podesta_email_00694.txt

podesta-emails 3,352 words email

P19 D6 V11 D4 V16

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all, See the Correct The Record weekend talking points package both attached and below. Have a great weekend! *9.19.14 Weekend Package* 1. *Hillary Clinton on Immigration <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#1488f88f06ef0dc3_immigration>* *2. **The Clinton Global Initiative <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#1488f88f06ef0dc3_cgi>* *3. **Benghazi Document Review <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#1488f88f06ef0dc3_benghazi>* *4. **Hillary Clinton and Syria <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#1488f88f06ef0dc3_syria>* *TALKING POINTS: **HILLARY CLINTON ON IMMIGRATION* *KEY POINTS:* · Hillary Clinton has been a vocal supporter of comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship. · In the Senate, Hillary Clinton consistently voted in favor of comprehensive immigration reform. · Clinton is a supporter of the DREAM Act and advocated for it on the Senate floor. · In the Senate, Hillary Clinton introduced an amendment to reunite families separated by the immigration system. The amendment would have reclassified the spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives. · Clinton introduced a bill to restore access to Medicaid and SCHIP benefits for legal immigrant pregnant women and children. · Clinton introduced a bill to provide more funding for job training for people with limited English language skills. BACKGROUND: HILLARY ON Immigration *Hillary Clinton: “I’m a huge supporter of immigration reform and a path to citizenship and will continue to advocate for that.”* As former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told a tearful young undocumented immigrant, “I’m a huge supporter of immigration reform and a path to citizenship and will continue to advocate for that.” Clinton’s remarks came at the Clinton Foundation’s “No Ceilings” forum in New York. Clinton went on to say, “I believe strongly we are missing a great opportunity by not welcoming people like you and 11 million others who have made contributions to our country into a legal status so you don’t have to worry, you can go to school, you can work, you can pursue your dreams.” Clinton also said she is “strongly in favor” of the bipartisan Senate bill and that the House’s opposition is “a big missed opportunity for our country.” [Washington Post, 4/17/14 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/17/hillary-clinton-says-shes-a-huge-supporter-of-immigration-reform/> ] *Hillary Clinton has been a strong supporter of the DREAM Act. *As Senator Clinton stated during a debate over the DREAM Act on the Senate floor, “There is a solution to this crisis, but sadly, the Senate today failed to act. The DREAM Act – which I have proudly cosponsored for several years – would help expand opportunities for our nation’s immigrant children. For those students who have grown up in the United States, have demonstrated good moral character, and are pursuing a college education or have enlisted in the military, the DREAM Act will provide an opportunity to earn legal status in this country.” [Clinton floor remarks, 10/24/07 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r110:S24OC7-0015:>] *Sen. Clinton consistently voted in support of comprehensive immigration reform. *In the Senate, Hillary Clinton voted for the bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and voted to invoke cloture on S.1639, the 2007 comprehensive immigration reform bill. [Vote #157, S.2611, 5/25/06 <http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?&congress=109&session=2&vote=00157> , Vote #235, S.1639,6/28/07 <http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00235> ] *Sen. Clinton introduced legislation to restore access to Medicaid and SCHIP benefits for legal immigrant pregnant women and children.* In 2007, Hillary introduced the Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/764?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Legal+Immigrant+Children%27s+Health+Improvement+%22%5D%7D> “which amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to grant states the option of covering certain categories of eligible pregnant women and child resident aliens, including targeted low-income children, under the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.” [S.764,3/5/07 <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/senate-bill/764?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Legal+Immigrant+Children%27s+Health+Improvement+%22%5D%7D> ] *Sen. Clinton introduced legislation to provide more job training funds for individuals with limited English language skills.* In 2003, Hillary Clinton introduced the Access to Employment and English Language Acquisition Act which “Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for: (1) job training that integrates occupational skills training with language acquisition; and (2) specified services for individuals who are Limited English Proficient (LEP). Authorizes the Secretary to award incentive grants to States for exemplary performance in carrying out integrated training programs.” [S.1543, introduced, 7/31/03 <http://beta.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1543?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Access+to+Employment+and+English+Language+Acquisition+Act%22%5D%7D> ] *Sen. Clinton introduced an amendment to reunite families who had been separated by the immigration system. *In 2007, during a debate over the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, Sen. Clinton introduced an amendment “to reclassify the spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives.” As she said before the vote, “It is time to take all the rhetoric about family values and put it into action and show that we mean what we say when we talk about putting families first. That is what my amendment does. This amendment is a bipartisan amendment offered with Senator Hagel and Senator Menendez. It is our view we must make reuniting families a priority in our immigration system, that we should show compassion for those living apart from their spouses and minor children, that we should reform immigration in a way that honors families and brings them together.” The bipartisan amendment, introduced with Sens. Hagel and Menendez failed, 44-53. [Vote # 195, 6/6/07 <http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00195> ] *TALKING POINTS: THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE* *BACKGROUND:** The Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting will take place in New York City on September 21-24.* *TALKING POINTS:* · The purpose of the Clinton Global Initiative is to find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges by bringing together the best minds and turning their ideas into action. · CGI is nonpartisan and its members include global leaders with a wide array of backgrounds who are creating positive change around the world. · *Here are just a few examples of the life-changing work developed as a result of the Clinton Global Initiative:* o Clinton Global Initiative members have made more than 2,900 Commitments to Action, which have already improved the lives of over 430 million people <http://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/about-us/cgi-mission> in more than 180 countries. o The Clinton Global Initiative worked to secure funding commitments valued at $103 billion <http://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative/about-us/cgi-mission> to spur innovative solutions to global challenges. o In Africa alone, CGI members have committed $27.8 billion <http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/31/world/africa/clinton-africa/> to projects and other participation. o Procter & Gamble committed to providing more than 300 million liters <http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/procter-gamble-makes-commitment-clinton-global-initiative-p> of clean drinking water to more than 2 million people in the Horn of Africa through the Clinton Global Initiative. o The Clinton Global Initiative America program addresses economic recovery and revitalization efforts in the U.S, including a $47 million plan <http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/06/seeking_national_support_birmi.html> to revitalize Birmingham and create hundreds of jobs. o Clinton Global Initiative America partnered <http://www.kentucky.com/2014/06/19/3299141_west-liberty-rebuilding-effort.html?rh=1> with a Kentucky town damaged by a tornado to build energy-efficient housing. o Last year at CGI, the NAACP committed <http://www.naacp.org/press/entry/CGI-Release> to addressing the impact of HIV/AIDS in the 30 U.S. cities that account for nearly two-thirds of the country’s HIV cases. o CGI established the U.S. Youth Employment Action Network to encourage companies to expand employment opportunities for America’s youth. · *The world is a better place because of programs like these.* · *Last year, the Clinton Global Initiative honored Bishop Elias Taban with a Global Citizen Award.* o Bishop Taban is a former child soldier from South Sudan who wrote an op-ed <http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/americas-friend-in-need/> encouraging Sudan and South Sudan to end their conflict over oil production and transport fees so that both countries could move forward with development and growth. o In the op-ed he wrote <http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/americas-friend-in-need/>, “There must always come a point where we look forward and recognize the need to stop fighting over past wrongs so we can build toward a new future. That time has come for South Sudan. We must restart oil production and work out an agreement to transport it through north Sudan.” o Hillary Clinton was so inspired by his words that, while Secretary of State, she used his op-ed to convince <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article51307> the Sudan and South Sudan to reach a compromise. *TALKING POINTS: BENGHAZI DOCUMENT REVIEW* *BACKGROUND:** In the latest so-called Benghazi “bombshell,” former State Department official Raymond Maxwell alleges that he and others conducted a review of documents related to Benghazi prior to handing them over to the Accountability Review Board.* *TALKING POINTS:* · *This latest so-called Benghazi “bombshell” is without merit and has been strongly denied by the State Department.* o “A State Department spokesman calls the implication that documents were withheld ‘totally without merit.’” [Daily Signal, 9/15/14 <http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/15/benghazi-bombshell-clinton-state-department-official-reveals-alleged-details-document-review/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social> ] o “Spokesman Alec Gerlach says ‘The range of sources that the ARB’s investigation drew on would have made it impossible for anyone outside of the ARB to control its access to information.’” [Daily Signal, 9/15/14 <http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/15/benghazi-bombshell-clinton-state-department-official-reveals-alleged-details-document-review/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social> ] o “Gerlach says the State Department instructed all employees to cooperate ‘fully and promptly’ with the ARB, which invited anyone with relevant information to contact them directly. ‘So individuals with information were reaching out proactively to the board. And, the ARB was also directly engaged with individuals and the [State] Department’s bureaus and offices to request information and pull on whichever threads it chose to,’ says Gerlach.” [Daily Signal, 9/15/14 <http://dailysignal.com/2014/09/15/benghazi-bombshell-clinton-state-department-official-reveals-alleged-details-document-review/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social> ] · *The Accountability Review Board was independent, exhaustive, and critical of the State Department.* o Following an examination of the Accountability Review Board process, the Inspector General concluded the Board operated “independently and without bias.” [Special Review of the Accountability Review Board Process,September 2013 <http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/214907.pdf#page=5>] o Ambassador Pickering testified that the ARB met “almost continuously” for two-and-a-half months, conducted nearly 100 interviews, reviewed thousands of pages of documents and viewed hours of video. He said that the Accountability Review Board “was provided with the fullest cooperation by the Department of State and all elements of the U.S. government.” [House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Hearing, 9/19/13 <http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2013-09-19-Ser.No_.-113-59-FC-Reviews-of-the-Benghazi-Attacks-and-Unanswered-Questions.pdf#page=13> ] o Press accounts at the time noted that the results of the Board “sharply criticized the State Department for a lack of seasoned security personnel and for relying on untested local militias to safeguard the compound.” [New York Times, 12/18/12 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/politics/inquiry-into-libya-attack-is-sharply-critical-of-state-department.html?hp&_r=5&pagewanted=all&> ] · Maxwell has had the opportunity to bring up these allegations in the many interviews he’s had with the media and members of Congress both before and after his retirement, yet has neglected to do so until now. · Maxwell, who retired in November 2013, was one of four State Department officials placed on paid administrative leave from his position in the bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as a result of the Accountability Review Board’s findings. [New York Times, 12/19/12 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/us/politics/3-state-dept-officials-resign-following-benghazi-report.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print> ] *TALKING POINTS: HILLARY CLINTON AND SYRIA* *BACKGROUND:** This week, Congress voted in favor of President Obama’s proposal to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels. While the bill passed by a wide majority in both the House and the Senate, some prominent members of Congress voted against the bill.* *KEY POINTS:* · As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was an early advocate of arming the moderate Syrian opposition. She "believed, at the time, they would be overwhelmed by Assad’s military force and that they would open up the door to extremists coming in." · Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said that the situation in Syria is a “wicked problem” with no right answer. - While she advocated arming and training the moderate Syrian opposition early on, she has said there is no way to predict if that would have worked, but she believed it was the best of the options available at the time. · Secretary Clinton has made clear that, even though she advocated a plan to arm the Syrian rebels, it was the “President’s call” and she “respected his deliberations and decision.” *HILLARY CLINTON’S STATEMENTS ON SYRIA:* - “Wicked problem ... a term used by planning experts to describe particularly complex challenges that confound standard solutions and approaches. Wicked problems rarely have a right answer; in fact, part of what makes them wicked is that every option appears worse than the next. Increasingly that's how Syria appeared.” [“Hard Choices”, CBS News, 6/5/14 <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clintons-hard-choices-bergdahl-benghazi-and-more/> ] - "[T]he risks of both action and inaction were high. Both choices would bring unintended consequences. The Presidents' inclination was to stay the present course and not take the significant further step of arming rebels. No one likes to lose a debate, including me. But this was the President's call and I respected his deliberations and decision. From the beginning of our partnership, he had promised me that would always get a fair hearing. And I always did. In this case, my position didn't prevail." [*Hard Choices*, pg. 461, 2014] - “I recommended that we do more in the very beginning to support the moderate opposition, because I believed, at the time, that they would be overwhelmed by Assad’s military force and that they would open up the door to extremists coming in.” [Politico, 6/17/14 <http://www.politico.com/story/2014/06/hillary-clinton-benghazi-107976.html> ] - “[T]he failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad… left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled.” [The Atlantic, 8/10/14 <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true> ] - “Now the wicked problem has gotten even wickeder…This is not just a Syrian problem anymore…I could not have predicted the extent to which ISIS was effective in seizing cities in Iraq and taking over the region.” [The Hill, 6/12/14 <http://thehill.com/policy/international/209153-hillary-clinton-warns-of-extremist-spillover-from-syria> ] - *“*You know, this is why I called the chapter on Syria ‘A Wicked Problem.’ I can’t sit here today and say that if we had done what I recommended… that we’d be in a demonstrably different place.” [The Atlantic, 8/10/14 <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true> ] Hillary Clinton’s RECENT STATEMENTS ON SYRIA *Sec. Clinton: None of the options on Syria “offered much hope of success,” but “we had to keep at it.” *In her book *Hard Choices*, Secretary Clinton wrote, “I started referring to Syria as a ‘wicked problem,’ a term used by planning experts to describe particularly complex challenges that confound standard solutions and approaches. Wicked problems rarely have a right answer; in fact, part of what makes them wicked is that every option appears worse than the next. Increasingly that’s how Syria appeared. Do nothing, and a humanitarian disaster envelops the region. Intervene militarily, and risk opening Pandora’s box and wading into another quagmire, like Iraq. Send aid to the rebels, and watch it end up in the hands of extremists. Continue with diplomacy, and run head-first into a Russian veto. None of these approaches offered much hope of success. But we had to keep at it.” [*Hard Choices*, pg. 461, 2014] *Sec. Clinton: Pres. Obama’s inclination was to “not take the significant further step of arming rebels” in Syria. *In her book *Hard Choices*, Secretary Clinton wrote, “Despite high-level support from the National Security Council, some in the White House were skeptical. After all, the President had been elected in large part because of his opposition to the war in Iraq and his promise to bring the troops home. Getting entangled in any way in another sectarian civil war in the Middle East was not what he had in mind when coming into office. And the President thought we needed more time to evaluate the Syrian opposition before escalating our commitment. The risks of both action and inaction were high. Both choices would bring unintended consequences. The President’s inclination was to stay the present course and not take the significant further step of arming rebels.” [*Hard Choices*, pg. 464, 2014] *Sec Clinton: Syria “was the President’s call and I respected his deliberations and decision.” *In her book *Hard Choices*, Secretary Clinton wrote, “No one likes to lose a debate, including me. But this was the President’s call and I respected his deliberations and decision. From the beginning of our partnership, he had promised me that I would always get a fair hearing. And I always did. In this case, my position didn’t prevail.” [*Hard Choices*, pg. 464, 2014] *Sec. Clinton, on Syria: “I can’t sit here today and say that if we had done what I recommended, and what Robert Ford recommended, that we’d be in a demonstrably different place.” *In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Sec. Clinton said, regarding whether she agreed with U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford that the U.S. was at fault for not building a credible Syrian opposition, “I have the highest regard for Robert. I’m the one who convinced the administration to send an ambassador to Syria. You know, this is why I called the chapter on Syria ‘A Wicked Problem.’ I can’t sit here today and say that if we had done what I recommended, and what Robert Ford recommended, that we’d be in a demonstrably different place.” [The Atlantic, 8/10/14 <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true> ] *Sec. Clinton: “I did believe… that if we were to carefully vet, train, and equip early on a core group of the developing Free Syrian Army, we would… have some better insight into what was going on on the ground.” *In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Sec. Clinton said, regarding whether Israel had done enough to pursue peace, “Well, I did believe, which is why I advocated this, that if we were to carefully vet, train, and equip early on a core group of the developing Free Syrian Army, we would, number one, have some better insight into what was going on on the ground. Two, we would have been helped in standing up a credible political opposition, which would prove to be very difficult, because there was this constant struggle between what was largely an exile group outside of Syria trying to claim to be the political opposition, and the people on the ground, primarily those doing the fighting and dying, who rejected that, and we were never able to bridge that, despite a lot of efforts that Robert and others made.” [The Atlantic, 8/10/14 <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true> ] *Sec. Clinton, on Syria: “I know that the failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad… the failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled.” *In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg for The Atlantic, Sec. Clinton said, regarding whether ISIS would be in the same position it was if the U.S. had done more to build up a moderate Syrian opposition in 2011, “Well, I don’t know the answer to that. I know that the failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad—there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle—the failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled. They were often armed in an indiscriminate way by other forces and we had no skin in the game that really enabled us to prevent this indiscriminate arming.” [The Atlantic, 8/10/14 <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/?single_page=true> ] *Sec. Clinton, on Syria: “Now the wicked problem has gotten even wickeder.” *According to The Hill’s coverage of Sec. Clinton’s discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations, “In her new memoir Hard Choices, Clinton described Syria’s civil war as a ‘wicked problem.’ ‘Now the wicked problem has gotten even wickeder,’ Clinton said Thursday at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations. ‘This is not just a Syrian problem anymore.’ A Sunni jihadi group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—once part of al Qaeda—has gained control of large areas of Iraq and Syria over the last year. In recent days, ISIS seized key Iraqi cities such as Mosul and Tikrit. ‘I could not have predicted the extent to which ISIS was effective in seizing cities in Iraq and taking over the region,’ said the former secretary of State, who was America’s top diplomat when the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in 2011 and when Syria’s civil war erupted that year.” [The Hill, 6/12/14 <http://thehill.com/policy/international/209153-hillary-clinton-warns-of-extremist-spillover-from-syria> ]