the obama administration restricted maximum term of short-term plans to three months. the degree from 12 months down to three months. they also banned in called renewal guarantees. a renewal guarantee and this is going to become very important later, a review will guarantee is a guarantee from an insurance company that your premiums won't go up because you got sick. they might go up further reasons, but if you have a renewal guarantee, the fact the that cancer will not cause your premiums to go up, even if you get cancer, you will still play -- is still a healthy person premiums. it turns countries have been offering these guarantees for decades and i stopped doing so what about air was passed because obamacare essentially banned them. they charge a little more for this protection and what it means in the economic literature is fairly unanimous in these renewal guarantees works pretty well. veryans even if you get a expensive illness, you can still pay healthy person premiums. administration shortened the maximum term of short-term plans from 12 months of three months

the obama administration restricted the maximum term of short-term plans to three months. from 12 months to three months. they also banned renewal guarantee. a renewal guarantee -- this will be very important -- is a guarantee from an insurance company that your premium will not go up because you get sick. your premium could go up for other reasons. if you have a renewal guarantee, the fact that you got cancer will not cause the premium to go up. even if you get cancer, you will pay healthy person premium. insurance companies were offering these in the individual market for decades. they stopped doing so when obamacare was founded because obamacare essentially banned them. they charge more for this protection. the economic literature is unanimous that these guarantees work well. it means even if you get a very expensive illness, you can pay healthy person premiums. when the obama administration shortened the maximum term of short-term plans from 12 months to three months and banned the guarantees in these plans, that had the effect of exposing a lot of people in the short-

in 1996, the obama administration made a change in how the federal government addresses the plans. since premiums for short-term were often 70% less than obamacare, a lot of people, generally healthy, sauce refuge from the high premiums by buying short-term plans. they lasted 12 months. if you bought one of these plans, you would have health insurance coverage until the next obamacare enrollment. --period. attractivethis as an alternative to paying obamacare premiums. if restricted the maximum term of short-term plans to three months. from 12 months to three months. they also banned renewal guarantee. a renewal guarantee -- this will be very important -- is a guarantee from a insurance company that your premium will not go up because you get sick. for premium could go up other reasons. if you have a renewal guarantee, the fact that you got cancer will not cause the premium to go up. youou pay -- get cancer, will pay healthy person premium. insurance companies were offering these in the individual market for decades. they stopped doing so when obamacare was founded because obamacare

the obama administration -- you know, this isn't just partisans. these are top military officials who have in some cases survived multiple administrations, both parties looking at the options on the ground and tactically what they concluded was the ability to strike iran to reduce their nuclear capacity was woefully limited. they can put things underground, they can rebill. once they have the technical know how, they can always in a few months get back to where they were. you're at the very real risk of a perpetual cycle of strikes. this is a very dangerous footing we've put ourselves on. >> of course, part of the big issue right now is syria and america's role there and the obama administration sadly will be remembered for having failed in syria. >> absolutely. >> and you use syria paz part of your case study. >> uh-huh. syria was one of the examples of the chaos of not having a concerted unified diplomatic effort with empowered diplomats at the helm. the obama white house vacillated and talked about red lines and didn't react to the crossing of r

>> the first four years of the obama administration was not putin, it was medvedev. medvedev was a decade younger. he didn't join the kgb. he went to law school. he looks to the west. in terms of world view, he was much closer to barack obama than vladimir putin was. and during that period we got a lot of big things done. we eliminated 30% of the nuclear weapons allowed in the world between the united states and russia in 2010. we got the most comprehensive set of sanctions on iran ever in 2010 working with dmitry medvedev. we got a new supply route in afghanistan open through russia, flying soldiers through russia the first since world war ii that happened, that allowed us to not be dependent on pakistan as we were at the time that we joined the government. over 90% of our supplies back in 2005 went through pakistan. and that allowed us to bring the war against terrorists inside pakistan, including most directly and dramatically in 2011 when we killed osama bin lauden. when vladimir putin came back, there was no disagreement in the white house. i was still at the wh

not that the obama administration didn't want a stronger economy, they did. but they always wanted something else more. we now have seen strong evidence the arguments were valid. the first thing the trump administration did was to suspend regulations in the pipeline of various agencies. and as congress got into a review act including what they were allowed to repeal that were growth, theconomic trump administration set out with regulatory reforms of their own that we are seeing unfold. all of these were important. what was that the exchange was the economy. up.umer confidence has shot grown robustly. it has shown up in the labor market with a low unemployment rate. we are around 4%. that is a low what the congressional budget office would consider the full employment rate. growth in excess of 200,000 jobs a month. what that is telling you is that the economy is strong. it also tells you we are not yet at full employment. we will be at full employment when job growth matches the growth in labor supply. 80,000-100,000 jobs a month. this also is something that i

how would you characterize our relations today versus the obama administration. >> the obama administration was a disaster. we would not be in this situation in syria if obama would have kept his word if he said if you crossed the red line. they crossed the red line and he didn't do anything. the significance of that is it made the u.s. look weak and stupid that they are threatening without action. it's like -- it's the first thing they teach you, you should never do that. if you say something, you should act on it. on egypt they sold us out. they supported the muslim brotherhood. maria: north korea, iran, china trade. >>it it's caused me to be more bullish in gold. i am the largest shareholder in two of the world's biggest mining companies in africa and australia. and the reason why, i saw all these crises, people can always go to gold for safety and it's an anti-inflationary place to put your assets. it was misconceived. people said i changed my net worth into gold. no. i invested in gold mining companies. charles: that was maria's fact is, every insurance company hopes you drive safely.

when i first started the obama administration, there were three of us. myself, chuck todd, and michael butera. at that point in time, we had very busy days. ,e now have five correspondents and our day starts at 5:00 and a lot of times it does not end midnight, and sometimes much later. that is for five correspondents. it is breathtaking to think about the extent to which the content has just grown. so that is one element that makes it very different. i think the other piece of it is the unpredictability, and that is not only in the tweets. again, he is often changing the new cycle with a single tweet. but it comes in how he really governs and how he runs his white house. christie spoke to this point, which is former president obama former president obama did think , pretty traditionally in the sense that he would hold press conferences. when something big happened and he wanted to get on the record with it, he would come to the briefing room. that is not really something that president trump does in that same format. he will often surprise us. one recent

not that the obama administration didn't want a stronger economy, they did. but they always wanted something else more. the other thing always one out. -- won out. we now have seen strong evidence that the arguments were valid. the first thing the trump administration did was to suspend regulations in the pipeline of various agencies. congress got into the act of repealing the regulations they were allowed to repeal that were particularly onerous to economic growth. the trump administration out with reforms of their own that we are seeing unfold. all of these in detail were important but what was really change inwas the sea the psychology of the economy. we see this in business confidence and consumer confidence, which has shot up as the psychology, the background psychology in our economy has changed. the economy is growing very robustly. it has showed up in the labor markets with a very low unemployment rate hovering around 4%. it ticks up and down depending on the month, but it is below what the congressional budget office would consider the long-term full

>> i was first subpoenaed by the bush and administration and then the obama administration continued it and got new subpoenas. i was subpoenaed for a grand jury to testify about sources for my book "state of war" that came out in 2006. by theubpoenaed in 2008 bush administration to testify before grand jury. in the obama administration renewed that subpoena and the judge quashed it. actually quashed two grand jury subpoenas. they subpoenaed me to testify at after -- in the same case, and that subpoena was quashed by the judge. at the moment -- but the obama initiation of fields that to the appeals court. they wrote aal, brief saying there was no such thing as a reporter's privilege, which meant they believed there was no legal right for reporter not to be forced to testify about their sources. agreed court of appeals with the obama administration on that and then i took the case to thesupreme court because in -- in the supreme court refused to take the case. a 2015, i had to appear in pretrial hearing to determine whether or not was going to testify or not. and i said i would not. th

you worked for the obama administration which was very proud of forging the so-called european consensus on sanctions against russia back in two thousand and fourteen and the rationale back down was that. russia in your eyes violated certain norms of behavior and needed to be signed a signal that this is not the way you conduct yourself on the international arena now we now have the united states which clearly violated its obligations to reach is involved in behavior that you clearly disapprove of you made it very clear throughout this program which also leads to an increase in confrontation in the middle east should the united states be sent a similar. signaled that this is not the kind of behavior that. its european allies welcome on the international arena. leaders around the world including from our closest allies have condemned this decision and the very fact that europe has now shifted from negotiating with the united states to negotiating with iran is a strong rebuke to the decision that president trump made i would i describe president obama's leadership on sanctions with iran wi

. >> and then you went to cornell, you were in the obama administration. what prompted you to run for congress? >> it was about that i don't feel like the third district has been represented well in do.c. and i want to see someone represent our voice and have a decision maker who wants to listen to people in the third district and not just the special interests that he is making sure he stays in office. >> if you win, what are you going to do when you get there. you get to work on three things your first day if congress, let's say you have a democratic

the obama administration. the westminster institute hosted the event. it is one hour and 20 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, good evening. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. thank you for coming. we are going to begin in just -- just a few minutes early, because more people couldn't possibly fit in this room. >> there are a couple of spots on the stairwell. people have said there when we had another overflow crowd. thank you for coming. for those who were here the first time, i'm the director of the westminster institute, welcome back. time, i'm the dirf the westminster institute, welcome back. i usually start my presentations, and i will tonight, by saying unless you want your ring tones immortalized on c-span, i suggest you turn them off now. you should know that this is being broadcast live on c-span radio, and will later be on c-span television broadcast. just a couple housekeeping notes on future events, on september 5, our next speaker will be robert spencer speaking about the subject of his new book "

when i first started in the obama administration there was me, chuck todd. at that time, we had very busy days. we now have five correspondents, , the night doesn't start at 1130 or later. think ofthtaking to the extent to which the content has grown. is one element that makes it different. the other part is the unpredictability. that has increased but the single tweet as well. is how he governs and runs his white house. obama didsident things in the sense that he would hold press conferences. when something big happened he comes in the briefing room. that's not -- that's not like president trump. he will often surprise us, several weeks ago right after he had his summit with king john on he came out on the white house jonathan-he did a press conference with us. we had very little heads up. said perhaps i will come out to the north lawn. serioust know if he was , his officials did not know if he was serious. said ihis officials don't think he expects you to be waiting out there. he said he thinks we're wasting our time. suppressing not only us but some of hi

i know the former administration of president obama and the current administration of president trump share my desire to see austin come home as soon as possible. but we need to take a step back and realize why people like austin are taken hostage in the first place. in many parts of the world, authoritarian regimes and criminal state actors see a free press as a threat, an existential threat. they don't want to risk a spotlight exposing human rights abuses, lives, corruption, and graft. they want to inoculate themselves from the criticism and bury the truth so it never sees the light of day. so in places like turkey, syria, china, and elsewhere, journalists are silenced and often jailed, sometimes even killed. we have seen this to the south of our border in mexico, too, with drug cartels and criminal syndicates who don't like the scrutiny that a free press provides to their illicit activities. according to organizations like reporters without borders, 2017 was perhaps the most dangerous year on record for journalists, and 2018 is not expected to be any different. we need to be aware

bush administration when they even considered regime change we saw it with the obama administration when in fact you know they took a fairly tough line to lead up to the two thousand and fifteen agreement but the huge difference here is is that. there was cooperation between those administrations and between partners such as the europeans and indeed between russia and china who were other parties to the agreement because you knew the rules you knew you could work with the state department you knew you could work with the national security council there was an element of trust here what has happened is that a combination of certain officials in washington such as the national security advisor john bolton who is committed to regime change and just the volatile nature of donald trump who has very little knowledge about the issue but just wanted to rip this up because barack obama did it means that the rules are gone you can't trust dealing with troponin on and again steve wants to make this into a fantasy where trump is like the leader of this coalition or i'd love a rainbow unicorn for chr

and i would ask the obama administration, and they would say, that is the law. but currently, the law only really allows us to go after pro-factored -- allows us to go after for-profit schools. there is a big question of, why should this will only apply to for-profit schools? in his administration says, look, if the only apply it to one sector of higher education, it unfairly tilts the field. host: more figures in the brookings institution the student debt. for-profit borrowers default twice the rate of public two-year borrowers. twice as much after 12 years. out of 100 students with ever attended a for-profit, 23 defaulted within 12 years of starting college in 1996 versus 43 in 2004. take us deeper into those numbers and why of a defaulting at such a higher rate? guest: the one thing to understand the public schools get other sources of tax funding. for-profit colleges, 90% of their funds become from student loans. one reason why students are defaulting is that they have to take up more debt in order to afford the prices that these colleges. the colleges say,

. >> in the obama administration, the democratic barack obama administration should have shut those down. >> it would have been easier if mcconnell would have worked with them. >> so should the trump administration. [ overlapping voices ] >> obama should have done more, but mcconnell shouldn't have blocked his efforts. and now trump, it's on him now to see what he does. he's the president. >> you're right. and today secretary of dhs, kirstjen nielsen said we need to prepare for a category 5 event. >> what is he doing? >> so, governor -- >> he's been saying he doesn't believe there was a storm coming. he's been doing that for a long time, dave, and now they're starting to change their tune in the administration. we'll see what they do. >> can i just say -- >> i got to go. >> this is another case of classic incompetence. he had incompetence in puerto rico. he has incompetence -- >> incompetence in the obama administration -- >> and you're going to see another -- >> i hear you. dave has a point to. >> governor, incompetence of the obama administration? >> dave has a point. >> my head explod

and 90% less than under the obama administration. some of that appears to have been a decision made by the office of compliance and enforcement to seek headquarters approval before beginning investigatory action. i have the memo here, effective immediately, ecoa headquarters reviews required prior to issuance of information requests under the clean air act and clean water act. what is your intention regarding the headquarters reviews stymieing, regional agencies and getting information. >> i am not -- i haven't seen that memo. is there a date? >> this memo was dated may 31st. >> this your last year? >> it has been in place for a while. if you have to run the ability -- the information requested headquarters, gives headquarters the chance to create massive institutional delay or put the kibosh on an investigation from the very beginning. that doesn't seem like the right role for headquarters. >> i was not aware of that memo. i will point out we did not have a senate confirmed person at the head until december, the longest time the age

. >> the trump administration has been a windfall to the night nie of obama's administration. of obama's administration. >> more of maria's interview retail. under pressure like never before. and it's connected technology that's moving companies forward fast. e-commerce. real time inventory. virtual changing rooms. that's why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent network speed across multiple locations. every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver. streaming must see tv has never been easier. paying for things is a breeze. and getting into new places is even simpler. with xfinity mobile, saving money is effortless too. it's the only network that combines america's largest, most reliable 4g lte with the most wi-fi hotspots. and it can be included with your internet. which could save you hundreds of dollars a year. plus, get $150 dollars when you bring in your own phone. its a new kind of network designed to save you money. click, call or visit a stor

career professionals inside the white house, who did not leave when the obama administration left town. >> right. talk to us about who was named. ben rhodes, for example, a very prominent figure in the obama white house was named throughout this and their response to this. >> yeah. so the, you know, names like you said,bo ben rhodes, it names collin call, and he's identified in this as the ops chief, an operational chief, again, using the language of a military analysis of an insurgency. their analysis was there was no organization and this was a fever dream by those in the white house. that said, in defense -- slightly in defense of those who believed what was in the memo, they -- you can understand why nef they felt besieged during this period. there were a lot of attacks, there were a lot of leaks that were coming out that were very damaging and hurtful to their agenda that they were seeking to advance. so you can sort of put yourself a little bit in their shoes and understand why they felt that encirclement. >> so given your reporting, what are current members of the trump administ

put up on the web after the obama administration stopped it. in that settlement the trump administration specifically said 3-d printing instructions for guns were now available for, quote, public release, ie unlimited distribution in any form. which caused the texas group you just referenced, defense distributed -- the age of the downloadable gun formally begins. it should come as no surprise the president's stance now echoes the nra who also pointed to, and praised, the reagan era undetectable firearms act. wh the nra said it strongly opposes any effort to expand the law and the nra's already on record calling the printable guns innovation. while the president deserves credit for recognizing that his own administration settlement was about to lead to a policy that, quote, doesn't make much sense, which is put being it mildly. under pressure, the administration ran right back to the nra for approval of its position. if it weren't for the late night actions of a judge this policy would have gone forward despite the president's tweet. but the goo

the bush administration and almost 90% less than under the obama administration. some of that appears to have been a decision made by the epa office of compliance and enforcement to seek headquarters's approval before beginning investigatory actions. i have the memo here, effective is required review prior to issuance of information request under the clean air act and the clean water act. i would like to ask that this memo be made an exhibit. sen. barrosso: without objection. sec. whitehouse: what is your intention regarding that headquarters review stymieing what had always been the differente of regional agencies in getting information about potential violations? mr. wheeler: i am actually not -- i have not seen that memo. is there a date? sec. whitehouse: this memo was dated may 31. mr. wheeler: this year or last year? sec. whitehouse: 2017, so it has been in place for a while. if you have to run the ability to ask an information request through headquarters, that gives them the chance to create institutional delay or put the kabul -- on an investigation -- kab

months of the obama administration. in that same period epa sought 50% less and finds an money for environment of cleanup. 90% less than the obama administration. some of that appears to have been a decision made by the epa office of compliance and enforcement to seek headquarters's approval before beginning investigatory actions. i have the memo here, effective immediately, review is required prior to issuance of information request under the clean air act and the clean water act. what is your intention regarding that headquarters review stymieing what had always been a prerogative of the different regional agencies in getting information about potential environmental regulations? -- i have notot seen that memo. is there a date? 31.his memo is dated may >> of this year or last year? >> 17. so it has been in effect for a while. if you have to an information request for headquarters, that could create massive institutional delay or put the kibosh on the investigation in the first place. that does not seem like the role o

comment 2012, the obama administration agreed with automakers to nearly fuel efficiency to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025. there was a midterm review to make sure it was feasible and last week president trump's administration proposed freezing the standards at 2020 levels through 2026. so instead of standards rising 5% per year, they proposed to freeze them. also proposing to revoke california's ability to set the emissions standards. those are adopted by 12 other states. as part of the obama agreement, california had agreed to adopt those standards. now california and other states which account for about 35% of the u.s. vehicle market are planning to sue if the trump administration follis there with freezing the standards. the administration also proposed to prevent california from acquiring new rising number of zero emission vehicles, mostly electric vehicles, from being sold in the states. it set up a huge fight between large states like california, new york, and others that adopted those rules, and the administration over the future of vehicles and how many vehicles will h

as possible whether they are charged with an actual crime or not of course you know the obama administration ran into a lot of red tape with respect to closing it because there were not many u.s. prisons or any people that wanted them to be transferred to the united states remind people what happened to president obama there's a clip that we've got and then you see me twenty thirteen and you see me twenty sixteen have a look. the idea that we would still maintain forever. a group of individuals who have not been tried that is contrary to who we are it is contrary it was in these discuss true that i have not been able to close the door. because of the congressional destructions the place of admission of failure of right right that right so people are being detained there's no trial people who create who knows where they're going to get out how do you fix that. well there are a number of different ways of course the chief area that you can look at is simply voting if you don't like the people who are in power you can vote to change congressional elections senate as well as the president and wi

there was anything that the obama administration could have done to make it more difficult for its successor it's you bringing on the agreement you know when i was asked in twenty sixteen what happens if if donald trump wins the presidency will he tear up the deal my answer was always it is hard to imagine any president of the united states tearing up this deal if it's working if it's managing to constrain iran from developing a nuclear program and imposing all of these very strict inspections on iran i said it and i believed it and as problematic as the trump administration has been so far i still find myself surprised at every new bad decision they managed to make now in terms of the question of you know would it have been possible to make it more legally difficult for trump to pull out the answer is really no there's been a lot of talk in washington maybe you're referring to the idea that if this had been a treaty through the senate trump could not have pulled out that's not really legally the case previous presidents jimmy carter george w. bush have pulled out of treaties just on executi

brueggemann for future years that were enacted by the obama administration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve public health and substantially reduce pressure on automakers to make such improvements the rule effectively obstructs a twenty twelve rule that would have pushed the standard to fifty four mpg by twenty twenty five the proposed rule was officially published by the trump environmental protection agency yesterday and is out for a sixty day comment period if adopted the rule would freeze the so-called cafe standards that corporate average fuel economy standards in place at thirty seven miles per gallon in twenty twenty one barring any other further improvement through twenty twenty six there will also officially start of the trumpet ministrations legal assault. in the state of california climates paul climates policy by revoking an obama era waiver that allow the state to set their own carbon dioxide fuel economy standards at a higher level than the federal standards and we spoke on the program about these important policy financial matters in the past and will do

in a sense, he did the exact opposite of what was under the obama administration. big government, government knows all. as you say, when you cut regulation you cut taxes. what you're saying is you know what? maybe you spend your money better than the government does. i think it is working. and to michael! i think we will see the economy improving even more. i would not be surprised at some point along we get a four percent gdp growth year-to-year. elizabeth: time and again you see the american people step up. and they reveal a country to themselves. the economy says it rang like a bell. the american people to gary's point, mike, saying yes, china will retaliate but it was never great to have predatory trade with china that annihilated our cities. and here is larry kudlow talking about the earlier on fox business. he fired back at china, watch. >> the chinese had better not underestimate the determination of president trump. to follow through and seek zero tariffs and nontariff barriers and subsidies and a level playing field and major reforms in ip theft and forced

but the creation of a major efense partner concept under the obama administration. so this is sort of evolutionary in its nature, but i think all that good work, what amounts to is the creation of the foundation you are talking about an asking about. i think we benefit from eadership on both sides that are willing to take some risks. having articulated a vision, talk about how to operationalize a strategy. we are quite bullish as i said. we will be able to navigate some of these challenges, i believe, and come out the other side with being able to say that our administration continued the momentum that previous one started and some pretty optimistic. ashley: well, i wish you and your colleagues all the best of he next couple of weeks as you will have these conversations, and for whatever comes after. i'm going to open the floor to our guests. if you could identify yourselves and make the question, comment sort of, pointed and brief, so i can give as many people are chances possible. yes. >> how india is getting caught up in the sanctions against russia, but you didn

the former cia director under the obama administration. the statement from president trump came at the top of a press briefing for reporters at the white house. this is about 20 minutes.