WEBVTT 00:00.009 --> 00:02.309 No , looks like we have a pretty full 00:02.319 --> 00:04.829 full house today . Must be Monday . 00:06.110 --> 00:08.170 Good to see everyone . Um 00:09.789 --> 00:12.149 Earlier today , I sent a letter to all 00:12.159 --> 00:14.920 members of the Senate expressing my 00:14.930 --> 00:16.597 serious concern regarding the 00:16.597 --> 00:18.763 significant delays in confirming State 00:18.763 --> 00:21.180 Department nominees . As I made clear 00:21.190 --> 00:23.469 in the letter , these delays are 00:23.479 --> 00:25.709 undermining our national security and 00:25.719 --> 00:27.608 they are weakening our ability to 00:27.608 --> 00:29.719 deliver for the American people . Let 00:29.719 --> 00:31.850 me just start with the numbers at 00:31.860 --> 00:34.389 present . The State Department has more 00:34.400 --> 00:38.400 than 60 nominees with the Senate . 38 00:38.409 --> 00:40.909 have completed all the other steps and 00:40.919 --> 00:42.752 are on the Senate floor awaiting 00:42.752 --> 00:46.669 confirmation of those 38 35 00:46.680 --> 00:48.791 are career foreign service officers . 00:49.880 --> 00:52.047 Now that number is going to keep going 00:52.047 --> 00:54.310 up as more city ambassadors complete 00:54.319 --> 00:56.299 their tours , more nominees come 00:56.310 --> 00:58.979 forward by the end of the summer , we 00:58.990 --> 01:02.060 expect Egypt , Israel , Jordan and 01:02.069 --> 01:04.669 Lebanon will all be without confirmed . 01:04.680 --> 01:07.400 Us ambassadors , eight nominees are 01:07.410 --> 01:09.354 awaiting confirmation for post and 01:09.354 --> 01:11.577 African countries and it's not just the 01:11.577 --> 01:13.743 Middle East and Africa where we've got 01:13.743 --> 01:15.966 this problem . Ambassadorships are open 01:15.966 --> 01:18.132 in Asia in Europe , in Latin America . 01:18.132 --> 01:21.080 His nominees await confirmation . So 01:21.089 --> 01:23.500 our key issue focused positions . Like 01:23.510 --> 01:25.510 for example , our counter terrorism 01:25.510 --> 01:28.220 coordinator during the current Congress , 01:28.319 --> 01:30.620 only five nominees have been confirmed 01:32.059 --> 01:33.948 in previous administrations . The 01:33.948 --> 01:35.726 overwhelming majority of career 01:35.726 --> 01:37.615 nominees receive swift support to 01:37.615 --> 01:39.837 advance through the Senate by unanimous 01:39.837 --> 01:42.660 consent today for reasons that have 01:42.669 --> 01:44.502 nothing to do with the nominee's 01:44.502 --> 01:46.669 qualifications or abilities . They are 01:46.669 --> 01:48.447 being forced to proceed through 01:48.447 --> 01:50.558 individual floor votes . Over a third 01:50.558 --> 01:52.558 of those nominees have been waiting 01:52.558 --> 01:54.447 approximately a year or more some 01:54.447 --> 01:57.410 longer than 18 months , these 01:57.419 --> 01:59.970 nonpartisan public servants have served 01:59.980 --> 02:01.879 for decades across Republican and 02:01.889 --> 02:04.250 Democratic administrations . They 02:04.260 --> 02:06.410 represent our most skilled , our most 02:06.419 --> 02:09.509 seasoned diplomats . Their talents are 02:09.520 --> 02:11.369 the products of generations of 02:11.380 --> 02:14.970 investment by American taxpayers to 02:14.979 --> 02:17.240 defend us national security , to 02:17.250 --> 02:19.306 sustain and strengthen our alliances 02:19.306 --> 02:21.361 and partnerships around the world to 02:21.361 --> 02:23.250 ensure that our foreign policy is 02:23.250 --> 02:25.472 advancing the interests of the American 02:25.472 --> 02:27.694 people . We need our best possible team 02:27.694 --> 02:29.639 on the field by failing to confirm 02:29.639 --> 02:31.806 these nominees . A handful of senators 02:31.806 --> 02:33.806 are keeping our best players on the 02:33.806 --> 02:35.694 sidelines . Now , I worked in the 02:35.694 --> 02:38.350 Senate for years . So of course , did 02:38.360 --> 02:41.289 President Biden ? I respect and value 02:41.300 --> 02:43.244 its critical oversight role . It's 02:43.244 --> 02:45.467 crucial in ensuring that we have highly 02:45.467 --> 02:47.633 qualified individuals representing the 02:47.633 --> 02:49.689 United States around the world , but 02:49.689 --> 02:51.856 that's not what is happening here . No 02:51.856 --> 02:53.967 one is questioning the qualifications 02:53.967 --> 02:55.967 of these career diplomats . They're 02:55.967 --> 02:57.967 being blocked for leverage on other 02:57.967 --> 03:00.078 unrelated issues . It's irresponsible 03:00.078 --> 03:02.078 and it's doing harm to our national 03:02.078 --> 03:04.229 security . Confirming these nominees 03:04.240 --> 03:07.169 matters . As every member of Congress 03:07.179 --> 03:09.401 knows . Our ambassadors are the face of 03:09.401 --> 03:11.401 the United States and the countries 03:11.401 --> 03:13.568 where they serve our leading advocates 03:13.568 --> 03:15.623 for and with foreign governments and 03:15.623 --> 03:18.750 citizens . We have extraordinarily 03:18.759 --> 03:20.981 dedicated and qualified career officers 03:20.981 --> 03:22.981 who are serving as charges in these 03:22.981 --> 03:25.148 countries where the positions are left 03:25.148 --> 03:27.148 open and I'm immensely grateful for 03:27.148 --> 03:29.259 their service , but all of them would 03:29.259 --> 03:31.315 tell you the same thing . There is a 03:31.315 --> 03:33.203 difference between a charge and a 03:33.203 --> 03:34.926 confirmed ambassador . Foreign 03:34.926 --> 03:37.148 governments know that ambassadors carry 03:37.148 --> 03:39.092 the full weight of the President , 03:39.092 --> 03:41.092 United States and the United States 03:41.092 --> 03:43.037 Senate . As a result , ambassadors 03:43.037 --> 03:45.259 often have greater access and influence 03:45.259 --> 03:47.203 where they , which they can use to 03:47.203 --> 03:49.370 advance the interests of our country . 03:49.370 --> 03:51.610 Here's who loses out when we don't have 03:51.619 --> 03:53.619 a US ambassador in place in a given 03:53.619 --> 03:55.341 country . American companies , 03:55.341 --> 03:57.563 investors and entrepreneurs who want to 03:57.563 --> 03:59.679 do business there . American citizens 03:59.690 --> 04:01.899 who live in that country or experience 04:01.910 --> 04:04.021 an emergency while they're overseas . 04:04.089 --> 04:06.089 American students who study there . 04:06.089 --> 04:08.630 American tourists who visit and the 04:08.639 --> 04:10.750 citizens of those countries who yearn 04:10.750 --> 04:12.919 for and benefit from deeper ties with 04:12.929 --> 04:15.151 the United States and with our people . 04:16.559 --> 04:19.019 Our department and the entire US 04:19.029 --> 04:22.069 government lose out as well . Not 04:22.079 --> 04:24.023 having a confirmed ambassador in a 04:24.023 --> 04:26.135 given country makes us less effective 04:26.135 --> 04:28.190 at advancing every one of our policy 04:28.190 --> 04:30.357 priorities from getting more countries 04:30.357 --> 04:32.357 to serve as temporary hubs for SI V 04:32.357 --> 04:34.579 processing to bringing on more partners 04:34.579 --> 04:36.746 from global coalitions like the one we 04:36.746 --> 04:38.801 just announced to combat fentaNYL to 04:38.801 --> 04:40.579 support competitive bids for us 04:40.579 --> 04:42.579 companies to build 560 networks and 04:42.579 --> 04:44.746 other critical infrastructure projects 04:44.746 --> 04:46.857 around the world . We also lose sight 04:46.857 --> 04:49.869 to the insights into countries that our 04:49.989 --> 04:52.220 ambassadors uniquely can develop 04:52.230 --> 04:54.341 through the unique relationships that 04:54.341 --> 04:56.286 they have at the highest levels of 04:56.286 --> 04:58.508 government , business , civil society . 04:58.989 --> 05:01.570 No , here's who benefits from failing 05:01.579 --> 05:03.579 to fill these essential positions . 05:03.630 --> 05:06.179 America's adversaries only our 05:06.190 --> 05:08.357 adversaries who are constantly looking 05:08.357 --> 05:11.130 to exploit any weakness or any opening 05:11.290 --> 05:14.209 to their advantage . The refusal of the 05:14.220 --> 05:16.331 Senate to approve these career public 05:16.331 --> 05:17.942 servants also undermines the 05:17.942 --> 05:20.809 credibility of our democracy . People 05:20.820 --> 05:23.098 abroad see it as a sign of dysfunction , 05:23.098 --> 05:25.540 ineffectiveness , inability to put 05:25.549 --> 05:27.827 national interests over political ones . 05:28.809 --> 05:30.865 These unnecessary delays also weaken 05:30.865 --> 05:33.142 the state department as an institution , 05:33.142 --> 05:35.459 something I am charged with upholding 05:35.470 --> 05:37.880 and defending . They discourage highly 05:37.890 --> 05:40.112 qualified senior officers from pursuing 05:40.112 --> 05:42.334 ambassadorships because they don't want 05:42.334 --> 05:44.334 to put themselves or their families 05:44.334 --> 05:46.446 through this limbo with their careers 05:46.446 --> 05:48.612 and their lives put on hold as well as 05:48.612 --> 05:50.668 the lives of their spouses and their 05:50.668 --> 05:52.890 Children . These delays also discourage 05:52.890 --> 05:55.112 rising officers who see the pinnacle of 05:55.112 --> 05:56.890 a career in the foreign service 05:56.890 --> 05:59.910 increasingly closed off to them . It's 05:59.920 --> 06:01.864 strange credulity that some of the 06:01.864 --> 06:04.087 members of Congress calling most loudly 06:04.087 --> 06:06.198 for out competing . Our rivals are at 06:06.198 --> 06:08.253 the same time tying our hands behind 06:08.253 --> 06:11.309 our back . We cannot and we must not 06:11.320 --> 06:15.149 let this become the new normal . These 06:15.160 --> 06:17.327 men and women yearn to serve to do the 06:17.327 --> 06:19.382 jobs that they've been preparing for 06:19.382 --> 06:21.730 their entire careers . My message to 06:21.739 --> 06:23.899 the Senate today is this , let them 06:23.910 --> 06:26.549 serve , put our best team out on the 06:26.559 --> 06:29.029 field , stop harming our national 06:29.040 --> 06:31.320 security through unjustified delay and 06:31.329 --> 06:34.290 unprecedented obstruction . Let these 06:34.299 --> 06:36.410 nominees advance the interests of our 06:36.410 --> 06:38.521 nation , advance the interests of the 06:38.521 --> 06:41.489 American people . Thank you . Happy to 06:41.519 --> 06:45.160 take some questions on this . Uh Mr 06:45.170 --> 06:48.269 Secretary , welcome back , by the way , 06:49.260 --> 06:52.670 won the World Trip , uh just on , on 06:52.679 --> 06:56.429 the , on the Senate , um who is , who 06:56.440 --> 06:58.551 is being the most obstructionist here 06:58.551 --> 07:00.718 in , in terms of this . And then , and 07:00.718 --> 07:02.773 then secondly , on this , you know , 07:02.773 --> 07:05.051 you have more than 60 nominees , right ? 07:05.051 --> 07:07.162 But the Pentagon has got , you know , 07:07.162 --> 07:09.609 four times as many uh who are also 07:09.619 --> 07:13.380 being uh also being held up . Now , 07:13.390 --> 07:15.668 they're not ambassadorial appointments , 07:15.668 --> 07:17.834 some of them are just promotions but , 07:17.834 --> 07:19.946 but you know , why should you know if 07:19.946 --> 07:22.279 you're gonna , if you're gonna complain , 07:22.279 --> 07:24.168 couldn't uh the Senate Democratic 07:24.168 --> 07:26.839 leadership devote floor time to getting 07:26.850 --> 07:29.119 through these holes ? Uh And then I , 07:29.130 --> 07:30.963 and then on something completely 07:30.963 --> 07:33.019 different . I'm just wondering since 07:33.019 --> 07:34.852 the , the uh the Black Sea Grain 07:34.852 --> 07:37.019 initiative appeared to die today , I'm 07:37.019 --> 07:39.074 just wondering if you think that the 07:39.074 --> 07:41.649 Russians have any argument at all ? No , 07:42.170 --> 07:45.320 that , ok . Um But I'm happy to come 07:45.329 --> 07:47.329 back to that look first on , on the 07:47.329 --> 07:50.790 nominations . So Senator Paul has a 07:50.799 --> 07:54.640 blanket hold on our nominees and there 07:54.649 --> 07:56.871 are additional holes that we're working 07:56.871 --> 07:58.816 through , but we have been working 07:58.816 --> 08:00.760 extensively with Senator Paul . We 08:00.760 --> 08:02.371 provided documents and other 08:02.371 --> 08:04.482 information that he's requested . But 08:04.529 --> 08:06.640 unfortunately , he continues to block 08:06.640 --> 08:08.751 all of our nominees . And again , the 08:08.751 --> 08:10.751 vast majority are career officers . 08:11.899 --> 08:13.899 There are other holes out there . I 08:13.899 --> 08:16.066 can't speak to their specifics , but I 08:16.066 --> 08:18.066 can tell you we're working directly 08:18.066 --> 08:20.288 with the officers concerned . Let's try 08:20.288 --> 08:19.980 to work through them . You're right . 08:19.989 --> 08:23.140 There's , there , there are 62 nominees 08:23.149 --> 08:25.316 in the , in the process right now . Of 08:25.316 --> 08:27.538 those , as I said , 38 are on the floor 08:27.538 --> 08:30.140 of those 35 are career officers . Now , 08:30.489 --> 08:32.600 we managed to get five people through 08:32.600 --> 08:34.711 and of the five people we got through 08:34.711 --> 08:36.933 four , we got through as a result of uh 08:36.933 --> 08:39.045 Senator Schumer , moving them through 08:39.045 --> 08:41.100 the uh the process and taking a huge 08:41.100 --> 08:43.156 amount of time of Senate business to 08:43.156 --> 08:45.859 get folks confirmed with votes . That 08:45.869 --> 08:47.925 is not the way it's been done in the 08:47.925 --> 08:49.980 past . It's not the way it should be 08:49.980 --> 08:52.202 done now going forward . It ties up too 08:52.202 --> 08:54.369 much of the Senate's time and there is 08:54.369 --> 08:56.425 absolutely no justification for it . 08:56.425 --> 08:58.591 I'm grateful to Senator Schumer leader 08:58.591 --> 09:00.536 Schumer for , for doing this , but 09:00.536 --> 09:02.647 that's not the way it should happen . 09:02.647 --> 09:04.758 And at the rate we're going , even if 09:04.758 --> 09:07.179 you decided to give floor time to every 09:07.190 --> 09:09.357 single one , there is not enough floor 09:09.357 --> 09:11.190 time to get through all of these 09:11.190 --> 09:13.412 nominees and never mind doing the other 09:13.412 --> 09:15.523 business of the , of the nation . And 09:15.523 --> 09:17.746 of course , we're in very close contact 09:17.746 --> 09:20.190 with our colleagues in dod uh working 09:20.200 --> 09:22.256 through this . And certainly there's 09:22.256 --> 09:24.859 been a lot of focus on their , their 09:24.869 --> 09:27.369 nominees or promotion lists . And that 09:27.380 --> 09:30.020 too is absolutely detrimental to our 09:30.130 --> 09:32.650 national security . Just one other 09:32.659 --> 09:34.992 thing you mentioned that Israel , Egypt , 09:34.992 --> 09:37.130 Jordan and Lebanon won't have by the 09:37.140 --> 09:39.196 end of the summer . That's right . I 09:39.196 --> 09:41.307 wasn't aware that has the White House 09:41.307 --> 09:43.529 nominated a replacement for I come back 09:43.529 --> 09:45.751 to you with all of the folks that we've 09:45.751 --> 09:47.696 nominated or about to be nominated 09:47.696 --> 09:49.640 depending on . So on the Black Sea 09:49.640 --> 09:51.696 Grain initiative , look first , it's 09:51.696 --> 09:51.460 really important to put this in 09:51.469 --> 09:54.179 perspective . Of course , never should 09:54.190 --> 09:56.468 have been necessary in the first place . 09:56.468 --> 09:58.634 The only reason it became necessary is 09:58.634 --> 10:00.857 because Russia invaded Ukraine and then 10:00.857 --> 10:02.746 decided to blockade the ports and 10:02.746 --> 10:04.690 prevent Ukraine from sending grain 10:04.690 --> 10:07.023 around the world as it's done for years . 10:07.023 --> 10:06.929 It's been the bread basket of the world . 10:07.260 --> 10:10.400 So as a result of that Turkey , the 10:10.409 --> 10:12.353 United Nations , as you know , the 10:12.353 --> 10:14.242 Secretary General negotiated this 10:14.242 --> 10:16.131 arrangement , the Black Sea Grain 10:16.131 --> 10:15.960 Initiative to at least allow the grain 10:15.969 --> 10:18.080 and other food products to get out of 10:18.080 --> 10:20.250 Ukraine and on to world markets . And 10:20.260 --> 10:22.204 that's had a tremendously positive 10:22.210 --> 10:24.630 benefit . Something like 32 million 10:24.640 --> 10:26.862 tons of food products have gotten out . 10:26.862 --> 10:29.029 It's the equivalent of 18 billion , 18 10:29.029 --> 10:31.196 billion loaves of bread in the roughly 10:31.196 --> 10:33.362 one year that the grain initiative has 10:33.362 --> 10:35.307 been in effect and that's done two 10:35.307 --> 10:37.529 things . It's actually gotten food onto 10:37.529 --> 10:39.529 people's plates . But even when the 10:39.529 --> 10:41.640 food wasn't going directly to certain 10:41.640 --> 10:43.751 countries or certain people , it also 10:43.751 --> 10:43.739 was helping to keep prices low because 10:43.750 --> 10:45.979 it's a global market . So the result of 10:45.989 --> 10:47.989 Russia's action today , weaponizing 10:47.989 --> 10:50.190 food , using it as a tool as a weapon 10:50.200 --> 10:52.719 in its war against Ukraine will be to 10:52.729 --> 10:54.840 make food harder to come by in places 10:54.840 --> 10:57.059 that desperately need it and have 10:57.070 --> 10:59.237 prices rise . We're already seeing the 10:59.237 --> 11:02.080 market react to this as prices are 11:02.090 --> 11:05.210 going up . The bottom line is it's 11:05.219 --> 11:07.809 unconscionable , it should not happen , 11:08.010 --> 11:10.169 this should be restored as quickly as 11:10.179 --> 11:12.690 possible . And I hope that every 11:12.700 --> 11:15.590 country is watching this very closely . 11:15.890 --> 11:17.501 They will see that Russia is 11:17.501 --> 11:20.080 responsible for denying food to people 11:20.090 --> 11:22.201 who are desperately needed around the 11:22.201 --> 11:24.450 world and to contribute to rising 11:24.460 --> 11:26.869 prices at a time when many countries 11:26.880 --> 11:28.991 continue to experience very difficult 11:28.991 --> 11:32.890 inflation . Well , well , 11:32.900 --> 11:35.011 thank you so much . Just uh following 11:35.011 --> 11:37.178 up on the uh Matt's Black Sea question 11:37.178 --> 11:39.809 if I may um is it would it be possible 11:39.820 --> 11:42.020 for Turkey , the US or some other 11:42.030 --> 11:44.197 partner countries to provide any other 11:44.197 --> 11:46.669 sort of guarantee , formal or informal 11:46.679 --> 11:49.090 that would help get grain bulk carriers 11:49.099 --> 11:51.155 from the Ukrainian coast through the 11:51.155 --> 11:53.219 Bosphorus ? And is there any broad 11:53.789 --> 11:55.900 effort under way to ensure freedom of 11:55.900 --> 11:58.067 navigation in the Black Sea , which is 11:58.067 --> 12:00.289 what the US insists upon in many of the 12:00.289 --> 12:02.679 other seas around the world . And 12:02.690 --> 12:04.579 linked to that is the Kurt bridge 12:04.579 --> 12:07.250 question . The there was a bombing at 12:07.260 --> 12:09.427 the Kur bridge . I'm just wondering if 12:09.427 --> 12:11.316 the Russia says naval drones were 12:11.316 --> 12:13.500 responsible for those from Ukraine . 12:13.510 --> 12:16.510 And does the US support that ? Uh So we 12:16.520 --> 12:19.479 back on the lexy green issue first . Um 12:19.489 --> 12:23.400 Look the Ukrainians and we others will , 12:23.409 --> 12:25.353 will look at whether there are any 12:25.353 --> 12:27.770 other options . But the challenge is 12:27.780 --> 12:31.299 this if Russia is ending this 12:31.309 --> 12:34.539 initiative and sending a message 12:35.049 --> 12:37.559 that grain and other food products 12:37.570 --> 12:41.150 cannot leave Ukraine unimpeded . 12:41.369 --> 12:43.369 Even if there are other options , I 12:43.369 --> 12:46.309 think it will likely have a profound 12:46.320 --> 12:48.209 chilling effect on the ability to 12:48.209 --> 12:51.590 pursue them as other countries , 12:51.599 --> 12:53.799 companies , shippers , et cetera will 12:53.809 --> 12:56.580 be very concerned about what happens to 12:56.590 --> 12:59.789 their ships and to their personnel . 12:59.880 --> 13:03.789 If Russia is opposing any export 13:03.799 --> 13:05.799 of food products from Ukraine , the 13:05.799 --> 13:08.049 whole point of this was to have a 13:08.059 --> 13:10.170 voluntary agreement that involved all 13:10.170 --> 13:13.010 of the relevant parties that was 13:13.020 --> 13:15.890 endorsed by the by the United Nations 13:16.190 --> 13:19.030 to make sure that there was safety , 13:19.039 --> 13:21.570 security predictability in moving food 13:21.580 --> 13:23.636 out of Ukraine into places that were 13:23.636 --> 13:25.747 desperately in need of it . So in the 13:25.747 --> 13:27.858 absence of that , I think yes , we'll 13:27.858 --> 13:29.913 look to see what else can be done to 13:29.913 --> 13:32.024 find other ways to get Ukrainian food 13:32.024 --> 13:34.191 products on the world market including 13:34.191 --> 13:36.358 again as , as Ukraine has already been 13:36.358 --> 13:38.413 doing moving things out through rail 13:38.780 --> 13:40.669 and by road . But in terms of the 13:40.669 --> 13:43.469 volumes necessary , it's really hard to 13:43.479 --> 13:45.599 replace what's now being lost as a 13:45.609 --> 13:48.729 result of Russia weaponizing food on 13:48.739 --> 13:52.450 the Kur bridge . This is a situation 13:52.460 --> 13:56.309 that we're monitoring and I don't 13:56.320 --> 13:58.789 really have anything in particular to 13:58.799 --> 14:00.910 offer on that . Just I can say , as a 14:00.910 --> 14:02.909 general proposition , of course , 14:02.919 --> 14:05.200 Ukraine has to decide how it conducts 14:05.210 --> 14:08.559 this war in defense of its territory , 14:08.849 --> 14:12.729 its people , its freedom . And finally , 14:12.739 --> 14:16.250 the back of the room is she question on 14:16.260 --> 14:18.427 China because China is already raising 14:18.427 --> 14:21.359 concerns about a future stop by the 14:21.369 --> 14:23.880 Taiwanese Vice President . I wonder if 14:23.890 --> 14:26.112 you're worried at all that that's going 14:26.112 --> 14:28.820 to undermine the progress that you feel 14:28.830 --> 14:30.886 you've made um putting a floor under 14:30.886 --> 14:32.997 that relationship and real quickly on 14:32.997 --> 14:34.886 passports because that's a common 14:34.886 --> 14:36.719 concern that you're hearing from 14:36.719 --> 14:38.719 members of Congress and Americans . 14:38.719 --> 14:40.941 What's it going to take to speed up the 14:40.941 --> 14:43.750 process ? Uh Second part first , uh I 14:43.760 --> 14:45.871 was just uh I guess about three weeks 14:45.871 --> 14:48.093 ago visiting our passport office in New 14:48.093 --> 14:50.316 York , the largest passport office that 14:50.609 --> 14:53.710 that we have and saw the operation 14:53.719 --> 14:56.039 first hand and saw people working 14:56.049 --> 14:58.719 overtime , double time , triple time to 14:58.729 --> 15:00.785 get blue books into people's hands . 15:01.159 --> 15:04.059 The demand for passports is greater 15:04.070 --> 15:06.237 than it's ever been . As you know , we 15:06.237 --> 15:08.237 basically had to build back up from 15:08.237 --> 15:10.403 zero because when COVID hit the bottom 15:10.403 --> 15:12.459 dropped out of the entire program to 15:12.459 --> 15:14.403 issue passports here in the United 15:14.403 --> 15:16.292 States or to issue visas to those 15:16.292 --> 15:18.348 seeking to visit the United States . 15:18.348 --> 15:20.459 And so we have been working very hard 15:20.459 --> 15:22.650 to build that back up to bring people 15:22.659 --> 15:25.010 in to train them to make sure that we 15:25.020 --> 15:27.131 were dedicating the resources to it . 15:27.131 --> 15:29.840 We will issue more passports this year 15:29.849 --> 15:32.016 than in any previous year . But that's 15:32.016 --> 15:33.960 just a reflection of the fact that 15:33.960 --> 15:36.127 demand is higher than it's ever been . 15:36.127 --> 15:38.349 And we're throwing everything we can at 15:38.349 --> 15:40.405 this trying to make sure that people 15:40.405 --> 15:42.627 have those blue books that they're able 15:42.627 --> 15:44.627 to travel . And it's something that 15:44.627 --> 15:46.627 comes up repeatedly with members of 15:46.627 --> 15:48.710 Congress , with folks that I come 15:48.719 --> 15:50.830 across . So what I can tell you is we 15:50.830 --> 15:53.039 can get you the actual numbers , but 15:53.049 --> 15:55.216 there's unprecedented demand , there's 15:55.216 --> 15:57.105 an unprecedented effort and we're 15:57.105 --> 15:59.327 trying to do our best in getting people 15:59.327 --> 16:02.640 their passports . Um on the um the 16:02.919 --> 16:05.086 potential transit of Vice President of 16:05.086 --> 16:07.940 Taiwan , we expect that he will transit 16:07.950 --> 16:11.789 the United States on both the incoming 16:11.799 --> 16:13.799 and outgoing legs of a trip that he 16:13.799 --> 16:16.500 plans to take to Paraguay for the 16:16.510 --> 16:19.900 inauguration in Paraguay . This 16:19.909 --> 16:22.099 is very routine given the distances 16:22.109 --> 16:25.710 traveled to have a transit point and it 16:25.719 --> 16:29.179 is fully consistent and common practice . 16:29.190 --> 16:31.979 If you go back , 10 vice presidents 16:31.989 --> 16:34.489 from Taiwan have transited over the 16:34.500 --> 16:36.659 past couple of decades . This will be 16:36.669 --> 16:39.919 the 11 th and actually the second for 16:39.929 --> 16:42.280 Vice President Lai , there is no reason 16:42.710 --> 16:45.590 for the PR C to use this transit as a 16:45.599 --> 16:48.349 pretext for provocative action . We are 16:48.359 --> 16:50.248 committed to preserving peace and 16:50.248 --> 16:52.359 stability in the Taiwan Strait . It's 16:52.359 --> 16:54.248 critical to regional and for that 16:54.248 --> 16:56.248 matter , global security as well as 16:56.248 --> 16:58.409 prosperity . And as I've been able to 16:58.419 --> 17:01.260 share repeatedly with now with our 17:01.270 --> 17:03.381 Chinese counterparts , including just 17:03.381 --> 17:05.603 last week when I met with Wang Yi , the 17:05.603 --> 17:08.180 senior foreign policy official , we 17:08.189 --> 17:10.411 have no desire to change the status quo 17:10.411 --> 17:12.579 in the Taiwan Straits . Our policy 17:12.589 --> 17:14.700 hasn't changed . We fully expect that 17:14.700 --> 17:16.811 neither side will unilaterally change 17:16.811 --> 17:18.922 the status quo . We fully expect that 17:18.922 --> 17:20.867 everyone involved will resolve any 17:20.867 --> 17:23.420 differences peacefully . And again , 17:23.430 --> 17:25.699 this transit is fully consistent uh 17:25.709 --> 17:29.509 with uh with that policy . Thank 17:29.519 --> 17:32.438 you . And now the main act .