek peace and pursue it. It’s about fulfilling the fervent prayer for peace that Jews around the world recite to welcome Shabbat. It’s about parents from Tsefat to Eilat who want to raise their families in a region that accepts the nation-state of the Jewish people is here to stay. (Applause.)

Now, it’s not news to any Israeli to hear me say that they live in a difficult neighborhood. Israelis know that better than anyone. No one needs to explain the importance of peace and security to a mother who has just sent her daughter to the army or a son who is waiting for his father to come home from another mission. No one knows the stakes of success or failure better than those who will inherit them for generations to come. And I have seen all of these realities in so many different ways in my travels in Israel, from the rocket casings in Sderot to the shelter in Kiryat Shmona that I visited years ago where children had to hide from Katyusha rockets. I’ve seen it.

My friends, I also believe that we are at a point in history that requires the United States as Israel’s closest friend and the world’s preeminent power to do everything we can to help end this conflict once and for all. Now, that is why America – (applause) – that is why America helped bring the parties back to the table, where, let’s be honest, Israelis and Palestinians have difficult choices to make. And no one understands just how complex those choices are or how emotional they are better than the leaders who have to summon the courage in order to actually make them.

I have sat with Bibi Netanyahu for hours and hours and days and days. We have become good friends. (Applause.) I believe – in fact, he ought to be charging me rent. (Laughter.) I’ve seen up close and personally the grit and the guts of this man and his love of country. And I can tell you with absolute certainty and without question, Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated his courage and his commitment in pursuit of peace with security. (Applause.) He knows that it is the only way for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state; not a bi-national state. (Applause.)
As President Obama said publicly in the Oval Office today, and I quote him: “Prime Minister Netanyahu has approached these negotiations with a level of seriousness and commitment that reflects his leadership and the desire of the Israeli people for peace.”

Thus far, I will tell you also that President Abbas, and I know there are many doubters here – I’ve heard the arguments for 30-plus years, 40 years – that there’s no partner for peace, that Abbas won’t be there, that – both sides, by the way, say the same thing about each other. That’s one of the difficulties we have to try get through here. A very small needle to try to thread in terms of the trust deficit. Thus far, President Abbas, I will tell you, has demonstrated he wants to be a partner for peace. He’s committed to trying to end the conflict in all of its claims, but he obviously has a point of view about what’s fair and how he can do that. Let’s be candid. I know that some of you doubt that. But as Israeli security officials will attest, President Abbas has been genuinely committed against violence, and his own security forces have worked closely with Israel in order to prevent violence against Israeli citizens.

I’ve also spent many hours with President Abbas, and I believe that he clearly understands both the tremendous benefits of peace and the great costs of failure. He understands that in terms of his own people, his own grandchildren, the country he hopes to be able to lead, and in terms of the history that beleaguers all. He knows the Palestinian people will never experience the self determination that they seek in a state of their own without ending the conflict in a solution that delivers two states for two peoples. (Applause.)

And so does Prime Minister Netanyahu. When Bibi looks me in the eye and says, “I can’t accept a deal with Palestinians that doesn’t make the people of Israel safer,” we agree 100 percent. (Applause.) But I argue that there is a distinction between a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon or from Gaza where nothing is resolved, and a phased withdrawal that is negotiated where everything is at least in an agreement resolved.

Now, I learned about Israel’s security on many different trips over there, but one stands out. I was – I’d been a pilot since I was in college and I was on a trip over there. I was having a luncheon at Ovda Airbase with the Israel Air Force. And the colonel who was in charge was – had flown. He was an ace from the Six-Day War. And we were having lunch at the time at Ovda and I had been badgering them to maybe let me go up and fly. And they disappeared at lunch and finally he comes back and he says, “Senator, I hope you don’t eat too much. We’re going flying.” I said, “Wow, great. This is what I’ve wanted.” And we went out, the two of us, drove out to this jet, and he trusted me. We put on our helmets, got in the jet, and he says, “The moment we’re off the ground, it’s your airplane.”

So literally, we took off, I take the stick, we go up, we’re flying around. Next thing I know in my ear he says, “Senator, you better turn faster. You’re going over Egypt.” (Laughter.) So I turned very fast and then I asked him if I could do some aerobatics over the Negev. And I turned upside down and did a big loop and I was coming down, I was looking upside-down, and I said to myself, “This is perfect.” I could see all of the Sinai. I could see Aqaba. I could see Jordan. I see all of Israel below me, each side to each side. Said, “This is the perfect way to see the Middle East upside-down and backwards.” I understand it. (Applause.)

The real point of this story is just to tell you that I can’t tell you the imprint on me, being up there and tiny – almost turning. You had barely space to turn. You get the sense of a missile from here, or a rocket from there, or the threat of war. You understand it’s impossible to ignore just how narrow those borders are, how vulnerable Israel can be, and why Israel’s security is our first priority. We understand that. (Applause.)

That is why, my friends, President Obama sent a four-star general, John Allen, one of the most respected minds in United States military to do something we’ve never done in all the history of administrations negotiating for Israel’s and Palestinians’ future and that is to work with Israelis and Jordanians and Palestinians to make the Jordan River border as strong as the strongest borders on Earth. That’s what makes this effort different from anything we’ve ever done before. With the combination of the best military experience America can offer and the best ideas in the Pentagon and the best technology that we could deliver, we believe we can deliver to Israel security that Israel needs in order to make peace, and President Obama is committed to doing that.

Now we have no illusions. We saw what happened after Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza and Lebanon. We all learned lessons from that, I hope. That’s why a negotiated agreement is so important. That’s why the security arrangements that we are helping to design will need to be operationally proven. We’re not doing this on a whim and a prayer. We will never let the West Bank turn into another Gaza. (Applause.)

My friends, we understand that Israel has to be strong in order to make peace. But we also understand that peace will make Israel stronger. Any peace agreement must also guarantee Israel’s identity as a Jewish homeland. (Applause.) As Ehud Barak said on this stage last year, a two-state solution is the only way for Israel to stay true to its founding principles – to remain both Jewish and democratic. At last year’s AIPAC conference, he said statehood is not a favor for the Palestinians, and let me reaffirm: He is right; it is not.

Israel also needs peace in order to create greater prosperity. All of you here know the great economic benefits of peace. All of you have already seen what Israel has already been able to build with the forces of the region that raid against it. Just imagine what it will be able to build as a result of peace with Palestinian neighbors. I’ve had the foreign minister of one of the surrounding countries – a very wealthy country and a very smart foreign minister say to me if we make peace – this is under the Arab Peace Initiative and the Arab Follow-on Committee that is following everything we’re doing very closely and supporting it – and they said if we make peace, Israel will trade more in this community within a few years than it trades with Europe today. That’s what we have available to us. (Applause.) And I believe that we need to stand together with a single voice to reject any of the arbitrary unwarranted boycotts of Israel. For more than 30 years, I have staunchly, loudly, unapologetically opposed boycotts of Israel – (applause) – and I will continue to oppose those boycotts of Israel. That will never change. (Applause.)

Every time that Israel is subjected to attacks on its legitimacy, whether at the United Nations or from any nation, the United States will use every tool we have to defeat those efforts and we will stand with Israel. (Applause.)

Finally, peace demands that Israel fulfill its destiny not just as a nation but also as a neighbor. And that begins with the Palestinians, and it extends to the entire Arab League whose Arab Peace Initiative can open the door to peace and normalized relations with 20 additional Arab countries and a total of 55 Muslim countries. The upheaval in the Middle East has shown us all that Arabs and Israelis share some of the very same security concerns. Without the Palestinian conflict to divide them, these common interests can grow into real relationships and transform Israel’s standing in the region. And I just invite you – I promise you these conversations take place. I’ve had them throughout the Gulf region, throughout the Middle East, where increasingly those countries begin to see the possibilities of mutual security interests coming together for all of them against an Iran, against terrorism, against religious extremism. This is a commonality that is a new thread in the region, and I believe it brings the potential of new possibilities.
It is also important to remember that ending the conflict means ending the incitement. President Abbas has called incitement a germ that must be removed. And he has sought our help in order to try to deal with the problem. And I can tell you that with any final agreement it will also include a larger endeavor in order to help people on both sides move beyond a painful past and promote a culture of peace and tolerance.

After all these years, my friends, it is really no mystery what the end-game really looks like. I think you know that in your hearts. We understand what the end-game is. I know what peace looks like. When I talk to Prime Minister Netanyahu and others, I think everybody shares this because this is not new. After Camp David and Oslo and Wye and Annapolis and Taba and all of these efforts, what the end-game should look like is straightforward: security arrangements that leave Israelis more secure, not less; mutual recognition of the nation-state of the Jewish people and the nation-state of the Palestinian people; an end to the conflict and to all claims; a just and agreed solution for Palestinian refugees, one that does not diminish the Jewish character of the state of Israel; and a resolution that finally allows Jerusalem to live up to its name as the City of Peace. (Applause.)

It will take hard work. I’m not pretending any of the answers – these are all narrative issues. They’re tough issues. They complicated. But there is a vision of peace, and it takes tough choices on both sides, especially over the coming days. I guarantee you that America, that President Obama and this Administration will be there every day of the week, every step of the way. And we will stand with Israel’s leaders today and with the leaders of the future. And we will ensure that our light shines not just throughout the nations, but throughout the generations.
Leaders like a fellow named Guy – I’ll leave his last name out – but he’s a young Israeli who took part in an exchange program with the State Department, sponsors that brings Israelis and Palestinians together to talk about their histories and their hopes. Guy’s grandparents fled Europe. He was born and raised in Jerusalem. He served in the IDF. And he worked as an entrepreneur in Israel’s booming tech industry. And this is what he said in that program: We respect our past, but we don’t want to live it. We are young enough to dream, to believe that change is possible, and that fear can be defeated.

I think Guy is right. Change is possible. Fear can be defeated. But those are choices we have to make now.

My friends, a few months ago I landed in Tel Aviv and it was the 18^th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. I went straight to Kikar Rabin, and I stood with the late-prime minister’s daughter, Dalia, at the site of her father’s murder. And we stood just steps away from where the great general, in the last moments of his life, sang the famous lyrics of Shir LaShalom: Don’t whisper a prayer; sing a song of peace in a loud voice. Don’t say the day will come; bring that day. (Applause.) That is our mission. All of us, in whatever capacity that we can, but just as important our mission is also to raise our voices for peace, and we also need to listen. We have to listen to those who first gave voice to our values, voices that still echo thousands of years later.

He almost – I think it was the first time I went to Israel. I spent a week there and went all over the country and like many first-time visitors, I climbed Masada. I climbed it with a guide – some of you may know him or heard of him, a fellow by the name of Yadin Roman. Yadin, the publisher of Eretz Israel. And our group debated Josephus Flavius’s account of what happened on the top of that mountain, the account of what happened 2,000 years before we were there.
Then Yadin, after we’d had this long debate, made us all vote to determine did it happen as he recounted or was it different. And we all voted unanimously it did happen the way he recounted. He told us to then walk to the edge of the precipice which we did, and to look out across the chasm and to shout, to shout across the ancestral home of the Jewish people. And as we stood where every new Israeli soldier begins his or her service, by swearing an oath to honor that history and secure the future, Yadin instructed us to shout, all at the same time, “Am Yisrael chai.” We shouted. (Applause.) And then I have to tell you, echoing across the chasm in the most eerie and unbelievably unforgettable way were these haunting echoes of “Am Yisrael chai, Am Yisrael chai, chai, chai.” I’ll never forget hearing the echo of those words bouncing off that mountain. It was literally like we were hearing the voices of the souls of those who had perished sacrificing their lives for Israel a thousand years ago. And we were affirming those words, the state of Israel lives. The people of Israel live.

We have to listen to those voices. Those long ago who encouraged us to build a city on a hill to be a light unto the nations, an example to the world, to ensure Israel’s survival. And we have to listen to the voices of young people whose futures depend on the choices that we, the leaders of today, make. It’s for their future that we will give new strength to the U.S.-Israel partnership as AIPAC does like no other organization in our country. It’s for their future that we will come together giving greater voice to the timeless oath and we will remember forever those words and be driven by them: “Am Yisrael chai” will be said generations upon generations into the future because of the work you do and the work we will do together.
Thank you all very much. Honored to be with you. (Applause.)

RECENT DEFENSE DEPARTMENT PHOTOS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
U.S. soldiers install a transmission in an AH-64 Apache helicopter on Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan, Feb. 14, 2014. The soldiers, who are maintainers, are assigned to 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joseph Green.

A U.S. Marine performs battlefield movements during a live-fire exercise at Arta Range, Djibouti, Feb. 18, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Staci Mill.