Order to limit or ban such companies from getting federal contracts . And how soon would you like to see treasury act given congresss schedule . Just to review why were concerned here. You have accountants going to some big corporations that are clearly u. S. Based and have the bulk of their operations in the United States and these accountants are say iing we fou a great loophole. If you flip your citizenship to another country, even though its just a paper transaction, we think we can get you out of paying a whole bunch of taxes. Well, its not fair. Its not right. The lost revenue to treasury means it has to be made up somewhere, and that typically is going to be a bunch of hard working americans who either pay through higher taxes themselves or through reduced services. And in the meantime, the company is still using all the services and all the benefits effectively being a u. S. Corporation. They just decided that they would go through this paper exercise. So theres legislation working its way through congress that would eliminate some of these tax loopholes entirely. And its true what treasury secretary lew previously said that we cant solve the entire problem administratively, but what we are doing is examining are there elements to how existing statutes are excerpted by rule or by regulation or tradition or practice that can at least discourage some of the folk who is may be trying to take advantage of this loophole. And i think its something that would really bother the average american, the idea that somebody renounces their citizenship but continues to entirely benefit from operating in the United States of america just to avoid paying a whole bunch of taxes. Were reviewing all of our options as usual, and related to the answer about executive actions, my preference would always be for us to get something done in congress. Keep in mind, its still a small number of companies that are resorting to this. Most American Companies are proud to be american, recognize the benefits of being american and are responsible actors and willing to pay their fair share of taxes to support all the benefits that they receive from being here. But we dont want to see this trend grow. We dont Want Companies who have up until now been playing by the rules suddenly looking over their shoulder and saying, some of our competitors are gaming the system and e we need to do it too. That kind of hurt mentality is something we want to avoid, so we want to move as quickly as possible. Just to clarify, it seems like an area that has worked well like promoting gay rights or contraception policy. Is it fair to assume that would attach this to the first thing you would think of . Margaret, im not going to announce specifics in dribs and drabs. When we have done a thorough evaluation and understand what our authorities are, ill let you know. Chris jansen, nbc news. Thank you, mr. President. Russia said today its going to ban food and agricultural imports. That was about 1. 3 billion. Defense secretary chuck hagel said that the massing of troops along the border of ukraine increases the likelihood of an invasion. Are sanctions not working . Well, we dont know yet whether sanctions are working. Sanctions are working as on at estimates if you look at projections for russian growth, youre seeing the economy has ground to a halt somewhere between 100 and 200 billion in capital flights takes place. Not seeing a lot of investors coming in new to start businesses inside of russia. And it has presented the choice to president putin as to whether he is going to try to resolve the issues in Eastern Ukraine through diplomacy and peaceful means, recognizing that ukraine is a sovereign country and that it is up ultimately to the ukrainian people to make decisions about their own lives. Or alternatively continue on the course hes on in which case hes going to be hurting his economy and hurting his own people over the longterm. And in that sense, we are doing exactly what we should be doing, and were very pleased that our european allies and partners joined us in this process as well as a number of countries around the world. Having said all that, the issue is not e resolved yet. You still have fighting in Eastern Ukraine. Civilians are still dying. We have already seen some of the consequences of this conflict in the loss of the Malaysian Airlines jetliner, and the sooner that we can get back on a track in which there are serious discussions taking place to assure that all ukrainians are heard, that they can work through the political process, that they are represented, that the reforms that have already been offered by the government in kiev are implemented to protect russian speakers to assure decentralization of power, the sooner that we move on those and the sooner that president putin recognizes that ukraine san independent country, its only at that point we can see save that the problems have truly been solved. In the meantime, the sanctions are working the way they are supposed to. The troops massing on the border are more highly trained. They seem to have more sophisticated weaponry, according to intelligence. Does that make you reconsider as a few democrats have suggested providing lethal aid to ukraine given those troop movements . Keep in mind that the russian army is a lot bigger than the Ukrainian Army. So the issue here is not whether the Ukrainian Army has some additional weaponry. At least up until this point, they have been fighting a group of separatists who have engaged in some terrible violence, but who cant match the Ukrainian Army. If you start seeing an invasion by russia, thats obviously a different set of questions. Were not there yet. What we have been doing is providing a whole host of assistance packages to the Ukrainian Government and to their military and we will continue to work with them to evaluate on a day by day, week by week basis what exactly they need in order to be able to defend their country and to deal with the separatist elements that currently are being armed by russia. But the best thing we can do for ukraine is to try to get back on a political track. David, the standard. Thank you, mr. President. You have been hosting african kings, Prime Ministers and president s for the last three days. But back home in africa, its becoming increasingly difficult. In egypt, dozens of journalists are in prison. In kenya they have passed very bad laws target iing the media. What can the International Community do to ensure that we have a strong media in africa and more importantly to secure the release of the journalists behind bars. And two, so many countries in africa are facing threats of terror. Im glad you mentioned a few measures youre going to take. But what can the International Community do to neutralize terror threats in mali, cameroon, kenya . Thank you. What was the last part of the question . Could the terror threats be the reason you have skipped kenya in your visits . Oh, no. First of all, with respect to the journalists and the media. The last session we had on Good Governance, i emphasized that Good Governance means everybody has a voice. That government is transparent and thereby accountable. And even though leaders dont always like it, the media plays a crucial role in assuring people that they have the proper information to evaluate policies that their leaders are. Pursuing. And so we have been very consistent in pushing governance not just in africa, but around the world, to respect the right of journalists to practice their trade as a critical part of Civil Society and a critical part of any democratic norm. The specific issue of the jury room journalists in egypt, we said they should be released. And we have been troubled by some of the laws that have been passed around the world that seem to restrict the ability of journalists to pursue stories or write stories. We have also been disturbed by efforts to control the internet. Part of whats happened over the last decade or two is that the new media, new technology allow people to get information that previously would have never been accessible or only to a few specialists and now people can punch something up on the internet and pull up information thats relevant to their own lives and their own societies and communities. So were going to continue to push back against these efforts. As is true on a whole range of issues. And i have u said this in the past, many times we will work with countries even though they are not perfect on every issue. And we find that in some cases engaging a country that generally is a good partner, but is not performing optimally when it comes to all various categories of human rights that we can be effective by working with them on certain areas and criticizing them and trying to elicit improvements in other areas. And even among countries that generally have strong human rights records, there are areas where there are problems. Thats true of the United States, by the way. And so the good news, and e we heard this in the summit, is that more and more countries are recognizing that in the absence of Good Governance n the absence of accountability and transparen transparency, thats not only going to have an effect domestically on the legitimacy of a government. Its going to have an effect on Economic Development and growth because ultimately, you know, in an Information Age open societies have the capacity to innovate and educate and move faster and be part of the global marketplace more than societies do over the longterm. I believe that. Now with respect to terrorism, i think theres uniform concern of terrorist infiltration in many countries throughout africa. Obviously, theres a concern that we have globally. A lot of the initiatives that we put forward were designed to partner so that countries first and foremost can deal with these problems within their own borders or regionally. The United States doesnt have a desire to expand and create a big footprint inside of africa. What we want to make sure we can do is partner with the african union, with individual countries to build up their capacity. One of the encouraging things in the sessions was a recognition that fighting terrorism also requires Security Forces that are professional, that are disciplined, that they are not engaging in human rights violations, that part of the lesson that we have all learned about terrorism is that it is possible in reaction to terrorism to actually accelerate the disease if the response is one that alienates populations or particular ethnic groups or particular religions. So the work that were doing including the security initiatives that aannounced today can make a big difference in that direction. Its not just a matter of us providing better equipment or better training. Thats a part of it. But part of it is also making sure that these Security Forces and the intelligence operations are coordinated and professional and are not alienating populations. The more we do that, the more effective we can be. Last point i will make is on Good Governance, one of the best inknocklators is a society in which everybody feels that they have a stake in the existing order and they feel grievances can be resolved. Thats just one more reason why Good Governance has to be part of the recipe that we use for a strong, stable and prosperous africa. Last question, jerome. Thank you, mr. President. Earlier today the israeli Prime Minister described the operation as justified and proportionate. Do you agree with these words . And israel and hamas seem to be at odds. Are you hopeful the ceasefire can be achieved and what can role can the u. S. Play . I have said from the beginning that no country would tolerate rockets being launched into their cities. As a consequence, i have consistently supported israelis right to defend itself, and that includes doing what it needs to do to prevent rockets from landing on Population Centers and more recently as we learned, preventing tunnels from being dug under their territory that can be used to launch terrorist attacks. I also think u it is important to remember that hamas acts extraordinary irresponsibly when it is deliberately citing rocket launchers in Population Centers. Putting populations at risk because of that particular military strategy. Now, having said all that, i have also expressed my distress at whats happened to innocent civilians, including women and children, during the course of this process, and im very glad that we have at least temporarily achieved a ceasefire. The question now is how do we build on this temporary cessation of violence and move forward in a sustainable way. We intend to support the process thats taking place in egypt. I think the shortterm goal has to be to make sure that rocket launchers do not resume. That the work that the Israeli Government did in closing off these tunnels has been completed, and that we are now as a consequence of this conflict. Long term there has to be a recognition that gaza cannot sustain itself permanently closed off from the world and incapable of providing some opportunity, jobs, economic growth, for the population that lives there, particularly given how dense that population is, how young that population is. Were going to have to see a shift in opportunity for the people of gaza. I have no sympathy for hamas. I have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling within gaza. And the question then becomes can we find a formula in which israel has greater assurance that gaza will not be a launching pad for further attacks perhaps more dangerous attacks as technology develops into their country, but at the same time ordinary palestinians have some prospects for an opening of gaza so that they do not feel walled off and incapable of pursuing basic prosperi prosperity. I think there are formulas that are available, but theyre going to require risks on the part of political leaders. Theyre going to require a slow rebuilding of trust, which is obviously very difficult in the aftermath of the kind of violence that weve seen. So i dont think we get there right away, but the u. S. Goal right now would be to make sure that the ceasefire holds, that gaza can be can begin the process of rebuilding and that some measures are taken so that the people of gaza feel some sense of hope and to the people of israel feel confident that theyre not going to have a repeat of the kind of rocket launchers that weve seen over the last several weeks. And secretary kerry has been in consistent contact with all the parties involved. We expect we will continue to be trying to work as diligently as we can to move the process forward. It is also going to need to involve the palestinian leadership in the west bank. I have no sympathy for hamas. I have great sympathy for some of the work that has been done in cooperation with israel, the International Community by the Palestinian Authority. And theyve shown themselves to be responsible. Theyve recognized israel. They are prepared to move forward to arrive at a twostate solution. I think abu mazen is sincere in his desire for peace, but they have also been weakened, i think, during this process. The populations in the west bank may have also lost confidence or lost a sense of hope in terms of how to move forward. We have to rebuild that as well. And they are, the delegation thats leading the palestinian negotiators, and my hope is that well be engaging with them to try to move what has been a very tragic situation over the last several weeks into a more constructive path. All right . Thank you very much, everybody. And thank you all who participated in the africa summit. It was an outstanding piece of work, and i want to remind folks in case theyve forgotten of the incredible young people who participated in our fellows program. Were very proud of you and ready to see the great things you do when you go back home, thank you. The president wraps up a nearly 45minute news conference. He opened up with this statement on the african summit and the first question was on the ebola crisis right now. Our own dr. Sanjay gupta has been reporting on whats been going on. This deadly virus is clearly spreading. Sanjay, youve done some amazing work. The president said to let the science guide us right now. He wasnt ready to fasttrack the serum that was give to the two scientists who came down with ebola. The first question posed to him. The question was basically was should this experimental therapy which has shown some promise in just these two patients, should it be fast tracked in some way. He was careful, controlled and measured in his response. Said he wanted to wait for more data and science before answering that question. He talked quite a bit about what he thought was happening in west africa, pointing to the fact that he believed Public Health systems have been overwhelmed, that theres been a lack of trust of the medical establishment and this has led to the worst outbreak in the history of ebola, the worst one weve seen. The reporty came back and said what if this medication was effective given the tremendous need. The president was very careful. He said im just not going to answer that. Im going to wait for the data and the science. Just a quick reminder. This medication that were talking about, zmapp which seems to have shown promise in dr. Brantly as well as ms. Writebol, the two in the United States, it has not been used in a human before, there isnt the science and the data that people would normally have, hes right about that. Given the tremendous need and the possible benefit, how do you weigh these things . And i think its a question and a discussion thats going to come up again and again. Sanjay, stand by. I want to go to jerusalem. Jake tapper. The last q a on whats going on in gaza, a very measured statement from the president defending israels right to protect itself from missiles and terror tunnels, but at the same time urging everyone to extend the ceasefire and work on some of the bigger problems. Thats right. He also expressed distress was i think the word he used at watching women and children in gaza be killed during the military operations by the Israel Defense forces. He didnt go so far as to lay all the blame on hamas as many other american politicians and certainly israeli politicians have done, but he did chastise hamas for imbedding itself and firing upon the israeli population from Population Centers, thus putting the palestinian people, innocent civilians, women, children, at risk. He didnt lay all the blame on hamas, but he did blame them and criticize hamas clearly. But there, of course, was the pivot towards his answer after laying out the case as to why he supports and has consistently said that israel has every right to defend itself, he did pivot towards his desires for what would come from ceasefire negotiations. We should point out, wolf, that right now we are a little bit more than 24 hours away from the end of the 72hour ceasefire, which will come friday morning at 8 00 a. M. Local time jerusalem, gaza and egypt. Weve still not heard whether or not hamas, palestinian factions, is willing to extend that ceasefire. The Israeli Government has said they are willing to extend the ceasefire indefinitely, but so far we have not heard from hamas representatives. In fact, weve heard through intermediaries that hamas is not willing as of right now to extend that ceasefire while Palestinian Authority and other representatives in that palestinian contingent also want hamas to go along with extending the ceasefire. So far no word from them. Thats going to be very tricky and very nerveracking over the next 24 or so hours to watch, wolf. Lets hope it lasts and can be extended. Jake, well get back to you. The president was very firm in standing by his use of executive powers. He said people dont want me just standing around twiddling my thumbs to do something. John king, he didnt back down. He didnt back down and listen to what he is saying, hell study immigration issues, do some things but he wont do everything he wants to hed need congressional approval on this u. S. Companies that essentially plant their flag seas hes looking at authority to do some things. He wishes he could get congress to do more. Hes very limited in his authority and limited by his ability to go outside of that and get anything done. A frustrated president. A warning to the russians, dont move in. Is his policy working, are the sanctions working . He said, yes, theyre imposing enormous costs on russia but he admits the situation is not resolved yet. If the goal of this policy was to deescalate the situation in ukraine, that is not working. Officials say it is escalating. They look at the Russian Military presence on the boardnd and its capable and ready for an invasion. Theyre not sure its going to happen but theyre concerned about it. As far as the issue of africa is concerned the president was pleased by this summit and said, lets do it every year. Hes very pleased, lets do it every year. But when you talk to African Leaders and businessmen, they say a little too little a little too late. They want to see more, african officials, u. S. Officials, Business Leaders making those deals thinking of africa as the next great gain. All the news, the breaking news will continue. Thanks very much for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. The news continues next right here on cnn. Next, breaking news, president obama using very strong words against hamas, says he has no sympathy for the militant group. Much more on that coming up. Plus red alert in the United States for ebola. The cdc now on the highest alert. The World Health Organization considering an international Public Health emergency. Lets go outfront. Good evening, everyone im erin burnett. We begin with the breaking news. The president of the United States just wrapping up a news conference. He used the strongest language ever against hamas