Aboard Air Force One
En Route Boston, Massachusetts
11:08 A.M. EDT
MR. CARNEY: Welcome aboard Air Force One this morning as we make our way to the great state of Massachusetts. I think you have a readout of the President’s events today, so I won't repeat them. I have no announcements to make, so I'm here to take your questions. Associated Press.
Q Thanks, Jay. Is the President participating today either remotely or in person in the principals meeting on Syria?
MR. CARNEY: The President is here on the plane. We tend not to send the plane with you guys in it unless the President is on board. You're making an assumption that I believe is false about a meeting that the President is chairing when in fact he’s flying to Boston and then Miami.
Q I didn’t say he was chairing it, but he could be participating ostensibly.
MR. CARNEY: We do regular meetings on Syria. I think I've mentioned that now for several days running. I have no specific meeting to read out. But the President is traveling today —
Q Do you have any reaction to the Senate vote yesterday on the early test of the immigration bill?
MR. CARNEY: We're very pleased by the significant bipartisan vote that we saw. And that reflects what the President said yesterday that the bill forged by the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group of senators, represents a compromise — represents a compromise that sticks to the principles that he’s enunciated and that other supporters of comprehensive immigration reform have allied themselves with.
So that's an encouraging sign. But we are obviously still very much in the thick of the process in the Senate as debate gets underway and look forward to being engaged in that and in encouraging senators of both parties to keep focused on the goal here, which is broad comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens our border, makes life better for our businesses and for the middle class, holds businesses accountable when it comes to ensuring that those they hire are working legally, and provides a pathway to citizenship — a clear pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people living in this country illegally.
Those are the broad outlines of the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that the Senate bill represents and that the President supports. So we will be part of this effort every step of the way.
Q Jay, can I just go back to Syria for a second? Is this a critical week in the sense that there have been clear setbacks for the rebels combating Assad? Does the President have to make an important decision? There are all these reports about meetings that he’s having. What does he have to do this week on the Syria situation?
MR. CARNEY: We are constantly evaluating the situation in Syria and the …read more
Source: White House Press Office
Add to favorites