Transcripts For CSPAN House Session 20240622

Senator sessions look, its not going to be an in person entity. Proper background check. You need to be defending the peoples public safety. If you need more money to do this, you need to ask for it. If you want to rubber stamp the process, keep doing the way youre doing it. Ms. Saldana, section 1373 of title 8 of the u. S. Code provides among other things quote, a federal state, or local Government Entity or official may not prohibit or in any way restrict any Government Entity or official from sending to or receiving from i. C. E. Information regarding a citizenship or immigration status lawful or unlawful of any individual. Close quote. Dont you think that resolutions by City Councils or state governments or sheriffs in certain jurisdictions, directing their officers not to honor detainers or otherwise notify i. C. E. That they have arrested someone thats unlawfully in the country could violate or would violate section 1373 . Secretary saldana well, all of that is part of litigation, senator. Quite frankly i think we have taken that position in litigation, that is the case. Senator sessions they do have to supply information. In other words, you have taken the position which i understand you correctly, youre correct, to say cities, you have to comply with this law. Secretary saldana yes. Again, is it more practical to work through all this morass of litigation or can we work with these jurisdictions to try to get them to cooperate . I think its the latter. Senator sessions i understand youre saying that. Forgive me if im not persuaded. This has been going on for many years. It came up in 2007 when we had a debate about all of this. And it was wrong then and its wrong now. Its gotten to be i think its 300 or so jurisdiction that is are sanctuary jurisdictions out of what, 17,000 . But some are very big cities. Very large immigrant populations. So its a huge matter, but most cities are cooperating. If you want to know what i hear, the complaints about the federal government enforcement from our Law Enforcement officers, is that you wont allow them to help you. If they arrest somebody and call your office, nobody comes. Nobody cares. Nobody responds. And so thats the big problem weve got in the country, maybe bigger than the other. At any rate, i hope that you will understand, ms. Saldana, that youre talking with is not going to change the situation. Do you have any cities that have indicated to you they are going to make a change in their policy . Secretary saldana i mentioned the numbers earlier, sir. Just as a matter of focus we have looked at these 49 particular and 33 are working, have come and said they will work with us in some way or another. Again, taylored to their needs. We have tailored to their needs. We only had five of those 49 say no. Well continue to work with them. Senator session im sure after all the events of the last few months are certainly should be willing to listen about this. But i have serious doubts that we are going to see any change unless Congress Takes some action or unless this Administration Takes some action. Ms. Saldana, i know one problem you have im sure is frustrating to you is countries not taking back criminals that you have arrested and ordered deported. Can you tell us the status of that situation . Secretary saldana yes. As you know the department of state obviously has a vast interest in this and i have work with the department of state and met with the individual who is overwho overcease these relationships, and we are oversees these relationship, we are working hard to open doors. I went to china a couple months ago, beijing in particular, and china has been a challenge for us. We have signed together it kind of a standing agreement that they will actually have two people here to help process chinese going back to the country repatriating from this country. Thats some progress. We continue to work with them. I have worked with south american countries. Iis vitted gawk malla quack malla and el salvador and we continue to work with my counterparts there to try to ensure that we have and assign a memorandum of understanding with them. Senator sessions working with them and working with them is one thing. But this has been going on for years also. Many years. How long have you been in office . Secretary saldana seven months. Senator sessions i cant blame you for all thats gone on. I want you to know i understand that you have professional training and you understand the world. Are there powers and actions the United States government can take without legislation that would put pressure on these countries to accept back individuals who we have ordered deported . Secretary saldana obviously this is in the province of the department of state largely because there are relationships with international countries. But, yes, i understand that they have some authorities to do that. As you know, senator, its a very complex picture when it comes to International Relationships and one Agency Issues and may not hold sway over the Bigger Picture in the relationship with that country. Senator sessions i remember the former chairman of this committee a number years ago was outraged by all of this. And actually offered legislation that would mandate reducing mandate a reduction of visas from countries that dont comply. Doesnt it cost you a lot of money and create huge time involvements in dealing with situations where a country wont take back one of their own . Secretary saldana its a great challenge, sir. Thats where we face issues where we cant get papers, cooperation from those countries, and we have to release them under that Supreme Court opinion after a certain period of time. Senator sessions under Supreme Court opinion if a country wont take them back in a year goes by . Secretary saldana i think its actually more like 180 days. We can extend the period of time. But theres a point at which we have to release them. Senator sessions that takes a loft your officers agents time and effort. Secretary saldana it does. Senator session you have to pay to hows people in way hi quality prisons instead of deporting them promptly. Secretary saldana thats correct. Senator sessions i have a recollection was the customs chief in years gone by when he shut the border down with mexico over some disagreement over their responsibilities caused quite a stir. He just closed the border. I would just say to you, ms. Saldana, i think its time for the state department and your department to stand up and say, we are not going to except accept this anymore. If you dont accept back promptly people we deport, then youre going to suffer serious consequences. And any relationship that deals in visas is a reciprocal relationship, isnt it . So that if we accept people, and they agree to take them back, likewise if they accept individuals from the United States and they deport them, we accept them back. Is that a law that requires that or is that Just State Department agreements with these countries . Secretary saldana im sorry. Youre way above my knowledge here when it comes to the state department. Senator sessions you dont have to stand up to the state department. Looks like we all are. This cant continue. We dont have the money to continue to bicker with these countries for years and years yearns and not get this matter settled. Well try to work on that. I think legislation would be appropriate, too. Although its not necessary. If the president and the state department stood up and were clear on it, it could be fixed promptly, in my pp. In my opinion. I may submit some additional questions for the record. We are having some problem getting answers to our records. Mr. Rodriguez when do you plan to send us your responses to our questions for the record following the march hearing of oversight of your agency . Director rodriguez as soon as possible. I thought we had satisfied all of those requests. Well make sure to get those to you. As soon as possible. Senator sessions i dont believe we have. Director rodriguez if there are outstanding requests, that is obviously not happen about that and well happy about that and well act quickly to respond to that. Senator sessions the record will remain open for one week. If there is nothing further but i will say one more thing. Both of you are good law officers. You know how the system works. And i hope you know that things arent going as well as they should. A lot of that is because of administration policy. At some point youll have to decide whether youre going to execute that policy or not. Some of the policies, i think, cannot be defended. But i respect your integrity and i appreciate your commitment to your country and your service to your country. The hearing is adjourned. Secretary saldana thank you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the house of representatives is in recess until 2 00 p. M. Today. The house is considering three bills, one requires the Veterans Administration to submit to congress a report on its medical care for veterans. The other authorizes the state department to revoke passports to people affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The third bill requires all federal agencies to establish an equal Employment Opportunity program to deal with discrimination complaints by federal employees. Later in the week, legislation will deal with the regulation of toxic coal ash and voluntary labeling standards for genetically modified foods. The house is back in session 2 00 p. M. Eastern live here on cspan. Secretary of state john kerry testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which he chaired when he was in the senate on thursday. Hell answer questions about the Nuclear Agreement with iran. Also testifying at the hearing Energy Secretary ernest moniz and treasury secretary jack lew. Thats on thursday. See it live on our companion network cspan3. Cspan gives you the best access to congress. Live coverage of the u. S. House, congressional hearings, and News Conferences. Bringing you events that shape Public Policy. Every morning washington journal is live with leekted officials, policymakers, and journalists and your comments by phone, facebook, and twitter. Cspan created by americas Cable Companies and brought to you as a Public Service by your local cable or satellite provider. Next hour i am taking a look at the white house and Congress Talking about specific issues and two guests joining us for that discussion and were joined by Kristina Peterson also jeff mason of reuters, he is there white house correspondent. To both of you, good morning. I cannot think of any singular event that deals with these two bodies. Kristina peterson lets start with you, what has been the announcement and where is congress at on the deal . Republicans were very skeptical in the week leading up to the deal and it became clear that they were probably not going to like the deal very much and that has been reinforced since it has been released. There has been no outright gop support that i can think of just people expressing deep skepticism and very doubtful at this. Iran for producing a Nuclear Weapon. Democrats have been more guarded and have said they want to take time to read the bill and talk to experts. I think what we will start to see is democrats deciding one way or another if this is a deal that they can support. So far we have seen some cautious encouragement but so a lot of questions that people say they have about the deal. A lot of them making statements of the u. S. Has passed its plan for iran as well. I think they felt the white house is not respecting the fact that they had fought quite hard to get this legislation in place to give them 60 days to review the agreement and they felt that the white house going to the u. N. First did and and dont run around them and end run around them. There are still be time to give Congress Time to conduct its review and you didnt see democrats saying this is the reason im not going to vote for, it was more a sense of irritation that it was not necessarily a dealbreaker. Host so what is the white house stance about what is going on with congress . The white house Knows Congress eighth a look at it and they are trying to put on a show of patients, wanting to answer questions and get out with lawmakers and say this is what is in the deal but behind that the near of patients there is some impatience already from the white house about, look we spent a lot of time on this deal it is a good one dont question our motives behind it and dont question the fact that this is something that will be good for the American People. Guest i dont think the white house wanted this 60day review period. There was a lot of resistance when it came up and it seems like the white house openly allowed it to go forward when it became clear that there was a veto proof majority. It is kind of funny to listen to turner say it is only 60 days because congressmen and women will take a 30 day recess, i would spend a lot of time on the golf course. Host you also see secretary of state carol carry on capitol hill and it is a hard sell by this administration. Guest it is a really hard sell. Theyre not only appealing to people here and congress but the allies across the world. You have the defense secretary carter going to israel and saudi arabia so it is heartfelt a home at home and abroad but clearly here it is especially important because in many ways the administration feels like it would lose face and a more than that if congress does not support the deal. If you like a would not go through and be that the sanctions regime that helped give the United States and its allies a lot of credibility would fall apart. As far as the cell is concerned have you ever seen this activity on a specific effort . Guest we saw it in the trade when it was clear that would be a tight vote but what is clear about the iran deal is at they have been working with them for months keeping them briefed on the negotiations and really have in trying to do the groundwork and one of the most effective players in this has been the Energy Secretary. Democrats and republicans alike say he is really knowledgeable. They believe he is not spending them. It was interesting to see him at the talks looking unusual compared to the others but summit who really knows what he is talking about. Is trying to use that credibility back here in washington the same way it did during the talks. Host our guests are with us to talk about congressional and white house issues as we had for the break. Kristina peterson of wall street journal joining us. The numbers to call if you want to ask our guests questions about this or other issues facing congress or the white house. You can tweet your thoughts or post on the Facebook Page as well. Specifically legislators that the administration is targeting what are we looking at . Guest the big dog is senator charles schumer. He has not tipped his hand how he will come out on this deal. Because there are some powerful proisrael groups opposed to it that could be a factor for lawmakers from new york and new jersey who have large jewish constituencies and it is not clear how that will play out that he would certainly be an important person in this state. You also have some of the top democrats. Ben cardin is the top democrat on that panel and senator chris coons these are people that other lawmakers look to to see how they are reviewing Foreign Policy members. Senator menendez has been the most critical of any democrat on the hill so far. He hasnt said he would oppose the deal but he is sharply questioned many of the provisions. Those are some bellwethers aside from centrist democrats like senator joe donnelly and israel has been extremely skeptical with some of these new york, new jersey and Florida Democrats and it will be interesting to see if any republicans support this deal. There has been very little evidence that will occur. Host we see guest for sure. That is one of the hard sell we talked about earlier. The president in his News Conference last week began by saying take a look at the deal and study it closely. I want my staff to be available to we are available to answer questions. The stakes are so high for the administration. It is a legacy issue for the president as well. Getting support particularly from his own party is huge. As christina says, getting a nod of approval from republicans would be a real feather in their cap. Host the president played golf is this part of the strategy or is there Something Else going on . Guest it sure looks like it. It was said this was a game that had been in the works for many months and it was denied it had anything to do with iran. It was a pretty hot day so they probably would have preferred to be in an airconditioned room. On the other hand, the president does not play with members of congress very often, almost never. Saturdays and sundays, which she does nearly every weekend, it is with his closest aides or friends. It is hard not to raise the question, why these guys and why now . Host the president does not spend a lot of time with members of congress. Now these issues come up and yet he has his team doing that for him. Guest a couple flees ago it before the agreement was signed, you can tell when there is someone vote something the white house wants to see on capitol hill, there is an uptick in activity. It seems hard to believe it would be a total coincidence. Host scott is in san antonio texas. Thanks for calling and go ahead. Caller i just wanted, i would like to get a response. All we witnessed since the republicans were in office is they have gone totally against everything he has tried to do. They do not want him to have any kind of a positive legacy once he leaves office. I think it is so scandalous. I understand these people are politicians and everything, but you would think they would put the country ahead of their politics sometimes. Because, simply, they want his legacy just to be something that is totally negative. I would really like to hear you a that particular question please. Guest i think you are right there is a fair amount of hostility between Congressional Republicans and the president. There has been at least one take exception to that, which is we did see trade legislation passed through both chambers. There was support of a large number of republicans, given that so Many Democrats were opposed to this. Certainly on the iran deal, you are seeing republicans endorse a big part of what could be the president s Foreign Policy. On the domestic side, there is at least one counterexample and that is the trade legislation passing this year. We could see some more minor things like Cyber Security legislation, which obama said was a priority of his as well. Guest i would add the president realizing that republicans in many cases have not given him the support he wants for his legacy, brushing that aside and taking initiative to work on things that would affect his legacy that he does not need this up or four, what he has done cuba yesterday, you saw the flag go up again, the new Cuban Embassy here in washington, and also the cuban flag raised in the state department. Also the iran deal. He needs congressional support for the fact that he pursued the negotiations again is a way him showing this is something i will do, not just for his legacy, that because that is something he believes in and he wants his presidency to stand for arid guest it seems that stokes more gop opposition. The fact the iran deal is not coming as a treaty, an executive agreement designed to some extent, that does worsen the tension. Host from missouri mike, you are next. Caller i am no fan of president obama, but he must have at least one genius their ability to vote away creative solutions, my example is the iran thing. I heard the white house is floating some type of legislation to allow certain Social Security recipients not to own a firearm. What a great political move. This will hit the newspapers. I may marine corps and vietnam veteran. This will blow up that the president is trying to take away firearms. This will overshadow the iranian issue. Whoever came up with this idea needs a race. A brilliant idea. That is about what ive got to say. Thank you. Guest it looks like that is a compliment in a criticism caption one comment for the administration. The president obviously has political strategists working in his white house along with policy theyre working on domestic strategy all the time to i am not sure these issues are connected the way the caller suggests. For sure they have got people working on both of those things and thumb control is an issue they care about, though not something i think the president expect to make a whole lot of progress on the remaining months. Host george from West Virginia. Caller thank god for cspan and fox news. That is how i get all my news. I am a retired sergeant major. I cannot understand the Administration One bit. Im a conservative democrat and this administration went so far left, it is unbelievable. It will take 40 years for them to come back into the center again, the democratic party. They were showing what happened the last election, how they got wiped out of the congress and the senate and everything. I cannot understand where their brains are. And they learn a lesson let with the korean word deal . It the same thing all over again. Iran is worth worse than north korea. It is when they were negotiating, they had marches all over the place, down americans, this and that and everything. And yet this president , and john kerry all people, can negotiate with his deal in the vietnam war. Leahy downgraded our military and everything, going around the country and entice all veterans to go against this here deal 150 . Host let me take that on the iran deal. Especially in these last years of his presidency. Guest it does seem that is the force encouraging lawmakers to support the iran deal, that the days will want to see the Foreign Policy legacy affirmed. It is something that could stretch well into the next administration and that is where you will see the most support for it, representing states that have a large chunk of that left side of the base. Guest the president has had an off and on relationship with the ministration during his administration for sure. There were times when key supporters felt he was not far enough to the left. The caller obviously disagrees with that. But he has made some moves that helped shore up his base on gayrights. I think we will see more about Climate Change this year, which people on the left care about a lot. As far as Foreign Policy is concerned, one of the problems barack obama made as a senator and president ial candidate, that the United States should be open to negotiating with its enemies and that is what he has done, toward the end of the presidency. Not everyone like that and that is very clear. But it is not something that will hurt him with his base here it is something the president ial edits, republicans or democrats will have to deal with and discuss on the campaign trail. Obama does not have another election to run for. In terms of his own legacy with his base, i think he feels comfortable where he is. Guest trade is the one sort of Sticking Point that was a very tough vote for a lot of democrats. Deep backlash from union groups and democrats who ended up supporting trade could pay the price for that in 2016. Host district heights, maryland, tony is up next. Go ahead. Caller cspan, to me, youre nothing more than a big complaint forum. You are getting anything done. Every day, every month, every year. Let me say this about israel. Israel controls our congress. Unite the democrats and republicans. I am for the deal, but i am against war. Im a military veteran. I have served for 21 years. Though i cannot do nothing about that, they own them. Saudi arabia is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism, not iran. I guess if you sell us oil, it does not matter if you have terrorists. If you dont, it does matter. Amazing. Guest i would say, it is an interesting issue the caller raises. Both israel and saudi arabia are important allies. They are two allies the president in particular decided to send, secretary carter to speak to because they are critical in the region. There are clearly differences the u. S. Has, differences with Prime Minister netanyahu particularly on the iran deal, have been very clear and played out publicly here and in washington when the Prime Minister came to speak. Saudi arabia there are many differences there as well on many issues from human rights to this deal as well. You saw saudi arabia and other allies sent top officials to washington in the spring to talk about further cooperation because of disagreements over this. They are important allies, critical allies to this administration and Going Forward to washington. Guest it is interesting you mention netanyahus trip to congress this year. I think that is still playing a role toward the i run deal right now p are lawmakers felt that was a very political moment. Lawmakers do political things themselves all the time. But they felt they were being used in some sense ahead of the israeli election. There was frustration toward netanyahu that is lingering of israels lingering reaction being discounted from lawmakers who otherwise might feel more sympathetic. Host there will be lobbying members of congress as well. Guest absolutely. We see a variety of responses from these groups. Aipac is vehemently opposed to we will see that battle on the hill next few weeks. Guest we are approaching the 2016 election and those are important voices. Guest we could see a shift in Public Opinion of the deal p lawmakers are not expected to vote on this until they come back from the recess in early september. What the environment and Public Opinion of the deal is then could be important. We could have an opportunity for them to really make their point. Host especially how much they hear about it at home during the break will factor in, that is a fair assumption . Washington, d. C. , john, thank you for holding on. Caller i wanted to make a quick comment, implying that george leaders put israel first and not america, i think aipac has america passes interests first in the deal. I think one of the biggest things is to have not talked about the icbm. In regards to the last caller that somehow israel controls congress, if that were true, all of these groups besides an outlier and the opposition in israel, you know, everybody united not only because of israel being first because america is first. I just wanted to clarify that and thanks for your time and have a good morning. Guest thank you. I think many people on capitol hill and the white house would agree. Guest i would add it is true the concerns that aipac is raising overlap with concerns lawmakers are raising independently of them. There are questions over whether iran would be able to produce a Nuclear Weapon over the first after the last decade. Raising the arms embargo after five years concerns about whether inspections would be done, they would have anywhere anytime access to these sites. The concerns being raised by the proisrael groups are being found in many other places in capitol hill. Host Kristina Peterson and jeff mason with us. Other issues playing out, issues important to congress. Jeff mason, what else is the white house active on, aside from the iran deal . Guest the white house gets focus on certain things at certain times. We talked about trade earlier and that was allconsuming. He would walk back and talk to Staff Members during that time and they were all working on it. I think iran applies to that as well. Going forward after the recess and after people get back from vacations, we will see action on Climate Change coming up. There are international talks on Climate Change coming up that the administration will be very active in trying to get International Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. I think trade has not gone away. He got what he wanted in terms of trade promotion authority. They still have to get a deal done with asian companies. At some point, a european one as well. I think we could expect to see both of those highlighted in the coming months. Host aside from trade, what other issues is Congress Interested in getting done . Guest there are other issues before they go on august recess. The trust fund at the end of the month unless lawmakers take some kind of action. What is interesting is at the house the house and senate do not seem to be on the same page yet here they are controlled by republicans but seem to have a different game plan for how this will play out. The house has passed a highway bill that would extend funding through december with the idea that that would buy them time to do a larger Corporate Tax overhaul that would generate enough money to pay for a longer highway bill. There is a lot of skepticism in the senate that could actually work. There is expected to be a vote in the senate today on a highway will, but it is still not clear what it will be. We think somewhere longer than 18 months is what they are hoping to produce, and they would like to do a sixyear bill, but it is not clear, ways to pay for that. We expect in the senate they would have some sort of amendment to reopen the import bank, a big target of conservatives in congress. They did successfully, they were not able to reopen it when it officially closed its doors july 1, but there is an expectation of support in the senate and likely in the house as well at some point this year. Host infrastructure being a big push by the administration so they are behindthescenes to get this done. Guest im glad you raised that issue. They care very much about it. The question of how to pay for it is an open one. I think the white house is often eager for a longerterm deal. They have been pushing congress to do that. They are sick of having to relitigate this debate every few months or years so that is something they care about as well. Another issue you do not hear that many people talk about because it keeps getting put off, but it is lingering, is the keystone xl pipeline. That is something people on Obama Policies based care about very much. It will come up eventually and i had an interview with the president earlier this year or i said, will you make a decision before the end of your term and he said yes. Many much earlier than this, but that will come up. Host we waiting for the state department to weigh in on where they stand on it . Guest we are. Once they officially make their call, it will go to the white house and the president will make his final decision. It is hard to say what that will be. I think the president and the white house in general have tried to say, were letting the state department run the process , we are seeingof both sides of the debate. Speaking only for myself, they will not get it a green light. Host is there a sense republicans can do nothing else now . Guest now that it has fallen by the wayside in capitol hill, they set their sights more on iran now and are trying to get more support for that. Keystone, they sort of moved on. Host garrett from florida, you are next. Caller a caller came in and said so probably they only get their news from fox news. It was like he called in to say he is stupid as hell. Another thing i want to say barack obama, the public got the the republicans got the power of the purse, and they give him anything he wants. The man is the greatest president this country has ever seen. That is the way i see it. Guest i am not sure the president would agree with that. [laughter] but the caller did raise a good point about the power of the purse and one of the last battles we will see this year is government funding at the end of the fiscal year. Unless they want another government shutdown, and we might see a sort of shortterm measure passed through the end of the year of this could be another fiscal fight in december, that would be my guess. But certainly, the president and republicans have been on very different pages about what the spending levels would be so that is likely to be a fierce fight. Guest i think you raise a good point that is not in the republican interest to have another shutdown. The last thing republican candidates, of which there are many, and many of them coming from the halls of congress, want is to have to defend themselves to voters in iowa, New Hampshire, on the campaign trail, that this is a party that cannot government cannot keep the government i think you are right. It will be a tough debate as they always are. The administrations hand is somewhat strengthened in this particular one because the republicans will not have an interest in shutting down the government. Guest i think that is true. Related to that, they will have to raise the Borrowing Limit the debt ceiling, and that is a tough vote for republicans. Conservative voters do not like seeing the debt ceiling race. Similarly, i do not think congressional leaders want to be responsible with even flirting with the idea of a debt default. To make this is quite a fight as possible and just get it over with. Host there is a story on political saying this time around they do not have paul ryan and patty murray working together on this. Who is leading the charge and what is the nature of the relationship . Guest absolutely. There are not similar leaders among the rank and file here. The expectation is that it will be top dogs working with the Obama Administration. Some combination of john boehner, Mitch Mcconnell, harry reid, maybe the Appropriations Committee chairman to be involved, but it will not be a deal worked out on the sidelines and then embraced by leadership. Problem probably. Guest from the administration side, it will be interesting to see if biden gets involved again, particularly if it is those leaders doing it. He has got a Good Relationship with Mitch Mcconnell as we have seen in the last few years. If the Vice President decides to stick his hat in the ring for the 2016 campaign, maybe he will be less active here that is also an open question that will probably have an answer in the next few months. Host republican line. Indiana. Caller i am calling from indiana and although i am republic and, i like president obama. He has made some bad choices. But it is not all his fault because congress has been messed up. It is a little bit of both parties faults where we are. But i think iran is a bad choice. I do not think iran can be trusted. I Hope Congress can get together to her that is probably where most of the blame is. The way congress has been dysfunctional. To be a christian i hope you can try to get prayer back in schools because the war is not against flesh and blood, but against powers in places which are not of god. I hope we can get prayer back in school and all the christians which i to see if they could get their act together. Host thank you. Congress getting its act together to not the first time you heard that phrase. Guest there is not a high degree of Public Confidence and lawmakers are aware of that and they know it. It does not mean they drop everything get along. There are persistent reasons why they do not have any centrist lawmakers from either party anymore. The starting positions on any issue are just farther apart. Host the Washington Times has rational utility index. From genuine to june, at this stage, 27 bills signed into law 608 votes past, i think there has been a greater dont greater degree of bills. It does not necessarily mean that overall it means it would be more productive given that it we have a democratic president. We have seen majority leader mcconnell, on the other side of that democrats have been letting more things come to the floor. They have not lost as many things as republicans did to minorities. We have seen some changes. Guest i just wanted to pick up on one thing the caller mentioned with iran. A good one because it actually delays the breakout time for iran to get a Nuclear Weapon United States continues to have major agreements with iran and continues to see it as statesponsored terror. But believes this deal is good. The timeframe for them to be able to obtain a nuclear bomb. Guest one thing we havent discussed is the white house really does not need that many lawmakers to back it. In order to implement a deal. They just need to present a vetoproof majority. The bar is somewhat low here in terms of how much support they actually need to go forward. Host are there other factors there as well . Guest this did not come as a treaty but as an executive agreement, and believe. They are able to forward with it unless obama vetoes a resolution of disapproval and that veto is overridden. If that doesnt happen, the administration can go forward. Guest the administration is taking it seriously, the risk of that happened. They are fairly confident it will not happen. Guest i think lawmakers know that and they are not happy it is not coming to them as a treaty. Host ohio, good morning. Caller good morning. Thank you for taking my call. I want to comment. Remember that the u. S. Is not the only player here. The world is involved in this negotiation. Today, a high delegate of german is visiting iran. Regardless of what the u. S. Congress will do, it already been accepted by the world. Or it will mean nothing. The sanction will be lifted. Regardless what congress will do, it means nothing. We better get our act together and approved this. Thank you. Guest two responses to the white house would agree with you and say this is an argument for ingress as well to support the deal. Already has International Backing from the many negotiators who were part of putting the packed together but also from the United Nations security council. You raise a good issue about the fact some of the Companies Like germany countries like germany were involved, working with iran and opening up the possibility for their businesses to start doing business with iran. It is something, a door that has not been open to u. S. Companies. At some point, the iranian market. Guest lawmakers are saying if a resolution of disapproval were to be passed, and were they to override the president passes veto, he would not be able to wave that would derail the whole deal, other companies would not necessarily feel comfortable if Congress Passes sanctions were remaining in place care they still feel like they have some leverage here even as other countries are taking actions. Caller i want to follow up. If [indiscernible] in iran, and they will get an abomb which will not be able to compete with our farm, they would shoot off one bomb or whatever what happened when the deal went through and have their country destroyed by us and anybody else, does that make sense . I cannot believe they would get all of this going to get one bomb to destroy their own self. That is what would happen if a shot off your what do you do . Guest i think the caller is raising the possibility of a nuclear war. They would not be dumb enough to use a bomb and essentially destroy itself. I think there are a couple other issues at play. Both United States and the others involved in the deal would be lifting sanctions in iran and giving them considerably greater amounts of resources and money. They give iran the opportunity to continue destabilizing the region. There is no real argument among even the people or the countries that help negotiate a deal that iran has done some destabilizing activity in the region. That is the big for israel and the gulf states who say look, this deal is not good enough and it will give them a lot more money and resources and International Backing to do things in the region that are not right. Guest hi greek or just on the Nuclear Weapons peace, critics are concerned that if they were to increase their custody to build new weapons, it would create some sort of Nuclear Arms Race in which other countries in the region felt pressure to develop their own weapons. Just sort of escalating the threat level. Host scott in illinois, good morning. Caller thank you for taking my call. There are plenty of muslims that actually endorsed jihad. 75 of muslims that are peaceful people. Doesnt that 25 equal [indiscernible] but then again, my father was a Nuclear Engineer for many years. Ive been looking into energy, i know that that energy is the safest in the world. Why are we not putting ourselves into that form of energy . I think it would be peaceful for everybody, especially america, and if iran had the Nuclear Energy, they would not be a threat because that cannot be made into a nuclear bomb. That is it. Thanks. Guest i do not think im qualified to talk about the point the caller made, but i think the concept of Nuclear Energy is one that will continue to be an issue for other countries in the world, to bring all of these issues together, we were talking about Climate Change, Nuclear Power is a clean form of energy not highly emitting of carbon. That would be on the table there. In terms of iran and its Nuclear Program, they have set the entire time is what they want is to produce energy, whether you believe that we do not, it is legitimate really for them. From their point of view, it comes down to having an energy source. Guest on the greater point of Energy Legislation and will be a tough thing to see advanced and signed by the president. There doesnt seem to be that much overlap between Congressional Republicans and what the administration agree on on that front. I am not sure we will see Much Movement there, though the Administration May do its best to push for some. Host the cuban flag now flies over the embassy here in washington. That took place yesterday. Talk about where we go from here and particularly where Congress Goes and where the white house would like to see relationships go. Guest there are two fronts, lifting restrictions on travel and trade, and there will be a push from the administration, we expect to restore more normalized relations. On this front, there is bipartisan support and also bipartisan opposition. I think we will probably see travel restrictions go first. Well brake away from this segment of washington journal. You can always watch washington journal segments you may have missed online at cspan. Org. The house back from a recess. We expect some one minute speeches this afternoon then they come back later. Votes tonight at 6 30. Live coverage on cspan. House will be in order. The prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. Chaplain conroy let us pray. Loving god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. Stir our spirits, o lord, that we may praise you with full attention and be wholehearted in all the tasks you set before us this day. We can see your deeds unfolding in our history and in every act of justice and kindness. Bless those who have blessed us and be close to those most in need of your compassion and love. Fear of you o lord, is the beginning of wisdom. Bless the members of this peoples house with such wisdom. As they resume the work of this assembly, guide them to grow in understanding in attaining solutions to our nations needs that are imbued with truth and justice. May all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. The speaker pro tempore the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot. Mr. Chabot i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair will entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentlelady from North Carolina seek recognition . Ms. Foxx i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. Today i rise to recognize a Motor Company in north wilkes barre, North Carolina, which celebrated its 100th anniversary. Its the oldest forward dearlieship in the carolinas and 20th oldest nationwide. Kilby was the first of four generations to sell forwards. His son andrew fords. His son and grandson now own the dealership. At 89 years old, bud still works at the dearlieship six days a week. John serves as general manager and his son is a salesman and internet manager. In may, more than 1,500 people turned out for a special car show marking the 100th anniversary. Several hundred vehicles, including a number of antique fords, participated. Congratulations to the kilby family and everyone on this significant milestone. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition . Mr. Kildee i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kildee thank you, mr. Speaker. Yesterday i met with Business Owners and the chamber of commerce back home in michigan to discuss what actions we can take here in congress to create jobs and boost our economy. And one action that came up is that congress could immediately act to bring up legislation to reauthorize the Exportimport Bank. It was clear to these Business Owners michigan jobs are at risk if eximis permanently shuttered. This bank, the eximbank supports over a million u. S. Jobs, thousands of Small Businesses across the contry. But sadly contry. But sadly the reauthorization of the Exportimport Bank which has been supported over 80 years by democrats and republicans in the house and white house, have become a victim of washingtons partisan gridlock and its michigans businesses and workers and workers across this country paying the price for congress unwillingness to take this up. Nearly every developed country, including china has an export Credit Agency of some type. Eximcannot be allowed to expire. Americans jobs are at risk. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Speaker i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Poe mr. Speaker, the Iranian Nuclear deal has been approved by the u. N. Security council by a vote of 50. But wait, isnt congress supposed to vote on approval or disapproval to make it binding on america . Yes, but the administration ignoring congress future vote went to get the u. N. Approval anyway. But this deal is bad for the world and the United States. The United States Foreign Policy used to be that iran would never have Nuclear Weapons. That has changed. This deal legitimatizes Nuclear Development in 10 years. It allows the lifting of conventional arms embargo in five years. It allows iran to develop icbm capacity in eight years. It immediately gives iran billions of Dollars Money that i believe will be used to give to terrorist groups since iran is the number one state sponsor of terror in the worrell. Mr. Speaker the u. N. Doesnt control my vote. The people of texas dofment the people i represent think this is a bad deal and dont want the United States to be a part of this iranian Nuclear Weapon development fiasco. Thats the way i will vote whether the u. N. Or the administration likes it or not. Thats just the way it is. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentlelady from michigan seek recognition . Mrs. Dingell i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Dingell thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this month is an opportunity to celebrate some critical programs. The Older Americans act celebrated its 50th anniversary this past tuesday, medicare and medicaid turned 50 later this month, and Social Security turns 80 in august. But its also a time to reframe at how we look at aging in this country. With americans living longer and healthier lives we need to create a new paradigm that ensures Older Americans are living longer with the highest quality of life for the longest time possible. Doing this means we help our aging population feel part of the community, provide opportunities for them to stay physically and socially active and maintain a serious purpose of life and zest for life. I came to congress to protect medicare and Social Security. They are bedrock programs that seniors depend on for a safe healthy, and secure retirement. As we celebrate the anniversary this year, we need to improve and strengthen these programs to better meet the needs of our seniors. We can start by have medicare cover things like hearing aids. I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleladys time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition . Mr. Chabot unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot thank you, mr. Speaker. As we look back some kevin years in and announces to the house his approval thereof 70 years in the commemoration of the end of world war ii its a good time to reflect of Unsung Heroes who went above and beyond their service to preserve the freedoms we enjoy today. The flying tigers was recognizable because it had the face of the shark painted on the nose of the plane and men naysing teeth served as a warning to their enemies. During world war ii when taiwan was brutally attacked by the japanese, its leader called upon the World Community for help. A group of american volunteers answered the call and joined up with taiwans air force to become one of the most important elements in the ultimate defeat of the japanese invaders. Its fitting we recognize the role of the flying tigers and taiwans air force in holding off the onslaught that u. S. Military forces eventually rolled back. Mr. Speaker, the flying tigers held the fort until our nation was able to gather our strength. For this we are eternally grateful. We remember. We are grateful. We salute you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yield back. For what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Gallego mr. Speaker yesterday i joined the people of colombia and my fellow clomyab americans in celebrating the nations 215 years of independence i am extremely proud of colombias rich history and vibrant culture. Im prouder of the close friendship between our two countries, a partnership that has never been more important on issues from narcotrafficking, the United States and colombia are working arm in arm together to make our hemisphere a more peaceful and prosperous place. Mr. Speaker, the colombian people are celebrating their independence at a critical juncture in histry. After decades of bloody conflict. They are engaged in intense negotiation with the park guerrillas. Farc guerrillas. It demonstrates the government for peace but the peoples capacity for healing and forgiveness. I commend the colombian president for their progress to date and encourage both parties to press ahead despite the obstacles that remain. Mr. Speaker my sincere hope is that one year from today the colombian people will be able to celebrate not just their independence but their freedom from fear and violence. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from West Virginia seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Its the most trying times that bring out the best in people. Mr. Mckinley West Virginia has faced high water and floods in the past few weeks. Recently there was an act of heroism that deserves recognition on the house floor. On their way home on sunday, 15yearold brandt and his mother were pulled over to wait out high water blocking the road. Brandt noticed a car caught in the rising water ahead of him, not thinking twice he bolted from his car to see if someone were inside. There he found a 69yearold, connie, trapped inside with the water rising. He wrenched open the door and got her to safety. Connie said, if it werent for brandt i more likely would have drowned. For his part brandt said the last thing that entered his mind was being a hero. I was worried about saving the ladys life. Thats all. Did he more than that. He showed the kind of courage that is too often missing these days. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Zinke today i rise in tribute to marine Sergeant Carson holme quist purple heart recipient Thomas Sullivan. Marine Lance Corporal skip wells. Marine Lance Corporal Sergeant David wyatt. And Navy Petty Officer second class randall smith. I rise to assure their loved ones and American People that congress will act to prevent this tragic loss from occurring again. This week, i am joining congressman and former major marine corps major, duncan hunter, in introducing legislation to enhance security at our armed forces centers while allowing our military members to defend themselves from attacks. Congress and i send a clear message that this cowardly attack will not be ignored and our heroes shall not die in vain. I urge all my members to join me in flying the marine corps flag and the anchor flag outside their d. C. Office this week. God bless america. And the men and women who defend her. Semper fi and anchors away. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Smith mr. Speaker, americans do not agree with the president s executive order giving amnesty to five Million Immigrants who are in the u. S. Illegally. And they especially do not agree with Hillary Clintons plan to legalize even more. A recent rasmussen poll found a majority of americans, 63 now think gaining control of our border is more important than legalizing those already in the United States. Earlier this month, rasmussen reported that a majority of americans believe illegal immigration increases the level of serious crime in america. Tragically the death of kate steinle in San Francisco serves as a reminder how the administrations failed policies have endangered the lives of innocent americans. Instead of putting the safety of Americans First the administration has often given a free pass to violent criminals who cross our borders illegally. The administration should listen to the American People. Securing our borders should be its First Priority not giving amnesty to those who are here illegally. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Pursuant to clause 12 section a of rule 1, the chair declares house in recess until approximately 4 30 p. M. Today. About the Nuclear Agreement with iran. Also testifying at the hearing, Energy Secretary ernest moniz and treasury secretary jack lew. It gets under way 10 00 a. M. Eastern on thursday. Well have it live on our companion network cspan3. Considered underrated by many first lady historians, Caroline Harrison was an accomplished artist who took up china painting and carried that interest to the white house. Establishing its china collection. She was interested in womens issues and helped raise funds for Johns Hopkins university on the condition that ited a women. And she was the first president general of the daughters of the American Revolution until she died in the white house from tuberculosis. Caroline harrison, this sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans original series first ladies, influence and image examining the public and private lives of the women who filled the position of first lady and their influence on the presidency. From Martha Washington to michelle obama. Sundays at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv, on cspan3. Ohio Governor John Kasich announced today that hes running for president. He becomes the 17th republican in the race. Governor kasich making the announcement from his alma mater, Ohio State University in columbus. This is 50 minutes. Of. Mr. Kasich wow. Wow. Standing here with me, of course is people who ive dedicated my life to. My tweet daughters emma and reese, kasich. You know, i remember when they were born, do you remember that sweetie . [laughter] i kept saying to the doctor, hows it going, you know, and hes trying to deliver too. Finally he looks me square in the eye and he said, can you shut up, im a little busy right now. [laughter] and they came out and i could hold them in the palm of my hand. It was so sweet. And so i, along with karen, have dedicated our lives to giving them a better life than we were able to ever get from our parents. And you know what . Theyre doing fantastic. Emma and reese. [applause] and my wife, pray for her, shes married to me. Ok . [laughter] from the very tips of my toes to the top of my head, i just love my wife so much. Such a great partner. [cheers and applause] such a great lady. So, i want to tell you that its this whole business of the American Dream isnt it, that we can all work to make sure that next generation is going to be in a position of greater strength than what we received. I get my inspiration from the people who came before me. I want to tell but a few of the ones that inspire me. Id like to start with my uncle steve. Uncle steve was a tough guy. You know, the son of a coal miner. Rough and gruff and tell it like it is and he found himself at ewith a gyma. And he looked ewith a gyma. And he look iwo jima. And he looked around during that battle and he saw a lot of people dying. Uncle steve was not a churchgoing man. But in the middle of all the violence and the blood and the death he said to god, if you will take me off this island i will go to Church Every Day for the rest of my life. [laughter] and he did. And he did. [applause] when uncle steve came home from the war, the brothers all slept in the same room. Didnt have a lot. And uncle george told me that he would have nightmares and he would speak in japanese. And he told his brothers never wake me. Never wake me from that nightmare, because i dont know what will happen. Let me sleep and wake up on my own. And uncle george hes here today, hes right over here, hes 9 years old. Plaw 89 years old. [applause] i so love my uncle george. Hes the patriarch of our family. Well, uncle george was in the infantry and he was scheduled to take a boat from england to belgium. But the division he was in couldnt all fit in the boat. So they asked uncle george to wait until the next day. Well, that boat left england on its way to belgium and a submarine launched a torpedo and sunk that boat and everyone on it perished. The next day uncle george took another boat and he landed in france. And he fought with great honor and he returned home and became a guidance counselor and guided young people for the next 38 years of his life. What a man. [applause] you know my fatherinlaw, we call hip poopsi, grandfather joined the marines at the age of 17. Wanted to serve his country. But i guess most important, my mom and dad. You know, mom was she was a visionary. Didnt get the education. You know, her mother could barely speak english. But, boy was she smart. And if you think i have opinions, you never met my mom. [laughter] and my father. He was the mailman. They called him john the mailman. When we laid my mother and father to rest there were countless numbers of people who came and said, john the mailman , he watched out for all of us. And they gave up so much didnt take i wish theyd have spent more on themselves, but just no matter what you told them, they werent going to do it. Because it was all about the next generation. And theyre the ones that have inspired me and all of you that are here today, youre the same way arent you . You got those people who did so much for you, who are your heroes. They dont have to be famous. Theyre just people you love and that you admire. That American Dream is pivotal for the future of our country. But i have to tell you there are a lot of people in America Today who are not sure that that American Dream is possible , that that American Dream is alive. And i can understand their concerns. You know, when i was a kid, you went out and you got a job and you worked at that job your entire lifetime. You got your health care you got your retirement and everything was good. Today, you could be a 51yearold man and one day after serving and doing everything the right way, somebody walks into your office and says im sorry, but we dont need you anymore. Can you imagine that conversation . Could you imagine that dad when hes driving home or that mom when shes driving home . They lose confidence. They wonder what their future is. Can they get another job, can they support their family . Will anybody be there to help them . Or how about moms and dads today . They send their kids to college , many of these young people ringing up massive amounts of debt, trying to get an education. And theyre living in atic and mom and dad are wondering, will they get a job will they pay their bills, what kind of a future are they going to have . Or at the same time, we can also think about what all of us fear greatly, and that is the problems of bad health. Can i afford those expensive drugs that i need to survive . What is it going to cost me to get treatment, just not for myself, but for one of the loved ones in my family, will i be bankrupted and lose everything i have . Everything ive worked for . Its a real fear. Or the fear of the tsunami of drugs. Its everywhere, isnt it . The kids that are here, and there are many of them dont do drugs. Dont put that big thousandpound pack on your back and keep you from your godgiven purpose. But all moms and dads worry that those drugs are going to wash away our own neighborhoods and maybe wash away our children. And how about those that struggle to make ends meet. There are some people who just say, well, just work harder or pull yourself up by your boot straps. I believe in all that. Some people just dont have the fortune that many of us have and they struggle. They struggle for a whole lifetime and they worry that can they rise, can they pull the rest of their family members up the ladder . The promise of the promise of america, and they worry about it. Or how about if youre a member of the minority community. An africanamerican. You wonder, the system i think, sometimes doesnt just work for me, but sometimes i feel like that system works against me. You think about the troubles that many of our africanamericans still face today in the world, where in the world where we have worked to provide equal rights and opportunities, sometimes theyre not so sure and i dont blame them. Or how about all of us . We pick up the paper its chattanooga. Its fort hood. Its isis. Are we safe . Are we going to be safe to go to the mall . Are we safe to leave our homes . These are the worries that Many Americans have. But i have to tell you, as serious as these are, and they are very serious, weve had a lot worse. Much worse than this in this country. Think about it. The civil war. You remember readeding about it . I mean, its not just neighbors fighting against neighbors, but it was even family members kin, fighting against one another. And killing one another on a battlefield right in america. How about the racial violence that we experienced in this country . The early days of television when they put the dogs and the gas and the batons on people of another color. Or the world wars. Where many in our families never came home leaving widows and children without a dad. Or the depression. The depression. Ask your grandfather, ask your mom and dad about that depression. My father used to say that hed go down to the store and get some food for the family and the guy would say, well put it on your bill. There was no bill. Thats what it took for america to get through the depression. And you all remember that Crystal Clear morning and the horror we felt on 9 11. But guess what . Weve always got through it. Because the testing is what makes you stronger. Its the challenges that make you better. I have lived through them and i have become stronger for them and america has become stronger for them. And heres how weve done it. By staying together. Not by dividing each other. But by staying together with our eyes on the horizon with our eyes on the horizon, about the future. [applause] we have a little town in ohio called wilmington. They followed that formula. Let me tell but these folks. They play by the rules. Worked every day highly productive teamwork. And one day an employer said, were leaving. Were out of here. And thousands of people, thousands of hardworking godfearing people like your neighbors went from getting a paycheck on a friday afternoon to visiting a food pantry so they can food their so they could feed their kids. I was down there in 2010 after this earthquake, economic earthquake hit wilmington. We had a campaign bus. My wife was with me. We walked through that food pantry, we looked at the people and preachers and Civil Servants and leaders and care givers they were at the food pantry, but they hadnt lost any hope because they had their eyes on the horizon. We got back on that bus, i will never forget it as long as i live, we got back on that bus and i said, folks, do you understand, some of them had been with me for a long time, so they got it, but some of the others were rookies, i said, do you understand what we are doing here . This isnt a political campaign. And by the way either will this be. This isnt a political campaign. Did you see those people . Did you see the tears in their eyes . Did you see them hugging their children . Did you see them not hopeless . Were going to join in and were going to help them. Because it is our job and our mission as human beings, as children of god, to work with them, to lift them and guess what . And guess what . [applause] in wilmington today, the suns coming up. I told them that the sun would come up again. It hasnt reached its zenith. But the sun is rising. And the sun is going to rise to the zenith in america again. I promise you, it will happen. [cheers and applause] listen, do you know who does this . C. S. U. See, its you and me. See, its teachers and preachers and moms and dads and doctors construction workers. Like that sweet man in brown county that saw his family washed away over the weekend. Keep him in your prayers. Police and firemen and people like my dad, the mailman, john the mailman, because were the clue. We are the glue that holds our country together. How about, as for me, for me, look, im just trying to do my best, ok . I came here to ohio state i found myself on the 19th floor of one of those towers, could you its it with a stone from here you could hit it with a stone from here. I had 15 roommates. The place was 23 floors high. The tower next door, the same size. Ohio state can be a pretty intimidating place, ok . Its big, it is a big place. And i left my dorm room, went down to the first floor and i walked down the path to ohio stadium. And it was a time when could you actually walk in that stadium. They didnt have that oneend closed that one end closed in. And i walked into that stadium, i swear this happened, and i walked right to the 50yard line. There was no one in the stadium that day. And i looked around, all of those seats, those big structures that were there. I thought to myself either this place is going to take me down or im going to take it down. One way or the other. Either it was going to beat me. [applause] you know, either it was going to beat me or it was going to be a place, kids, because youll face it someday to help me move forward. You know whats amazing . Im back here today. You could throw a stone and hit that stadium or you could hit that dormitory so many years later. And guess what . I am here to ask you for your prayers your for support, for your efforts. Because i have decided to run for president of the United States. [cheers and applause] you know, they ask you all the time, like its a trick question or something, you know, well, why do you want to do this . I mean, its like, like theyre going to catch you right . I mean if you cant answer that question you ought to be back at the 50yard line at ohio stadium wondering about your future. I do this because, first of all, if were not born to serve others, think about this, i want you to think about this. If were not born to serve others what were we born to do . I do this for my family, of course, for my sweet family. For my neighbors, molly. For my friends of many, many many years. Many of whom are working with me today 30, 40 years later. I really do it for everyone. And i have to humbly tell you, and i mean humbly tell you, that i believe i do have the skills and i have the experience. [cheers and applause] i have the experience and the testing. The testing. Which shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world. And i believe i know how to work and help restore this great United States and i have to tell you, its a daunting challenge. I was just at wendys on saturday up here on hudson avenue and the two wonderful africanamerican fellows were there, i walked in and i was standing behind them, one said, i dont know if i believe what im seeing but i believe thats governor kasich standing behind me. They said, you better run. [laughter] do you know what that meant to me . Two africanamerican guys, one with a knee a brace on his knee and another one with a cane. And i said, people are going to have a lot more money than i am and they looked at me and said, you got statistics. You got statistics. [laughter] so some are going to ask, as they always have why do you think you can do this, you know. All of my life people have told me you cant do something, ok . And ill tell you why. Its because i do believe in the power of very big ideas. Big, bold ideas. In 1976 i went out to the convention in kansas city and not only worked for Ronald Reagan but i worked with Ronald Reagan and i got to travel with Ronald Reagan. [cheers and applause] yeah i actually knew the guy, ok . The real guy. Not from the history book. He lost at that convention. Id been managing i think five states for him at that convention. You talk about lightning strikes me. I was 24 years old, i walked in, they were one man short and said, could you manage five states for the governor . I had no idea what they were saying. I said, of course i could, ok i had no yt about it idea about it. Well, he lost. As you know. And i was there when he met with his closest advisors and he said, weve lost the battle, but we havent lost any war. Because well all be back. And im going to fix america with all of your help. And of course he did and it further cemented my notion that big ideas, big ideas change the world. Big ideas change the world. [cheers and applause] so i came back, i came back here to ohio and i was all charged up and i was working as an aide and i came back and i remember meeting with one of my buddies and i said, you know, i think im just going to run for the state senate and beat that guy weve been watching. And i remember he was drinking something and it fell on the floor when i told him that. People, look i was 24 1 2 years old. I had no relatives that lived in this state. I didnt really know anybody. But i had a big idea. We went out and we got moms and dads, a lot of moms who went door to door and rang doorbells. And the weekend before the election one of the local newspapers said, hes a fine young man, but he has no chance to win. Well i won that election. With the help of the army of volunteers. I went on to chair the health committee, where i learned to work across the aisle because the house was run by democrats and that is where i learned that policy is far more important than politics, ideology or any of the other nonsense we see. [cheers and applause] you know, they said it couldnt be done. We proved them wrong. And then at the ripe old age of 30 i decided im going to run for congress. My mother and father are like, johnny, what are you doing now, ok . Well, they said i couldnt win. I was too young. And by the way, i was going to run against an incumbent in 1982 its like the worst year. We lost 26 republican seats that year. I was going to run against a guy who got one of his degrees from harvard. Thats when i knew i had an edge. Clearly he couldnt have gotten into ohio state. I knew i had an edge. [cheers and applause] and in 19 2 i was the only 1982 i was the only republican in year to beat an incumbent democrat all across this country. [applause] and guess what . Heres the irony. I got to go to washington and work with president Ronald Reagan. You know . [applause] they said it couldnt be done. We proved them wrong again. And then i got down to washington and got on the Armed Services committee, where i served for 18 years on National Security. I was there just in the blink of an eye and i discovered that these hammers and screwdrivers had cost thousands of dollars and it was taking the resources from the people that needed it, who were serving in the military. We were wasting money and i said we need to clean this up. And theyre like, you know, come on. Its the pentagon. You cant forget about it. It cant happen. Well, we passed some legislation and we made things right. We saved money, we improved the system, and we helped the military. They said it couldnt be done and we proved them wrong again. [applause] let me be clear. Our military must be improved. We need to [applause] we need to cut the bureaucratic bureaucracy and we need to strengthen our services. Now, im a person that doesnt like to spend a lot of money. But in this case, National Security climbs to the very top of the heap because we must be strong and we must assume our role as leaders of the world. [cheers and applause] so, six years after i got to congress, i got on the budget committee. I remember going to those first few meetings. I mean it was like terrible and i was complaining, i was up right here at a gas station in westerville and im saying, these people dont want to do anything. And some guy walked around the pump and he looked me square in the eye and said, things are so bad, what are you going to do about them . So i flew down to washington, i met with my staff, six of them, and i said, you know, i think we should just write a budget for the United States of america. And they said, well, theres like 100 people at the white house working on a budget and probably 50 up here and we only have six. And i said, i know were overstaffed, but if we stay out of our way well be able to get this done. We wrote a budget for the United States of americament and why . America and why . Its about vision. Its about values. We do not have the right as grownups to ring up debts to suit ourselves and pass them on to the next generation. [cheers and applause] we dont have that right. 10 years of my life i worked at this. My first budget was 40530. I had the 30. My staff was depressed. I thought we were doing pretty well. Thats how i was. [laughter] well, we just kept at it and kept at it and kept at it. And you heard my great friend john by the way, hes a wonderful, wonderful man. If john had not come to me and told me he was going to help me in New Hampshire, i wouldnt have done this. Ive just got to tell you. He is remarkable. And we did it together. And the politicians didnt care about they didnt care about anything about being reelected. They cared about fixing america. They cared about getting the budget balanced and getting the economy going. They said it couldnt be done, they said it was too big, too hard top of politics and we proved them wrong again and we balanced that federal budget. We balanced it. [cheers and applause] you want job creation . You balance the books. Am i right . You balance the books. And if im president , or maybe i should say when i am president [cheers and applause] i will promise you, i will promise you that my top priority will get this country on a path to fiscal independence strength and we will rebuild the economy of this country, because creating jobs is our highest moral purpose and we will move to get that done. [cheers and applause] and by the way, by the way, how about a little balanced Budget Amendment to the constitution so congress will start doing its job . Huh . [cheers and applause] so i left. You know, i left washington. Had a great time. You know i worked at Lehman Brothers and learned about businesses and i went to fox news where, as you know, i was a giant television star. [laughter] i had a great time. But i had a calling. It was like heres how it kind of went. Didnt hear anything. But it was clear to me. Youve had an amazing life. Youve got a lot of skills. Youre going back. Youre going back. And i sensed it when i was on a trip and i came back and called my friends together and said, i guess we got to do this. And a lot of people, the doubters, they said, you havent been in politics in 10 years in a decade, youve never run statewide and very havent defeated an we havent defeated an incumbent in 36 years in ohio. Incumbents dont lose. So we put together a vision, we put together a team. They said it couldnt be done and we proved them wrong again. [cheers and applause] and then we took over the reins. But we didnt go unprepared. We knew what we wanted to do. Because im going to tell you. Im president , i know what we need to do, ok . Theres no confusion about that. I know what needs to be done. I have been there at all levels, ok . [applause] but we came in here 8 billion in the hole, a loss of 350,000 jobs. 89 cents in the rainy day fund. One guy said that he gave him 1 just to double the rainy day fund. A lot of hopelessness here. Particularly among the poor minorities. People said, maybe ohios best days are behind them. I thought that was just a bunch of bologna. I said, not only will we get this budget balanced, but well cut taxes and theyre like, are you kidding me . Theres no way we can do that. So we went to work. We didnt have to slash we didnt really have to slash things. We just had to use a 21st century formula. Improve things. Innovate them. Make a better product at a lower price. Let mom and dad stay in their home rather than being forced in a nursing home, let them stay in their own home where theyll be healthier and happier and if we have to knock down the special interests to get it done, so be it. Thats what we did. Now today [cheers and applause] 4 1 2 years later billion in the hole 2 billion surplus, a loss of 350,000 jobs, a gain of 350,000 jobs. And tax cuts, tax cuts of 5 billion, the largest in the country. [cheers and applause] and as i hope you all know, Economic Growth is not an end unto itself. If youre drug addicted, were going to try to rehab you and get you on your feet. If youre mentally ill prison is no place for you. Some treatment and some help is where you need to be. If youre the working poor, were going to give you an opportunity to take a pay raise and not bang you over the head because youre trying to get ahead. Were changing that system. If you have an autistic son or daughter for most of them, they can get insurance and well work to make sure all of them have it. For the developally disabled, developmentally disabled, theyre made in gods image. They have a right to rise. They have a right to be successful. [applause] and with all this, with all this they said it couldnt be done, and guess what . We proved them wrong again. And im going to take what weve learned here in the heartland, that band of brothers and sisters that i work with every day, and we are going to take the lessons of the heartland and straighten out washington, d. C. , and fix the whole country. [cheers and applause] well, you know, now theyre going to say, got a lot of them back here, theyre going to say, well, you know, nice guy or good guy or whatever or not a good guy, whatever theyre going to say. Ok. [laughter] i dont know if he can win. But with you, and you sweetheart, ok, can you paint signs . And with all of you, together well prove them wrong again, wont we . Well prove them wrong again. [cheers and applause] thank you. So our team, you know, well tame the bureaucracy. Well restore some commonsense. Mary taylor has the commonsense initiative. Get rid of all those stupid rules. How about putting some people into government that understand job creators and respect them rather than beating them down . How about that for an idea . How about some common sense . And make america stronger, mill tarly, but folks heres the thing that i want to say to you, and i said this at my inaugural. Some people think they just dont matter in this. Do you know how wrong that is . We have this Holocaust Memorial and theres a line etched that says, if you save one life, youve changed the world. Do you believe that . Do you believe that . [applause] you save one life, youve changed the world. And the lord will record what youve done for another in the book of life. Now, weve got some values that we need to think about that can bring us together. Because, folks, were a divided country. But we can fix it. Ill tell what you i think some of them are. Personal responsibility. The dog ate my homework went out in the fifth grade ok . Heres the thing. We own our lives. If youre hurting, well help you. You know, my mother used to say, my mother used to say that it is a sin not to help somebody who needs help, but its equally a sin to continue to help somebody who needs to learn how to help themselves. Personal responsibility needs to be restored in our country. [cheers and applause] teach our children. Resilience. Everybody doesnt get a trophy just for showing up, folks. You know what resilience is . Its getting knocked down. And i have been knocked down so many times. But getting knocked downs not the problem. Its refusing to get up. We need to teach our kids teach our children, about resilience and remind ourselves that youre 51 years old and you lost your job . Youre going to come back stronger and better and well help you. Empathy. This one is so important. I just would ask you to think. Put yourself in the shoes of another person. Were so quick to make judgments today in our country. Dont walk so fast, you know, yesterday i was coming downtown and there was a lady and she was older and she had a cane and she was barely walking. She was putting one foot in front of the another of another. I wanted to stop and just hug her. Encourage her. People who have not been dealt the best hand in life. Yeah, we want to hold them accountable but the lord wants our hearts to reach out to those that dont have what we have. I mean, that shouldnt be hard for america. Thats who we are. When people have studied our country, they have talked about our compassion. And we need to bring it back. Empathy. Dont be so quick to judge. Me too, ok me too. And then teamwork. I know tom mo is up here. One time you know he used to run the veterans. I called it the great arc of life. A man goes in the military, he sits beating anunthe time in a tiny little cell, he comes home and i put him in charge of the veterans. This is the beautiful arc of whats right. Tom had had a little code. Had a little code. I dont no he is right now. There he is right here i dont know where he is right now. There he is right here. And he tapped out a code that kept them all together and it was team that carried them through the most difficult times. Uncle george, it was team that helped you to be successful, wasnt it . The Vietnam Veterans and the iraqi veterans and the afghanistan veterans we do best, or the depression, when we all hung together. Teamwork, team. Theyre not the enemy. Theyre part of our team. We can disagree, theyre our team, and then family, huh, look at these families here. The Building Block of america. Its the Building Block of our culture. Lets recognize it. And of course faith. And faith is real simple. For me its about the dos, not about the donts. What its really about is god didnt put us on this earth just to take care of ourselves. He put us on this earth to make things a little bit better because we lived here. And so theres some that are going to try to divide us. We see it all the time. Forget it. I dont pay any attention to that kind of nonsense. At the end of the day, its about being together. Because you know, it says, we the people. And by the way, if you think that i or anybody who becomes president or a big shot, we dont move america. Oh, we do our part if we have courage and intelligence. But its all of us in the neighborhoods, in the families, across the country. Were the strength and the glue. Dont please, please, please dont lose sight of it. For me, im just a flawed man. A flawed man. Trying to honor gods blessings in my life. I dont even understand it all. Hes been very good to me. And i want you to know that i will do my very best to serve you, because you are in my minds eye. Who are you . Get up every day go to work, work hard, follow the rules, come home, spend time with your family and at night you go to bed and say your prayers for your family, for your neighbors and for our nation. The light of the city on a hill cannot be hidden. The light on the city on a hill cannot be hidden. America is that city and you are that light god bless you and God Bless America thank you all very much [cheers and applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] john kasich among the 17 republican president ial candidates invited to a Campaign Forum the week after next. Cspan partnering with the Voters First Forum on monday august 3 and live in manchester well have it on cspan, monday august 3 at 7 00 eastern. Stay on cspan. At 4 0, the house of representatives comes back to debate three bills one requiring the Veterans Administration to submit to congress a report on medical care for veterans and the other to revoke passports to people affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations and third bill requiring federal agencies to establish antidiscrimination programs. Later in the week, legislation dealing with the toxic coal ash and voluntary labeling standards for food. The house of representatives live at 4 right here on cspan. Twice is enough. Always to the right and almost in the right. Anything complicated confuses me. Filmmakers talk about their documentary best of enemies on the 1968 debates over war politics god and sex. Very unlike today. You know today i believe theres someone saying, you know, the numbers are dwindling talk about hot topic number two whereas then i dont think that was the norm in tv at the time. And i dont think these guys needed it. Howard k. Smith was the moderator who was a distinguished newsman who was embarrassed by this. He was moderating but he disappears sometimes five or more minutes at a time. Today you wouldnt have a moderator not jumping in every 30 seconds. Everybody at abc. President obama saying opponents of the Nuclear Agreement with iran, are quote, the same folks who were quick to go to war in iraq and said it would only take a few months. The president making comments to veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in pittsburgh. [cheers and applause] it is now my honor and privilege to introduce someone who is no stranger to the veterans of foreign wars of the United States. He has served his state senate for eight years before becoming a u. S. Senator from the prarie state of illinois in 2004. [applause] he would become a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and cosponsor a number of v. F. W. Legislations like the post 9 11 g. I. Bill and he would attend the v. F. W. Washington office lemmingstive conference reception speak at our National Convention for two years in a row as a candidate for our nations highest office. Then again in 2009 and 2012 after he got the job. As president , he would sign into law advanced appropriations for the v. A. , a new stolen valor act, the veterans choice act, a new v. F. W. Charter and provide every v. F. W. National commander an opportunity to meet privately with him to discuss the issues that are important to all Veterans Service members and their families. [applause] comrades, sisters and distinguished guests please welcome the 44th president of the United States of america, barack obama [cheers and applause] president obama i appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Please please have a seat. Hello v. F. W. thank you commander john, as you complete your tenure, we thank you for your service, to the air force, v. F. W. And to our nation. And i look forward to working with your next commander a proud army veteran. [applause] president obama and as always your outstanding executive director and vietnam vet, bob wall ace, who is doing a great job. I ask you all to join me in saluting the ladies auxillary president. [applause] president obama your next president. [applause] president obama and everybody in the ladies auxillary because our military families serve right along side those in uniform. [applause] president obama i want to acknowledge mayor our host here in pittsburgh. County executive and the people of pittsburgh who are hosting us in their beautiful city and im pleased to be joined by our secretary of Veterans Affairs. [applause] president obama like a true Army Airborne ranger, bob is tireless like the outstanding Business Leader that he is. He is bringing new reforms to the v. A. He even gave out his personal cell phone number and said call him any time. On behalf of all of us, i thank you, bob, for your outstanding service. [applause] president obama it is a great honor to be back with the v. F. W. And i want to start with the simple message thank you. So many of you remember there was a time back during the draft when virtually every american had at some point had a loved one or friend in the military. Today its an allvolunteer force, so folks dont always have direct contact with our troops and with our veterans. One of the great privileges of my office is that i do. And thats why as president i consider it my obligation to help make sure that even though less than 1 of americans wear the uniform, that 100 of americans honor your sacrifices and your service. [applause] president obama as we mark the 70th anniversary of the second end or the end of the second world war, i offer a special salute to all of our world war ii veterans. [applause] pleasant pleasant as communities across our country continue to mark 50 years since the 50th anniversary of the vietnam war, we say thank you to all of our vietnam vets. [applause]. President obama we have new a new p. O. W. M. I. A. Agency, new leadership. We are building stronger partnerships with the v. F. W. Because bringing home americans taken prisoner is a say Credit Mission and we are stepping up our efforts to never leave a fallen comrade behind ever. [applause] president obama v. F. W. , when i took office, you were the first Veterans Convention i addressed and i talked to you about how we needed a new vision of American Leadership in the world. For too long, there have been a mind set where facing a challenge in the world was to send in our military and we have the debatest military in human history. But we learned painfully where that kind of thinking can lead, rushing into war without thinking through the consequences and going alone, getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts and spreading our military too thin, would play into the hands of our enemies. Thats what they wanted us to do. And who paid the price . Our men and women in uniform. Our wounded warriors, our Fallen Heroes who never come home. Their families, who carry that loss forever. And so i said then that our brave troops and our families deserve better. We cannot expect our military to bear the entire burden of our National Security alone. Everybody has to support our National Security. [applause] president obama today we are pursuing a new kind of leadership a smarter Broader Vision of american strength, one that relies not only on our outstanding military but on all elements of our national power. And that starts with the recognition that our strength in the world depends on our economic strength here at home and as americans we can be proud of the progress we have achieved together. We have now seen more than five years of private sector job growth, which is the longest streak on record. [applause] president obama Unemployment Rate is at the lowest rate in nearly seven years. American manufacturing our Auto Industry are booming our exports, made in america have been at record levels and wages are finally rising. The stock market has more than doubled which restored 401ks for millions of americans. More than 16 million americans gained Quality Affordable Health Care who didnt have it before. [applause] president obama we are producing more American Energy here at home, which is reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And we have done all this while we have cut the deficit by 2 3. So thats progress thats strength and American Leadership. That serves as the foundation for our National Security. A real leadership means using our power wisely, especially our military. Thats why we refocused our fight in afghanistan, pushed back the taliban, trained up Afghan Forces so they could take the lead for their own security. Today we can say our combat mission in afghanistan is over. We brought americas longest war to a responsible end and we salute every member of this 9 11 generation who have sacrificed to keep us safe. [applause] president obama as commander in chief, my greatest responsibility is ensuring the security of the United States in what is still a dangerous world. That means keeping our military strong. Yes, our armed forces are drawing down after two major wars, but some of the reckless budget cuts under the name of sequestration thats going on in washington right now, thats not the way to keep our armed forces ready, or to keep care of our troops and their families. [applause] president obama or to keep america strong with the education, infrastructure and Research Development that we need to thrive. These mindless cuts have to end. There are two ways forward right now. On the one hand, we can keep this sequester, trying to fund our military with gimmicks, shortchange National Security programs like counterterrorism, increased risk to our troops. I got to be honest, thats what the republican budget does. But ive got a better idea is to end sequestration increase the Defense Budget and invest in americas strength and im calling on Republican Leaders in congress to sit down and negotiate a budget that protects our National Security and our economic security. [applause] president obama which shouldnt be playing partisan politics when it comes to National Security. Theres no reason we cant get it done. And i will veto any budget that locks in the sequester. Its not good for our country. Every ally and every adversary needs to know the United States has and will continue have the strongest and most capable fighting force the world has ever known. [applause] president obama no one can match our army, the greatest land force on earth. Nobody can match our navy, the largest and most advanced battle fleet in the world or our coast guard, nobody can match our air force, its reach and precision are unequal. Nobody can match our marine corps, the worlds only global Expeditionary Force and no one can match our forces, our remarkable quiet profession allege. I will never hesitate to use force to protect our nation, including from the threat of terrorism. Thanks to the skill of our military and counterintelligence professionals, we struck major blows against those who threaten us. Osama bin laden is gone. [cheers and applause] president obama the leader of the al qaeda affiliate in yemen gone. Many of al qaedas deputies and their replacements gone. Ahmed the leader of the al qaeda affiliate gone. One accused of bombing our embassies in africa, captured. Accused in the attack in benghazi captured. The list goes on. If you target americans. You will not have a safe haven. We will defend our nation. [cheers and applause] president obama when threats emerge, real leadership means the United States rallies the world to action. Were stronger when we stand with allies and partners. No other nation in the world can match the alliances that we have. Its another source of our strength. Its a force multiplier. And i want to take the opportunity to commend Prime Minister David Cameron and our british allies and friends to increase their defense spending to 2 . Thats what every nato ally should do. They need to meet their commnt myths to our collective security so we stand together. When we stand together, things happen. Right now we have a coalition of some 40 nations in afghanistan. The war may be over that our grouped troops fight, but that country is still dangerous. So we will per see veer in our mission. Remaining relentless in our Counterterrorism Operations against al qaeda. Likewise, we stand together, a coalition of some 60 nations including arab partners in the fight against isil. I believe that the United States should not be engaged in another major ground war in the middle east. Thats not good for our National Security and not good for our military but what we can do and what we are doing is to pound isil from the air. More than 50,000 air strikes so far, while training and supporting local forces on the ground in iraq and syria as they fight to push isil back. Recent losses on the battlefield show that isil can be defeated. Were a long way from being finished. I said this is a Long Campaign and will take time. We will degrade and destroy this barbaric terrorist organization. Weve got the coalition and weve got right on our side and it will happen. [applause] president obama at the same time, we have to remain vigilant in protecting our homeland. Our Law Enforcement and Homeland Security professionals are tireless. They have arrested individuals across our country for attempting to join isil or for plotting terrorism. Theyve thwarted attacks and saved american lives. We dont yet know all the Details Behind the attack in chattanooga but we know al qaeda and isil have encouraged attacks on american soil, including against our Service Members. And this threat of lone wolfs and small cells is hard to detect and prevent. So our entire government along with state and local partners, we are going to keep doing everything in our power to protect the American People, including our men and women in uniform. And we honor our five Service Members so senselessly killed in chattanooga. We are grateful to the Courageous Police to stopped the rampage and saved lives and we draw strength from another American Community that has come together with a message to those who will try to do us harm. You cannot divide americans. You can never change our way of life or the value of freedom and diversity that makes us americans. [applause] president obama as we defend our nation, real leadership also means Something Else having the courage to lead in a new direction, the wisdom to move beyond the policies that havent worked in the past having the kft to engage in smart diplomacy that can lead to a better future. Thats what we are doing in cuba, a new chapter will mean more opportunities for the cuban people. Today with our American Embassy opened in that havana we will speak up for freedom and universal values around the world, but were not scared to engage. We see the strength of american diplomacy in our comprehensive nuclear deal with iran, because we must prevent iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. And we are now engaged in an important debate, which is a good thing. We are a democracy. Unfortunately you may have noticed there is already a lot of shaky information out there. So even as i make the case of why this is a critical deal to prevent iran from getting a Nuclear Weapon we are going to make sure the people know some facts and here are basic facts. With this deal, we cut off irans pathways to a Nuclear Program and prohibited from pursuing a Nuclear Program permanently. With this deal, we gain unprecedented ack to their Nuclear Facilities and monitor them 24 7. Without a deal, we dont get that. If iran sneaks, sanctions snap back on. Without the deal, the sanctions unravel. We risk another conflict in the middle east. Now, if iran tries to get a bomb despite this agreement, 10 years from now or 20 years from now, the american president will be in a stronger position to take additional steps including any option of military action to prevent that from happening. Those are the facts and thats the choice. For the sake of our National Security and the sake of future generations, we need to make the right choice on this critical issue. And i want to make a broader point. In the debate over this deal, were hearing the echos of some of the same policies and mindset that failed us in the past. The politicians and pundits that are so quick to reject the diplomatic solution to irans solution are the same folks who were so quick to go to war in iraq and said it would take a few months. We know the consequences of that choice and what it cost us in blood and treasure. So i believe theres a smatter more responsible way to protect our National Security and that is what we are doing. Instead of dismissing the rest of the world and going it alone, we have done the hard and patient work of uniting the International Community to meet a common threat. Instead of chest beating that rejects the idea of talking to our adverse areas which sounds good in sound bites but accomplishes nothing, but we are seeing strong diplomacy can give hope to solving a problem peacefully. Instead of rushing into another conflict, i believe sending our sons and daughters in harms way must be a last resort and before we put their lives on the line, we should exhaust every alternative. That is what we offer our troops and that is american strength and leadership. [applause] president obama of course even with this deal well continue to have differences with the iranian government in support of terrorism so we cant let them off the hook. Our sanctions for irans support for terrorism and Ballistic Missile program those sanctions will remain in place. And we will stand with allies and partners, including israel, to oppose irans dangerous behavior. And we are not going to relent until we bring home our americans who are unjustly obtained in iran. The journalist should be released. The pastor should be released. A former sergeant in the u. S. Marine corps should be released. These americans need to be back home with their families. [applause] president obama one more aspect of American Leadership i want to discuss because even more than sending americans to war, real strength is measured by how we take care of our veterans when you come home. V. F. W. , we have made real progress. We have won historic increases in veterans funding. We made v. A. Benefits available to more than two million veterans including more vietnam vets exposed to agent orange. That was a commitment i made when running for office. Were keeping that commitment. We are devoting unprecedented resources for Mental Health care. We have helped more than 1. 4 million veterans and their families pursue their education under the post9 11 g. I. Bill. We reduced the number of Homeless Veterans by about a third. Were helping more veterans and military spouses find good civilian jobs. And the veterans Unemployment Rate continues to go down. No lower than the National Average and thats all good news. When problems arise, we work to fix them. Here in birg an outbreak of legion airs disease killed six veterans and infected others and that was a tragedy. And whenever there are any missteps, there is no excuse. Our hearts go out to the families who lost loved ones and know there is new leadership now at the pittsburgh v. A. The Safety Measures now in place are some of the strongest in the nation and Patient Safety is a top priority at v. A. Hospitals because we have to prevent anything like that from ever happening again. [applause] president obama last year, of course, the full magnitude of broader problems also came to light, long wait times veterans denied care. Some people inexcusebly cooking the books. It was unacceptable and i wanted those problems fixed. I brought in bob and i went down to the phoenix v. A. To see and hear for myself. Bob gave you an update earlier. The v. A. Reached out to vets across the country to get them off the wait list and bring them in for care. Bob is working to hold people accountable and make sure the whistleblowers are protected instead of punished. [applause] president obama with the new resources of the choice act, the v. A. Hired thousands of new physicians nurses, staff. They are opening more clinics. So all the veterans who spoke up, i want you to know we heard you. We changed the rule. Now if it takes you more than 40 miles to drive to a v. A. Facility well help you go to a doctor outside of the v. A. [applause] president obama today, the v. A. Is handling millions more appointments inside and outside the v. A. And delivering more care. Thats all good news. Veterans continue toll tell us that once they get through the door the care is often very good. A lot of folks across the v. A. , many of them veterans themselves work hard every single day to do right by our veterans. We have to acknowledge our work is not done. We still have a big challenge. Even with all these new resources, the v. A. Is struggling to keep up with the surge of veterans seeking care. The fact is our veterans are getting older. With the end of the most recent wars more veterans are now coming home. Our veterans are seeking more care. Our veterans are getting the new lifesaving treatment for hepatitisc. You put it all together and sometimes wait times are higher than it was last year. Im still not satisfied and bobs still not satisfied. We are focused on this at the highest levels. We are not going to let up and we are going to keep pushing forward on the five priorities of our veterans agenda. Number one we are going to keep fighting for the resources you need to help deal with this surge, we have sent an urgent request to congress, move funds to where they are needed right now. [applause] president obama im calling on congress to approve this request quickly, this month. Our vets need it and our hospitals need it. Let me just add, we protected v. A. Funding from sequestration in the past and i propose increase in funding next year and i would point out that the republican budget falls short and another reminder that the best way to protect v. A. Funding Going Forward and v. F. W. We need you to keep raising your voices on this, get rid of sequestration and make sure that our veterans have the resources they need. [applause] brezzprezz number two, we are going president obama number two, we are going to keep fighting to get the health care we promised and keep improving our Women Veterans and make good on the clay hunt act and helping veterans with posttraumatic stress and recruiting more doctors and Mental Health counselors and make sure veterans who are already struggling dont fall through the cracks and end the stigma and shame around Mental Health, once and for all. [applause] president obama and every american can help. Every american can help by learning the five times that someone may be hurting so we can all reach out. Our troops and veterans were there for us and we need to be there for them 100 . Weve all got a role to play. Number three we are going to keep cutting the disability claims backlog. Since its peak two years ago, we have now cut the backlog by 80 . By 80 . [applause] president obama and we are going to keep bringing it down. Instead of all that paper the v. A. Is handling all your disability claims electronically. And the accuracy of claims is up as well. But i know its taken too long to get a time answer on your appeals, one of our mission has to be reforms of the appeals process so it works for you our veterans and get final answers faster. [applause] president obama we recruited some of the best talent from Silicon Valley in the private sector and put them on the case. Number four, well keep fighting to uphold the dignity of every veteran and that includes ending veterans homelessness. [applause] president obama as part of their joint forces initiative, michelle and jill biden are helping to lead the charge and teamed up with hundreds of elected officials governors, mayors, local leaders new orleans and houston have become the first cities to effectively end veterans whomlessness. They deserve our congratulations for that. We are seeing major progress in cities like Salt Lake City and louisville. So this has become a national movement. We stand by our pledge. We are going to keep at it until every veteran has a place to call home in america. [applause] president obama and finally we are going to keep fighting to give our troops and veterans to enjoy the American Dream. There is already a lot of predatory lenders. Payday leapeders are exploiting our troops in crushing debt. We are taking a new step. The dens department is closing these loopholes to protect our men and women in uniform from predatory lenders. It is the right thing to do. [applause] president obama since today marks five years since i signed historic wall street reform into law, i will not accept any efforts to roll back the law or its strong protections. We are going to keep our newest veterans transition into civilian life. All 50 states have recognized the skills of our veterans. When issuing licenses. So we have to make sure these laws are working so our veterans get those credentials. Well keep helping our veterans to choose a school that is right for them. And that now includes the surviving spouses of our Fallen Heroes. [applause] president obama in 43 states, veterans pay instate tuition and we are working to make sure it is in all 50 states. Not sure what the other seven states are doing, but we have to work to make that happen. We will keep partnering with communities and step up. As long as im president im going to tell every business in america, if you want somebody to get the job done, hire a vet. [cheers and applause] president obama hire a veteran because they know what duty means and responsibility means. Lets do more nation building here at home. Thats part of our strength and part of our American Leadership. V. F. W. , as i look around this auditorium i see that the love of country and the devotion to duty spans the generations. And that spirit endures in those who wear the uniform today. We saw that once again last week in chattanooga. Back in massachusetts tom sullivan cheered for his boss boston teams and said sullivan was everything that a marine should be. And two tours in iraq, he earned a combat action ribbon for his wounds, two purple hearts. When he was warned that a gunman was there in chattanooga, he ran in so others could live. Today, we echo the words of his community, Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan was our hero and he will never be forgotten. Thank you for protecting us. [applause] president obama growing up in georgia, skip wells was a leader devoted to god and his friends, quick to lend a hand or put you on his prayer list. During his hometown 4th of july parade, he went in his dress uniform. 21 years old, a year out of boot camp. Easy going, always smiling, even during the hardest drills. A friend said skip is the kind of kid you want on your team. As americans we are forever grateful that Lance Corporal skire wells was on our team. As an eagle scout in arkansas, david wyatt would race to be the first. He was determined to do his part and found his calling in the marines. He led with courage in afghanistan and iraq and with compassion. As a mentor to comrades with posttraumatic stress. It was said he was a gentleman and a gept will man and no one knew that better than his wife and two Young Children. Today we see as they did why a friend would say staff Sergeant David wyatt was the kind of man this country needs more of. Back home, Carson Holmquist was embodyment of the spirit of wisconsin. Loved country music, loved to fish, to hunt, to play football and he loved the marines. Showing up in his high school in his dress blues. He served in afghanistan. Was devoted to his family. His wife jasmine and twoyearold son. Said his old coach carson always did the best he could. Today our nation is stronger because america saw the best in Sergeant Carson holmquist. Handal smith is remembered as the High School Baseball star with the fierce pitch. He was fun and outgoing guy, a guy they said you just wanted to be around. His bodies in the navy knew it. He just reenlisted. His wife angie who he liked to call the most beautiful woman in the world, and their young daughters, who he called his little princesses. Today we join the people of ohio, including v. F. W. Post 587 with five flags flying on behalf of randall smith. Our nation enduring the course because citizens like you put on the uniform and serve to keep us free. We endure because your families serve and stay strong on the home front. We endure because the freedoms and values you protected are now defended by a new generation. Americans just like our five patriots who gave their lives in chattanooga, grateful nation we must stand up for them and honor them now and forever. God bless these american heroes. God bless all our troops and all of our veterans. God bless the United States of america. Thank you, v. F. W. We are proud of what you do. [cheers and applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] in 45 minutes here on cspan, the house of representatives begins debate on three bills, one requiring the vet Ravens Administration to submit to congress a report on medical care for veterans, another authorizes the state department to revoke passports to people affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations. And the third bill on todays agenda requiring federal agencies to establish antidiscrimination programs. Later in the week, legislation dealing with the regulation of toxic coal ash and volunteer labeling standards for again etically modified food. The house back in session at 4 30 p. M. Live here on cspan. Cspan gives you the best access to congress. Live coverage of the u. S. House congressional hearings and News Conferences, bringing you events that shape Public Policy and washington journal is live with elected officials, policy makers and your comments by phone, facebook and twitter. Cspan created by americas Cable Companies and brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. Ohio Governor John Kasich announced he is running for president. He made the announcement at Ohio State University in columbus. I am here to ask you for your prayers for your support, for your efforts because i have decided to run for president of the United States [cheers and applause] governor kasich you know, they ask you all the time, like its a trick question or something, well, why do you want to do this . Its like they are going to catch you right. If you cant answer that question you ought to be back at the 50yard line at ohio state. I do this because first of all, were not born to serve others. I want you to think about this. If were not born to serve others, what were we born to do . I do this for my family, of course, for my sweet family, for my neighbors molly. For my friends of many, many years, many of whom who are working with me today 30, 40 years later. Really do it for everyone. And i have to humbly tell you and i mean humbly tell you that i believe i do have the skills, that i have the experience. [cheers and applause] governor kasich i have the experience and the testing. The testing, which shapes you and prepares you for the most important job in the world. And i believe i know how to work and help restore this great United States. As we said a few moments ago the house of representatives gets back at 4 30 eastern for debate on three bills, one requiring the Veterans Administration to submit to congress a report on medical care for veterans. Another authorizing the state department to revoke the passports of people affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations. And the third bill today requiring federal agencies to establish antidiscrimination programs. It all starts at 30 p. M. Eastern. Until then, a conversation from this mornings washington journal. The Pew Research Center. Thank you for joining us. You put out regular reports take a look at Child Poverty in the United States. A recent one takes a look specifically at that population. Tell us what the most recent report found. Guest one of the striking things about Child Poverty is we have seen a decline. The rate is falling amongst children, for all groups except one, for black children, the poverty rate remains about what it had been in 2008, which is about 38 according to figures from the senses euro. For hispanics and whites and asians, we have seen a decline at least in the last year in terms of poverty rates. Host what is the reason . Guest we see an improvement in the labor market, and poverty is tied to income. When parents have jobs, the poverty rate tends to be lower. We have seen the employment rate particularly for blacks remained stubbornly high. The last reading from the Census Bureau the bureau from labor statistics sorry june, about half that. You can see a big difference in terms of Unemployment Rate. That has a role in impacting poverty rates as well. Host how do we define poverty in the u. S. . Guest we have a measure that looks at income. For a family of four, if you earn less than 20,500, that is below the poverty line. Host does that come with us as if they get to federal programs . How is that factor . Guest that is not factored in. The poverty line is the poverty line for a nation as a whole whether we are at mississippi or california, were using the same poverty measure. There are alternatives which do take into account programs like free reduced lunch or programs for children or even programs like Social Security. You take those into account and the poverty rates the different. Rather than the highest poverty rates being in the south, it would be california because the cost of living in california is so high, and new york. Host if the poverty rate in california has stayed the same, give a practical outcome of that. What is what is it like to be that child . Guest your living in an area where it may be hard to make ends meet, to eat every day comfortably. Parents do not have money to pay for the necessities like new close for school or supplies for school. All these things are things that could be impacted by living in poverty immediately. In the long run, you could have impacts in terms of educational attainment. Many of the children may not necessarily finish high school are going to college and finish college. The impact of childhood poverty is not only a short impact but a longrun impact on the lives of the people when they become adults. Host our guest is with us to talk about poverty the United States. If you want to talk about the findings in the overall issue if you live in an income below 20,000 and you want to give your perspective all others you can tweet and also post in our Facebook Page as well. Looking at the various breakout, black, hispanic, weights, asian talk about the hispanic community. Guest the hispanic implement rate has come down to disk at least since the end of the Great Recession. You have seen and limit far 9 in 2008 in 2009 to more around 6. 5 today. That is a significant decline. We are also seeing many his back are doing well on the labor market. They are doing well in areas like construction. On the other hand, we take a look at africanamericans. The Unemployment Rate has not declined quite as quickly and that is a big reason for why we see so much higher Child Poverty rates and also in general for the africanAmerican Community. Host what does the statistics say about support, and what about state supporters as well . What is the condition of offering help for those . Guest the official poverty measure does not take into account many potential sources of support. But the potential source of support our support are important for making ends meet ticket alien children. The way the programs work, they could help out with reduced price lunch at School Spirit a head start or Early Childhood education programs. They can help out with providing health care or at least a lowcost health care alternative for many of these children. These are all very important for Young Children and while many on children take advantage of these programs, not every child living in poverty is necessarily using all of these. Host we saw higher numbers in the 90s when you see significant dips in all factors. Why did that happen . Guest in the 1980s in 1990s, there were higher poverty rates for children. It was consistently that for many years. Part of the reason was there were not necessarily as many programs in place to help these children. Rates for africanamericans were quite high in the 1980s m in 1990s. In the 1990s, the economy as improved really saw the rate come down to record lows that we had not seen at the end of world war ii. Host for those of income below 25,000 all others where do these numbers come from and how do we face these numbers . What are we basing them from . Guest the Current Population survey. It is a monthly survey done by the u. S. Census euro and the bureau of labor statistics. The march supplement contains income, poverty, and Health Insurance. It is this data we use to generate who is living in poverty, and also Health Insurance trends in the united date. It has been a regular publication put out every year one that many people anticipate because it is one of the most important measures of how well the United States is doing in terms of income, in terms of poverty, and in terms of Health Insurance coverage. Host what else do we learn other than what we have talked about . Guest not only the poverty rate for children is now at 20 , and when we take a look of the total number of children in poverty it is over 14 million children who live in poverty according to the official public poverty measure. The numbers are down but we have had changes. There are more hispanic children living in poverty than any other group. Prior to that, it was always white children. One other fighting for the particular report we put out if it looks like there has been a decline in the number of white children living in poverty so much so that now the number of black children living in poverty is greater than the number of white children but just slightly. We are not sure if this is a real change or a blip in statistics. Guest i admit is or the slowing down is the white population in the United States and the aging. Hispanic children and black children are making up a larger share of the populations. Host this report is available at the Pew Research Center website. Mark hugo lopez joining us to talk about the findings you have heard about, particularly about africanamerican children and People Living at income levels below 25,000. Pewresearchcenter. Org is how to find out more about this. Guest our interest is to track what has happened with the Great Recession but we look at other aspects. For example, what has happened with household wealth, Unemployment Rates, income and equality. This is all part of our program looking at americans and how they view their middleclass status, where they see themselves compared to others and how they see their financial futures. Host lets start off with selena and houston, texas or those who have an income of below 25,000. Caller at one time i did work for the food stamp office. I am now retired on a fixed income but i see the problem that children have, especially with black parents is the parents have these [indiscernible] i think that is one of the major reasons. Guest that is exactly right. Then being gainfully employed was one of the challenges that many people face and this was partly but is causing some of the higher poverty rates we see among some groups of americans. Host 2027 488000 for income below 25000 and 2027488001 for all others. James, you are next from massachusetts. Hello . Caller mi actually on tv . Host you are, go ahead. Caller i had no idea. Im site i was not prepared. I am an individual who spend a lot of time in school. I have a lot of education yet i found myself making basically welfare wages. Im curious what you would say about this middle class. I have 200,000 in student loans. I make about 25,00030,000 dollars a year. I have no idea where this is going, frankly. Guest it is a very good question and something we have been tracking at the Pew Research Center for a while. Looking at the ways americans exceed themselves and rather not they see themselves as part of the middle class and to what it takes to be part of the middle class. Perhaps one of the most interesting Public Opinion results we have had is that we take a look at you asked americans, do you expect or chip in to have a better standard of living than you do now . You start to see Many Americans of saying, no, we do not expect our children to be better off in the future than they are now. That is an indication or a collection of some of the challenges that you just outlined. Everything from student debt to maybe people pursuing education but sometimes those particular degrees do not translate into significantly higher wage, particularly with large student debt. These are things we have been looking at as parts of the broader story around what has been happening with the american middle class. Certainly your sentiments are sentiments we have seen in many Public Opinion surveys of broad and part of the American Public. Host in massachusetts, go ahead. Caller thank you for taking my call. I had to questions for the data on hispanic americans and hispanic immigrants. Did you segregate metrics between puerto rican hispanics versus citizens or immigrants from mexico, central america, and latin america . And my second question, or a nonsurvey question about africanamerican performance you know, i really think it is the lack of a twoparent household going back 6070 years really and i think social support is well intended while intended and decades of Public Housing, food vouchers. You know, i do not think they are working because you tend to segregate africanamericans into just large blocks of underachieving. There are no role models, there is no middle class residents were they used to be in American Cities with a High Industrial base, you would have a strong middle class that would be aspirational for people in the lower rungs of their demographic. I am curious about puerto rican performance because i believe that they mirror, in my opinion because they have been segregated in Public Housing etc. On the success or failure of i think africanamericans in this country. Host thank you. Guest very good question, susan. Puerto ricans versus others for this particular report, we did not do an analysis for poverty rates for Puerto Ricans versus mexicanamericans versus cubans, versus dominicans etc. One of the things we have done is take a look at poverty rates generally for these hispanic origin groups. Yes, the poverty rate for Puerto Ricans is higher than other hispanic origin groups, but many hispanic origin groups have high poverty rates higher than what you see for whites generally. The one group of hispanic that generally has a lower poverty rate is actually cubanamericans. And also many hispanics who trace their roots to south america. These are groups are you have a high share of people with a College Degree and many folks in this particular group also have high median household incomes. There are indeed differences. In terms of africanamericans and an africanamerican in the middle class and some of the broad economic changes that have happened in the United States over the course of the last 50 years have not only impacted them africanamerican middle class but probably impacted the u. S. Middle class overall. Many americans who used to have middleclass jobs working in manufacturing for example have seen those jobs disappear over the course of the last 30 years or 40s. Of course, the economy is always transitioning and in the process of transition, some jobs and subsectors of the economy are hit harder than others. But there interesting questions and to like. Host reporting that there are many people, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans coming to the United States because of its current economic conditions. Guest yes, some of the research we have done suggest that about 70,000 people have been coming annually from the island to the United States. 20,000 return every year so it is a net of about 50,000 but we are seeing this accelerate. A lot seems to be related to finding a job. Why you come into the United States and one of the big reasons is to find a job. Host william is up next. Hello. Caller yes, my question is a lot of black unemployment is because other nationalities are coming in and the people that own the workplaces are usually white man. They take them over black males and i see it in workplaces because i worked in factories. Now you go into work factories and it is 80 90 mexicans and they are taking all the jobs. We always had that problem in america being black. The white man always take every other group even though we work and die to build this country and every other group they take them before us. And thank you. Guest interesting comment. Certainly we have seen a growth in the number of people from other countries coming to United States. The u. S. Has more than 40 Million Immigrants today. Any of those immigrants are of working age, so when you take a look at the labor dissipation rate of immigrants, they tend to be higher than they are for the American Public generally. Many immigrants are taking jobs in different sectors, not just a manufacturing. We are also seeing immigrants in positions such as professors or positions in the tech industry. There has been a broad onsite, the population has certainly been engaged in the labor market in the United States in a number of different areas and not just in manufacturing. Host Mark Hugo Lopez of Pew Research Center joining us. This is teresa. Hello. Caller good morning. I live in tennessee and i know many, many people in tennessee and kentucky on food stamps, and the first thing they do at the first of the month when they get the card is to sell them for pain pills or drugs and they get . 50 on the dollar for them. That supports their drug habit so they do not feed their kids. Their kids are fed through the School System so they do not have to worry about by nutrition for their children. And they will not find a job but they make more money statement on their butt doing their drugs and accepting welfare than they ever would with the job. They have free childcare, subsidized housing, so it enables people not to find a job and to stay in poverty and i would like your comment on that. To like. Guest very interesting question. When you take a look at, for example, people who are in poverty. There are many got participated in poverty programs for a number of years. The persistence of poverty for some parts of the American Public is, well, many people in persistent poverty for many, many years and about. It is hard to draw a firm conclusion on your particular question because there is so much your question, but certainly there are some parts of the public that to participate in poverty for many, many years. Host yanna, you are next. Caller good morning. I and an africanamerican middleclass woman in maryland. I am a social worker. I really have a question i do not know how Much Research has been done in terms of africanamericans, what are some of the issues that are really impacting the africanamerican race with being able to keep up and to raise up in terms of the Poverty Level . I heard someone earlier talk about the fact that white folks giving them opportunities and others talked about the system. I also had conversations with the blood that talk about with people that talk about the system does not allow people to be selfsufficient, kind of helping people to stay stuck. As a social worker, i can see both sides of the coin. Has there been any research that has gotten into the wise so we can get to the real mean for not just africanamericans but poor people in general, specifically africanamerican so we can understand, what is this stuckness about . Has to be research that has pointed it out . Guest very good question. I think there is a lot of research out there that has looked into this and it sort of point to one particular research. Particularly education because education is one of the main vehicles that can help somebody achieve in the United States today. For example, when you take a look at the share of africanamericans up a College Degree, that share is about 20 of people 25 and older. For hispanics, 50 , lower number. The whites, 30 something percent, for asians, more than half. For hispanics 15 , lower number. The whites, 30 something percent, for asians more than half. That is not going to be a solution for everybody, but it is one of the ways in which one can reduce the poverty rate for one particular group. Host from iona, michigan judy is joining us with Mark Hugo Lopez. Hello. Caller hello . Host hi, you are on. Caller of his. I have a concern about the prison population in michigan probably elsewhere i am sure but i live in michigan. I know that it is very bad and they are blessing these inmates from one prison to the other constantly blessing these inmates from one prison to the other constantly and im not sure what the point is and it is costing the taxpayers millions of dollars. If there is a way we can reduce the prison population, even if it is to put them in Halfway Houses with monitors on them to keep track of them, it would just make more sense then to keep just piling one on top of the other and busting them and bussing them from prison to prison and costing the state millions of dollars. I just do not understand it. Guest you have a really interesting point. We take a look at who is imprisoned africanamericans and latino males particularly, are more likely to be imprisoned than any other group of americans. Many even served many years in prison. Of course, once one had spent time in prison, that can have major impact on the types of jobs of that one being able to get once one leaves prison. In terms of the nations prison population, it is population has overrepresentation of block and white men. This is one of the challenges for both the communities and something that plays a role and impact in poverty rates. In terms of the question about taxpayers paying for prisons and what happens, particularly in michigan, i am not familiar with what is happening in michigan but it is an interesting question. Host Pew Research Center also includes that black children chair population 23. 7 and 34. 8 in poverty for blacks. Hispanic children chair 32 point 9 and hispanics in poverty 42. 5 . You reference this before, but what would you like to add on as far as this research . Guest this is an example wasted overrepresentation of poverty among hispanic children. For example, we talk about hispanic children, a greater share of all people in poverty who are hispanic children that are representation children overall in the hispanic population. It only shows you that much of the impact of poverty in the latino and africanAmerican Community is really young people, not necessarily equally distributed across the population. Host harrisburg, pennsylvania, wayne, good morning to you. Hello. Caller i would like to know that everybody who came on the phone that was talking, i went to go another way. What about the psychological aspect . Ok, i have been here 50 years. A person can get locked up on the same corner then a week later, there is another person that are selling drugs. If a person got killed in that same spot, there is another person that comes up there. I had watched this for good years happen. It has to be psychological. You need to have some psychiatrists appear to try and figure out what is the psyche of these young black men. That is all i have to say. Guest i would say that the same would apply to young hispanics as well and also other groups of you people who live in poverty. I think this is not only a challenge for the africanamerican males but for others, too. Host from ashburn, virginia jimmy is next for our guest. Caller hi, good morning. This is a very interesting conversation. Africanamerican male here so all the comments they are all right on. I would like to know a couple things. Number one, how did you collect your data . Number two, what are the figures for each of the areas, each of the nationalities . In other words, how many africanamericans . How many asians . So we can get a better idea of the magnitude of this problem. Also, in your analytics, someone mentioned the prisons. A lot of folks are incarcerated because of mandatory sentences. You know, they might have a small amount of marijuana or something and then they go straight to jail. And when they get out and they tried to get or fill out a job application, they have to put this information on their and that is automatically going to get them a denial for a job. These are a lot of the things that if you put those in your analytics, give us an idea of how many folks cannot get a job because of that simple thing that they went to jail because of some small amount, some minor host got you, thank you. Guest first, the data, what is the data come from . It is from the u. S. Census bureau, collected by the u. S. Census bureau, part of an annual Data Collection that particularly looks at income poverty, and Health Insurance. A survey of over 150,000 people nationwide and it is representative of the nation as a whole. Again, something that has been double sometime since the 1970s, this has been a regular piece of research that has produced by the federal government looking at poverty in the United States. Your second question, what is the magnitude of these numbers . Lets talk about the childhood poverty numbers how many africanamerican children live in poverty . 4. 2 million. There are 4. 2 million africanamerican children living in poverty out of the 14. 7 million children overall who live in poverty. How many hispanic children . About 5 million. How many white children . 4. 1 million. You can to the magnitude of these numbers. We talk about the share of africanamerican children living in poverty, that poverty rate is at 38 . That is hard at what he does for hispanics at 30 and higher for whites which is below 15 . Taking a look at poverty rates of rob, you can see that africanamericans poverty rates overall, you can see that African Americans are on the higher rate. You asked about the role of spending time in prison, having a felony conviction and what that might mean for job later on. You are right that this has an important impact on peoples jobs prospects whether they are africanamerican or not. Once they leave prison and this is something the president has been trying to address in the last week or so, visiting a prison and also talking a lot about changing, perhaps, some of the ways in which sentencing is done, it particular person small drug violations. All of this is something that impacts africanamerican men particularly and something i think you will probably see more discussion because it seems to be something many researchers are focusing on more than before. Host what statistics tell us about people moving out of poverty guest interesting, not everybody lives of poverty for their whole lives. People come and go, so there is the cycling in and out of poverty. A lot of times they fall into poverty because of a job loss. A job loss leads to a family falling into poverty but eventually there may be a couple of months of poverty and they may move out. That is the story for most people but there are some people who are in poverty for many, many years, perhaps even decades. And that is the persistent poverty problem which is somewhat more challenging to address. Host from germantown, maryland, clem, hello. Caller hi, i have been listening to this conversation and it is rather interesting and enlightening at the same time. I think this is really a vicious and terrible cycle in the sense that it is not a problem which comes out to the front on its own. It is actually a problem that is inclined in so many other social statures. For example, i am looking at the africanamerican side the major call of this is the mentality that people have with regards to africanamericans their children are born into this and they just grow up im talking about the social ills that we have in this country. Before i even go there, i wanted to ask you how do we compare to the rest of the world . In the countries where Child Poverty do we rank amongst them . Or is the rate of poverty of children better than the rest of the world . Host clem, we will let our guest respond to that. How does the u. S. Shall poverty rate compared to other countries . Guest you take a look at European Countries are other developed countries like the United States, the United States has a higher poverty rate for children then you see in other parts of the developed world. When you compare the United States to other countries, say countries in latin america, or africa, or agent that are not part or asia that are not part of the broader developed well you do to be was poverty rate is not as high as you see in some of these other parts of the country. We just published a report that looked at income inequality around the world. If youre interested, you should take a look to see what share of Different Countries populations live on two dollars a day, or live on 10 a day, or live on 20 a day. It is actually quite striking how much variation there is in terms of poverty around the world. How much progress there has been made in moving people out of the poverty but a lot of it has been moving them barely out of poverty. That is why the United States Child Poverty rate is lower than what you see for some around the world. Host we are talking about Child Poverty rates with Mark Hugo Lopez of the pew r have every form host we will go next to brittany, hopkins, michigan. Hello. Brittany from michigan, hello . Caller hi. Host you are on, go ahead. Caller hello. Host brittany, go ahead. You are on the phone. Caller i was calling to support michigan prison reform. Host ok. Thank you. Yasmin from atlanta, georgia. You are on what Mark Hugo Lopez. Good morning. Caller good morning. I was just calling to say that i feel like a lot of the poverty in the africanAmerican Community is generally should know. Community is generational. They do not see how they can get out of that so they start to learn about using government assistance to live a certain type of lifestyle at a very early age, and they just pass that along to their kids and their kids and their kids. It is a never ending cycle within our community. Guest i would say that is not only a challenge for the africanAmerican Community but also you see this happening in other communities as well. A very good point. Host from betty, that he lives in new york. Good morning. Go ahead. Caller hi, i just want to tell my people that we have to look at the difference between [indiscernible] if they know who we are, because the real israelites, we would understand what is going on in this world. Host one last call. Patricia, oklahoma city. Hello. Caller hi, one thing i think is that the study the pew institute, i believe that is what is called, there have been a lot of things that have changed starting in the 1980s computer going for the africanAmerican Community. One of the things was, and it is evident here in oklahoma, is that you had to make sure that hispanics and asians took over a lot of the jobs that africanamericans had and their agencies in oklahoma where they have gotten rid of all of the africanamerican employees and replace them with hispanic and asians. This has been going on for the last 30 years. To suggest that in has something to do with quality with africanamericans, this is a systematic purposeful it was intentional. This is basically, this is a Progress Report for those people who push to make sure that africanamericans did not enjoy all the benefits of being citizens, so they just replace them with the hispanics and the asians in a lot of the job forces. Guest thank you for your comment. I would say that our report is really just a report that reports the numbers. What we have seen in terms of poverty rates and so forth. Your point about the changing labor market landscape particular for africanamericans, or perhaps being replaced by hispanics and others who come to the country in the last 30 years or 40 years, our point out that the u. S. Labor market has grown larger and it hasnt changed in terms of its characteristics. There is a number of forces that work in which i think have impacted not only the africanamerican labor market in experience, but the experience will hispanics, asians, and whites as well. Host pewre were about to take you back to the house of the u. S. House of representatives. Today the house is working on three bills, one requiring the Veterans Administration to give congress a report on medical care for veterans, another requiring the state department to revoke passports for those affiliated with terrorist organizations and one to require agencies to establish antidiscrimination programs. We expect later in the week theyll work on legislation dealing with toxic coal ash and voluntary labeling standards for genetically modified food. The senate right now working on a procedural vote for the highway and mass transit bill. Yesterday they cast their update of the no child left behind they passed their update of the no child left behind. One other note, the flags over the white house and capitol flying at halfstaff for the courage and sacrifice of the five members murdered in the terror attack in chattanooga, tennessee. That wording from the speaker of the house, john boehner. We expect the house to be back in shortly, votes expected about 6 30. Ssenger mr. Speaker, a message from the president of the United States. The secretary mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore mr. Secretary. The secretary i am directed by the president of the United States to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. The clerk senate 971, an act to amend title 19 of the Social Security act under the medicare independence at home medical practice demonstration program. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house a communication. The speaker pro tempore the honorable the speaker, house of representatives sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule 2 of the rules of the u. S. House of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on july 21, 2015, at 3 15 p. M. That the Senate Passed senate 1177. Signed sincerely, karen l. Haas. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause rule of clause 8, the chair will post pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. Record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. For what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition . Mr. Benishek mr. Speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2256 as amended the veterans information modernization act. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2256, a bill to amend title 38, United States code, to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report on the Veterans Health administration and the furnishing of hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care by the department of veterans. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan, mr. Benishek, and the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Brown, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. Mr. Benishek thank you mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous material on h. R. 2256, as amended. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Benishek mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Benishek thank you mr. Speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 2256, as amended the veterans information modernization act. I developed and introduced this legislation following an oversight hearing in january when the subcommittee attempted to determine the cost and value of the care to the department of veterans it became obvious that v. A. Leaders were unable to provide basic information about for example, how much v. A. Spends on a single patient encounter in a v. A. Primary care clinic. As a doctor who served veterans at the oscar g. Johnson Medical Center in my hometown for 20 years, its unbelievable to me that the v. A. Either does not have or is unwilling to share Key Information about the care that it provides. The Congressional Budget Office testified in january that the v. A. , quote provided limited data to congress and the public about its costs and operation performance end quote. C. B. O. Went on to state that, quote, if this data was provided on a regular and systemic basis it would help inform policymakers about the efficiency and costeffectiveness of v. A. Services, end quote. Similar sentiments about the need for the v. A. To be more forthcoming were echoed at that hearing by witnesses from the American Legion and the independent budget. We are all too well aware of the many seemingly endless scandals that have plagued the department over the last year and a half. A lack of transparency is at the heart of all these scandals, and one of the keys to overcoming them is requiring the department to regularly provide specific information about the care that the v. A. Provides. H. R. 2256, as amended, would accomplish that goal by requiring the v. A. To submit an annual report to Congress Regarding the provision of hospital care, medical services and nursing home care by the v. A. Health care system. The report would encompass critical information about the operations of the Veterans Health administration, including data regarding access, quality, workload, patient demographics and utilization, Physician Compensation and productivity purchase care and pharmaceutical pricing. V. A. Would also be required to detail thirdparty billings and collections including information on both small and large claims. This would ensure that the growing disparity between the amount the v. A. Bills for and the amount that the v. A. Collects is accounted for and that v. A. Receives every available dollar that is owed and uses it to provide the services that v. A. Provides. Many of the data points included in this report are already provided by the department of defense for tricare. Regular receipt of this information would allow congress, veterans and the american taxpayer to make better informed decisions about the services that the department is offering and to assist in creating the v. A. Health care system that our veterans truly deserve. Other provisions including in the veterans information modernization act included in the veterans information modernization act would broaden the definition of a homeless veteran to include veterans and their families who are fleeing violent homes. Improve the v. A. s processes for tracking and procuring biological implants and establish a commission to examine v. A. s Mental Health treatment model and the benefits of incorporating complementary and alternative complimentary and alternative treatments. Id like to express my sincere of my colleagues, gus bilirakis, congressman phil roe and congresswoman janice hahn who sponsored provisions in this bill. Id like to thank chairman miller Ranking Member brown, congresswoman julia brownley, the Ranking Member of the subcommittee on health, and all the members of the subcommittee on health on both sides of the aisle for their hard work and leadership on this bill. Im proud to say this bill, which was reported favorably out of the full Committee Earlier this summer and is fully offset is supported by many veteran Service Organizations including the American Legion, the veterans of foreign wars, the concerned veterans for america, the Vietnam Veterans of america and the paralyzed veterans of america. Mr. Speaker, i urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the veterans information modernization act, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from florida. Ms. Brown thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Brown i rise in support of h. R. 2256 the veterans information modernization act, as amended. Mr. Speaker, this bill does a number of things to improve access and quality of service to our nations veterans. This bill requires the secretary to submit an annual report on the departments furnishing of hospital Care Medical Services and nursing home care to veterans. One of our priorities on the committee is to ensure that safe, Quality Health care is provided to veterans and their families. This report will assist us in our oversight duties of the department. This bill expands the definition of Homeless Veterans to include veterans fleeing from Domestic Violence. As you know, veterans who experience Domestic Violence are considered high risk of homelessness. This is a very vulnerable population, and anytime we find a barrier to care we should remove it. Further, one of my biggest priorities as Ranking Member is to ensure that we can provide safe quality housing for homeless Women Veterans. Women veterans are an underserved population, and there is a serious lack of Housing Options for those who become homeless. There is an even greater crisis with attempts to find housing for Women Veterans who have children. This is largely due to the fact that many facilities do not allow women and children in the same facility as men. This must be corrected immediately. I have encouraged several women who have been forced to live on the streets in weekly motels and other housing places that are not fit to live due to Domestic Violence. This is completely unacceptable. We should be working closely with v. A. And h. U. D. To ensure that there is transitional and emergency Housing Available for Women Veterans during this greatest time of need. This bill addresses gaps in identification tracking and procurement of biological implant at the department of Veterans Affairs. Finally, this bill will establish a commission to examine the effectiveness of the evidencebased therapeutic model for treating Mental Health illness of veterans. I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their interest and support of veterans issues. With that i yield i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from michigan. Mr. Benishek mr. Speaker i now recognize my colleague and friend from florida, the vice chairman of the committee, mr. Gus bilirakis. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I appreciate it. I rise today in support of h. R. 2256, the veterans information modernization act. This bill makes positive bipartisan reforms to the v. A. Which has become the hallmark of the v. A. Committee. We have such a good committee, mr. Speaker. Im particularly pleased about the inclusion of my bill, h. R. 271, the creating options nor veterans expedited recovery act, better known as the cover act. Last year the v. A. Committee held a hearing regarding the access of veterans to v. A. s Mental Health services. At the hearing, we heard from mothers and fathers of deceased veterans. I remember vividly how hearing their testimony moved me. I cant remember another instance when the v. A. Committee room was so quiet and solemn as that day. Statistics show that one in five veterans who served in iraq and afghanistan have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress. Now we must responsibly ask ourselves, are we doing enough when it comes to addressing Mental Health in our veterans population . Recent data has shown that every day in this country approximately 18 to 22 veterans take their own lives. This statistic answers the question i posed earlier. It is obvious more needs to be done. Far too often we have heard of situations where our veterans are being overprescribed opioids and antipsychotics. While traditional forms of therapy may work for some tailoring therapies to the veteran and finding the balance between traditional and complementary alternative treatments could be the difference in saving lives. Late last year, i met with a veteran who was able to tell me just how alternative treatments have improved his life. His treatment plan to address his p. T. S. And physical injuries consisted of 30 different pills. Every day. He told me how much this affected him. He said he felt hopeless and wasnt quite himself anymore. He then decided to take control of his life again and looked for an alternative. He found an alternative treatment, training and caring for a service dog. Now his treatment includes one multivitamin, one other medication and a fourlegged companion that never leaves his side. The cover act is the next piece in a working formula to heal our veterans, mentally and physically. It will pave the way toward including this complementary alternative therapies at the v. A. These therapies include but certainly are not limited to Service Animal therapy, yoga therapy, accupuncture, equain therapy and accelerated resolution therapy. Mr. Speaker, ive heard the stories from these veterans, and these therapies really work. They need access to these therapies. At a recent town hall i even heard about benefits of martial arts for treating p. T. S. Mr. Speaker when treating Mental Health issues, one size does not fit all. Please support this good bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from michigan. I have one more speaker. The speaker pro tempore do you reserve . I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from florida. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Benishek id like to yield such time heas may consume to as he may consume to mr. Row of tennessee. Mr. Roe of tennessee. Mr. Roe i rise in support of this measure. A frightening january 2014 g. A. O. Report found that the v. A. Does not use a standardized process for tracking biological tissue from a cadaver to a living donor veteran patient. In the event of a recall it would be virtually impossible to track down which patient received contaminated tissue. G. A. O. Also found that the Veterans Health administration does not always ensure it is purchasing tissue from biological implant vendors that are registered with f. D. A. And does not maintain an Inventory System to prevent expired tissues from remaining in storage alongside unexpyred tissue. V. A. Often uses a loophole to allow it to purchase biological implants on the open, unregulated market, which it does. 57 of its biological implant purchases. This would require the biological implants from vendors on the supply schedule which have been appropriately vetted. For those not on the supply schedule mitigating circumstance bill requires justification and approval of open market purchases on a case by case basis, rather than simply granting a blanket waiver this bill would also direct the secretary of vet reens affairs to adopt f. D. A. s unique device labeling system for labeling of all tissue and implement an automated Inventory System to track it from donor to implant recipient. It would require all implant tissue to be procured through vendors registered with the f. D. A. , accreditted by the American Association of tissue banks and use f. D. A. s ewe neebling device identification system. The six million veterans served annually deserve the highest standard of patient care in the nation. Implementation of h. R. 2256 would helpest tably the v. A. As an Industry Leader and biological implant and safety accountability. I want to thank the subcommittee staff for their help in developing this legislation which truly puts veterans first. Thank you mr. Speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan. Mr. Benishek i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from florida. Ms. Brown i ask all my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from michigan. Mr. Benishek i appreciate the gentlewomans support and i encourage all members to support h. R. 2256 as amended and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2256 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the mr. Benishek i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore excuse me . Mr. Benishek i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those in favor of taking the vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to rule 20, clause 8, further proceed option this question are postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent that the committee on agriculture be authorized to file a supplemental report on h. R. 1599. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 237 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 237 a bill that authorize the revocation or denial of passports and passport cards to individuals affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations and for other purposes. Mr. Royce i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill for the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Were going to ask unanimous consent at this time mr. Royce were going to ask unanimous consent to withdraw the motion to suspend the rules. The speaker pro tempore the motion is withdrawn. Mr. Royce thank you mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. The clerk senate 984, an act to amend title 18 of the Social Security act to provide Medicare Beneficiary access to tracking accessories for speech generating devices and to remove the account for Durable Medical Equipment with respect to speech generating devices. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 1557, the federal employee antidiscrimination act of 2015. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 3, h. R. 155 , a bill to amend the notification and federal employee antidiscrimination and retaliation act of 2002 to strengthen federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the equal Employment Opportunity commission and expand accountability within the federal government and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from utah, mr. Chaffetz and the gentleman maryland, mr. Cummings, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from utah. Mr. Chaffetz thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognize. Mr. Chaffetz i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Chaffetz thank you mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of h. R. 1557, introduced by my friend and Ranking Member of the oversight and government reform committee, mr. Cummings of maryland. Hes done yeomens work on this, im proud to join him as a cosponsor of this important piece of legislation that will help many of our federal workers as they go through their work knowing they have more protections. The federal employee antidiscrimination act of 2015 strengthens accountability within our federal work force. It does so by improving agencys processes for reporting instances of Workplace Discrimination and retaliation. It also requires agencies to create a system to track complaints of discrimination and retaliation from beginning to end. The bill ensures that agencies report to the equal Employment Opportunity commission whether disciplinary action has been taken against an employee for discrimination or realuation. It requires retaliation. It requires employers to provide electronic notification to employees when such action occurs and it requires them to post about discrimination actions on their website and that any adverse actions taken against an employee for discriminatory action in that persons file. It brings transparency and accountability to the Civil Service and will help diminish ince toovens discrimination and retaliation in our government. Obviously those things cant stand. The bill also makes agency equal employment officers a direct report to the agency head. This is an important step and a good portion of the bill that is being brought forth today. This change will help ensure that employees feel safe and comfortable reporting discriminatory or retaliatory actions. Finally h. R. 1557 makes clear that employees can report waste fraud and abuse within their agency to congress, the office of special counsel or the Inspector General. Federal employees are essential in exposing wrongdoing within the government and agencies should never have the ability to tell a Government Employee that he or she cannot report waste, fraud or abuse to congress, the office of special council or the Inspector General. It instructs that interrupting an employees communication is against the law. We should be protecting the integrity of the government and the taxpayers. I want to again thank mr. Couplings for his leadership and work on this bill and urge my colleagues to support h. R. 1557. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings as the author of the federal employee antidiscrimination act i would like to thank chairman chaffetz and his staff for working with me in drafting this bipartisan legislation. I also appreciate the chairmans support for this bill during the committees consideration this past march. I thank congresswoman Eleanor Holmes norton for cosponsoring the bill as a former commissioner of the call Opportunity Commission her expertise in Employment Law is unparalleled in congress. Also appreciate the support of representatives James Sensenbrenner and Sheila Jackson lee who cosponsored the bill. I especially want to thank tonya ward jordan and Paulette Taylor and other members of the commission c4c, for their invaluable assistance on this legislation. Im grateful that this bill has strong support of the make it Safe Coalition. Both c4c and the make it Safe Coalition are dedicated to ending discrimination and retaliation against whistleblowers in the federal workplace and i applaud their leadership and their hard work. Federal eeo programs are critical to ensuring that federal workplaces are free from discrimination and that any variance impeding fairness in personnel decisions are identify and eliminated. Those programs exist to ensure that our federal workplaces uphold the guarantee of equal opportunity that is the right of every citizen in this great country. If discrimination occurs, these programs must be able to invest and adjude adjuth jude kate employee complaints impartially and in a timely manner. In fiscal year 2012 federal employees and job applicanted filed nearly 15,000 complaints alleging they had been victims of discrimination. Although the vast majority of federal workplaces are in compliance with current e. E. O. Requirement, some federal agencies have failed to meet the standards of a model e. E. O. Program. For example, in 2014 e. E. O. C. Issued a report on the Social Security administration that made 12 findings regarding Social Securitys failure to maintain a model e. E. O. Program. Ensure efficient management of the various stages of the complaint process, provide june form training to uniform training to provide equal opportunities and implement effective antiharassment policies and procedures. The eeoc made more than 60 recommendations for reform of that one program. My bill would require the e. E. O. Programs operate independently of an agencys Human Resources or general counsel ice offices and or general counsels offices and that the head of the Program Report directly to the head of the agency this would ensure that effective implementation of the e. E. O. Program is prioritized at the highest level of an agency and that program and that that programs sole purpose is ensuring equal opportunities for all employees. It would also strengthen the accountability mechanisms that are central to effectiveness of the e. E. O. Process this legislation would expand the notifications that agencies are required to provide when discrimination is found to have occurred and would require agencies to track and report whether such findings have resulted in any disciplinary action. It would prohibit the use of nondisclosure agreements that would restrict the employee from telling congress an Inspector General any information that relates to any violation of law, rule or regulations or instances of waste, fraud or abuse. According to the 2014 federal Employee Viewpoint survey, only 60 of federal employees agreed that they could, and i quote disclose a suspected violation of any law rule or Regulation Without fear of reprisal, end of quote. As i often say, were better than that. Employees need to have confidence that they can report an act of discrimination without suffering retaliation. They need to know that such reports will be thoroughly, fairly and timely investigated and adjudicated. The federal employee antidiscrimination act of 2015 would strengthen existing requirements to make sure that federal e. O. Programs e. E. O. Programs follows the best practices as possible. Again, i take a moment, mr. Speaker, to thank mr. Chaffetz chairman chaffetz. This was a truly bipartisan effort. We saw a problem. We put our heads and tried to address it, and i would urge all members of the house to vote for it. And with that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from utah. Mr. Chaffetz mr. Speaker, i have no additional speakers and i do anticipate closing so at this point i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from utah reserves. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i yield to the gentlelady from texas, ms. Jackson lee, for five minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas is recognized for five minutes. Ms. Jackson lee let me rise today to thank both the chairman and the Ranking Member of this committee chaffetz and mr. Cummings. Thank you for your leadership on a very important issue of which i rise to be part of with a little history on this issue with an earlier passage of the no fair act so many years ago. I support this legislation which ensures the effectively agencies effectively implement their e. E. O. Programs and federal employees are never prevented from disclosing discriminatory practices to the office of the Inspector General. How important is that . We have a history of addressing Workplace Equality and thatsie sponsored similar legislation in the no fair act which was first introduced to congress in 2002. This was the precedent a proceeding preceding legislation that had a sense of congress legislation. Where this particular legislation further strengthens the responsibilities and rights of employees. The no fair act set the precedent from imposing additional duties upon federal Agency Employees to provide a employers to provide a Work Environment free of retaliation. The House Science Committee held a hearing dealing with actions at one of our agencies. Dr. Marsha coleman adabayo, who had been in my office repeatedly, and i mention her name because of her continued vigilance in speaking about issues dealing with whistleblower. In actuality, a 600,000 jury decision under title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As we all listened in this hearing it was clear what we wanted to do was to prevent the retaliation which we see in this legislation here today. I am grateful that we now have a road map for dealing with individuals who want only the best for our government. I can call some of the names. Mark fell of, the f. B. I. Agent known as deep throat during the watergate scandal in the 1970s. Frank, a new York Police Officer who confronted his department for the rampant corruption. Jeffrey a tobacco executive who admitted that Tobacco Companies know they are butting addictive chemicals in their cigarettes. And of course, sharon watkins, one of those who was an executive at enron corporation. Of course, these individuals come from different walks of life, but the whole idea is to make sure that we as a member of congress recognize that whistleblower activities or actions are clearly a part of good government. According to the 2014 federal Employee Viewpoint survey, only 60 of federal employees agree they could quote, disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or Regulation Without fear ofry prizal. I know fear of reprisal. I know your committee, mr. Chaffetz and mr. Cummings, is the front line of providing this forum and id be glad to join you as member of the Homeland Security committee and Judiciary Committee to again emphasize the importance of safe and discriminationfree workplaces. I am grateful, again, to have had the opportunity firsthand to listen to at least one of our whistleblowers who only wanted to be able to help establish a workplace that was free of discrimination and fear. So again, i want to make mention of Marsha Coleman adabayo, a dedicated federal employee and make mention that as we pass the no fear act with a number of members and as we noted a number of whistleblowers, they were the person on time magazine, i join my colleagues in supporting the underlying legislation and ask my colleagues to support the legislation, and i will yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings mr. Speaker, we have no more speakers. I understand the gentleman is going to close. Again i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, we again urge the house to vote in favor of this very important legislation. It is a bipartisan piece and it does address issues that are of concern to all of us, and with that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland yields back. The gentleman from utah. Mr. Chaffetz mr. Speaker, in closing, i simply want to thank those members who have worked hard on this bill. One that is of special note is congressman sean duffy of wisconsin. Hes done great work on this, particularly trying to hold people accountable at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and work on the eeoc issues there. But this bill would not be a reality without mr. Cummings. We thank him for his leadership on that on this. Im proud to support it. I think all the members in this body should support it. It does further the protections for employees. It makes government better and more responsible. And with that, mr. Speaker id urge the passage of h. R. 1557 and urge its passage and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is now will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 1557. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative mr. Chaffetz mr. Speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to rule 20, clause 8, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. The chair lays before the house a message. The clerk to the congress of the United States, section 202d of the National Emergency act, 50 u. S. C. 1622d provides for the automatic termination of a National Emergency unless within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration the president publishes in the federal register and transmits to the congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, i have sent to the federal register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the National Emergency with respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations declared in executive order 13581 of july 24 2011, is to continue in effect beyond july 24 2015. The activities of significant Transnational Criminal Organizations have reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international, political and economic systems. Such organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous to the United States. They are increasingly entrenched in the operations of foreign governments and the International Financial system. Thereby weakening democratic institutions, degrading the rule of law and undermining economic markets. These organizations facilitate and aggravate violent civil conflicts and increasingly facilitate the activities of other dangerous persons. The activities of significant Transnational Criminal Organizations continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the National Security, Foreign Policy and economies of the United States. Therefore, i have determined it is necessary to continue the National Emergency declared in executive order 13581 with respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations. Signed barack obama, the white house. July 21, 2015. The speaker pro tempore referred to the committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered printed. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess senator mccain we welcome you, general milley, as well as members of the milley family. As is our tradition at the beginning of your testimony, we ask you to introduce the members of your family. We know the sacrifices your family has made. Thank you, chairman mccain and thank you Ranking Member reed and distinguished members for the privilege and opportunity to appear before you today and i appreciate the confidence of the president of the United States senator mccain i was going to ask if you would like to introduce your family first. General general senator mccain thank you general. You come before this committee as part of a major transition of American Leadership, if confirmed as army chief of staff, you will serve along side a new chairman and vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. As part of this team, you will lead an army of volunteer soldiers that has proven itself over a decade of war in iran and afghanistan. And as we all know, the untold sacrifices of their soldiers and families did not end with their mission. As our nation con fronts the array of global crises since the end of world war ii, you will be responsible for ensuring the total army remains the most decisive land force in the world. Unless washington wakes up to the damage being done to our military right now by drastic reductions in defense spending, the army will be forced to carry out its mission with fewer dollars, fewer soldiers and aging equipment. Over the past few years, the armys end strength has been reduced from 570,000 active duty personnel to 490,000 troops this year and just last week, the army announced it will cut an additional 40,000 troops over the next two years. Reducing its end strength to 450,000. If defense spending cuts continue there is talk that the army could shrink to 420,000 troops. Only onethird of the armys brigade combat teams are ready for operations. In short, the army is facing a downward spiral of military readiness and increases the risk that in a crisis we will have too few soldiers who will enter a fight. We are not cutting the army because the world has become safer. But threats to our security have been reduced. In fact, the opposite is true. As you have stated, this is budgetdriven forcelevel reduction and rested on a series of assumptions that we were getting out of iraq and afghanistan and stepping back and forces could depart the continent. Instead, we have seen the rise of isil, russias invasion of ukraine and tensions in the asiapacific region. When our assumptions about the world change we must either adopt our conclusions to the new realities or scale back our missions. The administration and many in the congress are trying to have it both ways. Asking our soldiers to take on a set of growing missions with fewer and fewer resources. This isnt about reversing the effects of sequestration but replacing the arbitrary cuts on defense that were imposed in 2011. That is the only way we will get back. And yet while i believe there is no strategic rationale for the armys end strength to fall below pre9 11, in recent years the headquarters and administrative staff have grown at the same time at the it has cut combat brigade teams and that is wrong. This committee is embarking on a multi year effort to make major reductions in headquarters and administration across the department of defense. If confirmed general, i want you to be a partner in this effort. Another priority for the next army chief of staff is modernizing the force. The army faces an enormous challenge in replacing, repairing and reconditioning its equipment. After 14 years of sustained combat at the same time, the army must continue to modernize to meet future threats. Programs like the joint light tactical vehicle aimed to enhance tactical mobility, command and control, medical evacuation and other combat functions while significantly improving the protection and safety of our soldiers. Accomplishing these goals will require Additional Resources to be sure, but perhaps more importantly, it requires the army to learn the lessons of its failed acquisition programs, a record that has been particularly dismal. From could man chee to crusader to the Ground Combat vehicle billions of dollars have been wasted on programs that never became operational. These and other failures reflect the inefficiency and disfunction that krimmed our system more broadly, unwarranted optimism in cost and schedule estimates funding instanlt, requirements creep, immature technology, excessive risk taking and currency between production. One thing is for sure. Status quo is unacceptable. To provide our soldiers the equipment they need to defend the nation we simply cannot continue to have bird lines of accountability and responsibility inside the defense acquisition system. In this National Defense authorization act, this committee increased the role of the military services in the acquisition process and to create new members of the committee niffles to ensure accountability. Among these reforms is enhanced role for the service chiefs. The army must ensure that the acquisition programs stay on schedule with end costs and perform to expectations. If that doesnt happen, general we will be calling you. General, thank you for appearing before this committee today and we look forward to your testimony. Senator reed thank you, general for continuing to serve. Thank you, maam, to your service to the nation and to the army. And i want to acknowledge marion. General miller, if confirmed, you will oversee the army. While a conflict areas around the world continue to increase a lot of resources continue to decrease. This month it was announced over the next two years. Final goal of 450 soldiers by the end of fiscal year 2017. The army intends to cut 78,000 personnel, although it is my understanding that the army has not said which will be impacted. If sequestration levels remain in place the situation is much more ominous. With unending relief, the army will need to reduce it to 420,000 soldiers. General, i hope you will share with us your views on how to manage these reductions and if called for and what if any impact these reductions would have on the readiness of the army. In addition to managing end strengths reduction the army is grappling how to modernize the force. In recent years, the army had to make tough choices on modernization programs. As the strategy released in march of 2015 acknowledges, the army cannot afford to equip the total army with the most modern equipment and we must acknowledge fiscal realities and we will modernize equipment and formations. At the same time, the Army Continues to cope with reduced levels. The general testified before the appropriations he subcommittee that readiness levels are at historically low levels. He stated that today. 3 of our brigades are ready. When our rate should be closer to 70 . I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how the army can make targeted efforts while also restoring readiness levels. The National Guard has been a component in our National Defense and more integral than any time in our history and serve as a last line of defense and provide a Homeland Security mission. And without question the role of the National Guard component was critical to our success on the ground. However, the army draws down and resources become more limited there has been tension between the active and reserve components. The Army Restructuring initiative. To ensure it doesnt make any changes, last year, the congress created the National Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the size and force structure of the army. The commission has been working with conducting hearings to provide a report to congress by february 1 2016. You will be working closely and i look forward to hearing from you how you unvision the relationship and what if anything can be done to strengthen that relationship. Finally, i have repeatedly stated that sequestration is an approach to fiscal responsibility. It should be based on longterm military strategy and the chairman has made this point and i hope you will share our thoughts your thoughts on this topic. Thank you for your service. Senator mccain questions are as follows. In order to exercise its legislative and oversight responsibilities its important this committee and other committees receive testimony and communications. If you adhere to governing conflicts of interest . General milley i have. Senator mccain when you give your personal views if those views differ from the administration . General milley i do. Senator mccain have you undertaken any actions to presume the outcome of the confirmation process . General milley i have not. Senator mccain will you comply with deadlines including questions for the record. General milley i will. Senator mccain will you respond to congressional requests . General milley yes. Senator mccain will they be protected . General milley yes. Senator mccain do you agree to provide documents including copies of electronic forms of communication in a timely manner when requested by a dualy constituted committee or consult with the committee and providing such documents . General milley i do. Thanks chairman mccain and Ranking Member reed and members of the committee for the privilege and opportunity to appear before you today and i appreciate the confidence that the president of the United States and secretary of defense has shown by nominating me to be the next army chief of staff. Thank you for your support and commitment to the soldiers and civilians and families of your army. It is the strength of our nation. And all of their families are the strength of our soldiers. And likewise, my family has been my strength throughout my life. Both my mother and father served our nation in world war ii as part of the greatest generation, with my mother attending the medical needs of soldiers sailors, airmen and marines from the pacific at a Military Hospital near seattle washington. My father served in the central pacific, making the assault landings in the bloody battle in iwojima. My father passed last april, a week shy of his 91st birthday. Im sure they are proud from above for their soldier son and will be a source of leadership and guidance for me in the years ahead. Im lucky to have by my side as i previously introduced for the last 30 consecutive years of my service the most strongest woman in the world. She, like my parents is a constant source of inspiration and love. For many years, during seven contingency deployments on various operations and thousands of days of training, polly and has been a single parent who raised two wonderful children who are now young adults who unfortunately couldnt be with us today. It is for them and all of our children and the future generations that i and all of us in uniform continue to serve and willing to go in harms way to give toods for their tomes. I recognize polly ann as a representative of all the Army Families and spouses and resilience, service and sacrifice. I would like to congratulate my predecessor, general owe dinero, who have given 39 years to their nation. I want to thank them both for their tremendous leadership. Our nation has been well served by the selfless soldier and his entire family. Chairman, senators service in the United States army is a privilege, its a distinct privilege. Its not a right. Its a privilege and earned the oldfashioned way through hard work and meeting. In your armys contract with the American People is a combatready force built around our nations most valuable assets sons and daughters who become soldiers of character. And our past is like no other. It is to win and to win in the unfor giving cucruciable. There are many roles that your army can do and we perform those every day. We assure allies, we deter adversaries and shape outcomes. We provide foundational capabilities to enable other joint forces. We provided needed help to victims of disaster. But our reason for being our very reason for being at the very core of what it means to have an army is to win and win decisively in Ground Combat against the enemies of our country so american citizens can enjoy life and the pursuit of happiness. Every year 120,000 of americans sons and daughters take an oath to serve our nation in the uniform. And in return, we make the commitment to develop them as soldiers, as leaders and importantly as citizens. These soldiers are the core of our all volunteer army, madep of three components, the active, the National Guard and the reserve. We are a total army. We are, in fact, one army. We are americas army. And all of us from private to general come from the people and we are dedicated to give our life and our limb to serve the people. And we do it with great pride and a cause that transsends ourselves. I have huge confidence in our army today. I have served in it both peace and war. We have the most skilled and combat experienced army in the nations history. But in this time of increasing instability and uncertainty throughout the globe we must squarely face and solve significant challenges. As chairman, you mentioned in manpower, readiness and modernization. If confirmed as chief of staff of the United States army, i look forward to working with the army to give the resources its needs and a capital steward on behalf of the american taxpayer that we serve as well. And timely, if confirmed as chief of staff of the army, i want to ensure that the army meets the expectations of the American People. The American People expect your army to fight and win our nations wars at any time, any place and your soldiers agree to do that today as we have done for 240r consecutive years. Today, we have a great army and we stand on the soldiers of those who came before us. It will be an honor to lead the soldiers today as their chief of staff. And i thank you. I thank you for the opportunity to appear here today and i look forward to your questions. Senator mccain thank you for your strong statement. As you know, last week, there were four unarmed marines and one sailor in chattanooga tennessee that were murdered. What steps do you believe should be put in place immediately to improve the security of Army Personnel in the United States especially at facilities like recruiting stations . General milley as a son of the Fourth Marine Division i extend my con domenses to the four ar evens and one sailor who was killed. It is a horrible tragedy. Force protection is a key for all of the leaders in the army and throughout the military. There is a wide variety of measures. As you may know, admiral gordon increased force protective measures which i wont discuss publicly what those are. Passive stand point there is a variety of things we can do. Actively, we can increase patrols, work closely with the Law Enforcement. As far as arming recruiters go, that is complicated legally and issues involved. We will have to come to grips to that. Senator mccain legal part of that should be resolved, you think under certain conditions be armed . General milley under certain conditions on both military bases and recruiting stations that we should certainly consider it. Senator mccain with regards to afghanistan should we have a condition based plan . General milley im in favor of a conditionbased plan. Senator mccain would you say that the situation would warrant evaluation and revision of the president s plan by 2017 to have an embassybased force . General milley talking to general campbell of the norsigian in afghanistan its my afghanistan that the plan is continuing under review and we will execute based on conditions on the ground. Senator mccain that is your view. A general testified before this committee that even with the 38 billion addition that our nations military, quote, would remain at the lower ragged edge of manageable risk in our ability to execute the defense strategy, do you agree with that . General milley i do with respect to the army and i concur with the generals assessment. Senator mccain we would be at the lower ragged edge . General milley i would agree with that, yes, senator and i think he testified to significant risk, if we go to 420 as senator reed mentioned earlier. Senator mccain do you believe we should arm the you cranians to defend themselves against the Russian Rocket strikes . General milley providing nonlethal equipment is already being done bsh senator mccain im asking about lethal equipment. General milley i would be in favor of lethal equipment. Sustain sane do we have a strategy to defeat isis . General milley there are nine lines and the military has two and there is a strategy. Senator mccain that strategy also applies to syria . You believe that we do have a strategy to defeat isis. General milley there is a strategy, yes. Senator mccain do you think it will defeat isis . General milley the way the strategy is laid out the way i understand it, its going to take considerable amount of time measured in years to defeat isis if we execute the strategy. Senator mccain maybe you could tell me about that strategy because the president said they have not developed it yet. General milley there are nine lines of effort. The two that concern the military are providing a variety of enabler capabilities to the Iraqi Military and also to provide Security Force assistance and building partner capacity. Senator mccain do you believe we need Forward Air Controllers . General milley it provides more support. Senator mccain thank you general and for your service and we look forward to moving forward with your nomination. And congratulations and all of us would also agree that your predecessor was also an outstanding soldier. Thank you. Reed reed read senator reed thank you for your testimony. General milley. You are from massachusetts. I know. So forgive me if i mispronounce. General milley as long as we love the red sox. Reed senator reed and the bruins. I will ask you a serious question. You are facing force reductions, 450,000 active forces, which leads to the question, how do you ensure you can meet all the requirements that are facing the army . And several possibilities and you can comment on is a much smoother closer integration with National Guard and reserve forces so they can come to the fight earlier, thats one. Two, obviously continuing to operate and train jointly with the marine corps which is a way to augment land forces and to increase operation with our militaries that are our allies. Comment on those approaches and will that help offset the decline in manpower . General milley i think the reduction in manpower for the active force 920 or 980 overall for the total force and i agree with the current chief of staffs assessment that places the nation at significant risk given our global commitments. In order to mitigate, incorporating elements of the National Guard and reserve are key and working with allies is fundamental. I think all of those are necessary to mitigate some of the risks. Es and pass h. R. 237, as amended. Th e pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 237, a bill to authorize the revocation or denial of passports and passport cards to individuals affiliated with Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Royce, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Boyle will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Royce i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on this measure. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Royce i also ask unanimous consent to place into the record an exchange of letters with chairman goodlatte of the Judiciary Committee. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Royce mr. Speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Royce International Travel by terrorist recruits poses a deadly and growing threat. It is estimated that isis alone has drawn 20,000 foreign fighters into syria and iraq. Extremist groups in libya, yemen and elsewhere also draw foreigners into their deadly campaigns, and these include thousands of westerners, primarily from europe, but also a couple hundred people from the United States so far. The threats are as real as todays headlines. British officials today arrested a man for plotting attacks on u. S. Military personnel there in britain, and for planning to travel to syria to join isis along with his uncle. If they are successful in traveling, these foreign fighters receive terrorist training and they hone their skills there on the battlefield. Some have even appeared as executioners in isis gruesome propaganda videos. If they return home, hardened fighters come back more hateful, certainly more deadly. The killing of four u. S. Marines and one sailor in chattanooga tennessee, last thursday. The attempted attack in garland, texas, last may. The Boston Marathon bombing all demonstrate that the United States is not immune from lone wolf and smallscale attacks of the type that isis and al qaeda in the abrabian peninsula continue to call Arabian Peninsula continue to call for. In support of designated terrorist groups hasnt kept pace with the threat, and i want to thank the chairman of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade, judge ted poe of texas, for his work in introducing h. R. 237, the Foreign Terrorist Organization passport revocation act as a critical countermeasure. This bipartisan and commonsense bill grants the secretary of state the authority to refuse or revoke a passport to any individual whom the secretary determines has helped a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization in realizing its jihadist ambitions. Such authority is not currently spelled out in statute but depends on interpretation of federal regulations, and this legislation will write it into permanent law, and i would just note that the text before us today grants Permissive Authority to the secretary and thus the discretion to avoid interfering with Law Enforcement or intelligence activities that might be compromised if such a revocation were mandatory. While we expect the secretary of state will exercise the authority within the bounds of constitutional due process the bill requires a report to Congress Whenever such authority is used to help ensure oversight and to provide transparency. Individuals who actively support designated terrorist organizations must be stopped from traveling abroad to learn how to kill americans and our allies. Spelling this out clearly in permanent law will prevent misguided individuals from getting further radicalized abroad which leads to terrorist attacks on the homeland. I thank congressman poe and his 10 bipartisan cosponsors for their work in bringing the bill forward. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from pennsylvania. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 237 as amended and i yield myself such time as i my consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Murphy this legislation authorizes the secretary of state to deny the issuance of or revoke the passport of an individual who is affiliated with or providing assistance to to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. I would like to thank the author of this legislation, the gentleman from texas mr. Poe, for his leadership on this issue and for working with us in a bipartisan manner. Mr. Speaker as chairman royce said a few moments ago, this is a commonsense bill. It is a reasonable step our government can take to address the rise of the socalled islamic state, or isis. While acting within our authority to deny passports those who are affiliated with, assisting, aiding or abetting that the secretary has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Mr. Boyle whether you call them isil, isis or last lambic state one thing is quite clear, this organization has captured large swaggets of territory in iraq and syria with lethal efficiency. This brutal terrorist group has engaged in mass executions, targeted religious minorities raped and enslaved women, destroyed priceless historical treasures and effectively redrawn the borders of the middle east. With the extensive propaganda efforts including the sophisticated use of social media, isis has recruited tens of thousands of fighters, incheweding a significant number from europe as well as some remarkably from the United States. This flow of foreign fighters is a serious threat, especially with u. S. Passport holders among them. The foreign Affairs Committee has held hearings looking at the impact of isis and use of foreign fighters. Our colleagues and constituents alike are concerned about what might happen when these fighters return home. Radicalized by isis ideology and armed with the knowledge of battlefield tactics. H. R. 237, the f. T. O. Passport revocation act would address this problem by authorizing the secretary of state to deny passports to known members or supporters of isis and other terrorist groups and would allow the secretary to revoke passports of those who have already left the United States so they are unable to return and sow terror here at home. We have a strong National Security interest. I support the various lines of effort to crack down or isis finances, countering their propaganda efforts and stopping the flow of foreign fighters. This legislation, to be clear, this legislation will not solve the problem of foreign fighters in iraq and syria, but it is a sensible and important step in the right direction. Many of our coalition partners, including france britain and australia have already taken steps to restrict or revoke passports for isis supporters. We must use all the tools at our disposal for protection of our homeland. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from pennsylvania. The gentleman from california. Mr. Royce i yield five minutes to the gentleman from texas chairman of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee of terrorism, nonpro lifferings and trade and author of this legislation. Mr. Poe i thank the chairman and Ranking Member engel and i thank the cosponsors of this legislation as mentioned earlier, equal number of republicans and democrats, but especially brad sherman and William Keating on the minority side. In 2015, the director of National Intelligence said that 180 americans have tried to go fight with syria either for isis or some other extremist group. There may be more, we dont know. Those fighting for syria and iraq are dangerous threats to the United States. These individuals are receiving training that makes them capable of sophisticated terrorist attacks and makes them under control of leaders in foreign places and leaders who want to attack the United States. This is not unique to the United States, as the chairman mentioned earlier. The west, the European Countries have this as a tremendous problem for their sit science to go to syria and fight and train. Not a hypothetical threat in the u. S. The First American to carry out a suicide bomb and attack in syria. He returned home to florida. As a fully trained terrorist. Our government had no idea. He was a cardcarrying member of al qaeda. Fortunately he didnt attack the United States, but he could have. Last September Isis announced a swift in strategy. Instead of using americans in syria, they called to attack the United States. In an audio tape, one of the leaders is attack their bases, raid their homes, cut off their heads. Hes talking about killing americans who had been radicalized by americans. A man from columbus was indicted on charges. He was trained in syria and told by a cleric to go back to the United States and carry out an attack. Thats the first time we caught someone who was told to go back home and attack the United States. These traitors who turned against americans have joined terrorist armies and should not be allowed to come back to the United States unless in handcuffs. This is a critical bill at a critical time. It grants the secretary of state to revoke or deny passports of individuals who support Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the secretary of state has the authority to revoke a passport when the National Security of the United States is threat yepped. We arent talking about citizenship but revocation of a passport. This bill does not deal with the issue of citizenship. There is a due process for those who wish to challenge the secretary of states decision. Under 16 regulations, a person is entitled to a hearing that that passport is being revoked. We must stop these outlaws from coming back to the United States and committing crimes against us. Thats just the way it is, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Royce i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Boyle i have no other speakers and i can close at this time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Boyle isis is absolutely a barbaric regime that cannot be negotiated with and must be defeated. They literally want to return civilization back centuries and september tries. It is hard for me and i think its hard for almost any american to imagine what could be going through the mind of a u. S. Citizen who would be attracted to go over there and make common cause with isis. As the son of an imgranted who knows the sacrifices his father and grandparents made to come to this country, the fact that someone would actually jeopardize the most valuable thing they have, their american citizenship and u. S. Passport to join isis is unfathomable. We have to give our secretary of state this authority. Isis presents a real threat both at home and abroad. This is a commonsense measure we should take. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Mr. Royce i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore mr. Royce ill quote the bureau of counterterrorism, it exceeded the rate of foreign terrorist fighters who traveled to afghanistan, pakistan and iraq and yemen or somalia at any point in the last 20 years. Individuals drawn to the conflict were diverse in their socioeconomic and geo backgrounds highlighting the need for messaging and early engagement to dissuade individuals from traveling to join the conflict. The bill before us today is a necessary ambition to our National Intelligence and creates an important deterrent and reduce the ability of terrorists to travel and i thank the subcommittee chairman mr. Poe. And the Ranking Member mr. Keating of massachusetts. And their bipartisan cosponsors for the bill before us today. And i yield back the balance of my time and ask for support of the measure. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 237 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the the motion to reconsider to reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to rule 1, clause 12a the chair declares the house in recess until approximately and reliable aramisle defense to Army Operations . Because one thing thats been brought to as we have the patriot 13 of our allies also allow on the patriot to protect their forces and yet some of our allies have more modern and advanced versions of the patriot than our troops have. So i dont agree with that. And i think this committee very clearly in the Defense Authorization actually the army requested 106 million for patriot improvement. To upgrade our use of the patriot. And that was actually [inaudible] based on your service in the army, what is your assessment of the patriot aramisle air missile and Defense System and do you support the improvement funding that the army requested for how this and how important is this for our troops . Let me take the last part first. How important it is. To my knowledge, im not a military historian, but i dont think the United States army has come under enemy air attack consecutively, consistently, since the invasion of normandy. Thats because of two things. One, we have the most dominant air force, both naval aviators and United States air force pilots and capabilities. We want to retain that. Forever. And the other piece, because we have a very robust air defense capability, its capable of shooting down incoming aircraft. Since the modern development of missile technology, thats another component. We have come under missile threat. Were under missile threat. The patriot plays a key role in not only acquiring and then destroying incoming fixed wing aircraft but also in intercepting and destroying incoming missiles. So patriot is a very very key system to the air defense of our allies and our own soldiers on the ground. Ms. Ayotte thank you. Thank you mr. Chairman, and thank you to you and your family for your service. I appreciate the conversation we had last week. Should you be confirmed, i look forward to of course working with you during your tenure. I know that you realize, general, the importance of mill comfunding for readiness. Particularly for hawaii. In light of the rebalance of the asiapacific. Ms. Hirono in fact, i spent some four hours at Schofield Barracks recently and saw the direct effect on facilities there when milcom fund something cut or deferred. Should you be confirmed, i hope you will work with userpack to make sure their facilities are maintained and modernized so the troops have the facilities necessary to efficiently perform the important tasks we ask of them. Mr. Milley i will certainly do that, senator. Ms. Hirono thank you. I also know that you share my view that the rebalance of the asiapacific is more than just rhetoric. The navys intentions, for example, are to place 60 of its ships in this area of responsibility. What do you see as the major components of our rebalance strategy . Mr. Milley i think that right now, as i mentioned earlier, two of that list of threats that were asked to me included both china and north korea. So the United States army plays a key role. Eight of the 10 largest armies in the world are in the pacific. Clearly navy and air force and marines are fundamental to success to u. S. National security in the pacific. But the army is too. And we currently have Forward Deployed forces in keystone x. L. That have significantly korea that made a significant contribution to keeping peace since the end of the korean war. We also have forces in alaska, at fort lewis, joint base lewis mccord in Washington State and, most importantly, in the state of hawaii. So theres a considerable amount of Army Capabilities in the pacific that play a key role in supporting admiral harris as a Combatant Commander and supporting his strategy. Ms. Hirono we recognize that, because of the budget issues, that that certain force reductions were inevitable. Sad to say. Of course while unfortunate, i do appreciate the consideration that was given to the rebalance of the asiapacific and hawaiis strategic location and the decisions that were made regarding cuts to our army. Can i expect that if confirmed will you continue to give ample consideration to our strategic position and that of course includes alaska, and to the importance of the rebalance . Mr. Milley absolutely. As we go forward, balancing, the disposition of the army forces in accordance with the National Strategy and balancing that against risk is a key task for the chief of staff and i will take that. Ms. Hirono this committee has spent considerable time on the issue of Sexual Assault in the military. It still of course occurs and harassment persists in our military from your testimony and our meeting, i know you find it totally unacceptable as well. However, while efforts are being made to support and encourage victims to come forward, we are becoming more aware of the problem of retaliation. Can you share with us your plans to stop the further abuse by retaliation and assault . Mr. Milley as you mentioned Sexual Assaults just theres no place for it at all in a disciplined military force. Two years ago i think it was 24,000 reports of Sexual Assault. Thats army corps. Its wrong. Its just not acceptable and we cant accept those kind of casualties. Really thats what they are. Victims become casualties. We cant accept a corps worth of casualties and think were going to have a ready army to deal with threats. Its unacceptable. The army has done a lot over the last many years here and theres been some progress. But its not nearly enough and im fully committed, if confirmed as chief of staff to continue to work the entire problem of Sexual Assault and bring that to zero. Retaliation is a problem thats recently surfaced in the last year or so. Saw a recent study which indicated that 60 of victims report that theyve been retaliated against. Some by chain of command others by peers. I think that by chain of command retaliation, we can get after that pretty fast. Through a variety of tools. And holding commanders accountable. Peer on peer is a little bit more complex and im going to have to study that to figure out exactly what techniques can be used to eliminate peer on peer retaliation. Ms. Hirono thank you. This will be an ongoing area of concern for many of us on this committee. So thank you for whatever you can do to improve the situation vastly. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chair, and thank you, general milley. Its great to have you in front of the committee today. I want to thank your wife for being here as well. Thank you for the support youve given over 34 years or 30 years for your husband. Thank you. I wont ask about the National Guard. Talat talat we have had some very in depth discussions in my office and i thank you for your willingness to work with our wonderful National Guard and all of those great young men and women that provide a great support system to our active component members. Ms. Ernst thank you for that. Just wanted to mention we do have, you mentioned the ties between our active component and the guard, and we do have our second b. C. T. From iowa, the iowa army National Guard, rotating through jrtc right now. We do appreciate that partnership. I want to tag on with a little bit on what senator hirono had also brought up. The cases of Sexual Assault in the military. I was at the west point board of visitors yesterday and this was a topic we discussed. You have over 34 years of experience in the army and so youve seen a lot of changes through the years. And so when it comes to Sexual Assault, in the way the army reports this prosecutes this we have seen some changes in recent years. And i would like your takeaway from what weve seen just in the last few years and, with those changes what do you see is it improving, the areas where you think weve seen the most impact if could you just ex pound on that a little bit, please expound on that a little bit, please . Mr. Milley thank you. There has been some improvement. Its not good enough, though. But there has been some improvement over the last couple of years. We know that the prevalence of incidents appears to be down. And the numbers of reporting is up. So it indicates some shift in trust to the chain of command. But i think the key is to prevent and or intervene up front. And that comes with a change of culture. And fully educating the force, wide variety of training. If an incident does occur, though, the first responsibility for that chain of command is to protect that victim. And then investigate fully with professional investigators. C. I. D. Investigators. And then hold those perpetrators accountable. I think the entire key is within the hands of the chain of command. Thats staff sergeants and platoon sergeants up through First Sergeants and company commanders, all the way up through general officers. All of us have to be fully engaged in order to get after that. A couple of things, over 35 years, that ive used and seen and emphasized. One is the role of the commander. Absolutely fundamental. An edge gauged commander makes the difference between a success and lack of success. Secondly i would say is operate in buddy teams. Theres great value in using buddy Team Approaches like you would in combat. Third is control of the terrain which is the barracks. We cant necessarily control outside the forts but we surely as commabbeders can control the barracks and maintain good order and discipline is fummed mental to those fundamental to the barracks. And lastly is alcohol. We know that in many, many cases of Sexual Assault, alcohol is a contributing factor. So maintaining good order on alcohol is fundamental. But i think commanders and the chain of command, the sergeants and the captains and the colonels and the generals, are fundamental to getting after Sexual Assault and bringing it to an end in our army. Ms. Ernst i do see where we seem to have a lower level of incidents. We have a very, very long way to go with this. One of the points that we raised yesterday at west point with the board of visitors is that its really difficult when you have someone like yourself or even me with a lot of gray hair, standing there telling these young soldiers dont do this dont do this. I think where we can see a lot of shift in the culture and the environment is when their peers are stepping up and saying, dont do it. Weve talked about not in my squad. I think thats an important step. We have a long ways to go, general. I look forward to working with you on this very important topic and protecting our sons and daughters as they serve. So thank you very much. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you mr. Chairman. First i want to commend you on your statement. I think its one of the best statements ive ever heard, the role and mission of the army. It should be required reading, i think, for every member of the army today. One of the questions you asked you answered to the chairman was that would you commit to provide your personal views, even if those views differ from the administration in power. Mr. King you said yes to that question. I want to underline the importance of that question. All of your experience, all of your knowledge, all of your wisdom that youve accumulated over the years are of no value if you dont share them. And youre operating you will be operating in the highest levels of our government, in a situation that often can be intimidating and i want to encourage you to remember that question and when in doubt speak up. Youre where you are because of your knowledge and experience and you have to share it and sometimes share it aggressively. I hope you will remember that question and remember the commitment you made. I think you have a great deal to offer this country and i just want to be sure it gets to the table. Mr. Milley i guarantee that. Ive been in a lot of combat and ill be intimidated by no one. Mr. King i believe that, having met you, general. More specific question. Are the iraqi Security Forces willing to fight . Mr. Milley when we left in 2011 the reports i wasnt there in 2011, but i was there shortly before that and iraqi Security Forces were willing to fight. But in the years between 2011 and today their chains of command have been decimated and they werent getting proper pay and training went down the tubes. So bottom line is if three or four years go by and you lack training, you lack money, you lack equipment, you lack spare parts and most importantly you lack a competent, capable, committed leadership, then you can certainly understand why units fell apart last year during the isis offensive. Mr. King so theres nothing inpermitly prohibiting them with a will of fight with exception of a lack of leadership. Thats fundamental from where i sit and id like to get a trip over there and talk to commanders on the ground, talk to generals. But my assessment is they have the potential and the capability to fight but they must be led just like any army must be led. Mr. King it seems to me that when we think about the strategic challenges of afghanistan, iraq, syria the ukraine, all of those are local troops. One of the key challenges, how do you teach the will to fight how do you train . Have we learned that . Are we at a place where we know what the pressure points are to develop, for example, the command mentality thats necessary . Because were in a series of disputes around the world. None of which involve directly many, if any, u. S. Troops. So were at the mercy of how these local people perform. And im wondering about the armys sort of thinking about how to do training. That may be one of the most essential tasks that the new army has. Mr. Milley we in the army think that we do know how to develop leaders. If theres the army does many, many things and does many things well. But we definitely produce lots of good leaders throughout our force on a day to day basis. We know also how to do that with other army, with foreign armies. Specifically, as you mentioned, both afghanistan and iraq, we think we can do that. How do you do that . Leaders have to have confidence in their personal skills and their competence. Thats fundamental. No soldiers going to follow a leader who is constantly lost, who is incompetent whos a cement head out there and doesnt know how to shoot, move communicate and bring fire on the enemy. No soldiers ever going to follow that leader. So competence is key and teaching them the skills the military skills necessary. The leader has to demonstrate compassion and love for their shoulders. If they see a leader who soldiers. If they see a leader who does not care for them, theyre not going to follow them. The third piece i think is a committed leader. A leader who is committed to the cause. For which they fight. If those three elements are combined together, in iraqi leadership at the small Unit Tactical level and the strategic level, then i think the iraqi Security Forces have a good chance. Mr. King we were in lebron and we saw the Training Program that involves bringing foreign officers to the u. S. And also providing the kind of training that youre talking about. That struck us as a very costeffective technique, particularly bringing them here. Because they see they get a lot from their peers when theyre at fort benning or at fort hood or wherever they are. Is that a program that you think should be continued strengthened emphasized . Mr. Milley yes, i do absolutely. Its been valuable in the past over many, many decades. With many armies around the world. And the military exchange and our Education System is valueadded for foreign armies. Mr. King a very short question. How long would it take us to go from a 450 back up to say 550 if god for bid circumstances required forbid circumstances required it . Whats the lead time . Mr. Milley id have to take that for the record, for the analysis and get back to you. To build a brigade combat team, call it 4,000 soldiers, depends on the type you have, to build that from scratch is about a threeyear period. Three or fouryear period. To really get them certified and ready to endepage in Ground Combat operations. To regenerate that force from 450 to 550, it can be done, but its not going to be done in a very, very short amount of time. Mr. King thank you. Thank you, general. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. General, thank you for your testimony. Thank you for coming by to see many of us before the testimony. I want to ask you about the National Commission on the future of the army. Which was established by the National Defense authorization act of 2015. And the armys Aviation Restructure Initiative or a. R. I. The National Commissions mandate is to evaluate future missions, evaluate the force mix of the total army, and evaluate whether combat aviators should be transferred to the army. Mr. Wicker i understand from sources within the pentagon that the army intends to implement certain elements of the armys a. R. I. As early as october 1 of this year. As i expressed to you, making these irreversible force structure changes to the guard before weve had a chance to see what the commission has to say about a. R. I. Would not be advisable and does not make sense to me. The intent of congress was clear, there should be no transfers of helicopters away from the guard until congress receives and reviews the findings of the Army Commission. As such, id like to know your opinion of the a. R. I. Plan, which would remove all combat aviation from the army National Guard. Do you support halting transfers of helicopters away from the guard until the Army Commission reports back in february of next year . Mr. Milley thanks, senator. In accordance with last years 2015 ndaa and the 2016 ndaa, the one thats under debate right now, the one thats talking about halting them. So the armys actually executing their last written order, which was last years authorization, as i understand it. Ill look into that, though. As far as do i support it or not this puts and takeses. I think the National Guard has some good points. They make some points that theyre concerned its a slippery slope and were going to take combat capabilities away from them. They wont be the strategic and operational reserve. Theres points on the army side. One fiscal. Theres a 1 billion a year savings and 12 billion over time. I think thats not insignificant given the current crunch with sequestration etc. Most importantly i think its a readiness issue. If we do not execute this a. R. I. , then i think the three of the divisions, the first infantry division, the 10th Mountain Division and the 25th division in hawaii are not going to have armed reconnaissance capability and were going to blind three out of the 10 active Duty Division commanders with inability to be able to see a battlefield if they were thereby committed. So on balance, i would favor the transfer. However, im going to wait the results of the commission and Pay Attention to their recommendations very closely and ill remain continually engaged with the guard and try to do the right thing for the total army. Mr. Wicker im glad to know youre going to await the finding. Because the commission, and i would just say you to a couple of things. From my conversations, its believed that for many of the states, such as mississippi, our program would be set back for a decade. It would take us 10 years to get over the loss of these apaches. And i think would do great harm to what weve had over the past. And that is that the active army and the National Guard units have operated seamlessly as one team since 9 11 and its been good for the country. I think its unfortunate that policy fights and distrust between the guard and active army have become prevalent over the past five years. Whats your assessment of the current relationship between the army and the army National Guard . Will you acknowledge that the relationship has deteriorated to a point where actually its unseemly . Mr. Milley as commander of forces command i deal with the National Guard and United States army reserve on a frequent basis. So im coming at this from an Operational Force point of view. From a fielded forces. I do not see that friction in the fielded forces. We train together, we operate together, we have partnerships together. And i have commanded National Guard forces in both iraq and afghanistan. Mr. Wicker you dont see that in the field . Mr. Milley i dont see that in the field thats correct. Mr. Wicker you see it in this city, do you not . Mr. Milley maybe some things happen when people come to d. C. , i dont know. Perhaps theres tension mr. Wicker ive heard that. Mr. Milley as i understand it theres tension here amongst some of the senior leaders. Ill work to ill work along with general grass and others to work, to patch up whatever issues there are. From a personal perspective, i think theres one army. Thats it. Theres one army. We all wear the same uniform and it says United States army on our chest. And thats the way we have to approach it. The United States army cannot conduct combat operations in a sustained way overseas without the use of National Guard and the reserve. We just cant do it. We can do shortterm operations. But sustained ops cannot be done without the guard and reserve. Its one army. Theyre critical to our success. Mr. Wicker thank you very much for that. This conversation will continue. We had it privately in my office. Were discussing it publicly today. And i think we can acknowledge that the National Guard is a very sbeg rat part of what your mission will be. I hope these issues can be resolved in a mutually satisfactory manner. Thank you very much for your service. Thank you mr. Chairman, and thank you for your thank you to you and your family for all youve done for our country. Thank you for coming to my office. Id like to follow up on that discussion. Mr. Donnelly in regards to military suicides, we talked about the importance of pushing Situational Awareness down the chain of command. And when i met with the Israeli Defense forces, they said what was critical in reducing suicides was pushing it down the chain of command so the squad leader, the platoon leader, who could identify right on the spot, could help. I was wondering what your plans are to make sure that at the squad level, the platoon leader the leader of those squads and platoons are aware of the challenge and are ready to try to help in eliminating it. Mr. Milley thanks. Ive been in command a lot and suicide is a horrible, tragic thing to see in a ewe nut. I in a unit. The effects obviously on the family, the unit, etc. , are just like you would have a killed in action in combat. Its terrible. Its horrible. But i think in terms of how we get after it Situational Awareness is key. Because the army has done a lot over the last couple of years to increase Situational Awareness, the signs, the symptoms and then the techniques of intervention. Our numbers have dropped considerably in suicide. So thats one point, is to continue sustaining and actually increasing Situational Awareness. Second, is to continue to reduce the stigma. Behavioral health, Mental Health my view is the human psychee is a very fragile thing. Any one of us, regardless of how many patches or ranger tabs or anything else anyone has is not so hard, not so tough that they cant break under a certain correct combination of stressers and pressures. We have to be alert to those signs and symptoms and we have to reach out and be literally our brother and sisters keeper. That attitude has to happen throughout the force it. Has happened considerably better than it was in previous years. In the last few years its improved sickly and that is what i think is contributing to the reduction in see sides. The increasing suicides. The increasing Situational Awareness, the reduction of stigma. Mr. Donnelly i would encourage you in yourings in in your new position to make sure that the squad leaders and the platoon leaders know, hey, give us let us know if you see something going sideways. Let them know theres no stigma and they should get help and i know youll do that. I wanted to switch to iraq. I was there recently. Met with your folks, our whole team. It was right before the push into ramadi and fallujah began. And the discussion was just as you said, a question of leadership. Of good leadership for the i. S. F. , the iraq Security Forces. And so as opposed to this plan or that plan, id love it hear your unvarnished advice on what you think our role should be in helping the i. S. F. , the iraqi Security Forces, get their leadership act back together what can we do best to help them do that . Mr. Milley id like also the opportunity to get over and visit and talk to the guys on the ground to answer that question in a more informed and holistic sort of way. But based on what i know now and my own experience in both iraq and afghanistan theres a wide variety of things we need to and should do to help the iraqi Security Forces. As i understand it the constraint right now is not so much on what we are doing, but on the amount of trainees the iraqi Security Forces are providing for our trainers to do. So maintaining a robust train, advice and assist effort advise and assist effort with the iraqi Security Forces over a considerable length of time is going to go a long way to shoring them up. What senator mccain meng mentioned earlier mentioned earlier is something that should be seriously consider toimed prove the effectiveness of the enablers, the Close Air Support that is being provided. I think advisors Going Forward with units again, is something that should be seriously considered. However, there are a lot of issues with that, with security of our people, and the risk associated with it etc. But bottom line is there are things we can do. Id like an opportunity, though to talk that over with commanders on the ground and give you a more informed answer at a later date. Mr. Donnelly great. I would just ask to you remember in regard to iraq, and you know you will, when you said the armys mission is to win, we have to win there too in order to have success in syria. To help the iraqi forces have that kind of leadership. The last thing ill say is, our article five responsibilities under nato with latvia estonia, lithuania, in korea their motto as you know is fight tonight. We have to make sure we have the same kind of readiness in those areas because we have the same obligations to those countries. Theyve said they would stand with us, we need to do the same for them. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you mr. Chairman. Congratulations. Thank you for your service. I want to start maybe with going back to something that the chairman mentioned in his opening comments and im sorry i had to step out. I have a competing Meeting Committee in judiciary that i have to go back to. We have sequestration, which i think to a person we all recognize is devastating. We have to get rid of it. Its bad policy. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] report a a bill under the rule. The clerk a bill making appropriations for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016 and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore to be referred to the Union Calendar and ordered printed. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 21 points of order are reserved. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. Votes will be taken in the following order. H. R. 1557 by the yeas and nays. H. R. 2256 by the yeas and nays. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15minute vote. Remaining electronic votes will be conducted as fiveminute votes. The Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from utah, mr. Chaffetz, to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 1557 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. Clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 3, h. R. 1557 a bill to amend the notification antidiscrimination act to strengthen antidiscrimination laws enforced by the equal Employment Opportunity commission and expand opportunity within the federal government and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on the speaker on this vote the yeas are 403, the nays are six. 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The nays are the house will be in order. Members will please take tchare seat. Their seat. The house will be in order. Members will please take a seat. The chair will not proceed until all members take a seat. For what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. The speaker without objection. Mr. Speaker, last thursday was a very difficult day in my beautiful hometown of chattanooga, tennessee. It was a day of horror, it was a day of terror, and it was a day like no other i have lived in my life. Today i am joined in this great house by my colleagues from the tennessee delegation. Chattanooga is my hometown. A terrorist, an evil man killed five wonderful United States Service Members, four marines and one sailor. At two locations in chattanooga, he opened fire. It was devastation, it was death and there was horror. And im so deeply saddened. Before i ask you all for a moment of silence, im going to ask this great house this peoples house, for something special. Because through all the carnage in the face of evil, i saw the people of chattanooga come together with good, in the face of despair i saw the people of chattanooga come together with hope. I saw something that in my darkest hour, i saw the greatness in america. Catholics, protestants jews, blacks latino, we prayed together, we hoped for better days together. We horpped the men ap women who serve us in all of our branches together. I feel our great marines and i feel for our navy in our difficult times. The Chattanooga Police department showed up and fought this terrorist and killed him. Hamilton county police were there. Urla nmpgmp arch hospital, while this brave sailor was thriving for life, the doctors were unsuccessful. I ask for you that which resolve to keep all American Service men and women safe here on american soil. We must do that. We owe that to those five wonderful lives that we lost, all precious, all precious. Im going to ask for all of us to be chattanooga strong. Im going to ask all of us to please come together as americans. Im going to read the names of these five outstanding folks. United states marine gunnerry sergeant, thomas j. Sl van United States marine staff Sergeant David wyatt United States marine sergeant, Carson Holmquist United States marine Lance Corporal, squire paul wells. And United States Navy Petty Officer second class randall smith. Mr. Speaker, i ask for a moment of silence in honor of these great americans. The speaker the house will observe a moment of sigh leps. Silence. Mr. Fleischmann thank you. The speaker without objection fiveminute voting vote on the motion of the the gentleman from motion to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2256 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk a bill to amend title 38 United States code to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report on the information and the furnishing of medical care, and nursing home care. The speaker the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote, the yeas are 408 the nays are zero. 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Without objection, the tilet is amended. The title is amended. For what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition . Mr. Speaker i send to the desk a privileged report on the committee of rules. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title. The clerk report to accompany House Resolution 69, resolution providing for resolution to amend the federal foods drug and cosmetics act with respect to foods containing or consisting of a by oover engineered organ nism and for other purposes and providing for consideration of the bill to amend subtitle b to encourage recovery ap beneficial use of coal combustion reside youlls and the proper management and coal combustion reside ules. That are protective of the health environment. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from alabama seek recognition . Mrs. Roby i ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a coupon sore of h. R. 17. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The chair will entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition . Permission to address the house for one minute and revie and stepped my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The house will come to order. Members, please remove your conversations from the floor. The house will be in order. The gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Paulsen i speak about an event that will raise critical funds for cancer research. The relay for life bring together individuals from all walks of life that are affected by cancer. This years event that take place is aiming to raise over 90,000 for cancer research. Every year 14 Million People learn the news they have cancer and relay for life gives them important funding that will help millions of people. Big thank you to the organizers of this event and helping to find a cure will not happen without the relay for life. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new jersey seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Im here this evening to correct the record on Womens Health. As the only woman in a tristate delegation that includes new jersey, pennsylvania and delaware, i speak for millions of women whose right to abortion was codified by the Supreme Court. Decades ago. I also speak for the millions more women who dont come from states like new jersey where clinics that provide a full range of Womens Health services are accessible. Mrs. Watson coleman states like it is, texas, louisiana, and mississippi where legislatures full of men would love to see those clinics closed for good. Last week another antiabortion Group Released a doctored video to attack planned parenthood. This attack isnt about the trumpedup claims in the video. Its about the same tiredests to make it harder for women from every walk of life and every corner of the country to make the Health Choices that work for them. Its sad that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle were so quick to hop on that bandwagon. Enough, mr. Speaker. This is enough already. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i hope that every member of this body reads the joint comprehensive plan of action that the Obama Administrations agreed to with iran. Because if they do, i think youll see overwhelming majorities vote to reputeyade it. And youve heard about some repudiate it. And youve heard about some of the massive influxes of cash for iran, youve heard about their ability to keep their nuclear infrastructure, all these hugely problematic provisions. Mr. Desauliner interestingly mr. Desantis interestingly, we talk about if iran accepts the deal we can snap back sanctions. Iran can snap back in a a nuclear suggestion. Iran has stated that if sanctions are reinstated, iran will treat that as grounds to cease performing its commitments under this jcpoa. That means if iran cheats, we go to penalize them, iran is reserving the right to simply go back to producing Nuclear Weapons. Weve been told that no deal is better than a bad deal. Mr. Speaker, this is a bad deal. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . For what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Kaptur thank you, mr. Speaker. Tonight i rise as dean of the ohio delegation to bring to my colleagues attention and those who are listening that one of our great members of congress from ohio, congressman stokes who served so ably with such dignity, with such acumen, with such heart, has been diagnosed with a very serious type of cancer. And his days with us are numbered. I know that many members hold memories of lou and there will be many tributes paid to congressman lewis stokes of ohio. Without question. His service was legendary, along with his brother who became the first africanamerican mayor in our country, the city of cleveland. If we look coasttocoast, the people of ohio are walking in prayer with the stokes family now and if congressman stokes is listening, i hope he knows that the love of this house, the place to which he dedicated the best years of his life, are with him. Thank you congressman lewis stokes of ohio, for what you have done for america for the people of ohio and for the people of cleveland. History will record the greatness of your service to others. We love you we pray with you, we walk with you. Mr. Speaker, i yield back any remaining time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Dold mr. Speaker, i rise tonight with deep sadness at the loss of my friend, mike mcle roadway, the mayor of decatur illinois just last week. Mr. Davis mike was not just my friend,s of a he was a friend to so many and he led the city of decatur through some very difficult times, to where decatur, my former hometown, as a student at the university has been able to see the progress that many envisioned 26 years ago when mike and his wife, lynn made decatur their hometown. Mikes going to be remembered not only as a friend of mine, but a friend to the entire community be it the ymca that he served on the board of directors, st. Theresa school that he was so active in, or the many other Community Efforts that he was a part of. Tuna as he was known, is going to be missed by all. But especially missed by me. Mike was an early supporter of mine and a friend when i didnt have as many friends in that town, as i started my journey that ended right here on this house floor when i was sworn in a few short years ago. Tuna, you left this earth way too early. And my heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Decatur Community who will miss you and, most importantly, to your wife, lynn, and your son, matt. Rest in peace my friend. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the fifth anniversary of the enactment of the doddfrank wall street reform and Consumer Protection act. Mr. Foster mr. Speaker, the financial cry siffs 2007 was not an crisis of 2007 was not an accident and not an unavoidable byproduct of free markets. It was a mistake a mistake driven by ideologically driven deregulation. Countries which maintained adequate Capital Requirements did not suffer a financial crisis. Countries which maintained an adequately regulated primary and secondary Mortgage Market did not suffer through a housing bubble. In response to the crisis, taxpayers stepped in and saved the Global Financial system by stabilizing the marketplace and stavegging off a second Great Depression through economic stimulus. To ensure that taxpayers would not be on the hook for the irresponsible actions by some on wall street the doddfrank act required that Financial Institutions hold adequate capital against the risks they take and take responsibility for the risk that they sell into the market. The doddfrank act has unquestionably made our markets safer and more stable. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Stewart mr. Speaker, im proud to join my home state in celebrating pioneer day. In a world that seems to be filled with strife and confusion, im proud to take a moment to celebrate something positive. On july 24 in 1847 Brigham Young led a determined group of pioneers, wagons and hand carts into Salt Lake Valley where he uttered those now famous words, this is the place. Over 40000 pioneers traveled west to utah. In doing so, they suffered incredibly. Hunger, cold disease, exhaustion the death of loved ones. My own ancestors were among the many who did suffer. Once they arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, they worked tirelessly to take the desert and to make it bloom into the striving Thriving Communities we have today. And, my, how things have changed. Utahs considered the best managed state, theyre considered some of the finest and highest quality of life communities. Theyre one of the best states to do business. We have the greatest snow on earth in our national are truly magnificent. We celebrate pioneer day, honor those who demonstrate their courage and with that mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Mr. Thompson request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson mr. Speaker, in 2010 the southern segment of the Keystone Pipeline system began operating, carrying crude oil from oklahoma to illinois and texas. According to multiple news outlet this existing southern segment of the keystone system just pumped its one billionth barrel of oil. The federal approval process only took two years to complete and theres been no incidence of as a result of this infrastructure. Yet here we are five years later with the keystone x. L. Pipeline which would connect canada and the United States, still remains unapproved after seven long years of receipt repetive reviews. Approval of the keystone x. L. Pipeline will provide American Families with new Job Opportunities and a reliable source of north American Energy in the safest, most efficient way possible. As a member of the Natural Resources committee, i rise today to once again urge the president to approve the keystone x. L. This portion of the pipeline has proven to be safe and effective way to transport oil and a segment into canada will provide the same benefits. Thank you mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate zach johnson a native of cedar rapid cedar rapids iowa, in his win on yesterdays british open held in scotland, the birth place of golf. Zach is well known in iowa for his incredible work ethic and perseverance. Zach was not the best player on the Cedar Rapids High School golf team and he wasnt the number one golfer on the Drake University golf team. Few gave him a chance of someday being a professional golfer. But he refused to give up on his dream of making the p and g tour. And his hard work over the years has definitely paid off. Zach has 12 p and g tour wins, including the pga tour wins, and has represented the United States in the ryder cup four times. He has lived the American Dream through hard work and perseverance. Yet he describes himself as just a guy from iowa who has been given some talent. Zachs humility, as well as his talent, and work ethic are examples to all of us. Today we tip our hat to zach johnson and his entire family, the entire First District of iowa is incredibly proud of his success. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from New Hampshire seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Guinta mr. Speaker, i rise today to celebrate the life of New Hampshires own Major General jeremy gray sick. Decorated marine, combat veteran and american hero. A native of atkinson New Hampshire major grasick graduated as valedictorian from timberline regional high school, attended college at the u. S. Naval academy and went on to webts on to be commissioned in the United States marine corps where he served as part of Operation Iraqi freedom and was deployed over seven times to afghanistan and africa. Due to his bravery and dedication to our nation, hes been awarded over 20 decorations. To say he embodied the meaning of our states motto, live free or die, is an underestimate. As we honor the vinrers of his death, we continue to remember and celebrate hiffloofment. Its because of soldiers like him that our nation remains the land of the free and the home of the brave. For that we are forever grateful. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lamalfa thank you madam speaker. I rise tonight to note the passing of a true gem a jewel, to Northern California. La vern grell. My family has a unique experience of having also my grandmother, marjory and la vern were born on the very same day in the same small town amidst of the rice fields of Northern California. My grandmother and lavern spent many years together celebrating birthdays music, life and friends. We had my grandmother but we were bless with lavern for 100 years. So with her loss, it indeed makes a big ripple. But she made a big rip until her life with all the people she touched, her love of music indeed, she was a talented musician and freely gave her time and her talent for decades through teaching music at a college, participating in messiah and playing the organ at the church for 20 years. But indeed when we lose somebody we have what we call a celebration of life. Her celebration of life was last november when she researched her reached her 100th birthday and she had the best party ive ever seen with an orchestra and cellos and everything and she got out the keyboard herself and showed us what 100 years of life and vigor in Northern California looks like. Well miss her but always smile when we think of lavern grell. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you to the gentlelady for yielding. Like my colleagues, i was deeply disturbed by the video that surfaced last week and the allegations regarding planned parenthoods selling the body parts of unborn children. Just today another video was released showing a senior plained planned parenthood official make flip ant comments about rereceive about receiving money for the organs of aborted babies. Mr. Allen the practices brought to light in these videos and reports are shocking and sickening. When such reports come forward, it is our moral responsibility to act. We must take action on behalf of the most vulnerable and precious lives among us. I commend the house energy and commerce and house Judiciary Committees who have begun efforts to investigate these heinous practices and i am committed to working with my colleagues to ensure we get to the bottom of these allegations. Planned parenthood and all those involved must be held accountable. I stand with all who are dedicated for the fight to protect the innocent life and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska seek recognition . Address the house for one minute and revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Thank you, madam speaker. We will hear from a number of colleagues gathered to den ounce once again another revelation by the Taxpayer Organization called planned parenthood. It is important to note that planned parenthood was founded in racism. Forth forth it profits from the mr. Fortenberry it profits fl pain of abortion and how much more do we have to know to awaken our conscience to the gruesome realities of this taxpayerfunded organization. Im pleased my colleagues have gathered tonight to talk about this and highlight the fact that we are all interested in investigations to determine what efforts, what laws, what new steps need to be tain to ban the unethical and dehow manizing practices. We must challenge this assault especially to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. I find it interesting that the early femnist movement was protecting women from abortion and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. The clerk leaves of absence requested for mr. Bishop of georgia for today mr. Clawson and mrs. Lawrence of michigan for today. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The requests are granted. The speaker pro tempore under the speakers announced policy of january 6 2015, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Duffy is recognize for 60 minutes as the designee. Mr. Duffy i ask that members have five legislative days to extend their remarks on the topic of this special order. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Duffy for 0 years planned parenthood has worked to dehuman andize the babies they have aborted claiming these little babies were clumps of tissue. Through the recent videos that come out they have admitted what we have known, these are little babies. And that their organs are being harvested for profit. Little baby livers and hearts and lungs. Little baby lungs that will never have an opportunity to cry. Little baby lungs that will never be used to speak, little baby lungs that will never learn to sing because they have been killed in the womb. They are so well developed, they can survive outside the womb. Little babies that feel pain in the abortion. These are little ones who dont have lobbyists in their town to work for them. They are defenseless and powerless. This house is coming together tonight in combroord form to make sure these little ones are not forgotten because we are standing up to make sthur their lives matter. We believe all lives matter, whether you are born or unborn. Im proud we have so many members who want to speak on this important topic. I yield four minutes to the gentleman from we lets go to the gentleman from new jersey who has been such a leader in the prolife movement, mr. Smith. Mr. Smith i thank you for your leadership on this human rights issue. Mr. Speaker, in 2011, undercover videotape exposed planned parenthood who were eager to export. Some as young or younger than 14 to get them on the streets. As the prime author, the landmark law that seeks to protect women and children, i found on the record willingness of planned parenthood to exploit young girls to be absolutely appalling. Watch the video yourself. Life action released another video. Sex election in america, showing planned parenthood staff showing investigators how to procure abortions. They tell the investigator to wait until the baby is five months along to get an ultrasound to reveal the sex and if it is a girl, kill it. They are ok for exterminating a girl child. What a dangerous place for little girls. Now we have learned that planned parenthood is trafficking in body parts and intact body parts charging 100 or more. Not only has they killed over seven million babies, about 330,000 children per year but now shocking undercover videos shows highranking officials shows how they market and profits of profit from the sale of their organs and deadly abortion tools they call them grass pers. In one clip dr. Nuke tolla and a late term abortion nist herself explains we are very good at getting heart, lung and liver. You know that. Im not going to question that part. Im going to crush below crush above and see if i can get it all intact. Dr. Nucatola say says they want liver and they want this under guidance and know where they are putting the for accept accepts. Crush the baby to death and preserve the body parts for sale. Dr. Nucatola is talking about creating a menu. Another video shows a planned Parenthood Federation top d ompcrmp offering to use a less crunchy technique to get more baby parts. The doctor is talking about crunching, that is crushing babies to death in ways that are more likely to preserve organ parts. It is unconscionable and the Republican Leadership has called for full investigation and i yield back to my good friend. I mr. Duffy i recognize the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hensarling. Mr. Hensarling tonight it is our highest ideal as americans that every human life is endowed with dignity and has value and as americans we have a shared responsibility to protect the npt and defend the rights of those enunenabled to defend themselves. While. Planned parenthood is seemingly to cash in on it. Videos have come to light exposing employees discussing the harvesting and selling of organs of aborted children. These videos portray a chilling approach to ending human life. Mr. Speaker, as a my personal faith, i can come to no other conclusion that every human life begins at conception and every human life is worthy of protection. For you created my innermost being you knit me in my mothers womb. Apparently planned parenthood plans to crush. You heard it spoken on this house floor. The senior director said we have been getting at getting heart, lung and liver and we know that so im not going to crush that part. Im not sure i ever repeated such vial and cruel words on this house floor before, mr. Speaker. Whether one considers themselves prochoice or prolife, it violates the sanctity that every child. So i add my voice, thanking our leadership of this congress for calling on investigations of this horrific acts and call on the Obama Administration to find a way to stop these gruesome practices. Almost every day we hear someone say we must do the lease of these, truly unborn life is the least of these. Lets start tonight and hold life precious. Mr. Duffy i yield to the gentleman from ohio, mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson thank you, mr. Speaker. Many of us have seen it. A recentlysurfaced horrifying video that provides evidence that they participate in the harvesting of fetal body parts. I rise towed todd in disgust. This video shows a top planned parenthood executive to sell organs from these defenseless aborted babies. As a father and grand father, i find these acts unconscionable and barbaric. We have a moral responsibility to ensure these acts are investigated and plapped parent hood is held accountable. I thank the chairman and Ranking Member for taking action for renouncing their investigations into this horrific practice. Mr. Speaker, i cannot fathom why taxpayers hardearned dollars are given to organizations to allow practices to occur. They made up 94 of planned parenthood socalled pregnancy services, 94 . Prenatal occur accounted for only five and half or. 5 respectively. Yet taxpayer funding accounts for 41 of planned parenthoods overall revenue. We must present a single dime to going to organizations to planned parenthood that flaupts such blatant disregard of human life. We need colleagues to step up and join us in this effort. And with that, i yield back. Mr. Duffy i now recognize one of the leaders on this issue, the gentlelady from missouri. Mrs. Wagner i express my outrage to two videos in which two senior Doctors Express the process which they kill unborn children and harvest their organs for sale. Like Many Americans i was shocked not only by what i learned by their standard practices but by the cold, callous indifference in which the leadership detailed the barbaric murder of societiess most bull bushel children. We it violates basic Human Dignity and perhaps even the law. What could we have done . Or perhaps what should we have done to protect women and innocent children from this outrageous practice. Im left to think, what kind of nation allows these heinous acts to continue . We are the United States of america, a country founded on the belief that each individual holds dignity and worth in the eyes of our creator. If planned parenthood is discovered to have been altering abortion procedures so as to sell human baby hearts, livers lungs brains and other organs, then they have violated their own guidelines as well as federal laws from partial birth abortion to the sale of human organs. It will be up to congress to intervene on behalf of the thousands of unborn children. Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me that there is a prevailing attitude inside planned parenthood that is so disgusting, so horrifying, and so disturbing that it warrants a congressional investigation and action. I thank house leadership and our chairman for opening up this investigation, for following our request into this unconscionable activity now. And especially i want to thank the members of the Missouri State legislature, my own home state of missouri, who have committed to investigating planned parenthood in the state of missouri assuring missourians that our laws prohibit these unthinkable acts and hold planned patienthood accountable for any wrong doing parenthood accountable for any wrong doing. Mr. Speaker, we have a duty as elected representatives to the United States to stand up for the most vulnerable among us of the United States to stand up for the most vulnerable among us. I will continue to fight for the day when abortion and the atrocities associated with it are not only illegal, but unthinkable. I yield back the balance of my time. I appreciate the gentleladys powerful comments. Mr. Duffy shes right. We do need an investigation. Federal and state, f. B. I. And d. O. J. I now yield to the gentlelady from tennessee, mrs. Black. Mrs. Black i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker planned parenthood has blood on its hands. Over the last week we have seen multiple videos showing its employees brazenly discussing the harvesting of aborted babies tissues and organ. But the truth is planned parenthoods culture of depravity runs much deeper than this couple of videos. In my home state, tennessee planned parenthood, the supposed champion of the safe abortions, sued to overturn our states informed consent and mandatory licensing laws. Measures that were put in place to protect Womens Health and safety. And when i authored an amendment to our state constitution allowing legislators to reinstate these protections, planned parenthood ran an illfated Smear Campaign attempting to confuse the facts and turn tennesseans against the measure. You see, planned parenthood doesnt empower women. It deceives them at their most difficult and vulnerable moments. It values convenience over truth and profit over life. As a nurse i have seen the abortion industrys shameful tactics with my own eyes. That is why for two years now i have cosponsored or sponsored the title 10 abortion provide ier prohibition act, provider prohibition act, to address one of the largest government revenue streams. I continue to urge passage of this legislation but in light of these videos, we must take the fight to a step further. For this reason i have just introduced the defund planned parenthood act of 2015, legislation that would enact an immediate moratorium on all federal funding for planned parenthood while congress carries out a full investigation. I eagerly await the findings of this investigation. But you know what mr. Speaker . No matter what it reveals heres the truth. Planned parenthood has made a business out of destroying that which god has created. It performs over 327000 abortions a year, all while receiving roughly 500 million in annual funding from the taxpayer dollars. The onesided relationship between planned parenthoods Evergrowing Bank account and american taxpayers must be severed. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Duffy i appreciate the gentlelady, her comments and her leadership. I now yield to one of our House Leadership Team members, the gentlelady from North Carolina ms. Foxx. Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i thank you and i thank my colleague from wisconsin for yielding time and leading this special order. I rise today to join my colleagues in bringing attention to allegations of serious misconduct by the countrys largest abortion provider, planned parenthood. There are no words properly to convey my grief and deep disgust at the cavalier way in which the doctor details how she strategically crushes the tiny bodies of innocent unborn children in order to harvest and sell their organs. Perhaps most disturb something what the doctor doesnt say. While she arbitrarily assigns monetary value to the hearts, lungs and livers of these children she recognizes no value in the lives of those being aborted. Mr. Speaker, i recently received a letter from a nurse who has assisted with abortions and witnessed firsthand the horrific nature of what that procedure entails. She told me that most women have no idea that they are subjecting their unborn children to such ghastly methods. Many of our colleagues in this house find it uncomfortable to talk about the issue of abortion and i agree that it is difficult to consider and discuss these horrific practices. But the heinous nature of the methods used by planned parenthood is precisely why we as a nation and as a Congress Must confront it. I support fully the robust oversight and investigations being pursued by the house judiciary and energy and commerce committees. Its my hope that their investigations will shed muchneeded light on the organizations grew some methods and will gruesome methods and will lead to important reforms that end these practices and stop the flow of taxpayer resources that support them. Few things demean the sanctity of human life more than elective abortion. One day i hope that a culture of life will take hold in the United States and that all children will be protected under the law. However until that day comes, it remains my solemn duty to stand up for life. Regardless of the length of this journey, i will continue to speak for those who cannot. I yield back, mr. Speaker. Zuffduff we appreciate your voice dutch duff mr. Duffy we appreciate your voice being lent to the unborn. Ms. Herrera beutler thank you. It is with a very heavy heart that i take to the floor today to speak out against what really i think anybody who saw it or witnessed the video or read the transcripts felt, which is outrage. For those of you who were able to stomach watching these issues, you were left with that many shocking questions about an organization that appears to callously commodify human baby body parts. The first video showed a senior planned parenthood official describing how to place medical for accepts on a baby during an abortion in order to best harvest specific organs. She bartered over prices for these little human parts. She did it over a casual lunch. Sadly, there are voices that defend planned parenthood and its practices. They minimize this as an isolated incident by one individual and sought to move on as quickly as possible. But then, then came today, a second video we can only guess that there are more to come. And the likelihood that these are two isolated incidents two individuals that dont represent planned parenthoods values but approach the business of selling body parts seemingly without feeling in the exact same way, im not buying it. We have to ask, and i believe this body has a duty to investigate regardless of where you stand on prolife or prochoice, the history because, i mean, given the history of federal funding to planned parenthood, we have to ask these questions. Is planned parenthood profiting from the sale of human baby body parts . Are the clinics patients being asked if they are willing to donate . Do they know that the doc who is performing their abortion could be profiting . Do they know whether or not this increases pain for their unborn baby during an abortion . Are these facilities abiding by state laws with regard to late term and partial birth abortions . Gosh. I ask this because it sure seems like they want babies in the later, second and third trimefters. Because anybody whose been a mom or followed this journey knows thats when Organ Development really strengthens and grows. So if youre just trying to profit, you want the organ thats best going to function whether its for research or wlaffer. I think we need to find out what theyre even using this for whatever. I think we need to find out what theyre even using this for. And who is buying these baby parts . Thats the other piece this body needs to investigate and find out. You know, planned parenthood is also purported to provide a Necessary Service for Womens Health, but i ask is this even safe . How long does this prolong a procedure . Is it really the motivation for their practices . Not if you follow the money. One of the docs who was describing this, basically a harvesting doctor, joked she wants a lamborghini. So like a lot of things, following the money does lead to answers and this bodys going to find out. Clearly planned parenthood doctors are receiving and filling requests for organs. A request that is unfortunately and apparently common. Ive never taken to the floor of this house to express outrage over this issue. But today i do. And its time for answers. With that i yield back. Mr. Duffy i now yield to the gentlelady from alabama, mrs. Roby. Mrs. Roby i thank my colleague and all those who are here to talk on this extraordinary issue that has stunned us all. You know, last week in the wake of the first video planned parenthood responded by forcefully and categorically denying that the organization sells body parts of aborted babies for profit. The tone of the doctor describing the way in which babies organs were harvested and sold, was unfortunate, they said, but theres nothing to see here. Just this afternoon as i was sitting on the plane to come back to washington, i watched the second video that has been released. Showing a different senior official at planned parenthood discussing the same thing. The president of planned parenthoods medical Directors Council is shown negotiating prices for the tissue and even joking about her poor negotiation abilities, but that she wanted to settle on the prices soon because she wants a lamb gore in lamborghini. The candid words of top planned parenthood officials believe the public leave the public stunned on their p. R. Teams, they felt like this was necessary to get what they wanted in order to make a profit. What we havent heard from planned parenthood is a response to perhaps the biggest revelation that its providers alter abortion procedures in order to gain access as my colleagues have already discussed in great detail. But what i found really stunning about the latest doctors comments that she made today is she discusses deliberately breaking the rules in order to obtain in tact organs. She considers out loud on this video how to alter the abortion process to get in tact baby organs. She said, we need a less crunchy option. This is sick to hear those words come from my mouth, that we need a less crunchy option when were talking about a baby. This violates their rules but she says, as long as we do it in a way that doesnt cause more pain. These doctors sure sound like those that know that theres a competitive black market at play and are willing to engage in illegal activity to tap into it. This is sickening and it will not go unaddressed. I said last week to my colleague, i said this last week and ill say it again, i dont care how much weight planned parentshood throws around this town, they are not above the law. If planned parenthood really has nothing to hide, if they really have nothing to officials will have no problem with a complete investigation. It is our responsibility to protect those who cannot defend themselves. And to stop illegal act tiffity activity, which it seems we have here. I yield back to my colleague. I thank the gentlelady. There should be no