Monday, May 5, 2014

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S REMARKS ON U.S.-RUSSIA NUCLEAR ARMS NEGOTIATIONS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Negotiations: Ukraine and Beyond

Remarks
Anita E. Friedt
Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance
Testimony Before House Foreign Affairs Committee Joint Subcommittee
Washington, DC
April 29, 2014


Chairmen Poe and Rohrabacher, Ranking Members Sherman and Keating, and members of this Committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you about the Administration’s arms control policy toward Russia.

Today, I want to speak to you about: 1) why arms control agreements with Russia continue to be an important tool to enhance the security of the United States, our allies and partners; 2) how we have used numerous arms control tools since the crisis in Ukraine began to increase transparency and stability in support of our broader regional efforts; and 3) the seriousness with which the Administration takes compliance with arms control treaties.

First, as has been recognized for over four decades, arms control is a tool that can be used to enhance the security of the United States, our Allies and our partners. It is one of the many diplomatic, military, and economic tools that the United States uses to address 21st century challenges. Many of our allies and partners are signatories and States-Parties to these same arms control agreements and we have worked closely with them to negotiate and implement these agreements. The Obama Administration has continued the longstanding bipartisan approach to arms control with Russia that had its origins in the days of the Cold War. The administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were the architects of many of our most successful and enduring arms control efforts. Let me affirm that the United States is committed to maintaining strategic stability between the United States and Russia and to encouraging mutual steps to foster a more stable, resilient, predictable, and transparent security relationship.

That said, Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine have undermined trust. While diplomacy between the United States and Russia continues, no one can ignore that Russia’s actions in Ukraine have violated the very principles upon which cooperation is built. Further, as we consider arms control priorities this year or in any year, we will continue to consult closely with our allies and partners every step of the way. Our security and defense, as well as that of our allies and partners, is non-negotiable. We will only pursue arms control agreements that advance our national interest.

The New START Treaty and Next Steps

During the Cold War, Washington and Moscow found it in our mutual interest to work together to cap and then to begin reducing the number of nuclear weapons to reverse the nuclear arms race and improve mutual security and stability. For the same reasons, we judged that the New START was in the U.S. national security interest, and that is why we continue to implement the New START Treaty with Russia even today. We are now in the fourth year of implementation and, despite the crisis in Ukraine, we and Russia continue to implement the Treaty in a business-like manner.

Since entry into force in 2011, the United States has inspected—with boots on the ground—Russian nuclear weapons facilities 58 times. Moreover, the United States and the Russian Federation have exchanged more than six thousand notifications on one another’s nuclear forces since entry into force. These notifications provide predictability by enabling the tracking of strategic offensive arms from location to location, giving advance notice of upcoming ballistic missile test launches, and providing updates of changes in the status of systems covered by the Treaty. For example, a notification is sent every time a heavy bomber is moved out of its home base for more than 24 hours. Additionally, when either party conducts a flight test of an ICBM or SLBM, they are required to notify the other party one day in advance.

The Treaty’s verification mechanisms allow us to monitor and inspect Russia’s strategic nuclear forces to ensure compliance with the Treaty. For both the United States and Russia, accurate and timely knowledge of each other’s nuclear forces helps to prevent the risks of misunderstandings, mistrust, and worst-case analysis and worst-case policymaking. Put another way, the New START Treaty’s verification regime is a vital tool in ensuring transparency and predictability between the world’s largest nuclear powers.

The 2010 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) highlighted the importance of aligning U.S. forces to address the 21st century security threats. As a result of further analysis called for by the NPR, the President announced in Berlin last June that, after a comprehensive review of our nuclear forces, we have determined that we can ensure the security of the United States and our allies and partners and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent while safely pursuing up to a one-third reduction in deployed strategic warheads from the level established in the New START Treaty. We have sought to negotiate reductions with Russia, but to date Russia has not expressed interest in nuclear reductions below the New START levels. We will also continue to work within NATO to develop ideas for reciprocal measures that we could in the future propose to Russia to build confidence and increase transparency with regard to non-strategic nuclear weapons in Europe. This will lay important groundwork for the future when conditions may be more conducive to progress in this area. Any changes to NATO’s nuclear posture must be taken by consensus within the Alliance.

Conventional Arms Control

In the realm of conventional arms control, the United States and our allies have been using arms control mechanisms in an effort to promote stability in Europe, provide transparency on Russia’s provocative actions in and around Ukraine, and assure our allies and partners in the face of Russian aggression.

The Vienna Document on Confidence and Security Building Measures is a series of politically binding confidence and security-building measures (CSBMs) designed to increase openness and transparency concerning military activities conducted inside the OSCE's zone of application (ZOA), which includes the territory, surrounding sea areas, and air space of all European (Russia from the western border to the Ural Mountains) and Central Asian participating States. The Vienna Document allows for a variety of information exchanges, on-site inspections, evaluation visits, observation visits, and other military-to-military contacts to take place according to Vienna Document provisions. In the case of the United States, only military forces and activities inside the ZOA are impacted.

It was designed to increase openness and transparency on military activities across Europe and Russia. Since the crisis in Ukraine began, allies and partners from six countries have participated in four Vienna Document inspections in Russia and Ukraine. Using additional Vienna Document provisions, inspectors continue a near-continuous presence in Ukraine, providing insight into events there. So far, inspectors from 16 countries have participated in five such missions since March 20.

Ukraine has also implemented provisions of the Vienna Document in order to host observers to dispel any concerns about its own military activities by inviting all OSCE participating States to Ukraine from March 5-20. A total of 77 people from 32 OSCE states and the OSCE Secretariat participated in this visit. Ukraine called on Russia to host a similar visit in western Russia near the border with Ukraine, but Russia has not offered to do so.

The use of these tools in Ukraine demonstrates that the Vienna Document can help provide insight and transparency into military activities during a crisis. However, it is not designed to address a crisis when one OSCE participating State ignores the OSCE principles and commitments it has undertaken. Moving forward, the United States will work with our allies and partners to develop ideas to update the Vienna Document to reflect lessons learned.
The United States and its Treaty partners have also made active use of the Open Skies Treaty to monitor events in Ukraine and Russia. The Open Skies treaty establishes a regime of aerial observation flights over the territories of its signatories. The Treaty is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving Treaty partners the ability to gather information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities of concern to them. During special OSCE meetings on April 7 and 17 that were convened under Vienna Document provisions to address unusual military activities, the U.S. delegation was able to display Open Skies Treaty imagery of the Russian forces, in order to show that concerns about Russia’s actions and military movements are valid and disturbing. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation has refused to provide information that could dispel the concerns of other states.

Since the Ukraine crisis began, the United States and 15 Treaty partners have flown 11 missions over Ukraine and Western Russia yielding imagery of thousands of square miles of territory. These flights have resulted in valuable data and insights for not only the United States but our partners and allies who are also States Parties.

One particularly notable event which has occurred in light of the crisis: the Treaty’s provision for “Extraordinary Observation Flights” was invoked for the first time. Per Ukraine’s request, two extraordinary flights were conducted over Ukrainian territory to observe whether Russia forces had moved beyond Crimea. In response to this request, Sweden flew from Kiev south to Odessa, with observers from Norway, Belgium, and the U.K. on March 13. On March 14, the U.S. flew along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia, with observers from Canada and Estonia. These flights provided reassurance to Ukraine and demonstrated our commitment to work with allies to uphold key elements of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. The following week, Russia accepted an extraordinary flight by Ukraine over its territory near the border. The U.S. is in Kyiv this week flying another extraordinary flight over eastern Ukraine in response to the latest Russian activities.

Since then, a number of allies have conducted observation flights in Russia. We are working closely with allies to maximize the benefit of these missions, coordinating on mission planning as well as sharing imagery and analysis. As an example of the utility of these flights, the German/U.S. mission on March 24 over Russia near the border with Ukraine provided unclassified imagery helping substantiate Russian military activity in Belgorod, Boguchar, and Rostov despite Russia’s denials.

We believe these arms control mechanisms have great importance not only in providing insight and transparency into Russian actions in and around Ukraine, but demonstrating support for our allies and partners in ensuring their sovereignty and territorial integrity. More broadly, such mechanisms contribute to greater transparency and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region.
I want to underscore that our NATO allies and other partners in Europe are strong supporters of arms control in Europe and our active participation and leadership in those efforts.

Compliance Report

Let me turn now to the issue of compliance. First and foremost, the Administration takes compliance with all arms control agreements extremely seriously. For this reason, this Administration worked hard to produce a compliance report in July of 2010 – the first delivered to Congress after a five year lapse – and has produced one every year since. Prior to this Administration, 2005 was the last year that a report had been delivered to Congress.
We endeavor every year to produce a compliance report by April 15. This is challenging, as the reporting period ends at the end of each calendar year, leaving us just three and one half months to gather the necessary input from the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy, as well as the Intelligence Community. Given the volume of information and seriousness with which the Administration conducts its annual compliance review, a thorough collecting, weighing, and reviewing of all available information throughout the reporting period is required and takes time. As such, despite our best efforts we have not always been able to complete the coordination process in time to provide the report by April 15. This will be true again this year, however, the report will be fully coordinated and available later in the spring. The report is currently in final interagency review.

Let me add that when countries do not uphold their arms control obligations, we hold them accountable. Russia ceased implementation of its Conventional-Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE) obligations in December 2007. After two intense diplomatic efforts to break the impasse and encourage Russia to resume implementation, in November 2011, the United States ceased carrying out certain obligations under the CFE Treaty with regard to Russia. We were joined by our NATO Allies that are party to the Treaty, as well as Georgia and Moldova, in taking this step – in all, 24 of the 30 countries that are party to the Treaty.

As we have previously stated, we have concerns about Russian compliance with the INF Treaty. We have raised them with Russia and are pressing for clear answers in an effort to resolve our concerns because of the importance of the INF Treaty to Euro-Atlantic security. We’ve briefed our NATO allies on our concerns and will continue to coordinate with them on this and other matters that affect our common security. We have been keeping Congress informed on this matter through briefings with relevant congressional committees and will continue to do so. We will continue to work with Russia to resolve our concerns, and to encourage mutual steps to help foster a more stable, resilient, transparent security relationship. We’re not going to drop the issue until our concerns have been addressed. As I hope you understand, I am not able to go more deeply into this subject in an open hearing, and would ask that you not press me to do so in open session.

As another example of how we seek to address compliance concerns, several years ago we had questions with regard to China’s implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Through active engagement with Chinese officials about whether China should have declared production and subsequent consumption of a particular chemical, our technical experts outlined U.S. concerns and China addressed each of our questions in a collegial and productive manner to close out this issue.

Conclusion

Arms control treaties and agreements continue to be an important tool that can enhance the security of the United States and our friends and allies. The successful implementation of the New START Treaty, and the important contributions that the Open Skies Treaty and the Vienna Document have played recently in Ukraine, demonstrate the continued relevance of arms control for our national security. Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions.

BANKER ACCUSED OF HELPING U.S. TAXPAYERS TO HIDE OVERSEAS BANK ACCOUNTS BY USING FAKE NAMES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
California Banker Charged with Helping U.S. Taxpayers Conceal Secret Israeli Bank Accounts

Shokrollah Baravarian, of Beverly Hills, California, was charged today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

According to the indictment, Baravarian, a former senior vice president at the Los Angeles branch of a bank headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, conspired to conceal the existence of undeclared accounts owned and controlled by U.S. customers in Israel.  The indictment alleges that these accounts were concealed from the IRS by opening them under pseudonyms, code names and the names of nominee entities set up in the British Virgin Islands and the island of Nevis.

“This charge results from an ongoing and extensive investigation into the use of undeclared bank accounts in Israel, and demonstrates the department’s determination to find and prosecute those who help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through offshore accounts located anywhere in the world,” said Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.

“IRS-Criminal Investigation and Tax Division prosecutors have been investigating the use of undeclared bank accounts globally, and charges have been brought against not only the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared Israeli bank accounts but also those who facilitate the hiding of assets and income abroad,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Tax Division.  “Whether it be Israel, Switzerland, the Caribbean or elsewhere, the Justice Department is finding the hiding places and is committed to prosecuting tax cheats.”

“The defendant assisted others to hide the true ownership of offshore bank accounts through the use of code names and nominee entities,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber.  “Our special agents unraveled the complex financial transactions used to disguise the funds in the undeclared accounts.  Those who help others commit tax evasion risk prosecution and substantial monetary penalties.”

The indictment further alleges that Baravarian assisted U.S. customers in secretly accessing the funds in their undeclared accounts by obtaining back-to-back loans from the Los Angeles branch of the bank.  According to the indictment, a back-to-back loan was a loan that was secured by funds in an undeclared account in Israel and issued by the Los Angeles branch to a U.S. customer.  Baravarian is alleged to have helped conceal the fact that U.S. customers were using their own funds as collateral by purposely not keeping copies of loan-related documents in the files at the Los Angeles branch.  These documents included Israeli account information and pledge agreements used to secure the loans.  As detailed in the indictment, some U.S. customers obtained back-to-back loans from the Los Angeles branch by transferring funds to Israel from other foreign countries, including Switzerland and China.

The indictment further alleges that a banker in Israel would periodically travel to Los Angeles and meet with U.S. customers to discuss their account statements.  Prior to making these trips, the banker would redact the names of the U.S. customers reflected on the account statements.

Baravarian is the latest in a series of defendants charged in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with using undeclared bank accounts in Israel to obtain back-to-back loans in the United States.

U.S. citizens and residents who have an interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country with assets in excess of $10,000 are required to disclose the existence of such account on Schedule B, Part III, of their individual income tax returns and on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Reports filed with the U.S. Treasury.

If convicted, Baravarian faces a potential maximum prison term of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000.  The charge contained in the indictment is only an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent and it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan and Assistant Chief Elizabeth C. Hadden of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown, Chief of the Tax Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

CDC SAYS UP TO 40 PERCENT OF DEATHS FROM 5 LEADING CAUSES ARE PREVENTABLE

FROM:  CENTERS OF DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 
Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable

Each year, nearly 900,000 Americans die prematurely from the five leading causes of death – yet 20 percent to 40 percent of the deaths from each cause could be prevented, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The five leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries. Together they accounted for 63 percent of all U.S. deaths in 2010, with rates for each cause varying greatly from state to state.  The report, in this week’s issue of CDC’s weekly journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, analyzed premature deaths (before age 80) from each cause for each state from 2008 to 2010. The authors then calculated the number of deaths from each cause that would have been prevented if all states had same death rate as the states with the lowest rates.
The study suggests that, if all states had the lowest death rate observed for each cause, it would be possible to prevent:

34 percent of premature deaths from heart diseases, prolonging about 92,000 lives
21 percent of premature cancer deaths, prolonging about 84,500 lives

39 percent of premature deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases, prolonging about 29,000 lives

33 percent of premature stroke deaths, prolonging about 17,000 lives

39 percent of premature deaths from unintentional injuries, prolonging about 37,000 lives

“As a doctor, it is heartbreaking to lose just one patient to a preventable disease or injury – and it is that much more poignant as the director of the nation’s public health agency to know that far more than a hundred thousand deaths each year are preventable,” said Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “With programs such as the CDC’s Million Hearts initiative, we are working hard to prevent many of these premature deaths.”

The numbers of preventable deaths from each cause cannot be added together to get an overall total, the authors note. That’s because prevention of some premature deaths may push people to different causes of death. For example, a person who avoids early death from heart disease still may die prematurely from another preventable cause, such as an unintentional injury.
Modifiable risk factors are largely responsible for each of the leading causes of death:
Heart disease risks include tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, poor diet, overweight, and lack of physical activity.

Cancer risks include tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, overweight, sun exposure, certain hormones, alcohol, some viruses and bacteria, ionizing radiation, and certain chemicals and other substances.

Chronic respiratory disease risks include tobacco smoke, second-hand smoke exposure, other indoor air pollutants, outdoor air pollutants, allergens, and exposure to occupational agents.

Stroke risks include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, overweight, previous stroke, tobacco use, alcohol use, and lack of physical activity.

Unintentional injury risks include lack of seatbelt use, lack of motorcycle helmet use, unsafe consumer products, drug and alcohol use (including prescription drug misuse), exposure to occupational hazards, and unsafe home and community environments.

Many of these risks are avoidable by making changes in personal behaviors. Others are due to disparities due to the social, demographic, environmental, economic, and geographic attributes of the neighborhoods in which people live and work. The study authors note that if health disparities were eliminated, as called for in Healthy People 2020External Web Site Icon, all states would be closer to achieving the lowest possible death rates for the leading causes of death.
”We think that this report can help states set goals for preventing premature death from the conditions that account for the majority of deaths in the United States,” said Harold W. Jaffe, MD, the study’s senior author and CDC’s associate director for science. “Achieving these goals could prolong the lives of tens of thousands of Americans.”

Southeastern states had the highest number of preventable deaths for each of the five causes. The study authors suggest that states with higher rates can look to states with similar populations, but better outcomes, to see what they are doing differently to address leading causes of death.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

SWISS CITIZEN PLEADS GUILTY FOR ROLE IN U.S. TAX EVASION SCHEMES

 FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Swiss Offshore Tax Evasion Enabler Pleads Guilty

Josef Dörig, 72, of Switzerland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with his work as the owner of a trust company in Switzerland.  Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia and IRS-Criminal Investigation Chief Richard Weber made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.  Dörig was charged in a one count superseding indictment on July 21, 2011.  Sentencing is set for Aug. 8, 2014, and Dörig faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“Today’s plea further pulls back the curtain on efforts by Swiss banks to help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through the use of sham trusts and foundations,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.  “Rest assured, the days of bank secrecy for U.S. tax cheats in Switzerland – and around the world – are numbered.”

“This plea sends a strong message to those who use or help others use offshore bank accounts to evade U.S. taxes,” said Assistant Attorney General Keneally.  “We are receiving information from a variety of sources and are committed to investigating and prosecuting this wrongdoing.”

“We will continue to investigate and prosecute banks and individuals who assist U.S. citizens in the evasion of income taxes with overseas accounts,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “The doors are quickly closing on this illegal activity.”

“Assisting American taxpayers to evade their tax obligations with the use of secret bank accounts held in sham entities violates the law, and we will find those who are doing it,” said Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation Richard Weber.  “IRS-CI will pursue those who use anonymous offshore accounts to avoid paying their fair share.  IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to have shared our hallmark expertise in following the money trail in this and other increasingly sophisticated criminal schemes.”

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Dörig admitted that between 1997 and 2011, while owning and operating a trust company, he engaged in a wide-ranging conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. customers in evading their income taxes by concealing assets and income in secret bank accounts held in the names of sham entities at a financial institution referred to in the superseding indictment as International Bank (IB), one of the biggest banks in Switzerland and one of the largest wealth managers in the world.

According to the statement of facts, from 1972 to 1996, Dörig worked for a subsidiary of IB.  The subsidiary formed, managed and maintained nominee tax haven entities.  Individuals concealed their assets by holding their accounts at IB in the names of these tax haven entities.  During this time, the subsidiary managed and maintained over 100 sham entities for U.S. taxpayers committing tax evasion.

Also included in the statement of facts, in 1997, executives at the subsidiary devised a plan to spin off all of these sham entities into a new trust company, Dörig Partner AG, to be owned and operated by Dörig, who was then an employee of the subsidiary.  Dörig was required to make his best efforts to keep the existing accounts at IB open and to ensure that any clients referred to him by IB would open new accounts at that institution.

According to the statement of facts, IB promoted Dörig Partner as a provider of various entity structures.  The phone list used in IB’s New York representative office identified Dörig Partner as an external trust expert.  Dörig Partner also sublet space from IB in an office tower where a private bank owned by IB was the major tenant.

As part of the conspiracy, Dörig traveled to the United States to introduce himself to new clients he had obtained as part of the spin-off.  In the following years, he traveled to the United States with bankers from IB, including his co-defendants Markus Walder, Marco Parenti-Adami and Michele Bergantino, to meet with existing and prospective clients who already had undeclared accounts at IB but had been identified by the IB’s bankers as potential candidates for the use of a structure.

According to the statement of facts, although Dörig ostensibly controlled both the structure and the account at IB, in practice, many of the U.S. taxpayers with undeclared accounts controlled the assets in those accounts by dealing directly with IB bankers, often without either the knowledge or consent of Dörig.

According to the statement of facts, in 2008, IB ordered Dörig Partner to close accounts for the structures they managed.  Dörig turned to an asset manager at a financial services firm in Zurich for assistance.  The financial services firm maintained a master account in its own name at a private bank in Gibraltar, and then opened sub-accounts for Dörig’s clients at that bank to which Dörig transferred the funds from the clients’ undeclared accounts at IB.  The financial services firm provided the Gibraltar bank only with the number associated with each sub-account and did not inform the bank of any information regarding the owners of the assets in the sub-accounts.

This case is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle and Trial Attorneys Mark F. Daly and Nanette L. Davis of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS TOURING GE FACILITY IN LUANDA, ANGOLA

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks While Touring a GE Facility in Luanda

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Luanda, Angola
May 4, 2014


Well, Jay Ireland, thank you very much for a generous welcome here to General Electric in Luanda in the center of this extraordinary economic activity. I’m very excited to be here. I’m sorry that my wife is not here, because she was born in Mozambique and speaks – her first language is Portuguese. (Applause.) So I hear it around the house all the time – muito obrigadoand all that stuff. (Laughter.)

But it’s a privilege for me to be able to be here, and I want to thank Foreign Minister Chikoti for his welcome and for the opportunity to be able to meet the president tomorrow and have a good conversation about the bilateral relationship between the United States and Angola. I am particularly pleased to be here with other representatives of the oil and gas industry, a representative from Chevron, from ConocoPhilips, as well as from ExxonMobil – Esso, as you call it here. And I’m very grateful that the representative from the U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce is here, too.

As you’ve heard in the earlier introductions, I’m here with former United States Senator Russ Feingold, who is our – President Obama’s and my special envoy to the Great Lakes region and who is working to produce greater stability and peace in the region. President dos Santos and Angola have provided important leadership, and I want to thank you, Angola, for the leadership an the participation and the help to solve conflicts that have gone on for too long.

But as I mentioned a moment ago, we’re standing in a place of enormous economic activity with great promise for future economic growth and development. I am accompanied on this trip by the president and CEO of the EximBank[1], Elizabeth Littlefield, because the EximBank[2] is very much a partner with General Electric and very involved in helping to support economic development here in Angola and in other parts of Africa.

In fact, though EximBank[2] we have just provided a $600 million, just about a $600 million loan guarantee that will assist in the purchase of a Boeing 777 for Angola. This will grow the opportunity of, obviously, more ability to have business and more ability to have trade, and also for people to simply come to be able to engage in some of the exciting things that are happening in Angola. In addition, Exim[2] is providing another $300 million or so of additional economic investment here in Angola.

So let me just say quickly why being here is important today. Africa is changing. Eight of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world are here in Africa. There is enormous opportunity for the people of Africa, the people of Angola, to be able to gain in healthcare, in education, in jobs, in the quality of life. And I know the government is very focused on how to provide for increased standard of living for the people of the country. That comes from fair and reasonable trade agreements where everybody benefits, where there’s an ability to create jobs. When a Boeing airliner is bought from Boeing, it creates jobs in America, but it will also create jobs and opportunity here in Angola.

General Electric has recently sold four power turbines to Angola. This is for a project in Soyo. And this will help provide the power that then generates the ability for hospitals, for schools, for homes, for cities, for stores to be able to grow and prosper. So we believe there are great opportunities on which we can build where, most importantly, Angolans will benefit.
I just spoke with the representative for ConocoPhillips, who tells me and the representative for Chevron – who tell me about the several thousands of employees. ConocoPhilipps is newer here, but Chevron has about 3,500 workers employed. So more and more Angolans are being trained to take on more and more different kinds of important jobs.

The first lady of Angola was in Los Angeles a number of years ago, and she was talking with the executives there about a disease here in Angola. A lot of people thought you couldn’t do anything about it. But Chevron, which had been working here for many years, stepped up and they talked with the Texas Children’s Hospital and they got care to be able to come her to help cure this disease for children. More than 3,000 children’s lives have been saved

So this is not just about business. This is about building a relationship between two people, two countries, and building a future. And when I look out at the economic energy out here in the port in all these containers and these ships and the work that you’re doing, I am confident that Angola, working together as you are now, will be able to help contribute to an extraordinary journey in Africa as a whole, and we will provide greater opportunity to everybody.

Thank you for the privilege. Muito obrigado. (Applause.)



[1] Elizabeth Littlefield is the president and CEO of OPIC.
[2] OPIC

PRESIDENT OBAMA OFFERS CONDOLENCES FOR LANDSLIDE IN AFGHANISTAN'S BADAKHSHAN PROVINCE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT OBAMA, PRESIDENT KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN, LANDSLIDE IN BADAKHSHAN

Readout of the President’s Call with President Karzai

President Obama called President Karzai today to express his condolences for the extensive loss of life in the May 2 landslide in Afghanistan’s rural northeast province of Badakhshan. President Karzai expressed appreciation for international assistance and described to the President the ongoing Afghan government response, to include visits to the region by the Afghan Vice Presidents. President Obama affirmed the support of the American people as the Afghans respond to this tragedy and offered additional U.S. assistance to the ongoing relief efforts.
President Obama also expressed support for the April 5 Afghan elections and reaffirmed that the United States supports a sovereign, stable, unified, and democratic Afghanistan.

TRANSCRIPT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by the President at White House Correspondents' Dinner

10:21 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much, everybody.  Have a seat, have a seat.  Before I get started, can we get the new presidential setup out here? 
(Aides bring out two ferns.)
It was worked before.  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s more like it.
It is great to be back.  What a year, huh?  I usually start these dinners with a few self-deprecating jokes.  After my stellar 2013, what could I possibly talk about?  (Laughter.)
I admit it -- last year was rough.  Sheesh.  (Laughter.)  At one point things got so bad, the 47 percent called Mitt Romney to apologize.  (Laughter.)
Of course, we rolled out healthcare.gov.  That could have gone better.  (Laughter.)  In 2008 my slogan was, “Yes We Can.”  In 2013 my slogan was, “Control-Alt-Delete.”  (Laughter.)  On the plus side, they did turn the launch of healthcare.gov into one of the year’s biggest movies.  (Laughter.)
But rather than dwell on the past, I would like to pivot to this dinner.  Let’s welcome our headliner this evening, Joel McHale.  (Applause.)  On “Community,” Joel plays a preening, self-obsessed narcissist.  So this dinner must be a real change of pace for you.  (Laughter.)
I want to thank the White House Correspondents Association for hosting us here tonight.  I am happy to be here, even though I am a little jet-lagged from my trip to Malaysia.  The lengths we have to go to get CNN coverage these days.  (Laughter and applause.)  I think they’re still searching for their table.  (Laughter and applause.)
MSNBC is here.  They’re a little overwhelmed.  (Laughter.)  They’ve never seen an audience this big before.  (Laughter.)
But, look, everybody is trying to keep up with this incredibly fast-changing media landscape.  For example, I got a lot of grief on cable news for promoting Obamacare to young people on Between Two Ferns.  But that’s what young people like to watch.  And to be fair, I am not the first person on television between two potted plants.  (Laughter and applause.) 
Sometimes I do feel disrespected by you reporters.  But that’s okay.  Seattle Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman is here tonight.  (Applause.)  And he gave me some great tips on how to handle it.  Jake Tapper, don’t you ever talk about me like that!  (Laughter.)  I’m the best President in the game!  (Laughter.) 
What do you think, Richard?  Was that good?  A little more feeling next time?
While we’re talking sports, just last month, a wonderful story -- an American won the Boston Marathon for first time in 30 years.  (Applause.)  Which was inspiring and only fair, since a Kenyan has been president for the last six.  (Laughter and applause.)  Had to even things out.  (Laughter.)
We have some other athletes here tonight, including Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Jamie Anderson is here.  We’re proud of her.  (Applause.)  Incredibly talented young lady.  Michelle and I watched the Olympics -- we cannot believe what these folks do -- death-defying feats -- haven’t seen somebody pull a “180” that fast since Rand Paul disinvited that Nevada rancher from this dinner.  (Laughter.)  As a general rule, things don’t like end well if the sentence starts, “Let me tell you something I know about the negro.”  (Laughter.)  You don’t really need to hear the rest of it.  (Laughter and applause.)  Just a tip for you -- don’t start your sentence that way.  (Laughter.)
Speaking of Rand Paul -- (laughter) -- Colorado legalized marijuana this year, an interesting social experiment.  I do hope it doesn’t lead to a whole lot of paranoid people who think that the federal government is out to get them and listening to their phone calls.  (Laughter.)  That would be a problem.  (Laughter.)
And speaking of conservative heroes, the Koch brothers bought a table here tonight.  But as usual, they used a shadowy right-wing organization as a front.  Hello, Fox News.  (Laughter and applause.)
I’m just kidding.  Let’s face it, Fox, you’ll miss me when I’m gone.  (Laughter.)  It will be harder to convince the American people that Hillary was born in Kenya.  (Laughter and applause.)
A lot of us really are concerned about the way big money is influencing our politics.  I remember when a Super PAC was just me buying Marlboro 100s instead of regulars.  (Laughter.)
Of course, now that it’s 2014, Washington is obsessed on the midterms.  Folks are saying that with my sagging poll numbers, my fellow Democrats don’t really want me campaigning with them.  And I don’t think that’s true -- although I did notice the other day that Sasha needed a speaker at career day, and she invited Bill Clinton.  (Laughter.)  I was a little hurt by that.  (Laughter.)
Both sides are doing whatever it takes to win the ruthless game.  Republicans -- this is a true story -- Republicans actually brought in a group of consultants to teach their candidates how to speak to women.  This is true.  And I don’t know if it will work with women, but I understand that America’s teenage boys are signing up to run for the Senate in droves.  (Laughter.)
Anyway, while you guys focus on the horserace, I’m going to do what I do -- I’m going to be focused on everyday Americans.  Just yesterday, I read a heartbreaking letter -- you know I get letters from folks from around the country; every day I get 10 that I read -- this one got to me.  A Virginia man who’s been stuck in the same part-time job for years; no respect from his boss; no chance to get ahead.  I really wish Eric Cantor would stop writing me.  (Laughter.)  You can just pick up the phone, Eric.  (Laughter.)
And I’m feeling sorry -- believe it or not -- for the Speaker of the House, as well.  These days, the House Republicans actually give John Boehner a harder time than they give me, which means orange really is the new black.  (Laughter and applause.)
But I have not given up the idea of working with Congress. In fact, two weeks ago, Senator Ted Cruz and I, we got a bill done together.  And I have to say, the signing ceremony was something special.  We’ve got a picture of it I think.  (Laughter.)
Look, I know, Washington seems more dysfunctional than ever.  Gridlock has gotten so bad in this town you have to wonder:  What did we do to piss off Chris Christie so bad?  (Laughter and applause.)
One issue, for example, we haven’t been able to agree on is unemployment insurance.  Republicans continue to refuse to extend it.  And you know what, I am beginning to think they’ve got a point.  If you want to get paid while not working, you should have to run for Congress just like everybody else.  (Laughter and applause.)
Of course, there is one thing that keeps Republicans busy.  They have tried more than 50 times to repeal Obamacare.  Despite that, 8 million people signed up for health care in the first open enrollment.  (Applause.)  Which does lead one to ask, how well does Obamacare have to work before you don’t want to repeal it?  What if everybody’s cholesterol drops to 120?  (Laughter.)  What if your yearly checkup came with tickets to a Clippers game?  (Laughter.)  Not the old, Donald Sterling Clippers -- the new Oprah Clippers.  Would that be good enough?  (Laughter.)  What if they gave Mitch McConnell a pulse?  (Laughter.)  What is it going to take?  (Laughter.) 
Anyway, this year, I’ve promised to use more executive actions to get things done without Congress.  My critics call this the “imperial presidency.”  The truth is, I just show up every day in my office and do my job.  I’ve got a picture of this I think.  (Laughter and applause.)  You would think they’d appreciate a more assertive approach, considering that the new conservative darling is none other than Vladimir Putin.  (Laughter.)  Last year, Pat Buchanan said Putin is “headed straight for the Nobel Peace Prize.”  He said this.  Now I know it sounds crazy but to be fair, they give those to just about anybody these days.  (Laughter.)  So it could happen.
But it’s not just Pat -- Rudy Giuliani said Putin is “what you call a leader.”  Mike Huckabee and Sean Hannity keep talking about his bare chest, which is kind of weird.  (Laughter.)  Look it up -- they talk about it a lot.  (Laughter.) 
It is strange to think that I have just two and a half years left in this office.  Everywhere I look, there are reminders that I only hold this job temporarily.  (Laughter.)
But it’s a long time between now and 2016, and anything can happen.  You may have heard the other day, Hillary had to dodge a flying shoe at a press conference.  (Laughter and applause.)  I love that picture.  (Laughter.)
Regardless of what happens, I’ve run my last campaign and I’m beginning to think about my legacy.  Some of you know -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced he is naming a high school in Chicago after me, which is extremely humbling.  I was even more flattered to hear Rick Perry, who is here tonigh, is doing the same thing in Texas.  Take a look.  (Laughter.)  Thank you, Rick.  It means a lot to me.  (Laughter and applause.) 
And I intend to enjoy all the free time that I will have.  George W. Bush took up painting after he left office, which inspired me to take up my own artistic side.  (Laughter.)  I’m sure we’ve got a shot of this.  (Laughter.)  Maybe not.  The joke doesn’t work without the slide.  (Laughter.)  Oh well.  Assume that it was funny.  (Laughter.)  Does this happen to you, Joel?  It does?  Okay.
On a more serious note, tonight reminds us that we really are lucky to live in a country where reporters get to give a head of state a hard time on a daily basis -- and then, once a year, give him or her the chance, at least, to try to return the favor.  
But we also know that not every journalist, or photographer, or crewmember is so fortunate, because even as we celebrate the free press tonight, our thoughts are with those in places around the globe like Ukraine, and Afghanistan, and Syria, and Egypt, who risk everything -- in some cases, even give their lives -- to report the news. 
And what tonight also reminds us is that the fight for full and fair access goes beyond the chance to ask a question.  As Steve mentioned, decades ago, an African American who wanted to cover his or her President might be barred from journalism school, burdened by Jim Crow, and, once in Washington, banned from press conferences.  But after years of effort, black editors and publishers began meeting with FDR’s press secretary, Steve Early.  And then they met with the President himself, who declared that a black reporter would get a credential.  And even when Harry McAlpin made history as the first African American to attend a presidential news conference, he wasn’t always welcomed by the other reporters.  But he was welcomed by the President, who told him, I’m glad to see you, McAlpin, and I’m very happy to have you here.
Now, that sentiment might have worn off once Harry asked him a question or two -- (laughter) -- and Harry’s battles continued.  But he made history.  And we’re s proud of Sherman and his family for being here tonight, and the White House Correspondents Association for creating a scholarship in Harry’s name.  (Applause.)
For over 100 years, even as the White House Correspondents Association has told the story of America’s progress, you’ve lived it, too -- gradually allowing equal access to women, and minorities, and gays, and Americans with disabilities.  And, yes, radio, and television, and Internet reporters, as well.  And through it all, you’ve helped make sure that even as societies change, our fundamental commitment to the interaction between those who govern and those who ask questions doesn’t change.  And as Jay will attest, it’s a legacy you carry on enthusiastically  every single day.
And because this is the 100th anniversary of the Correspondents’ Association, I actually recorded an additional brief video thanking all of you for your hard work.  Can we run the video?
(Video fails to play.)
THE PRESIDENT:  What’s going on?  (Laughter.)  I was told this would work.  Does anybody know how to fix this?  (Laughter.) 
(Secretary Sebelius enters from backstage.)
THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, thank you.  (Laughter and applause.)  You got it?
SECRETARY SEBELIUS:  I got this -- I see it all the time.  There, that should work. 
(Video plays.)
THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  And God bless America, and thank you, Kathleen Sebelius.  (Applause.) 
END
10:40 P.M. EDT

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS IN KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Press Availability on the D.R.C. and the Great Lakes Region

Press Availability
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
May 4, 2014


SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I’ve just come from a productive, good meeting with President Kabila and Foreign Minister Tshibanda. We spoke candidly about the enormous opportunities and the challenges that are faced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we spoke very candidly also about the ways in which we can make progress going forward. I congratulated the president on the accomplishments that he and his government have achieved, together with the work of MONUSCO, but we also talked about the steps that now need to be taken to provide further stability; increased, broader democracy; greater justice; and a greater amount of economic development for the Congolese people.

The president expressed his vision and his commitment to each of these efforts, and I think it’s fair to say that he leaned forward on his commitment to make sure that the accords – the Kampala accords as well as the peace and security agreement are well implemented over the course of the days ahead.

The suffering in the Great Lakes region of Africa and the crisis in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo really continues to trouble all of us. The eastern D.R.C. has been the scene of some of the most horrific crimes of violence against women and girls that are imaginable. And it’s a powerful reminder of the obligations that we all face, that we all share with respect to not only ending the killing and the fear, but in order to work for the birth of a new generation of stability and of hope.

Achieving a lasting peace in the D.R.C. is a priority of President Obama and a priority of mine. And that is why we appointed a close colleague of mine from the Senate for 18 years, Senator Russ Feingold, who is here with us today, as the United States Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Russ brings enormous intellect, passion, commitment to this issue. And already, he has been able to have an impact on the ground. He has been working with the UN Representative Mary Robinson, with the leaders in the region, and we are very pleased that the Nairobi Declarations were achieved, as well as a reduction in violence.

But he would be the first to say that we have further steps to take in order to complete this task, and we all understand what they are. The efforts to disarm, to demobilize, to reintegrate – these are the priorities of the moment. I want to commend the Congolese military and MONUSCO for defeating the M23 and for taking the fight to the Allied Democratic Forces – the ADF, as we know them – and many other Congolese armed groups. The United States welcomes the Kabila government’s commitment to focus on the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, and we discussed with President Kabila the steps that need to be taken with respect to that.

But I need to be clear: Military force alone will not deliver stability to the D.R.C. Lasting peace will not grow out of the barrel of a gun. It will come from restoring state authority and state services, and providing the capacity building that is necessary in those areas that have been recaptured from armed groups. It will also come from demobilizing the combatants and returning them to civilian life. I welcome the government’s initial efforts on this front, and we look forward to working with them as we continue programs that will advance that initiative.
The United States also strongly supports the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework peace process. Now I can’t emphasize enough how important that process is in identifying and resolving the root causes of the conflict in the D.R.C. as well as in the entire Great Lakes region. It’s imperative that all of the signatories fully implement their commitments and support the ongoing broader process of bringing peace to the region. Peace cannot be delayed or deferred or denied, and I think the people of Congo – of the Democratic Republic of Congo made that clear.

It is not enough just to focus on the military side of this equation, and it’s not enough to focus only on the political stability or economic development side of it. We need to work on all of these at the same time, and we need to keep the pressure on the FDLR and the other armed groups. We need to support the parties as they try to implement the framework agreement. So we must provide partnership and leadership as we urge all of the parties to come together to create a political solution.

And that means free, fair, timely, and transparent elections. I encouraged President Kabila to work with his government and the parliament in order to complete the election calendar and the budget. And they need to do so in accordance with the constitution. The United States is committed to supporting the Congolese people, the government, and other donors as they work towards decisions that are credible, timely, and consistent with the current constitution. And obviously, it is very clear that the dates and the process need to be set and fully defined, and the sooner, the better.

As a sign of our commitment, I am pleased to announce that $30 million will be immediately made available from the United States in additional funding in order to support transparent and credible elections as well as recovery and reconstruction programs in the eastern D.R.C. This contribution comes on top of already substantial U.S. assistance for economic development for the Congolese people. USAID plans to invest $1.2 billion over the next five years in the D.R.C., focusing on improving political and economic governance and on promoting social development. Our programs will strengthen Congolese institutions and improve their ability to respond to the peoples’ needs, and that includes the delivery of critical healthcare and education services.

I also spoke with President Kabila about another issue which has been a concern of late, and that is the question of adoption for families in the United States and friends of mine in the Senate who know that there is important, required attention to this question of international adoption. Here in the D.R.C. since 2009, the number of American families able to provide a house to children who have lost their parents has grown each year. And today, I urged President Kabila to move as rapidly as possible in the review of the situation that raised some concerns, and also to lift the new freeze on international adoption from the D.R.C. We want to enable Congolese children, who seek to, to be able to be matched with parents abroad who are eager to provide them with a secure and happy future. And as someone – I have seen this firsthand. My sister has adopted a young child from China. I know how positive and important this can be for everybody concerned, and I think it’s an issue that’s important to all of us as a matter of basic human decency.

And we have to admit, all of us, we can have no illusions about the challenges that lie ahead. But even as we look down a complicated road, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a place of enormous potential. Its people provide enormous potential. And the people of Congo want a better future. The fact is that together, we have an ability to be able to work to support the people of the Congo, to build a more secure and prosperous future, which is a responsibility that belongs to all of us.

I can guarantee you that the United States, through the immediate efforts of our ambassador on the ground, our embassy, and particularly our special envoy, we will continue to work in every way that we know how to be a good partner in this effort, and we look forward to working with the people of Congo in that in furtherance of that objective.

So I’d be delighted to answer a couple of questions if there are a few.

MS. PSAKI: Great. The first question will be from Mimie Engumb from Radio Oakpi.

QUESTION: (In French.)

SECRETARY KERRY: (In French.)

QUESTION: (In French.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I think I just mentioned it, to be honest with you. There will be elections in many countries in Africa over the course of the next year or so. I think there are 15 presidential elections and some 37 elections in countries in Africa. And so every election is really critical and important, and it is important for the people to be able to know what the process is, to have confidence in that process.

And the United States position is very clear: We believe that the elections need to be free, fair, open, transparent, accountable; and the sooner the process is announced, the sooner that the date is set, the sooner people have an ability to be able to participate; and we believe that it ought to be done in keeping with the constitutional process of the country.

MS. PSAKI: The next question will be from Nicolas Revise from AFP.

QUESTION: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. You just announced your financial support for D.R.C. for its demobilization plan, but is there some conditions to this support? What are specifically these conditions? Did you ask specifically to President Kabila to give this green light to go after the FDLR still active in eastern Congo? And politically, is the U.S. support tied to the respect of the constitution? So did you ask specifically to President Kabila not to change the constitution and not to run for a third term? Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, let me discuss all of that. But first of all, with respect to the conditions, obviously the demobilization is taking place in accordance with the agreement. And that agreement requires people to go back to their homes, where possible, where they sign, appropriately, an amnesty for those who qualify. And I think for those who don’t, it is clear that there remains – that is, people who may have been engaged in crimes against humanity, war crimes – those people remain liable for that. But others who sign the agreement and sign the amnesty are committed to and encouraged, obviously must return to their homes. That’s an important part of this demobilization effort.

With respect to the election process, the constitution, and the FDLR, we want to see the process of providing stability and completing the task of disarming the armed groups in the east completed. So that includes not just the completion of the efforts with the ADF, but also obviously, indeed making sure that the FDLR is held accountable and that the initiative with respect to them will commence.

The president – we did discuss it. The president made it clear that he intends to do that, and I think that there is a schedule. I don’t want to discuss it because I think it would be inappropriate to do so. But the answer is the president gave his word that that is not just on the agenda, but that he has a specific process in mind and timing.

And with respect to the constitutional process, we talked about the election. I believe the president’s legacy is a legacy that is very important for the country, and that he has an opportunity, which he understands, to be able to put the country on a continued path of democracy. And I believe it is clear to him that the United States of America feels very strongly, as do other people, that the constitutional process needs to be respected and adhered to. That’s how you strengthen a country.

I have no doubt that President Kabila’s legacy will be defined by the progress he has made in the – particularly the last year in addressing the security issues of the east, the economic issues of the country. And he’s a young man with an enormous amount of time to be able to continue to contribute to his country. And I’m quite confident that he will weigh all of those issues as he makes a decision about the future.

But clearly, the United States of America believes that a country is strengthened, that people have respect for their nation and their government, when a constitutional process is properly implemented and upheld by that government. And we obviously believe – we’re a country with term limits. We live by them. We had several hundred years of transformation under that process, and we encourage other countries to adhere to their constitution.
MS. PSAKI: Thank you, everyone.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN KINSHASA, CONGO

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks at Pharmacy Supported by Micro-Finance

Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
SINOCO Medical Supply Store
Kinshasa, Congo (Kinshasa)
May 3, 2014


SECRETARY KERRY: Patricia Nzolantima is a YALI graduate, this beautiful woman to my left here, which is the Young African Leaders Initiative that President Obama started. And she graduated from it in 2011?

MS. NZOLANTIMA: Yes. (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY KERRY: 2012.

MS. NZOLANTIMA: (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY KERRY: 2012, yeah. And Irene Mpoy is now in YALI, and she will be coming to Washington, right? No?

MS. MPOY: No.

SECRETARY KERRY: You’re not coming? Oh, I thought she was coming. (Inaudible.) There are 12 young leaders in the entire Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have been selected to take part in the Young African Leaders program. And they are an amazing group. When the Embassy here promoted the concept of the Young African Leaders program, there were a thousand applications very, very quickly to 12 positions. And these 12 leaders will be coming – a number of them be – they will be coming to Washington at the time of the African Leaders Summit, a two-day summit with President Obama. And I will be meeting, and other Administration people will be meeting with young African leaders in order to do as much as we can to promote this program, and mostly to promote entrepreneurship. I want to tell you about that.

Patricia, who is an entrepreneur – and you saw her magazine over here, which she publishes six times a year, once every two months, 10,000 issues. She does them free distribution, but the promotion – the 10,000 distribution guarantees the advertisement. And so she is a true entrepreneur. And she also provides to pharmacies, to a group of pharmacies – I think you have about 75, how many?

MS. NZOLANTIMA: Seventy-five.

SECRETARY KERRY: Seventy-five, yes. Seventy-five pharmacies. And what she does is buys her supplies, then she provides them to people like Irene. This is Irene’s store, her showroom. And here she sells both the major products that you see to clinics, hospitals, et cetera. But she also provides drugs, a pharmacy.

And you see a picture right here of one these pharmacy setups. It’s basically a sort of a predetermined concept where X number of drugs of different kinds that they know are going to be used are placed there. But what happens is Patricia is the one who provides the money to Irene to be able to pay for the drugs, and she buys them back from Patricia’s company at a discount. And her efforts are non-profit. She is trying to simply grow the ability of these women to be able to own their own pharmacy and own their own establishment. It’s a wonderful example of entrepreneurial activity. It’s the best of some independent initiative taking an enterprise and going out and making something happen.

We want this to happen all over the Democratic Republic of Congo, all over Africa. We want to grow the ability of young people, young people who are the future, to be able to create jobs, to have their own businesses, to have an idea and perhaps go out and fail, but at least be able to try and make a difference. That’s what makes entrepreneurial activity work for an entire country. And we’re going to try and support that.

So I’m very, very happy to be here and to celebrate this woman’s initiative and this woman’s willingness to take up her initiative and use her initiative to make it into something that serves the people. It’s a wonderful example of entrepreneurial activity.

We look forward to welcoming those who will come to Washington from the YALI program, and I know that President Obama is very excited about this initiative. I met with some YALI students this morning in Addis Ababa. They were all excited and ready to fire up and engage in their own entrepreneurial activity.

So I’m privileged to come here. I want to thank you. (In French.) And I’m really happy to be here, too. Thank you. Take care. Thank you all. (Applause.)

THE GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY

FROM:  NASA  

Named for American rocketry pioneer Dr. Robert H. Goddard, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was established on May 1, 1959, as NASA's first space flight complex. In the 1960s, when this image was taken, Goddard focused on the development of tracking and communication facilities and capabilities for both the scientific satellites and the manned space flight program. Goddard became the hub of the massive, international tracking and communications network that involved aircraft, supertankers converted into mobile communications units, and a wide diversity of ground stations. A duplicate mission control center was also built at Goddard in case the computers at the main control room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas failed for any reason.  Image Credit-NASA.

U.S. AMBASSADOR ROBERT MIKULAK'S STATEMENT TO OPCW EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Statement to the Fortieth Meeting of the Executive Council

Remarks
Ambassador Robert P. Mikulak, United States Delegation to the Executive Council Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Hague, Netherlands
April 29, 2014


Mr. Chairman, Mr. Director-General, distinguished delegates,
Last September, when this Council embarked upon the effort to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons program, in the aftermath of the terrible August 21, 2013 attacks in the suburb of Damascus, I think all of us expected to be at a very different stage of the effort than we are today.

While we recognize the accomplishment reflected in the removal of 92 percent of the declared stockpile, this job is not done until it’s fully done. Although the international community quickly readied an operation to transport and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons program, the Assad regime has delayed the operation at every opportunity. As a result, multiple dates established by the Council by consensus have been missed. Now Syria has not even met its own schedule for completing removal on 27 April. Almost 100 tons of Priority 1 and Priority 2 chemicals still remain in Syria, which represents approximately eight percent of the total declared material. And the international effort to actually destroy this deadly material is on hold and costing all involved significant sums every day.

Our understanding is that Syria has yet to even undertake the packing and other actions necessary to prepare the chemicals at the final site for transport. The excuse that the site, which is occupied by Syrian Government forces, is “inaccessible” was not acceptable before, and is not acceptable now. The Asad regime needs to develop and implement without further delay a plan to meet its obligations. We need to see immediate and tangible signs that Syria intends to transport, in the very near future, the remaining chemicals from the last site. Such signs could include, for example: destruction of the remaining isopropanol; prepositioning transport equipment; decanting chemicals; beginning packing and site preparations; and maintaining a readiness posture at the port of Latakia. These actions should already have taken place. They should be implemented immediately in order for Syria to demonstrate good faith that the regime is taking its obligations seriously, and is not playing political games. The international community cannot wait indefinitely for Syrian action.

Mr. Chairman,

Despite the destruction deadlines established in this Council by consensus, twelve chemical weapons production facilities declared by Syria remain structurally intact. Why is that? The answer is Syria’s intransigence and refusal to even discuss the matter with other delegations over the past weeks. The Technical Secretariat has helpfully contributed its expertise, but it cannot negotiate a final document in place of this Council. The United States continues to hope that a mutually acceptable approach can be found in the near future, but Syria must come to the table to discuss possible approaches. Our delegation is ready to actively and constructively participate in discussions to reach an acceptable solution.

Unfortunately, Syria’s position seems to be that the destruction requirements should be substantially lower for Syria than they were for other countries. This cannot be the case, especially in light of the Syrian regime well demonstrated willingness to use chemical weapons. In 2001, for example, the Technical Secretariat informed the United States that “any underground structure designated for locating any equipment related to the CWPF shall also be destroyed or filled in, and provided with permanent cover.” The same requirement should apply to underground structures in Syria. In its 27 September decision, this Council made clear that the Syrian CW situation demanded stringent verification measures and, to that end, we must ensure that these facilities can never be used by the Syrian regime to retain or restart a chemical weapons program.

Mr. Chairman,

Up to this point, the elimination effort has been focused solely on the chemical weapons and associated equipment and facilities disclosed by Syria to the OPCW Technical Secretariat and States Parties. The fundamental goal of the 27 September decision of this Council, UN Security Council Resolution 2118, and indeed the Convention itself is the prevention of further regime use of chemical weapons through the total elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program. Questions remain unanswered about the information provided by Syria. Therefore, additional attention will need to be focused on verifying the accuracy and completeness of Syria’s submissions. We welcome the initiative to send an OPCW team that has recently begun working on this task in Damascus. States Parties will also have an important role to play during this verification phase. This Council will need to monitor this effort closely as an essential part of its diligent oversight of the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program.
Mr. Chairman,

As we reflect upon what still needs to be done to ensure the complete elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons program, nothing is more disturbing than the recent reports of chemical weapons use. As we are all aware, there are public reports and videos indicating the use of a toxic chemical – probably chlorine – in Syria this month against the opposition-dominated village of Kafr Zayta. These reports are too serious to be ignored by this Council or the international community at large. The United States considers them to be a matter of serious concern requiring an immediate international effort to determine what has happened. We commend the leadership of the Director-General in seeking to establish the facts surrounding the recent allegations of chlorine CW use against Kafr Zayta, as he has just informed us that he will. This Council should welcome these efforts and call upon Syria to immediately and fully cooperate.

Mr. Chairman,

It was 99 years ago this month that chlorine was used as a chemical weapon near Ypres, Belgium. The Chemical Weapons Convention was designed specifically to eradicate those kinds of attacks, whether they use sarin, chlorine, or any other toxic chemical to harm or kill. The name of the very room where this Council meets today – the Ypres room -- is meant as a reminder to all of us both of the horrors of chemical weapons and the imperative, for the sake of all mankind, that we do everything in our power to ensure such heinous weapons are never used again in Syria or anywhere else.
Mr. Chairman,

I ask that this statement be considered an official document of this Executive Council meeting and placed on the OPCW website and external server.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

WOMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN LOTTERY SCHEME TARGETING THE ELDERLY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Florida Resident Sentenced in Connection with International Lottery Scheme That Defrauded Elderly Americans

Charmaine Anne King was sentenced in connection with her role in a fraudulent international lottery scheme that targeted U.S. citizens, the Justice Department announced.  King was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore in Miami to serve 57 months in prison and 5 years supervised release.  A hearing on restitution has been scheduled for June 5, 2014.  King was convicted by a federal jury in Miami on Feb. 5, 2014, of one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud, and two counts of wire fraud.

King’s prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort, working with federal and local law enforcement, to combat international lottery fraud schemes preying on American citizens.  According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries.

“The Justice Department will continue to hold criminals accountable for fraudulent lottery schemes,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “This illegal conduct creates significant financial harm to people throughout the country, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute such crime, and bring those responsible to justice.”

A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment against King and co-conspirator Althea Angela Peart on Oct. 31, 2013.  Judge Moore adopted a report and recommendation accepting Peart’s guilty plea on Feb. 4, 2014, and on March 20, 2014, he sentenced Peart to 33 months’ incarceration.  As part of her plea agreement, Peart acknowledged that a co-conspirator, believed to be located in Canada, mailed letters to elderly victims in the United States falsely informing the victims that they had won more than a million dollars in a lottery.  These letters purported to be from an actual sweepstakes company in the United States.

“International lottery fraudsters have cheated Americans out of tens of millions of dollars,” said Wifredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.  “In this particular scheme, the fraudsters convinced the victims to deposit counterfeit checks into their bank accounts in order to pay fees to collect their purported lottery winnings.  After the victims sent the money to King, the counterfeit cashier’s checks bounced and they lost their money.  Such fraud will not be tolerated.  Together with federal and local law enforcement, we are working to put an end to this type of scheme.”

The evidence at King’s trial showed that a co-conspirator sent fraudulent lottery letters to the victims and included counterfeit cashier’s checks made out to the victims for thousands of dollars.  These letters instructed victims to call “claims agents” who were actually co-conspirators, and when the victims called the purported claims agents, the agents informed the victims that they had to pay several thousand dollars in fees in order to collect their purported lottery winnings.  The claims agents told the victims to deposit the cashier’s checks in the victims’ bank accounts in order to purportedly cover the money they had to pay.  The co-conspirators instructed the victims on how to send and wire this money to King and others.  The cashier’s checks that victims received from the fraudulent lottery had no value.  The evidence demonstrated that after the victims sent money to King, the counterfeit cashier’s checks bounced.  Victims never received any lottery winnings.

Evidence presented at trial showed that King kept a percentage of the money she received from victims and sent the rest of the money to a co-conspirator.  King continued to participate in this scheme even after the U.S. Postal Inspection Service verbally informed her that she was participating in unlawful activity, and after she later signed a Cease and Desist Order requiring that she stop receiving money from victims of fraud.  The order that King signed described the lottery related activity that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service explained was unlawful.

Assistant Attorney General Delery commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Director Jeffrey Steger and Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, Consumer Protection Branch.

NSF AND THE VIRUS PIRATES

FROM:  THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Undersea warfare: Viruses hijack deep-sea bacteria at hydro-thermal vents
Unseen armies of viruses and bacteria battle in the deep

More than a mile beneath the ocean's surface, as dark clouds of mineral-rich water billow from seafloor hot springs called hydrothermal vents, unseen armies of viruses and bacteria wage war.

Like pirates boarding a treasure-laden ship, the viruses infect bacterial cells to get the loot: tiny globules of elemental sulfur stored inside the bacterial cells.

Instead of absconding with their prize, the viruses force the bacteria to burn their valuable sulfur reserves, then use the unleashed energy to replicate.

"Our findings suggest that viruses in the dark oceans indirectly access vast energy sources in the form of elemental sulfur," said University of Michigan marine microbiologist and oceanographer Gregory Dick, whose team collected DNA from deep-sea microbes in seawater samples from hydrothermal vents in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California.

"We suspect that these viruses are essentially hijacking bacterial cells and getting them to consume elemental sulfur so the viruses can propagate themselves," said Karthik Anantharaman of the University of Michigan, first author of a paper on the findings published this week in the journal Science Express.

Similar microbial interactions have been observed in shallow ocean waters between photosynthetic bacteria and the viruses that prey upon them.

But this is the first time such a relationship has been seen in a chemosynthetic system, one in which the microbes rely solely on inorganic compounds, rather than sunlight, as their energy source.

"Viruses play a cardinal role in biogeochemical processes in ocean shallows," said David Garrison, a program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research. "They may have similar importance in deep-sea thermal vent environments."

The results suggest that viruses are an important component of the thriving ecosystems--which include exotic six-foot tube worms--huddled around the vents.

"The results hint that the viruses act as agents of evolution in these chemosynthetic systems by exchanging genes with the bacteria," Dick said. "They may serve as a reservoir of genetic diversity that helps shape bacterial evolution."

The scientists collected water samples from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.

The samples were taken at depths of more than 6,000 feet, near hydrothermal vents spewing mineral-rich seawater at temperatures surpassing 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Back in the laboratory, the researchers reconstructed near-complete viral and bacterial genomes from DNA snippets retrieved at six hydrothermal vent plumes.

In addition to the common sulfur-consuming bacterium SUP05, they found genes from five previously unknown viruses.

The genetic data suggest that the viruses prey on SUP05. That's not too surprising, said Dick, since viruses are the most abundant biological entities in the oceans and are a pervasive cause of mortality among marine microorganisms.

The real surprise, he said, is that the viral DNA contains genes closely related to SUP05 genes used to extract energy from sulfur compounds.

When combined with results from previous studies, the finding suggests that the viruses force SUP05 bacteria to use viral SUP05-like genes to help process stored globules of elemental sulfur.

The SUP05-like viral genes are called auxiliary metabolic genes.

"We hypothesize that the viruses enhance bacterial consumption of this elemental sulfur, to the benefit of the viruses," said paper co-author Melissa Duhaime of the University of Michigan. The revved-up metabolic reactions may release energy that the viruses then use to replicate and spread.

How did SUP05-like genes end up in these viruses? The researchers can't say for sure, but the viruses may have snatched genes from SUP05 during an ancient microbial interaction.

"There seems to have been an exchange of genes, which implicates the viruses as an agent of evolution," Dick said.

All known life forms need a carbon source and an energy source. The energy drives the chemical reactions used to assemble cellular components from simple carbon-based compounds.

On Earth's surface, sunlight provides the energy that enables plants to remove carbon dioxide from the air and use it to build sugars and other organic molecules through the process of photosynthesis.

But there's no sunlight in the deep ocean, so microbes there often rely on alternate energy sources.

Instead of photosynthesis they depend on chemosynthesis. They synthesize organic compounds using energy derived from inorganic chemical reactions--in this case, reactions involving sulfur compounds.

Sulfur was likely one of the first energy sources that microbes learned to exploit on the young Earth, and it remains a driver of ecosystems found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, in oxygen-starved "dead zones" and at Yellowstone-like hot springs.

Dick said the new microbial findings will help researchers understand how marine biogeochemical cycles, including the sulfur cycle, will respond to global environmental changes such as the ongoing expansion of dead zones.

SUP05 bacteria, which are known to generate the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, will likely expand their range as oxygen-starved zones continue to grow in the oceans.

In addition to Anantharaman, Dick and Duhaime, co-authors of the Science Express paper are John Breir of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Kathleen Wendt of the University of Minnesota and Brandy Toner of the University of Minnesota.

The project was also funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School Faculty Research Fellowship Program.

-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF

Saturday, May 3, 2014

LABOR SECRETARY PEREZ MAKES REMARKS ON APRIL EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS

FROM:  U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT 
Statement of US Secretary of Labor Perez on April employment numbers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the April 2014 Employment Situation report released today:
"This morning's report demonstrates that the economy continues to rebound after a brutal recession that began in 2007. The economy generated 288,000 new jobs in April. The 273,000 created by private employers brings us to 9.2 million total new private-sector jobs over the last 50 months. Unemployment fell to 6.3 percent, the lowest since September 2008.

"I'm encouraged by this report, but we can't let one month of strong numbers diminish our sense of urgency or distract us from helping people who are still hurting. I meet too many working families who are barely getting by, let alone getting ahead. Their hard work and responsibility aren't being rewarded with the opportunity they deserve.

"To expand opportunity and ignite further economic growth, we need willing and engaged partners on Capitol Hill. But Congress continues to choose obstruction over action. While long-term unemployment remains near historic highs, it is now four months and counting since Congress took the unprecedented step of letting emergency unemployment benefits expire. Just two days ago, a minority of senators blocked a federal minimum wage increase embraced by a majority of Americans.

"President Obama is working every day to help more people climb ladders of success and punch their ticket to the middle class. He's fighting for infrastructure investment, immigration reform and other job-creating initiatives that enjoy broad public support. At the Labor Department this year, we will put on the street roughly $1 billion in new, targeted job-driven training funds that will help more people acquire the skills they need to succeed in the jobs of today and tomorrow.
"The president is committed to making this a year of action. He and I are eager to work with members of both parties to create more jobs, a stronger recovery and opportunity for all."

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR MAY 3, 2014

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Weekly Address: The President's Year of Action

WASHINGTON, DC – In this week’s address, the President provided an update on the work his Administration has done to strengthen the economy and expand opportunity for hardworking Americans in this Year of Action. While Republicans in Congress are setting records in obstruction, the President is making progress for the American people and has taken more than 20 executive actions since January. The President vowed to continue taking action on his own wherever possible, but underscored that much more progress could be made if Republicans in Congress were less interested in stacking the deck in favor of those at the top, and more interested in expanding opportunity for all.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
May 3, 2014
Hi, everybody.  My number one priority as President is doing whatever I can to create more jobs and opportunity for hardworking families.  And yesterday, we learned that businesses added 273,000 jobs last month.  All told, our businesses have now created 9.2 million new jobs over 50 consecutive months of job growth.
But we need to keep going – to create more good jobs, and give middle-class families a sense of security.  And I want to work with Congress to do it.
But so far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to create jobs and strengthen the middle class.  They’ve said “no” to raising the minimum wage, “no” to equal pay for equal work, and “no” to restoring the unemployment insurance they let expire for more than two million Americans looking for a new job. 
That’s not what we need right now.  Not when there are still too many folks out of work and too many families working harder than ever just to get by. 
That’s why, in my State of the Union Address, I said that in this Year of Action, whenever I can act on my own to create jobs and expand opportunity for more Americans, I will.  And since January, I’ve taken more than 20 executive actions to do just that.
I acted to raise more workers’ wages by requiring that workers on new federal contracts earn a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour – and as long as Republicans in Congress refuse to act, I’ll keep working with cities, states, and businesses to give more Americans a raise.  I acted to encourage more pay transparency and strengthen enforcement of equal pay laws, so that more women have the tools they need to earn fair pay.  And I’m modernizing regulations to make sure that more Americans who work overtime get the pay that they’ve earned.  I’ve launched new hubs to help attract more high-tech manufacturing jobs to America – and ordered a reform of job training programs to make sure more Americans can earn the skills that employers need right now.  I’ve brought together business leaders to help us connect more classrooms to high-speed internet, and give more of the long-term unemployed a better shot at finding a job. 
Each of these steps will make a difference.  You can check out the full list at whitehouse.gov.
But we could do a lot more if Republicans in Congress were less interested in stacking the deck in favor of those at the top, and more interested in growing the economy for everybody.  They’ve now voted more than 50 times to take apart the Affordable Care Act – imagine if they voted 50 times on serious jobs bills.
That’s why I’m going to take action on my own wherever I can.  To grow our economy from the middle-out, not the top down.  To give every American who works hard a chance to get ahead. 
That’s what this Year of Action is all about, and that’s what I’m going to keep fighting for. 
Thanks, and have a great weekend.

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