Millions of American Youth is upon us. May our appreciation as a nation of the value of education among those who are our future be incentive enough to guarantee its importance in our Public Policy consideration. May all that is done within the peoples house this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. The speaker 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 gentleman from connecticut. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speakers approval of the journal. The speaker the question is on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The gentleman from connecticut. Mr. Courtney thank you, mr. Speaker, i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested the speaker 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 clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. The pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentlelady from North Carolina, ms. Foxx. Ms. Foxx please join me in the pledge to our wonderful flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag f 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 the chair will entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise . Mr. Poe mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Poe mr. Speaker, its been 19 months since terrorists stormed the american consulate in benghazi. Four americans were murdered. And today their killers still room free somewhere in libya. Why have none of them been apprehended . Meanwhile back in the United States more questions than answers remain for this administration. Who is responsible for failing to rescue those victims . Who is responsible for the massive secrecy campaign of hiding what actually happened . Where was the administration during the time of the attack . And why did ambassador rice mislead the world on National Television as to the facts . A new email has surfaced from white house entitled, quote, prep call with susan. Ed administration created a goal, to underscore that these brute protests are rooted in an internet video and not a broader failure of policy. Why didnt the Administration Just tell america the truth about what happened . I applaud the speaker for establishing a select committee on benghazi to find out the truth. People in government that botched this benghazi matter and the terrorists who killed the americans should be held accountable. Justice requires it. And justice is what we do. And thats just the way it is. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, madam speaker. Im proud to announce that thursday, Mystic Aquarium of mystic, connecticut, will be awarded the institute for museum and Library Services 2014 National Medal. Mr. Courtney this award is only given to 10 institutions each year and is the highest honor bestowed upon museums and libraries for Exceptional Service to their communities. The award will be presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at the white house in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the medals program. Mystic aquarium is a crowned jewel of eastern connecticut. It has more than 4,000 animals and over 300 species including new englands only beluga whale. The aquarium has plead an Important Role for connecticut residents and visitors alike with numerous Exchange Programs for students from and around the country. Dr. Steven cohen, c. E. O. Of sea research foundation, the parent of Mystic Aquarium, will accept the award on behalf of the aquestionnaire come. The aquestionnaire on behalf of the aquarium. The aquarium has done a lot of research. Madam speaker, i want to congratulate the aquarium and dr. Cohen as they receive the 2014 National Medal and i thank them for their monumental dedication and contribution to the mystic community. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from South Carolina seek recognition . Mr. Wilson mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Wilson mr. Speaker, the American People have lost faith in the administration. When four of americas heroes were brutally murdered at the consulate in benghazi, libya, the president promised the families of the fallen that he would bring those responsible to justice and prevent a future attack. Congress has held countless hearings to conduct oversight responsibilities through the last 19 months. Last week a secret memo was discovered. Despite subpoenas, Unanswered Questions remain as to how the administration handled the attack. We must continue to pursue every avenue to ensure all americans remain safe from terrorists terrorist attacks at home and abroad. Because the administration continues to provide a misleading coverup, we owe it to those who have died for america to develop a select committee, to continue the investigation of the benghazi murders. I am very grateful that House Speaker john boehner picked a proven prosecutor for the job. Congressman gowdy of South Carolina is most capable of forcing the administration to reveal the truth. In conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlelady from North Carolina seek recognition . Ms. Foxx i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. The buddha once said that there are three things that cannot be hidden long. The sun, the moon and the truth. Its been 18 months since the attack in benghazi and this piece of proverbial wisdom has again proved prescient. Evidence is mounting that the Obama Administration mounting that the Obama Administration manipulated truth of what happened on september 11, 2012. When our ambassador and three other americans were killed in what early reports indicated was a planned attack on the u. S. Diplomatic facility in benghazi. Ly repeated attempts by this house to ascertain the truth what have happened have been dismissed by the administration as politicizing the tragedy. The deep irony is that it was the white houses political maneuvering which led to the truth being buried in the first place. The emails released last week shed more light on the white house response to the attacks. More will be learned as the investigation continues. Coverups like clouds are temporary. They cant hold back the light forever. Americans want answers and they will get them. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. For what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . The gentleman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Northhampton Fire Department back in my Home Community is celebrating 100 years, a century of service, this year. Mr. Fitzpatrick and the community that i represent proudly recognizes the spirit and unflinching courage of its dedicated and skilled volunteers who remain faithful and ready to protect their neighbors year after year. The fire Company Continues to serve the northhampton Township Community with a staunch group of trained firefighters who consistently demonstrate the highest order of public service. Risking their lives as they do to save others. Each of the firefighters and Company Officers are an integral part of the history of the centuryold fire company. And each reflects the true spirit of First Responders everywhere. Throughout its history, the northhampton Township Volunteer Fire Company and its members have set an example of selfselfless volunteerism and dedication for others to follow. I congratulate them on this landmark anniversary and with that, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair lays before the house a communication. The clerk 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 may 5, 2014, at 5 19 p. M. That the senate agreed to Senate Resolution 436. Signed, sincerely, karen l. Haas. The chair the chair the speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house a communication. The clerk the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. Pursuant to section 743b3 of the consolidated appropriations act, 2014, public law 11376, i am pleased to appoint the following individuals to the National Commission on hunger. Dr. Deborah alice frank, m. D. , of brookline, massachusetts. Mr. William howard shore of boston, massachusetts. Thank you for your attention to these appointments. Signed, sincerely, nancy pelosi, democratic leader. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house a communication. The clerk 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 may 6, 2014, at 10 22 a. M. That the senate passed, without amendments, h. R. 4120. Signed, sincerely, karen l. Haas. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess subject to the call of the chair. Back. Join us to discuss the book at booktv. Org. Washington journal continues. Host our next guest is adam snider of politico. We are talking about the Highway Trust Fund running out of money. Why should i be concerned about that happening . Guest you get from point ato point b at some point. You are driving, taking a train, a transit system, a bus, Something Like that all the goods you get, everything you order from amazon, that comes on a ups or fedex truck that travels over our roads. It is the lifeblood of our economy. It really is what drives our nation. Host this goes specifically to a fund. What is the fund and what is it tasked to do . Guest it is the Highway Trust Fund, created in 1956 under legislation by president eisenhower, starting with a toee cent gas tax that went fund the initial construction of the interstate highway system. Things were going well for a few decades, but as they continue to grow and build the system there was more and more work to be done, and less and less money coming into the fund. So, we were starting to have the problem of not enough money to repave roads, to fill potholes, to fix crumbling bridges, and things like that. Primary funding the gas tax . Guest 90 . There is also the truck the and a few years ago the fund was given the ability to earn interest. Interest rates are next to nothing now, so it does not mean much, but down the road that could account for a small bit of money. Recent stories talk about it running out. Is that the case . Guest under the antideficiency act, it cannot go fully broke, but as it gets closer to zero, the department of transportation is tasked with managing that and making sure it does not reach a zero balance, so whether that be slowing the money that goes back to the states, totally shutting down the program, they have a few options and none of them are good and then as lawmakers scared. Host what is the timeframe for running to that point . Is thepart of the issue dot does not know exactly when that is. There is no computer screen that they can see as an uptodate balance that takes up or down every minute or every hour. They put out these monthly updates. Right now, they are projecting the end of august, but that could change, that could slip into the next month. Tocould be back up earlyaugust. Keep in mind, congress is out for all of august. Host it is also the height of the driving season. Guest exactly, and the summer construction season, right now in the northern states, which is a crucial time. A lot of the winter states need to be working on their summer plans because the ground is thawing and they only have a few months to get the work done before the winter freeze. Host as a solution to the fund running out, what are the options . Guest there are a number of them. One that gets the most attention is a sample gas tax increase. A number of people like it. It is as close to a user fee as we can get at this point. It is not directly tied to how much you drive, but it is close enough. As far asother ideas repatriation, using a corporate tax, closing tax loopholes to bring back foreign money back to the u. S. , but the one that gets talked about a lot is the gas tax simply because it is a thing that is fund this program for over 50 years. Host one legislators on capitol hill here increase the gas tax what is the reaction . Guest they focus on the increase and the tax. President obama campaigning in 2008, he said he did not want a gas tax increase. A number of democrats do not. Republicans, some privately do, but they are really all over the place. That is feeling a lot of concern as there is no obvious consensus solution. Host what is the current tax . 18. 4 cents per gallon on gasoline, and 24. 4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, and a little bit of that extra money, mostly paid by truckers, those two freight and other projects. Host if the money comes in from all 50 states, does that mean all 50 states get a general payout as far as those funds are concerned, or does it depend on the size of the state . Yuko it is actually a complex set of formulas. All guest it is actually a complex set of formulas. It is based on population, there has been politics to the way they write of formulas, which helps if you are the chairman of a committee with control over this, but he goes to a complicated system of a number of formulas and several different programs, and then back to the states. One of the hot topics has been the rate of return, which is sort of the minimum that every state gets back, and i believe that is about 95 now. State is paying in and they are getting near everything they are paying in, but not all of it. Host you ever the guest talk about the Highway Trust Fund, as far as its solvency, its future. He is adam snider of politico. If you want to ask questions, here are the numbers to call if you want to send us a tweet,. Ou can do so cspanwj outfolks at pew stayed put a study and looked at the funding and a broke down as this, with 57 billion coming from the federal government and more productive the state and local governments as well. Talk about the breakdown. What happens if the federal torsion is affected by the trust fund drying up . What does it mean for the state and localities . Guest a couple of other things. For one, when it comes to the mind, thiskeep in price crisis has been going on for quite a while. Nting for as been pu long time. Everyone patted themselves on the back and it ended up being a twoyear bill. You cannot finance a bridge. You need that longterm certainty. It means on one hand the states are pursuing things on their own. On either side of us, virginia and maryland have taken action to adjust their transportation funding, and it is not just partisan. Red asing, which is as it gets, they have implemented a gas tax increase. So, states are not counting on the federal government anymore, so they are doing things on their own, but at the same time the federal program is very important to them. A number of states rely on that. Rhode island, for example, the small estate in our country country,state in our their state program simply matches the federal program. You could envision that if that is gone, rhode island has zero original dollars they could use. That is not the case in every single state, but there are states all across the country that are facing a backlog, stumpage, or other that issues. Programsheard about done under stimulus for these types of projects. Do states have access to that type of money . Guest that was a number of years ago, about five years ago. It is starting to wind down. I am sure some states have some money left, and one of the big forshes was 8 billion highspeed rail, and california is just starting to put shovels and the ground to build their project. Host as far as the legislation that oversees the trust fund, when did that run out, and when does it have to be renewed . Guest there are two different tracks. There is the policy, where d. O. T. Does, and that comes from the house transportation committee, and in the senate, environment and Public Works Committee has most of it. To big issue really is going be financing, which is up to the house ways and means means and e finance committees. Host your first call comes from john, democrat from maryland. Caller hey. Host john, go ahead. Good morning. Caller what i would like to say is, yeah. Host john, you are on the air. Caller what i would like to say, it seems like they are running out of money on anything. It doesnt seem like we have anything to spend on domestic issues in the United States. But the republicans, they have plenty of money. They are ready to go to syria, to ukraine, to use all this money. We asked taxpayers are the one who really suffer. Any more money that is given on aid, everything in the United States domestically needs to be taking care of. I feel like this is a violation of the constitution when you take our money to help people overseas in ukraine. Would stickif you to the transportation funding aspect, what do you have as a question or comment for our guest . Caller basically at is where the money is going. Good point. Kes a a lot of people especially during the height of the war years ago say why we are why are we building roads in afghanistan and iraq instead of here in america . Focusmakers, they need to on rebuilding our own country after we have rebuilt so many other countries over the years. Host jane from florida. Youre on with adam snider of politico. Caller let me take you off speakerphone so you can hear me better. I do a lot of work in miami with an Organization Called it is interesting. I think to frame the conversation popular properly, if the feds are pushing the funding down to the said scum of the states are pushing the localities, to for instance, my transportation and toll related tax. Eating my property this will put it right in the taxpayere of what the is paying. One of the things that we would like people to be aware of nationally is that you have got to have a very open dialogue with your state legislators because your problems are going to be the small or large depending on how these things are being handled in the legislature. I think thankfully our legislature in florida is fairly conservative, so we are starting to get them to look at the debt ceiling. We are also talking about the withhat they inflate taxes the Consumer Price index. We really want this on the radar all across the country. Host thank you. Guest i think we have a little bit of concern over tolling, which has been discussed over the past few weeks. President obamas administration, they have proposed the grow america act, is what they call it. They have proposed that, and they do seek to roll back the current prohibition on states choosing to toll. I think the caller hits an interesting point, which is not only is all politics local, but most transportation is local. Everything is connected in some way or another, but it really comes down to support at the local level. It is why a lot of these transportation groups have focused their efforts on individual members of congress, not just bringing in an association, bringing in constituents to each member to say i drive over three deficient bridges every day to get to my job. Make it a local issue to get states worried about it, localities, all levels of government getting them involved in this. To know hower wants much is spent on the bureaucracy related to the highway transportation fund. Sure of thenot administrative costs of the department of transportation. Several federal watchdogs keep an eye on those things. Reports thatof any they are using that in any bad ways. From vermont, good morning. Go ahead. Caller good morning. For several years back in the 1980s, i worked for the state of vermont as a highway planning economist, and that had to do with the construction and maintenance of the highway, federal and state. The federal Highway Trust Fund was set up under the eisenhower administration. It was an Excellent Way of funding our Transportation System in america, and then as usual, politicians and activists made inroads into it, and it paid for itself. It was based on a user fee. But what happened over the years , the Highway Trust Fund was set up very similarly to the federal one. But over the years they started like ants making inroads into sacred trustbe a fund used only for the construction of roads and highways. Makes a veryller good point. There have been a number of politicians tom a interest groups, and a number of other people working on crafting their own sort of pet issue, and these are all on paper very good ideas, whether it is safe routes to schools, getting children to school [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] good afternoon, everyone. Last week when we sent out the notice for this meeting today, it was thought that we would be there to listen to the voices of those who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. To listen to women, to veterans , to heads of families who are hoping that congress would pass the unemployment the extension of Unemployment Insurance. The bill has already passed the senate in a bipartisan way. We invited you to a room in the rayburn building. This morning the republican majority told us that for the purpose of talking about Unemployment Insurance extension, we no longer had access to the room. Perhaps they thought we would cancel the meeting. Instead we have taken to the steps of the capitol. [applause] the purpose of that meeting was to listen, to listen to these voices. Voices to whom the republicans have turned a deaf ear. They are invisible to the republicans, the republicans are indifferent to their needs, but we want to give voice to them. We thought it would be in the rayburn building, it is now on the steps of the capitol and it is my i want to thank the National Employment law project and the philadelphia unemployment law project for helping us bring folks together. It is now my privilege to introduce one of our very special guests, helen laura savage, to hell her story. To tell her story. Good afternoon. And thank you for the opportunity to share my story and to lend my voice to the effort to restore federal Unemployment Insurance for the more than 2 1 2 million of us who have been cut off from the critical lifeline. Laurusavage. En i was laid off last spring when my longtime job as an Environmental Health and Safety Officer for my job was outsourced. I have experience in my field. Ahold a degree in fisks and im a proud, honorably discharged veteran of the United States air force. Despite having a competitive resume, a professional portfolio, a successful history of employment and a depth of technical and professional experience, im still looking for work. My job search is methodical and unlike many other people of i people i know of, i do get callbacks and interviews. Ive been applying for jobs in my specialized field as well as jobs in areas for which i have Prior Experience too, including facilities and fleet management, and even administrative positions. Ive sent out 229 resumes for specific job postings and ive had 26 interviews. And still no job. My regular state Unemployment Benefits ran out at the end of december, precisely when the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program was allowed to expire. I was appalled at the time to see attempts to renew federal jobless aid callously dismissed and rejected. Since then ive been horrified to witness the delays, obstruction and petty posturing that has kept federal e. U. C. From being restored. Even as the toll continues to of those being abandoned. The ray of hope provided by the Senate Passage finally in early april of a bipartisan paidfor temporary extension is one that would be crushed if House Republican leaders refused to bring it up for vote in this chamber. My husband and i are fortunate because he is still working. However, since i was the primary income, his salary alone cant cover our mortgage or other necessities. Unemployment benefits were our lifeline. When they were cut off at six months, we and millions of ing families began sink fast. During the first three months of this year, we depleted all of our savings just to make ends meet. Everything that i worked in terms for of savings is now gone. We borrowed from my elderly motherinlaw to make the mortgage payments for april and may but thats it. Without a renewal of federal jobless aid or a new job, by the end of may were done. Well have nothing to make the mortgage and well lose our home. What weve worked so hard for are, our American Dream, has turned into a nightmare, and we realize there are many, many people through no fault of their own who are in far more dire circumstances than we are, especially those with children and no spouses who now have been suffering with no income whatsoever. And all because of congress failure so far to restore federal Unemployment Benefits. I want you and all the members of the house to hear my story and reflect on the fact that restoring federal e. U. C. Would help relieve a tremendous amount of hardship for me and millions of others. Let democracy work. With a vote in the house on the senatepassed bill. The time for excuses is over. Thank you. [applause] thank you very much, helene. Well said. This morning there was a room available for some of the citizens of our country to come to washington and their capitol, their capitol, with their Office Building and their office and tell their story. They cut us off. They tried to silence the voices of those who are in deep pain because of republican failures. Cause of the republicans ignoring the pain of so many people in america. Were raising awareness today about an issue that has adversely impacted over 2 1 2 million americans. Just a few of whom wanted to speak today in their capitol. The sudden and unnecessary cutoff of emergency Unemployment Insurance was another consequence of republicans failed leadership and donothing agenda. As long as Congress Fails to restore emergency Unemployment Insurance, another 72,000 people per week will join the ranks of those whom we listen to today. Im not happy to introduce, im proud to introduce, but not happy, because latice brown has been unemployed since early last fall. And lost her Unemployment Insurance in mid march. Latice brown. A victim of the ignoring of the peoples pain by the Republican Leadership. Latice, thank you very much for being here. [applause] good afternoon. And thank you for the opportunity to share my story with you. My name is latice brown. I am originally from york, pennsylvania, and currently living in fort washington, maryland. I am a hardworking young woman with a bachelors degree from Penn State University in geography and also a masters in administration of justice and security from the United States of phoenix. Last year i was in my sixth year of a job, working for a contractor within the United States census bureau. I was happy and loved my work and felt like i was getting somewhere and on my way. So on september 1, my boyfriend and i moved into our first apartment together. Six days later we celebrated my 30th birthday. One week after that, my world was turned upside down. With less than 24 hours notice, i was let go, among with 10 others, which was half of our 22person g. I. S. Team. We were told it was because the contractor had to drastically cut back, under pressure from budget cuts and sequestration. I have never been unemployed before and, believe me, if you have not been unemployed you have no idea what its like, especially in a tough job market. We did three things right away. First, we cut back on whatever and wherever we could. We had no thanksgiving, we had no christmas. Second, i began receiving my Unemployment Insurance which, while not enough to meet all our needs, at least we were able to make due. My boyfriend works as an airline Food Service Delivery driver but they are paid so little that it was only with the u. I. Benefits that we were able to keep up with the rent payments. And, third, i launched myself into an intense search for work , all day, every day. And im still looking. I thought with my technical experience, both a bachelors and a masters degree, it wouldnt take long to find a new job. I had not a single interview in the first four months of looking. Right now i have over 300 applications out for specific job postings in places all over the east coast. And have had only a couple of interviews, including one in florida that did not pan out. For which i had to use my own tax money tax refund money to pay for the travel expenses. Ive been told that by some of the recruiters that they have at least 100 qualified applicants for every one open position. It doesnt take much to figure out that for a lot of us, its going to take longer than six months to find a new job. But six months of Unemployment Benefits is all that i received. My regular state unemployment ran out in march. Without the support of federal jobless aid, ive not only depleted all of my meager savings, but have been forced to draw cash against my credit card to keep up with last months rent and car payments. Now theres only 500 left to draw on and even that still is going to leave us a few hundred dollars short for may 1s rent. I car and internet which depend on for my job search are also at risk, not to mention defaulting on one of my federal student loans. I know that the senate has passed a bipartisan temporary compromise, renewal of federal Unemployment Insurance and that its been a waiting awaiting action here in the house. I think i speak for at least 2 1 2 million americans like myself who have been cut off from this vital life line while we continue to look for work. This isnt about politics. Its about right and wrong. Restoring federal Unemployment Insurance is the right thing to do. The members of the house deserve a vote and so do we. Please dont turn your backs on us. Dont let us down. Thank you. [applause] dont turn your back on us. Thats what the American People are saying, lettice, all over this country. I want to introduce another young man from maryland. Hes from boons bro on the western part of our state. Represented by john delaney who is fighting for Unemployment Insurance. He began his career while in the Army National guard. Unfortunately he lost his job in june. Of 2013. A Civil Engineering and environmental firm. His state Unemployment Insurance ran out in 2014. We need to hear his story. Kevin. [applause] good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. A little nervous. My names kevin mccarthy. Im a 38yearold married father of two. I have two amazing teenage daughters that i love to death and i currently live in maryland. As far back as i could remember, i always wanted to work. I watched my mom and grandmother work hard to provide for me and my siblings. So i toobling a took a job at 12 years old, delivering newspapers. I kept that for four years until i was legally allowed to work in an establishment and get paid by check. I was excited. It was great. At the age of 17, though, coming from a lowincome family, i needed to find a way to pay for college, so i joined the national guard. And i was proud to do so. I served for six years. Much to the chagrin of my parents who were both marines. [laughter] while in the national guard, i was able to start my career in the Manufacturing Industry and continued that for several years, working my way into the industry of construction. My career arc has always been constant, with jobs in both of those fields, and ive always gotten rave reviews from my employers. Imagine my surprise when may 20, 2013, my Current Employer called me into the office and told me that my position had been eliminated because they were having a bad year. At first i wasnt terribly excited about it. Because i have a good resume. I can get a job. No problem. But after three months with sending out several resumes a week and nocallbacks, i started to worry. I was depending on these benefits. Much more than i ever thought id have to. This is the first time i had too as well. My wife, though, was good enough to get a job and she works. She works hard. And with those Unemployment Benefits we were able to make it do by cutting back on everything. Including christmas for my two daughters. My Unemployment Benefits ran out february 9 of 2014. When i received the letter i was shocked. Because i thought by that Point Congress would have passed an extension for the federal benefits. I had to call my wife and i cried. I didnt know what i was going to do. I was shocked. I panicked. Kind of like im doing right now. While my wife works, she only gets 30 hours a week, working in a bakery doesnt pay that much. So were barely making ends meet, with a little bit of assistance from the state of maryland, were able to get by. But about a month ago my oldest daughter took an extreme measure, she felt like she was a burden to her family because weve been struggling. She watched her father work hard and he couldnt find a job. How do i explain that to them . There is no explanation except that were being let down by the people we elected in the ffice. Sorry. You have no idea how soulcrushing it is to listen to your daughter tell you shes a burden. A burden. I know im not the only family suffering. There are over 2 1 2 million, like youve heard already, and its unnecessary. This could be eliminated if democracy was allowed to work. Unfortunately petty differences are keeping that from happening. I hope that me taking the time to tell my story along with everybody else who has told their story today so far, i hope this changes some peoples minds and they bring this up to vote. Let democracy do its job. Thank you. [applause] kevin, thank you. Your daughters have got to be very proud of you today. Year speaking for millions of americans. All across this country, for millions of americans, their top priority are two simple things. A job that pays well enough for them to take care of their family and some assurance that their Financial Security will be protected when they fall upon hard times through no fault of their own. No one here would dispute that we need to be doing more to invest in our economy and create new jobs, especially jobs with a fair wage. But we also need to extend longterm Unemployment Insurance to help folks who are still out of work and struggling to find a new job, who are looking day in and day out. Were here today because Congress Needs to hear from the three million americans who worked hard and played by the rules, as youve just heard now from our first people to testify. And they still lost their jobs and theyre still looking for the new one. We need to be acting on what we hear. The senate voted last month for a bipartisan basis to extend Unemployment Insurance. Today were appealing to our republican colleagues to allow a vote on the house floor. So that we can restore this vital lifeline to these hardworking americans that were hearing from today and for the millions of americans that they represent, the families that they represent, the children that they represent as they go into the job market every day trying to restore that portion of the American Dream for them and their families. Im honored to introduce kimberly from pennsylvania. [applause] thank you very much. My name is kimberly. I live in washington crossing, pennsylvania. I am 53 years old and im a collegeeducated single parent of a 17yearold son. I began working in jr. High school as a paper carrier and continue to work part time throughout high school and college. At times working two jobs to pay for my college tuition. I started my professional career in sales and marketing in 1984 within the Lifescience Research industry. I was steadily employed for the last 30 years. I have built a solid reputation as a sales and marketing professional and have independently supported myself and my son with this career. In june of 2013 my company reorganized and my position was eliminated. I lost Health Benefits for both my son and myself. My Unemployment Insurance benefits have ended as of january, 2014. I have been living off what was supposed to be my Retirement Savings. I do not have a pension plan to rely on when i retire. I applied for the Affordable Care act for Health Insurance and fell into the unemployed loophole. I was not eligible because i made too little money, because the state of pennsylvania did not expand medicaid for the longterm unemployed. So there is no affordable Insurance Program for me. The longer i stay unemployed, my Social Security benefits will also decline and my retirement. I have been aggressively looking for fulltime employment. I am working with a placement firm. I am working with head hunters in my profession. I use linkedin to search for job openings, i network with other professionals. I am on many job sites on the internet. Im either too old, overqualified or the Companies Hire from within by expanding position responsibilities to avoid adding head count. For the first time in my life i could not pay my electric bill and have looked to pico for assistance. My 17yearold son is on the Free Lunch Program at school and he has just been accepted onto medicaid. This came just in time because earlier this month he had to. Ave emergency lung surgery this would have wiped me out. I was living and working the American Dream until june of 2013. What is going to happen to me now and in the future if i use all my Retirement Savings to live . These are the questions that keep me up at night. How will i pay my mortgage . Where will my son and i live . How will i feed him and myself . How will i get medical care . How will my son go to college . I want to work, i am ready, willing and able to take on a professional position, equivalent or comparable to what i was doing and earning. I have done everything right and played by the rules. And through no fault of my own im on the brink of losing everything i have worked my entire life for. Please come to some compromise to extend the Unemployment Benefits for hardworking americans like myself who have played according to the rules and believe in america. Thank you for your time. [applause] well, youve heard some heartbreaking stories. The question is whether the republicans behind us will listen. I might want to make one important point. This situation today is different than before. Never before has there been such a High Percentage of the unemployed or longterm unemployed. Never before. More than 1 3 of the unemployed in this country are longterm unemployed. And never, never before has this Government Cut off Unemployment Benefits for the longterm unemployed in this way. And theyre from all walks of life. And the estimate is, if this institution does not act, the number will reach 4. 9 Million People who will be cut off from their Unemployment Insurance. Need to take to heart the heartbreaking stories. People come from all walks of ife and one of them is now a resident of ohio, having moved from michigan. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, thank you for giving me this time to share our story with you. My name is erol torres. I live in ohio in a suburb of cleveland. With my wife of 15 years, stephanie, and our six wonderful children. Stephanie is a stay at home mom and up until june of 2013 i was a Sales Manager in the flooring industry. Weve been blessed to raise our children who range in age from 14 to 1 1 2 years old in a Terrific Community surrounded by wonderful friends and an incredible family. Those friends and family have lent us lent us both emotional and Financial Support as weve faced constitute multiwhite house times during this economic downturn. In 2009, after 12 years of corporate sales, i cashed in our retirement and fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening my own flooring and remodeling business. Sales grew quickly, but unfortunately our expenses grew faster. And we ended up leveraging our house and savings to shore up the business. In 2012, after suffering a loss on a large construction project, we were forced to close our doors and file bankruptcy. This was devastating to me and my family. But luckily i was able to quickly reenter corporate sales. My new position came with one downside. I would need to sign a noncompete agreement. I wasnt in a position to negotiate so i signed the agreement with the hope that i would never have to compete because i would never lose my job. And remain employed. Unfortunately on june 13, 2013, after just nine months, my employer decided to let me go with no warning and enforced their noncompete. We are left with no income, no insurance, no savings and no legal ability to seek work in my field of expertise for two years. For the first time in my 25 years of working life, i needed unemployment. We were in the middle of being reviewed for a loan modification for our house and maintaining income was critical. And in transitioning to and i knew transitioning to a new field would take time. I received state Unemployment Benefits from june 13 to december 16, 2013, when i received a letter that all my benefits would be ending right before christmas. During the past 10 months of my unemployment, i have applied for nearly 200 jobs and now that number is succeeded since i wrote. This ive been told im overqualified, underqualified, underpaid, overpaid, undereducated, overeducated, inexperienced. At first i had hopes of making somewhat near of what i made before but i soon found outside my field i was worth considerably less and it was a buyers market for labor. Without the e. U. C. Extension we were left with the choice of either signing a deed in lewd and selling our house back to the bank or facing foreclosure. So on february 27, for 4,000, we sold our 175,000 house back to the back. We had already gone down to one car and made so many other cutbacks in our lifestyle and now we were no longer homeowners. Without the e. U. C. We have had no income. At first we got by on our tax return and selling items. But to make last months rent i had to borrow from my dad whos retired. If i dont find work soon, i may have to consider trying to look out of state and possibly be separated from my family for a time. But i hold out hope that this congress will act with courage and compassion and extend the e. U. C. Program. There are many others out there like me that have special circumstances, that prevent them from quickly finding a job, despite their best efforts, as weve heard from all these stories. I pray they will do the right thing. Thank you for your time. [applause] the National Economy lost 5 billion because of the lapse of Unemployment Insurance the first three months. But were here today to tell the personal stories that reflect those stories of millions of americans, and another person with her story is Carmen Sanchez from philadelphia. [applause] good afternoon. Hi. My name is Carmen Sanchez, im the single 52yearold single mom of twin adult daughters. I have worked all my adult life with the exception of a twoyear break following the birth of my premature twins. I worked for 12 1 2 years for t. W. A. Until they went out of business. I collected unemployment for approximately five months before i found another job. After being employed for 13 years, the Company Closed the field office i worked out of and i was left without a job. It has been one year since i was laid off and havent had income since december 28, 2013. Ive applied for so many jobs i lost track of the number. I was told i was on a waiting list and theyll let me know when something has come up. I do not have money to pay the rent. I had to apply for food stamps so i could at least have food to eat. I have been relying on my elderly mother to give me car fare and pocket money just to be able to go out and look for work. I had to stop driving the car because i could no longer afford the insurance. I never imagined that finding a job would be this difficult. I went to a Crisis Center last stop apply for help to my my water from being shut off. Have lowwater bills i have to have work. The person i have been rernting from has been patient with me. Im urging congress to pass a bill to reinstate emergency Unemployment Benefits. The lives of Many Americans are in peril. We want jobs and well keep looking until we find one. We are losing our homes, our dignity and our trust in a nation who proclaim the American Dream was attainable to all of its citizens. Please give the longtime unemployed back the lifeline that was so clearly taken away from us last december. Were not asking for years of benefits but just enough to keep us afloat while we continue to search for jobs. [applause] there are 2. 8 million americans, hardworking americans that stand to lose everything that they worked for. Everything that they spent their lives building. Because the Republican Leadership in congress is unwilling to take up a bill that would not increase the deficit but that would save pain, like the pain that were hearing about today from taking place. These are hardworking americans, and while to the Republican Leadership they may be invisible, they wont be silenced. We tried to hold a hearing today and we were told no, that the peoples house was not open to the people who wanted to tell their stories about how theyve lost their jobs and stand to lose everything. This is something that are the government, the federal government, the congress can do something about. Some of the questions we face are really complicated. This ones simple. Take up this bill. Its been passed by the senate. The president will sign it. A majority of congress will support it. Take up this bill. Thats all we need to do. We need and the people need a vote. They may be invisible to the Republican Leadership but they wont will be silenced. Their stories will be told. And i want to introduce one of them from baltimore, maryland, one of the americans who works hard every day to try to find work, jean king. Jean. Hello. Thank you for being here today. My name is jean king. Im 52 from baltimore, maryland, and i want to thank you for this opportunity to share my story. In the fall of 1983 i was married with a new baby girl and during that time my husband lost his job at u. S. Steel. With tens of thousands of other workers when the mill shut down and in the ohio steel valley. We had to relocate, sold our ome, was sent help from my father. This move turned out to be very difficult. Economic stress and financial strain divided our Little Family and by 1998 my marriage was over. In time my exhusbands job loss had brought on his depression from which he fully never recovered. In 2007 he passed away. The year my marriage ended i moved to baltimore, went to college, had a second child, found work, raised both of my children on my own for the most part. I bought a home while making a modest middleincome salary. 2006 i went to work for a successful Manufacturing Company serving as plant manager of accounting and Human Resources coordinator. Over the years the company had wethered up and downed Business Cycles as well and when the Housing Market crashed things seemed fine. Then in 2011 the companys assets were purchased by a larger firm. They began to close the plant bit by bit. In 2012 my plant manager, the receiving manager, the purchasing manager and my son, who also worked at the plant with me, were the first to be let go. I was relocated to a Different Department to continue the merger and transition. And then i was laid off in may of 2013. I looked for work. I accepted a job doing an accounts payable for a Small Company but long after i started they told me i was overqualified and gave the job to a young friend of the family. Ive heard that term overqualified too many times to encounter in my ninemonth job search. I had lost my searchans from my former employer and i filed for and began receiving regular state Unemployment Insurance which helped me keep up with my bills. I continued to look for work during the day and attend College Classes at night to further my skills and education. I had my resume professionally prepared. Its been reviewed by recruiters and academic experts. In addition to the scores of networking referrals and contacts with recruiters, i have applied for more than 350 positions. I have had 60 phone interviews and 22 inperson interviews and i had absolutely no job offers. My daughter and her 5yard line autistic son were forced by the tough economy to move back in with me and my son. She received some assistance for her child and my son has occasionally found parttime temporary work but nothing steady full time. The first week of february, my state unemployed benefits ran out. With no federal extension of unemployment compen significance, weve been able to feed oufs with snap benefits but could not keep up with the mortgage payments, utilities or other bills. I have now lost my phone and Internet Service which, of course, makes looking for work harder than it even was. I am now on the verge of losing my home. The only protection i have for myself and my family. While all of this was happening to me, my former plant manager was so devastated by the combination of his own loss, at the age of 60, the layoffs of all 60 of his former coworkers at the plant, many of whom had worked there for decades, the loss of his home to foreclosure, that he became severely depress and experienced a mental and emotional breakdown, knowing that so many of his former coworkers were cut off from federal jobless aid and facing des tution. This good man with a masters degree, a fine husband and family man and friend to many of us, the stress was too much. He suffered a stroke and in february he died. I happened to be an epileptic and i, too, am depressed with the feeling of helplessness but i am not going to beg for anything. I am requesting that you reinstate the federal extension of emergency Unemployment Compensation and that you do so immediately. [applause] i also ask that you adopt legislative measures i also ask that you adopt legislative measures to prevent discrimination against the longterm unemployed in the job market and that you remove unfair barriers to the employment based on credit screening for those who have been unable to pay their bills. [applause] and lastly, congress, i ask that you pass real job creation with serious investments in an infrastructure and jobs across the board to boost the economy so i do not lose any of my coworkers, my family or my friends. As this situation becomes more desperate, so do the people who are enveloped in it. Thank you for your time. [applause] the voices that we have heard this afternoon represent hundreds of thousands, indeed, millions of americans who are in a similar situation. Unfortunately our republican colleagues in the congress are in denial about this situation. When i ask them, why dont you give us a vote because the votes are there to pass the extension of unemployment they say say these people are not looking for work. So were not going to get them this extension. They are in denial. In fact, they dont even want to hear the truth. Thats why they kicked us out of the rayburn room and wouldnt let these stories be told in the peoples house on capitol hill. But as we have noticed, weve come to the steps of the capitol so that the world can hear the stories, not only of their own stories but representative of so many others. They have spoken so eloquently. I want to thank them. I want to thank all of my colleagues who join us here and are helping to cosponsor the legislation that would give us a vote. Thats all were asking for. Mr. Speaker, give us a vote. Give us a vote. Give us a vote. Thank you, all, very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National able satellite corp. 2014] democrats say they were shut out at the rayburn Office Building where they wanted to hold the meeting in. Meanwhile, the republicans said they had not requested the room for media. If you missed this News Conference on the capitol steps, youll see it in our Video Library at cspan. Org. The congress will work on a number of bills at 4 30, including some dealing with Credit Unions and special mortgages for rural areas. Live coverage on cspan when they gavel back in. Over in the senate they have moved forward with energy legislation. You can follow the senate on cspan2. Were going to take you live to the white house now. Today they released their u. S. National Climate Assessment. The third scientific assessment, examining Climate Change and its impact on the environment. And the economy. On your screen is kathryn sullivan, the noaa administer. They have been discussing the release of the report for the last 45 minutes noaa administrator. They have been discussing the release of the report for the last 45 minutes or so. The import for citizens across this land directly to them. And i hope you will find also that this new report is an added and very valuable tool in your toolbox as you help our citizens across the land better understand what these changes are, how theyre going to affect them in their region and what it means to them in their community. All of you here from the business community, including those that serve, we can learn a lot from you as well as i hope you taking some good notes from this report. Tackling Climate Change and protecting the environment over the last several years have become much more prominent factor both in evaluating return on Economic Investment and in driving factors in many Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Thats another change that bodies well for the that bodes well for the future. So whats next . We do all have to come together and turn these words into action. From noaas side, we see a growing thirst from communities, from civic leaders, from decisionmakers, a growing thirst for the kind of information we have been talking about here. What kind of foresight can you give me . What kind of understanding bout the changes of foresight of what my conditions will be in five or 20 or 50 years as i make the Infrastructure Investment decision thats before me right now . That have to be made one way or another. People attempting not to decide is a decision in itself with the train of consequences in its own right. They are increasingly hungry for this kind of understanding about whats happening in the world and foresight about the changes that are coming their way. They realize that this is a factor that they need and want to take better account in their decisionmaking. And while attribution of Climate Changes may remain difficult, these people know from their very own experience the phenomena around them are changing as we heard. Storms are becoming more stronger and more intense. Rainfall patterns are shifting with an impact on their infrastructure, agriculture. Seas are rising, streets are flooding. People are trying to Pay Attention to the sea level. The core of our work at noaa is to deliver environmental intelligence. This kind of action oriented information that people need to prepare, plan for and respond to these kind of changes. We strive every single day to make sound translations and put that kind of actual information into the hands of these decisionmakers, the people who really need it. With regard to this National Climate assessment for us that means translating these findings, too, into actual information we build into tools like our digital coast, our Sea Level Rise calculator, our long range climate projections, our forecast for el nino. From the National Weather Service Helping to shape a weatherready nation, to the National Ocean service, providing coastal intelligence service, Sea Level Rise tools, realtime tide and current information to navigators, we work every day to take science off the pages of our journals, off the pages of this assessment and connect it directly to peoples lives, providing, as suey mozer said, the foresight they so urgently seek. Let me come back to the question that closed the last panel. And i, too will say what gives me hope about the path forward is two things. Its the caliber of the comprehensiveness, the transparency, the thoroughness of this assessment. What i see as a success in abridging language and into realworld terms, thats number one. And number two, as many of our first panel said, the people in this room, the attention and tenor of the conversation thats started here this morning with the release of this report and that is feeding into the emerging shift and how our population looks at the changing trends theyre seeing around them. Thats an alignment that gives me hope. But thats a contingent hope. Its contingent on our season it. Its our contingent on our really taking hold of this assessment as a tool and working together to take it off the page. I do believe that working together we can as we must bring this assessment to life, really make sure it gets off the page, out of the ether and into the policies, the plans and the practices that are adopted across our nation. I know it wont be easy but i think the time is right and we have a very valuable new Foundation Stone to rest on. So i want to thank all of those who served on the staff at the National Climate assessment, my colleagues and peers who worked on the nacadac and countless authors within noaa, the rest of the family and elsewhere that put their nose to the grindstone for a very long period of time to deliver a product of this quality, a report of this meaning, with this kind of clarity and timing. This is a very vital moment and a really valuable moment in the history of this dialogue in our country. It is our job as federal servants to protect the people of this country, their lives and their livelihoods and we need you working with us to help make sure that this National Climate assessment serves as a valuable step forward in that regard and protecting rain shower people for the longer time frame that were talking about here. So thank you very much, again, and with that ill give the podium back to dr. Holdren to introduce our next panel. [applause] well, thank you very much, kathy. We sometimes talk about the need for Fearless Leadership in our environmental agencies. I have to say as a scientist who allowed herself to be strapped on top of five Million Pounds of high explosives when which then ignited to rocket her and her colleagues into space and did that multiple times, you are well suited to provide Fearless Leadership at noaa and we are grateful. And im grateful, as i said before, for your partnership, personally and at noaa for this very important effort. Now id like to invite to the stage our second panel. While the first one focused on findings and information put forth in the National Climate assessment, this one is going to focus on the path forward, how to use that information, how to ensure that its max madamly beneficial to citizens on the ground. To hod grate this discussion we are welcomed by t. C. Rimmed, one of the vice chairs t. C. Richmond, one of the vice chairs and practices environmental law at the law and policy firm. So t. C. , it is all yours. I leave it to you to introduce your distinguished panel. Great, thank you. Like the last panel, well be introducing ourselves. Im from one of those small coastal communities north of seattle, washington. So from the other coast. Law firm and he had the privilege of being cochair of the National Climate assessment. And i advise state and local leaders, decisionmakers and primarily the Public Sector on how to address land use and environmental Natural Resource issues. And from the outset of the National Climate assessment drafting process, the outlining process, we always intended it to be a document that could be used for decisionmakers. And thats been sort of our guidepost. Ininteligible for people for themselves or for a Larger Organization or in the Public Sector. So we know that the best most current information is crucial for all the decisions, all those choices we make. And our six panelists will each explain how the National Climate assessment information will be used in their arenas, in their parts of america. Off. Sina will start us im from the university of michigan, also convening lead r of thed a aptation the lead author of adaptation. We heard that Climate Change is already causing and more is in store. There is no more business as usual. Or as the water managers say, stationary is dead. Or as Kathy Sullivan said, path is no longer prologue. So adaptation, preparing, as the president calls it, is really necessary. And fortunately adaptation is permeating the consciousness of both the public and the private sectors. But we are really at least a decade behind in thinking in detail about adaptation compared to mitigation. We know there are well identified costeffective wellanalyzed actions we can and must take to mitigate Climate Change and things such as increasing efficiency and renewables that will have help in health and air quality, so we have to reduce emissions as much as we can and very quickly. With you equally important, we have to plan for and manage the changes that are already under way as well as those that are yet in store. So theres some good news. So the president has convened a state, local and tribal Leaders Task Force on climate preparedness and resilience. Every federal agency has prepared an Adaptation Plan in the last few years. 15 states have Adaptation Plans and about another dozen are thinking really hard about it. Industry is analyzing how to prix tect their supply chains protect their supply chains and water reliability and feedstocks are key. And cities where the rubber really hit the road, 60 are already in the process of doing some Adaptation Planning. As youve heard, many cities are already confronting flooding, heat waves, storm surge and air conditioning demand increasing and theyre planning for how to cope with these changes and more that are in store. So i guess i could say the glass is half full on adaptation. But most of these adaptation efforts are plans yet to be fully implemented and certainly not yet evaluated to see if they are successful. So going forward, cities, states, businesses all will need localized, regularized information about how climate is changing delivered to them at regular intervals. As weve heard the government, the federal government is stepping up to assist in this process. Were also going to need best practices or lessons learned, if you will, from th experiments under way. We need to compile these to understand what fails, what skeds and why. Well succeeds and why. Well also need to see how our mitigation choices affect our adaptation choices. If you look at the increasing in demand for land, water, mitigation is helpful. To continue to protect people and infrastructure and ecosystems in a changing climate requires us to think very drifrpbl about food, fiber and shelter. Adaptation requires developing infrastructure that can withstand that new 100year flood, different ways of planning for and managing our Natural Resources, new seed varieties that can operate that can function and perform well in droughts and floods and in heat waves. Were going to need to have improved Emergency Response plans and Early Warning systems. The shared best practices that i mentioned, improved weather and climate monitoring and continue assessments. Assessments done with the stakeholders at the center. So adaptation is, as we have said, this more than before, but less than is needed. Its a task thats urgent and to succeed we all need all sectors of society to have feasible options to cope with our changing climate and theres really not a moment to lose. Thank you. Well, good afternoon, everyone. It is a thrill to be in this room and discussing these issues. I am a county commissioner from broward county, florida. And i am just blessed to be a member of the president s task force on climate preparedness and resiliencey and bringing the municipal or local government per expective to the deliberations of that task force and to the issue at hand of Climate Change in general. In southeast florida, we have a very interesting model and that is four counties, miamidade, broward county, palm beach and Monroe County representing a population of about 5. 5 Million People, came together about six years ago and signed a historic compact agreeing to Work Together, agreeing to share our staff resources, our Financial Resources and to try to figure out how we could speak with one voice to the federal government, to our state about what our needs were because Climate Change is something na we dont just think is some future thing, as has been said here today. Its happening in our everyday lives. The very systems that were designed to drain water out for storm events has actually become the conduit to bring water in. We have fire hydrants rusting away in the streets in Monroe County. We have warrants for the police fleets that are no longer being honored because of saltwater damage done to the undercarriage of the car. We have beautiful roads underwater every time theres a full moon and people who have saltwater overtopping their canals into their swimming pools. Our population knows whats happening and they want answers. Its became readily apparent that the four counties working together could leverage our resources and really make some headway. So we are fortunate across the four counties after a lot of work that began with competition and fear that some other county might take our dollars to evolve to a place recently where, for example, the city of miami beach was going after a grant and so was my county, broward county, and so was miamidade and so was the city of fort lauderdale. But through our staff we had a conversation and understood that the city of miami beach was probably best positioned to go after that grant. So rather than each of our counties moving forward with our hands out we all sit back and signed letters to support the city of miami beach. Good news is they got the grant. Its important that we understand that working together is going to move this machine forward. We have adopted 110 specific recommendations for Climate Change across the four counties and were no longer planning. We are in the implementation phase. We have adopted unified sea level projection rises projections across all four counties which has helped with our assessments. We have adopted different changes in our building code, complete street models and any number of things that i cant have time to tell you about today. But were really excited about what were doing and know as many ph. D. s as we may have on our collective staffs we couldnt get to where we are today if we didnt have the partnerships with the federal agencies. Its the National Climate Assessment Tool that gives that gift of technology, of sciencebased resources to those communities and to ours as well that may not have as many personnel opportunities that we do. And so were really excited to have this report come out and be updated and be part of moving forward and showing how you can do it and do it well. Thank you. Good afternoon and thank you. My name is timothy bennett. Im coauthor tribal chapter and also member of the Advisory Committee. This is a rare privilege in that this is the first time that the assessment has actually brought forward a chapter specifically dedicated to climate impacts as it affects Indian Country. And so this has been a rare privilege and an honor. This is the most important time in our life. Not just for us but for our children and for seven generations to come. We owe it to them to make the best decisions with the best information available, the most Accurate Information available. This report contributes to the very bedrock for informed decisionmaking, not just for today but for seven generations to come. Indigenous people across this great island are facing real issues and thats no surprise and its mag any feud by impacts of magnified by impacts of challenges as so eloquently discussed in the first panel. And yet there are life lessons that are founded within the very fabric of our diverse cultures. Intimate knowledge of place that are tethered to hundreds of generations that date back thousands of years, we stand on the shoulders of our an sessors, burying with us their hopes, their dreams of for our future. And with the passing of our elders so passes the torch to us. We must act now and into the future with the lessons that has been shared with us. Lessons that taught us resiliencey and responsible persistence. We have the knowledge and the opportunities for greatness right now, not tomorrow, right now. We have the opportunities to couple todays technology with ancient understanding of place, to relearn how to walk in balance with the world around to share things as relatives and with resources. So the opportunity is now. What will we do . This bluegreen canoe that we reside in, in is the only home that we have and were all in this together. Today, Indian Country mourns the loss of one of our great champions, one of our great leaders. Bill print jr. Dear friend of mine and a mentor to many. He passed yesterday and if billy were here, and chances are, billy is, if he was speaking to you instead of me, he would tell you this, we are looking for volunteers, not just for today but lifetime volunteers. So who among us is going to step forward and embrace these opportunities . Thrin lies the question. So i therein lies the question. So i will conclude my comments with this. In the word of the tonga, also nown as sitting bull, a elder, spiritual leader that lived over a century ago, and he put this challenge forward to all of us. Let us put our minds together to see what we could build for our children. Our time is now. Thank you, bull. Thank you for allowing me to come and speak to you at the National Climate assessment. I will share my perspective about why the private sector should care about the n. C. A. Based upon my experience working in engineering, Risk Management and insurance. And serving their clients, customers and communities in which they operate. When Climate Change vulnerabilities become fuel impacts, they can disrupt normal economic and social function. Depending on the severity of the impact, businesses, their supply chains, their employees and communities can be merely inconvenienced such as experienced with recent heavily rainfalls in the washington, d. C. , area, or severely disrupted or even destroyed such as experienced by recent droughts and wildfires in the western u. S. Which caused destruction of homes, businesses and crop losses. The n. C. A. Provides information about Climate Change vulnerabilities and impacts to water, energy, transportation and agriculture sectors, just to name a few. Enabling the private sector in specific regions to develop costeffective options for coping with Climate Change today. And in the future. The extremes are often the know cuss of private sector because it is those extreme events that tend to swamp existing Risk Management systems, turning a mere theoretical vulnerability into immediate painful realities. We live in a highly interconnected world because the vast world of our Consumer Products and goods passed through pass through our ports, impacts raininging from Sea Level Rise to more severe rainfall and droughts, to drought and heat wave can result in supply chain destructions. Like local extreme weather events, distance ones can also disrupt our supply chains. The n. C. A. Provides information which can illuminate those vulnerabilities so that Risk Management options can be explored and actions taken. While Risk Management solutions, like insurance, can compensate, for some Business Interruption and asset damage they do not tell you if your employees will be there when the disruption is over. Only those responsive to the impacts to reduce and manage risks can reduce actual vulnerability to Climate Change. Climate change is here. The climate has shifted, and with it the range of associated extreme weather events has expanded. The n. C. A. Provides information that can turn Climate Change risk into an opportunity, assuring economic and social stability in the face of Climate Change. N. C. A. Information analysis can identify pathways to gain competitive advantage. For those who use its information to develop Risk Management strategies and solutions. Isolated actions will not be sufficient to address the challenge, but the n. C. A. Helps there too. Providing information about the interconnectedness of vulnerabilities and impacts, like the connection between energy and water that has been previously discussed, to allow development and implementation of public and private and privatepublic partnerships solutions. Now is the time to act. I encourage everyone to look at this document, review it and aplue it to manage risks for us and for our children. Thank you. Thank you, lindene. Good afternoon. My name is ed, professor at George Mason University and a member of the federal Advisory Committee that authored the assessment. I contributed to help with a chapter as well. So you heard from a number of my colleagues earlier today several times that two of the most important findings of the assessment is that Climate Change is happening here now in every region of the country and that its affecting many, Many Americans in important ways. Administrator sullivan challenged us to think creatively of how we are going to get it off the loading dock, into the hands of people who need this information in order to make better decisions about how to run their lives, how to run their communities, their businesses. And what gives me hope is that i actually feel like i had the privilege over the past four years to meet a really special community of americans who are going to play an Important Role in getting this information off the loading dock and into the lives of americans ave cross the nation, and they are our nations tv weather casters, about 1,300 men and women who are uniquely well positioned to take this information in the third assessment and bring it oto life, show americans how Climate Change is affecting their lives now, why tv weathercasters, for a constellation of reasons. For a number of reasons, they are highly trusted. Almost as trusted as climate scientists who are the most trusted. But unlike climate scientists, tv weathercasters have the access to lives to most americans. So its kind of quaint. Even in the year of 20 14, the number one source of Weather Information is local television. So theyre highly trusted, they got access, they are remarkable communicators. Their day job or their night job, depending which shift they work, is to take complicated Weather Information and make it simple, make it digestable and frankly make it fun, make you want to turn on the weather tonight to learn about it. So these people are exquisitely good communicators. Fourthly and fine finally, they talk to us about whats happening in our back yard which is what we really want to hear more about anything. So in 2009 with money from the National Science foundation my colleagues from George Mason University and climate organizational which is based in princeton, we had the extraordinary opportunity to team up with the cbs affiliate in columbus, South Carolina. Jim gandhi is their senior meteorologist. They worked with us over the course of several information in developing information that would help jim gandy to bring the impact of Climate Changes to life in South Carolina. My role at george mason was to evaluate whether or not it made a difference. We surveyed local tv viewers beforehand. We surveyed local tv viewers a year later and what we learned from that survey is that jim gandy viewers learned more during the course of one year in an did the competing stations. Thats pretty big news in my business. We are currently, george mason and climate central, are teaming up with noaa and nasa meteorlogic al association. We are simultaneously trying to scale this up. The materials, the education and materials we developed which we call climate matters, were trying to make them available for weathercasters to every community in america so should they wish to embrace a new role, the role of climate educators, have the tools to do so. And thats where the third Climate Assessment comes from. The information provides the foundation for us to develop broadcast quality materials for tv weathercasters across the country. So ill actually close by saying as weve been here today, as tom carl alluded to, the president has actually been conducting interviews with tv weathercasters somewhere here in the white house. I dont know where i think he chose to use his time well because he is now hes giving interviews, hes talking about the results of the assessment to the very people that are going to help us get this information off the loading dock and into the lives of every american. Thank you. Thank you. This is a momentus moment. My name is mark with the National Center for Science Education and apparently im the only nervous person here who is a little nervous about speaking at the white house. Im here to tell you that for climate education, n. C. A. Is a potential game changer because its going to help us respond to the president ace call for us to president s call for us to educate your classmates, your parents, your friends tell them whats at stake, broaden the circle. He mentioned that a year ago at the speech at georgetown. And we are excited to be part of this process. We, the National Center for Science Education, joined the c. A. Net, a Publicprivate Partnership, a year ago to try to maximize the education potential for n. C. A. And we started this education Affiliate Group which has been taughting over the past several months in how when the report is out well take full advantage of this incredible resource. Why is n. C. A. Is potential game changer . Two words mobile learning. This is potentially really transformative and revolutionary because mobile learning, i see a few heads nodding, is transforming how people learn, where they learn, what they learn and we are very excited about that because the site was designed with mobile learning in mind. N. C. A. Is a treasure trove of not only content but context and it will help us build understanding of whats happening, how scientists know what they know and what can be done. There are thousands of actions that are embedded in n. C. A. And potentially many thousands of jobs and career paths that can be teased out as students working with their teachers and others dig into the meat of the report. There are 76 Million Students in this country. Thats one in four people is a student and of course theres millions more who are parents and grandparents and employers or future employers of those one in four people in this country. And by and large they have not been learning about Climate Change. Climate change has not been a priority. Its been skimmed over. Its been sometimes taught as controversy and we need to change that. N. C. A. Can help us with that. Most teens and adults fail basic quizzes about climate and energy. Its no wonder we have a climate of confusion in this country about the topic. Even if people generally agree that its an issue, they dont really know at any kind of level of depth about the causes and effects, let alone the responses and risks of climate hange. Research shows that people are more concerned about Climate Change and what can be done about it. Because higher literacy means better informed decisionmaking, understanding the causes and effects, having that knowledge but also having the knowhow to be able to address risks and minimize and maximize responses. Well, our education Affiliate Group, the sort of fledgling Publicprivate Partnership is lacking in funding at this point. We are definitely not lacking in talent. Clean, alliance for climate education, the president s climate commitment, noaa climate stewards, the green schools alliance, those are just a few of the many projects that are out there that have already established foundations. And the n. C. Jaques Affiliate Group can serve as the supporting backbone for that. So we are poised for a new American Revolution in plerning. Transforming schools into living lib are atories that are climate smart, climate safe, educationwise, energy efficient, essentially r d incubators. We can use climate engaging themes for education. So join us and lets make it happen. Thank you. Its funny i was talking with ed before dr. Maibach, about how nervousness can sometimes be set aside when you really think that sometimes is as important as this is. You surely did that. You set aside your nerves. I want to thank you all. Great comments to get us started. The question that i have, unless you have more, is weve talked about kind of the loading dock image and thats the loading dock thats coming from the federal government loaded with National Climate assessment, loading dock, sort of the in the ether net, the website of the National Climate assessment. But i think one of the most inspiring things to me, had i been on the first panel, i would have answered the question of what gives me most hope is the astonishing connections that are already established across the u. S. In organizations of like kind working together that i just had no way of knowing about that other than in the waurl world that i work in. And i to turn that to a question, im thinking of the loading dock more as you to your fellow organizations and perhaps your organizations or you back to the federal government because i think we all have a lot to offer the federal government in terms of information. So can you think about what within the sphere of your influence, what works, what are the challenges with sharing information and what works like within the local governments and what the federal government could do to help you do better in interconnections . Well, i worked for the federal government for a long time, as you know. I think there is a sort of interesting need to work from the top down and bottom up. I think one of the most wonderful things about this assessment is we put the stakeholders right at the center so that the information we are giving back to them is not just what we think is useable information but what is actually information they asked for. And those who worked in the previous assessments will remember when we gave in the first assessment the summer average growing season temperature to the farmers they looked at us with cross eyes and said, no, the temperature from the first frost and last frost. So theres really a need to know what information is needed at the bottom and make sure whats being collected by the feds at the top can be translated into that. I think the very exciting developments we heard about, how all of the agencies have regional entities, whether youre talking about noaa or interior or agriculture, that there can be this kind of middle level between the federal Government Data and the user needs that can be brought to bear so that we can get increased sectorial and spatial coverage of useable data for people at the bottom and information back to those at the top. Well, as the only elected official on the panel today, the thing i find super exciting about whats happening in south florida and what we need more of in this country is a nonpartisan conversation. The issues facing us are not about party. They are about the quality of our life. They are about our children. And its about what we have today that we want our kids to have and our grandkids to have in the future. And the impact were all experiencing, the conversations that are taking place, while perhaps in the beginning interest they were cross eyed looking at each other that might have come from a different party, ultimately as we wrestled with all of the solutions and we have found many, we understand there is a lot more than we have in common. Set the other things aside, we can continue to move forward and through that moving forward, step by step, over almost six years now, as the four counties represented just this past year by three republican mayors and one democratic mayor, to understand that the challenges facing us are not about party. I was asked earlier what keeps us up at night and what keeps me up is the partisan conversation that takes place here in washington and is actually taking place in our state. And i think there are lots and lots of Communities Just like us na are waking up every day solving problems and what party youre in is absolutely not the question someone asks you when they call city hall for help. They dont care. They want you to fix the problem. And im intensely hopeful that the more we can demonstrate how these issues are Important Community solutions are at hand that the more that those lessons will hopefully give other policymakers the spine to stand up against what some ideologues want them to say and actually begin to face and deal with the problems that are before us. This one word comes to mind and i think it incaps lates all of the incapsulates of the points discussed and that word is commitment. And when i think about commitment, first of all, i think about my own. How am i committed to this process . How do i lead by example . For me thats where the paradigm begins to change and thats my primary change. Also understanding that this story, this isnt the end of the story. Rather the beginning. And i keep coming back to opportunities. I have a colleague of mine that helped me understand that its not the challenges that we must face but its the opportunities to do great things. And so i challenge myself in that regard. Also, its not just a twoway flow of information. Rather, its a multidirectional flow of information. It is its not a science knowledge versus an indigenous knowledge versus another knowledge. Ts a gathering of all knowledges that is most important. Lastly i would say and it points back to commitment, a willingness to roll up your sleeves and get to work. I know when i was speaking, there was the nasa blue marble that is so famous was up behind me and i think about the words hat my brother, kwanni sioux would say we are shoulder to shoulder facing in the same direction and it takes commitment from each other. Thats why i put that challenge out, not just for all of you burks primarily with myself is how i met the commitment i made to my children, the commitments i made to my wife and the commitments i made to my mother before she passed, have i fulfilled those commitments, those are the things that keep me awake at night and those are the things that inspire me to work in the morning. In terms of some of the uses ive seen of this kind of data that has impressed me, ill highlight a few and i think they highlight both the good outcomes but also the challenges that face people who are trying to apply this kind of data. In the aftermath of exfourseam events and disasters, often we find a need for reconstruction and we have very many lovely and responsible customers and clients who work on these issues to try to rebuild their communities in a very fast way. But they also try to learn from the experience. And having data like this and available to them when they make decisions about how to rebuild has been tremendously important. So in this context, when certain areas impacted by sandy, recently, have been looking to try to rebuild and make themselves more resilient, data became available about expected impacts like future floods and related from Sea Level Rise or from overwash or whatever youd like to call it in particular, but water gets in basements. Under those circumstances what you find is theres lots of building codes that were developed when that concept was not contemplated. And as a consequence they ordered the placement of Critical Infrastructure in basements. And that led to some additional disruption that perhaps was not neither desired nor expected. But to change that in the rebuilding required collaboration and an acknowledgment and understanding of the science on the part of not just individual companies or members of communities but also their local governments, their regulators and agencies with authority. A by being able to point to verified piece of information and a verified set of science, they were able to come up with solutions that allowed them to adjust those regulations and move forward in a way that resulted in more resilience. So let me make just a brief comment about the community. I mentioned previously the nations tv weathercasters, in 2009 when i started working with them, im not sure as a community they were ready to move forward, embracing the kind of data at that point, the second National Climate assessment. There was a Senior Citizen tension in the community, but one way in by they have moved, they have evolved as a community and now they are absolutely ready to consider, to embrace the kind of information in the third National Climate assessment is through dialogue, is through assuming good intentions with each other, is through a respectful interactions with one another. Some of that was pretty carefully orchestrated through our interactions with the american meteorlogic society. But however it was accomplished, its been really remarkable to me to see 1,300 people, not all of whom i know, but now i have a good sense of them, see them rapidly evolving their own professional stance on the issue of Climate Change and start to ask the questions, how can we now change what we do as a result of what we now know . I think what keeps me up at night is the feeling that were not doing nearly enough to prepare this generation and future generations to have the knowledge and knowhow to deal with Climate Change. And what gives me tremendous hope and excitement is the fact that when i look at whats happening in classrooms and Science Centers around the country, theres like i say, theres kind of a revolution going on. And people are largely on an ad hoc basis being very creative and clever in terms of how they bring in authentic data into learning situations, but if we were more methodical about it, if we were more scientific, if you will about this, we could in relatively short order transform the country in terms of our ability to address Climate Change and to me education is the focal point. Particularly formal education but informal as well. Thank you. Our panel is out of time but i would close by saying that we all belong to communities across the u. S. , whether its professional or church or local and i think that its this Climate Assessment that we all will take out with us and spread out to our individual communities and share that information and share information back to government. Its a flow of information both ways. Were hoping that the National Climate assessment will get you started in those conversations. So thank you. [applause] if you missed any of this, you can find it online at cspan. Org. Number of questions at todays White House Briefing coming up in just a moment. Want to let you know that the house is coming in at 4 30 eastern. Seven bills on the agenda this afternoon dealing with Credit Unions and special mortgages for rural areas. Well have live coverage at 4 30 eastern here on cspan. Again, the White House Briefing this afternoon. Earlier this afternoon, jay carney took questions on that Climate Assessment. He also took questions on the kidnapping on nigeria and the u. S. Response. Its longer than half an hour. Well show you what you can until the house gavels in. The change in climate is creating impacts everywhere in the country, not just in isolated areas. Its happening now. Think that is the bottom line result of this assessment. Or the point that this assessment makes and it is really a remarkable document produced over the course of four years. Much more comprehensive than ts predecessors. And it makes clear that Carbon Pollution has increased dramatically in recent decades, that Climate Change is threatening human health and wellbeing through more extreme weather events, changes in disease transmission and decreased air quality. Severe droughts are leading to crop losses and wildfires in the west and the rate of Sea Level Rise has sped up in recent decades. But the purpose of the report is not just to inform but also to make clear that there are practically, o, that can effect the direction of Climate Change and prepare us for the impacts of Climate Change. The president issued a broadbased Climate Action plan last june, announcing a series of executive actions to cut Carbon Pollution, prepare the u. S. For the impacts of Climate Change, and lead International Efforts to address global Climate Change. He has been moving forward on that Climate Action plan to reduce Carbon Pollution. For example, through the rules on power plants and to make federal lands available for Renewable Energy production, to support innovative and advanced fossil energy and to Fund Clean Energy manufacturing. One of the very encouraging signs that john talked about yesterday is not only are we producing more domestic oil than were importing for the first time in so long, were now the largest natural gas producer in the world and natural gas is a bridge fuel, fossil fuel that burns much more cleanly than traditional fossil fuels and it allows for reduced Carbon Emissions in the atmosphere. It also the use of it increases our energy security, our National Security, which is a good thing. So and that is combined with an as part of alloftheabove strategy that the president has embraced. Reducing our Carbon Emissions, introducing new Energy Efficiency standards. One of the major accomplishments of the first term that is often overlooked was the new car rule that raises fuel efficiency standards and will essentially withdraw from the atmosphere an enormous amount of Carbon Pollution as a result it. Will also save american car which is a good thing, obviously. All of this is part of a very clear eyed look at the challenge we face as a nation and a world, but it makes clear that there are steps we can and should take to prepare for the impacts. Youre talking about action. Can you give us a sense of what the president is going to be announcing on friday . Is it going to be rehashing what hes doing today . Will he be making policy announcements . You have to work friday and cover this . I would never get ahead of the president so far in advance. I can tell you that he will talk about, broadly speaking, some of the efforts that we can make with the private sector to advance the aims of greater Energy Efficiency and reduced Carbon Emissions. But beyond that ill leave it to the president and to further announcements from us. And on russia, russia would be open to another round of international negotiations. But only if the prorussian insurgencies that are in insurgents that are in ukraine could have a seat at the table. Can you foresee any scenario in which the u. S. Accepts that . Russia committed itself in geneva to a dialogue with the Ukrainian Government. The Ukrainian Government represents the people of ukraine. The Ukrainian Government in stark contrast to the approach taken by the russian government, including foreign minister laverove, has truly exercised both great restraint and demonstrated its seriousness about addressing some of the concerns that People Living in the east and the south of ukraine have with regards to their relative autonomy, from the center, the protection of their civil rights. There is i think ample evidence that the Ukrainian Government takes these issues seriously and wants to move forward in a way that peaceful. The russian government and the russian prorussian separatists that have sewed so much violence and chaos in the east and south have taken a different approach. This is not, you know, its not something you do. You dont establish deseblization or local autonomy decentralization or local autonomy by takings who tanls, by occupying buildings, by shooting down helicopters and by provoking violence against your fellow citizens. And i think russias credibility here is most seriously in question. What russia needs to do is keep the commitments it made in geneva and among them is engaging in a dialogue with the Ukrainian Government, among them also is to use its influence with the prorussian separatist groups to get them to disarm and vacate the buildings they have occupied and to take down the block aids that they have placed blockades that theyve placed on roads and stop creating chaos in an effort thats clearly aimed at destabilizing the president ial election scheduled on may 25. Our focus continues to be on supporting a free and fair president ial election on may 25. Because that is the best demonstration of what this is all about. Which is the right of a sovereign nation, a sovereign democratic nation, to empower its citizens to choose their own future through elections. And thats what our focus has to be on and thats what the Ukrainian Governments focus is on and we call on russia to stop trying to destabilize ukraine in the runup to that election. So thats a no, you would ot have talks with prorussian insurgents . I dont think it is absolutely not for an outside nation to dictate to a sovereign nation who its representatives are or how it should organization r organize its government or its constitution how it should organize its government or its constitution. And i think that the conflict we have right here, right now in ukraine, has to do with russias unwillingness to recognize that ukraine is a sovereign state, a sovereign nation that has to be allowed to maintain its territorial integrity and to decide for itself its future on behalf of its citizens. Back on climate. How do you plan to use the release of this report today to set the stage for the regulations youre going to roll out in june . I dont have any specific timetables for you on any regulations related to emissions. I can tell you that the purpose this is a the next installment of a Climate Assessment that in this case is not the first of its kind and i think the purpose is to inform of both you and through you the American People or even not through you because americans can go on the website and read and download the assessment themselves. What is unique about it is the specificity that it provides to folks who want to find out about the impacts of Climate Change on their region of the country. And also its the prktcalt of it when it comes to steps that can be taken against Climate Change. This is a challenge thats real and its not one that we are predicting awaits us in the future, we being the scientists who assess this information, but which is here faces us now and facing us now and which presents us with challenges now and challenges that we can meet and in so doing can improve the way that we as a nation and the rest of the world handle the effects of Climate Change in the future. Secondly, there are a number of calls today for the resignation of the v. A. Secretary over the v. A. Treatment of veterans. Is the president confident that hes the person who can lead this review and fix what needs to be fix there had . Fixed there . We take the allegations around the phoenix situation very seriously. Thats why he immediately directed secretary shinseki to investigate and secretary shinseki has also invited the independent Veterans Affairs office of the Inspector General to conduct a comprehensive review. We must ensure that our nations veterans get the benefits and the services that they deserve and they have earned. The president remains confident and secretary in secretary shinsekis ability to lead the department and take appropriate action based on the i. G. s findings. I know some have been trying to sit down and talk with shinseki, including cnn. Theyve been asking him for an interview since december. Why wont he just come out and speak about this or talk youre asking me for an interview and can the white house direct him in ill refer you to the department for the directors schedule. Also there have been some calls today for sorry, the secretarys schedule. For the nigerian president to accept International Help thats now been offered by the u. S. And by britain. Does the white house feel like nigeria is open to the help that is out there and is it cooperating with efforts coming from elsewhere . Im glad you asked. This morning secretary kerry called the nigerian president to reiterate our offer of assistance. The president welcomed secretary kerrys offer to send a team to nigeria to discuss how the United States can best support nigeria in its response to this horrific event. These kidnappings. Our embassy is prepared to form an Interdisciplinary Team that could provide expertise on intelligence, investigations and hostage negotiations. Could help facilitate information sharing and provide victim assistance. It would include u. S. Military personnel, Law Enforcement officials with expertise in investigations and hostage negotiations, as well as officials with expertise in other areas that may be helpful to the Nigerian Government in its response. President obama has directed that we do everything we can to help the Nigerian Government find and free these girls. The president and secretary kerry will discuss this very issue in their meeting later today. I can follow up on that . Are you saying that the United States is actually going to additional pentagonel . Several months ago when president obama sat down with the nigerian president in new york, president obama said, we nt to be in the process of dealing with this. That is certainly the case. This is in addition to this is the product of a conversation that secretary kerry had with the nigerian president this morning, where he reiterated our offer of assistance and president jonathan welcomed secretary kerrys offer to send a team to nigeria to discuss this specific incident. This would be a team that would be focused on this issue, not just on the broader challenge that nigeria faces. How would the United States assess what the Nigerian Government has done so far . Has it been enough . What i can tell you is it is certainly nigerias responsibility to maintain the safety and security of its citizens. These girls were captured and kidnapped 22 days ago. Time is of the essence. Appropriate action must be taken to locate and to free these young women before they are trafficked or killed. We urge the Nigerian Government to ensure that it is bringing all appropriate resources to bear in a concerted effort to ensure their safe return. We are absolutely committed to helping thigh year nigeria but it is the Nigerian Governments responsibility first and foremost to maintain the safety and security of its citizens and we urge the nye jeer unanimous government to take action Nigerian Government to take action. [inaudible] can you imagine American Resources being used in that kind of were not considering at this Point Military resources. We would urge nigeria to ensure that any operation to free the girls would protect civilians nd human rights. Considering how much urgency there was in this climate report, its fair to say the president regrets not bringing the same sense of urgency to the climate issue in the first term when he had a congress that would vo have worked with him. He had to make choices, i understand, health care over politics of carbon issues. Are there regrets now considering this report definitely has an urgency to it. The decision was made to pause in 2009 and 2010 on that front. Im sure you dont forget that we actually pushed legislation that did not make it through congress. Through a democratic senate. Correct. And the congress had not taken up this issue in a way that we obviously felt at the time was necessary. What the president has demonstrated with this Climate Action plan is he is going to move forward using his executive authority and this is an area i think many people recognize as one where a president can have a Significant Impact using his executive powers, and he has done. That he has done that already in the car rule that was negotiated with all the major automobile manufacturers and he has done that in the efforts that hes undertaken to reduce Carbon Emissions and to invest in Renewable Energy. Which was an action he did take. One of the most neglected stories of the recovery act was the significant investment it represented in clean energy technology. And those investments will have and will continue to pay off as part of the broad alloftheabove strategy, to deal with our energy challenges. So this president s looking for every avenue to address this important challenge and i think you can see that reflected in the actions hes already taken as part of his Climate Action plan and the efforts that he will engage in. Hes absolutely always looking for partners and that would include congress. But as he has said repeatedly this year, if congress is sitting still, he wont. Theres some part of this, the president realizes its a Public Relations campaign of sorts to try to does he believe that part of his job is to simply bring attention to this issue . I think broadly speaking. This office, this building affords its occupants an opportunity to bring attention to issues that are priorities for the nation and the world. And i think thats the case here. The public doesnt see it as a priority and i understand the president does. Is he helping to change that conversation . I think the president feels that it is his responsibility as president , as commander in chief, to address the serious challenges that face the nation. Thats reflected in his Climate Action plan. Hat doesnt make it a sole priority. Far from it. His principle focus has and will continue to be on growing the economy, expanding the middle class, making sure that those who work hard to take care of themselves and their families are rewarded for that work and dont have to live in poverty even as they work hard. Those are his principle objectives. But this is a serious challenge. It needs to be addressed. He welcomes the release of the National Climate assessment. And notes, as we all do, the what the assessment makes clear, which is that Climate Change is had with us now and its having change is with us now and its having an affect now on all the regions of the country and it makes clear having an effect now on all the regions of the country and it makes clear there are things we can do. Would you say the Nigerian Government is standing in the way of u. S. Help . I wouldnt say that. I would simply say it is nigerias responsibility first and foremost to ensure the safety of its citizens and that these girls are abducted 22 days ago. Time is he is of thence obviously in a situation like this. Time is of the essence obviously in a situation like this. I think i noted that president jonathan welcomed secretary kerrys offer to send a team to nigeria to help them work on this specific issue. What does that mean . He welcomes the offer or he said, yes, well take it . We took it to mean that the ffer was accepted. Can you depive us tell us a little bit more about this briefing . Im not sure. We give briefings to members of congress, of both houses, on National Security issues with great regulator. This would be an update on regularity. This would be an update on the situation as we see it in ukraine, the efforts weve engaged in with our partners to steer russia towards a path of deescalation, the costs that we have imposed and are prepared to impose on russia, should russia choose not to follow that path. I think thats an update on the situation and our policy toward it. You said the Nigerian Government welcomed a team to come there to talk about how the United States could help. I think before we can specifically and directly assist, there needs to be a focused discussion on what forms of assistance are available and would be useful in this instance. First and foremost this is obviously the Nigerian Governments responsibility. The president has directed that we do everything we can to help the Nigerian Government, to find and free these girls, which is why president kerry made the offer to send this team and we are gratified that president jonathan welcomed that offer. Time is of the essence, clearly it is. It sounds as if the United States is offering to do more than the Nigerian Government is willing to accept at this stage. Again, i wouldnt characterize it that way. I would say theres no question that lowwattage effort. You can have that conversation any time. You dont have to have a team go there to talk. I think theres a mischaracterization of what it would mean to send a team of experts there to deal with these situations. The embassy is prepared to form an Interdisciplinary Team that could provide expertise on all the range of issues here that could be applied in the search for these girls and the effort to find and free them. Thats pretty comprehensive. What secretary kerry offered and what president jonathan accepted will hopefully lead to further assistance being provided by the United States in this effort. When you said that he reiterated that offer, did that mean the first time nigeria didnt act on it . I would refer you to the state department. The president had directed we do everything we can to help. The specific from this call is that president jonathan welcomed the secretarys offer to send a team and we are interested in doing it. The president has trecked his am to make clear, everything directed his team to make clear, everything we can to help find these girls. Capability to carry out the may 25 elections. Saying its hard to have an election in an atmosphere of such chaos. Who expressed that . Lavarov and peek speaking for Vladimir Putin and people speaking for Vladimir Putin have expressed that in the last few days. [inaudible] it is ironic to hear russian government leaders say that it would be hard to have elections when there is chaos in the region that they themselves are helping to sew. The chaos weve seen in eastern and southern ukraine is a direct result of russian influence and intervention. And the direct result of the absence of an effort by russia to use its influence on prorussian militants. To persuade them to disarm and vacate the building theyve occupy and to cease perpetrating violence against their fellow citizens. So, it certainly isnt a leaders to see russian question the ability of ukraine to have an election because they have made clear i think in the actions that theyve taken that theyre not particularly interested in ukraine being able to exercise its sovereign right to hold a free and fair president ial election. We and our partners, as well as the Ukrainian Government, are focused on just that. Which is making sure that ukraine does have that ability and its important to remember that despite the violence and chaos that weve seen in some cities of ukraine, the majority of the nation, the significant majority of the nation is calm and we expect that elections will proceed and that ukrainians will be able to exercise their fundamental right, to vote for a candidate for president. And it is very important that they be allowed to do so. Would you say its fair would you say its fair to characterize the debate over the carbon tax, eslings for the fee essentially for the foreseeable future, and the president will use [inaudible] and urge states and locates to adapt and take other actions to deal with Climate Change because the issue of carbon tax effectively at the federal level is dead . When you say the the debate dead, we cant when you say the debate is dead, we cant keep people from having conversations. Happen there are numerous approaches that we can take and the president has thats probably a terrible use of the word, but [inaudible] [laughter] there are the approaches that the president has already undertaken and will continue to undertake as part of his Climate Action plan. That have had an impact on Carbon Emissions, will continue to have a positive impact on Carbon Emissions, will have the added wreff of benefit of increasing our Energy Independence and security and he is going to pursue all of them as part of his all of the above all of the above d approach all of the above d approach to these matters. It is important to look at his, its about addressing Americas Energy security and independence, it is about addressing the challenges of Climate Change and they are part of the same hole. Because if you increase your Energy Independence and you do so through the use of cleaner burning fossil fuels and investments in Renewable Energy and in the reduction of the use of traditional fossil fuels by raising fuel efficiency standards, youre also having a positive impact on the effects of Climate Change and thats the approach the president s taken and it has numerous benefits and hell continue to push forward on them. A couple on nigeria. Im trying to understand what the president and secretary kerry are going to discuss today. Are they discussing the composition, the size of leadership, the rules of engagement of the team the embassy would put together . No, theyre going to discuss the broader issue that was obviously the subject of secretary kerrys conversation with the nigerian president this morning. So i dont i obviously cant read out a meeting that hasnt happened yet but my point was simply to make clear that this will be one of the topics of conversation in what is the regular standing meeting secretary kerry has with the president. When you talked about the composition of this, with the embassy, you said it would include u. S. Military personnel and later you said, were not considering at this Point Military resources. I dont understand the difference. I think the distinction is i was asked, would we be bringing essentially military troupes to troops to bear and we dont were not considering that at this point. Having es a utility to u. S. Military personnel as well as experts on intelligence and investigations and hostage negotiations to assist and advise the Nigerian Government as they deal with this challenge. Theres a u. S. Advantage in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions but what ability is that if you dont get reductions from china and india . Well, i guess two answers to that question. Its no good at all if you dont believe Climate Change is real. So thats where you have to start. But on the second point, it is absolutely essential that nations that produce high levels of Carbon Emissions be responsible in addressing this challenge and that is something that we as a nation, at the level of president and below that level, discuss regularly with the chinese and other nations that are producing increasing amounts of Carbon Emissions. Because your point is well taken. This has to be something that we address together with other nations around the world. And thats the approach weve taken. It is additionally very valuable to our National Security interests to reduce our dependence on imports of energy. It is absolutely in our National Security interests and Energy Interest to diversify our sources of energy. That is why as i noted earlier, proaching this as a whole as opposed to addressing each piece of it is essential to improving both our preparation for the impacts of Climate Change and enhancing our capacity to actually mitigate the damage that Climate Change can cause. Some have accused the president of politics, as pondering to a group of liberal elites. Do you have a response . I dont. National security advisor is going with a team of people to israel in the coming days and i just wonder whether we should interpret that as a sign that the Iran Nuclear Negotiations are reaching sort of a more critical phase. Theres been talk that at the next meeting theyll put down [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2014] well leave this as the u. S. House is gaveling back in for debate on seven bills. Votes after 6 30. Yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. Recorded votes record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from West Virginia eek recognition . Mrs. Capito i rise for the bill. The clerk the federal Loan Home Bank to become members of a Federal Home Loan Bank and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, mrs. Capito, and the gentlewoman from california, ms. Waters, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the record on h. R. 3584 as amended, currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Capito madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Capito id like to thank mr. Stimbers and mrs. Beatty for their efforts on this. The Capital Access for Small Community act is bipartisan. It passed by 550 earlier this spring. This bill will provide meaningful regulatory relief for privately enissue insured Credit Unions by allowing them to become members of the Federal Home Loan Bank system. There are approximately 130 privately insured Credit Unions with nearly 13 billion in assets in nine states across the country. These Credit Unions currently cannot join the Federal Home Loan Bank system which provides an additional source of Mortgage Funding for its members. Allowing privately ensure insured Credit Unions to join the Federal Home Loan Bank system will allow them to increase the availability of mortgage credits in the communities that they serve. I commend the authors for identifying this inequity and putting forth this legislation. This issue is not new. Similar provisions were included in the previous regulatory relief measures that passed the house with overwhelming support. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i would like to reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. The gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i yield to myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i rise to support h. R. 3584, the bill that permits Credit Unions insured by private Companies Access to the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Today there are 132 Credit Unions with approximately 13 billion in assets that cannot access additional liquidity for mortgage credits, but for a statutory obstacle requiring Credit Unions to have federal insurance. With membership privately insured Credit Unions will be able to you are a their members mortgages at more affordable rates and other products which in turn helps many communities across the country. In the past some members raised concerns that the home loan banks should only serve federally insured institutions. But i believe that those concerns have been largely addressed with the adoption of several helpful amendments to both before and during the Committee Markup of this bill. Mrs. Beatty, for example, worked with mr. Stivers to address some of the concerns of the federal credit union regulator. In addition mr. Meeks offered two amendments to better protect the Federal Home Loan Bank system against a bank run among privately insured Credit Unions. All that being said, these Credit Unions and their private insurer fared remarkably well during the last financial crisis, even as many of their federally insured counterparts failed. As a result these Credit Unions have bolstered many communities through the economic downturn. I would like to thank the sponsors of this bill, mr. Stivers, as well as his democratic cosponsor mrs. Beatty, for all of their efforts to work across the aisle to assist Community Financial institutions and their members. I support adoption of h. R. 3584 and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I would now like to yield as much time as he may consume to the author of this bill, mr. Stivers from ohio. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized for as much time as he may consume. Mr. Stivers thank you, chairwoman. Id like to thank the gentlelady from West Virginia for her support and i rise in support of h. R. 3584, the Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions act. This bill simply makes a statutory change that would allow nonfederally insured Credit Unions the right to apply for membership with the Federal Home Loan Banks. It does not guarantee that they would receive membership, theyd have to go through the membership application like everyone else. Similar legislation has passed the house in 2006 with a ipartisan vote of 215 for, none against. Purchasing a home is part of the American Dream and this bill will help small Credit Unions be able to make more Mortgage Loans as they use the Federal Home Loan Bank for liquidity and help more people live the American Dream. This bill will help those Credit Unions be able to have liquidity that they dont have today. The Federal Home Loan Bank, which was established in 1934, has been an important part of credit and liquidity for mortgage lending for the past 80 years. For most main street institutions. 132 unately several, small Credit Unions dont have that support right now. While most large and small institutions who are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank are able to use it every day for liquidity and to serve their customers, these 132 small Credit Unions in nine states with assets that total about 11 billion are left out because of a glitch in the law. There will not be any additional risk to the Federal Home Loan Banks as a result of this. No more than 4 billion would be pledged probably as a result of this. And so theres no real concentration risk. I do want to thank mr. Meeks from new york for his amendments that helped strengthen the bill. And while these Credit Unions dont have i think much risk to the institution, i think mr. Meeks amendments will ensure that the Federal Home Loan Bank is never put at risk by the authorizing language in this legislation. Credit unions didnt have federal insurance until the 1970s and many small Credit Unions have continued to have private insurance and remain state regulated. Those are the institutions were talking about today. And there is precedent for institutions like them to join the Federal Home Loan Bank and so i believe that its appropriate to allow them to not be discriminated against and allow them to use the Federal Home Loan Bank and ensure that they can serve their customers the same way other main street banks and Credit Unions can. Again, this bill does not guarantee that any institution will become a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank, it simply gives them the ability to apply. I want to thank mrs. Beatty from columbus, ohio, and the Ranking Member, ms. Waters, for their support in the Financial Services committee. I want to thank mrs. Capito and mr. Meeks for working with me on this bill. As you heard, this bill passed the Financial Services committee by a vote of 550. I would ask my colleagues to support this legislation and correct an oversight that doesnt allow these institutions to use the Federal Home Loan Bank and doesnt allow many of their customers to live the American Dream. So hopefully we can correct that today by supporting this. I thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. To the gentlelady from West Virginia. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from West Virginia reserves the balance of her time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you very much, madam speaker. I yield to the gentlelady from ohio, the coauthor of 3584, as much time as she may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for as much time as she may consume. Mrs. Beatty thank you, madam speaker. Thank you, Ranking Member waters, thank you for all of your support and your leadership. Madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of h. R. 3584, the Capital Access for Small Community Financial Institutions act, as amended. Today i stand here joining my colleague from ohio, congressman steve stivers, in support of final passage of this Bipartisan Legislation. I thank the gentleman for introducing this bill on which i partnered as a lead democrat. In show of bipartisanship, we were able to Work Together to have the legislation unanimously reported out of the Financial Services committee. And certainly worth noting again, 550. Madam speaker, h. R. 3584, if enacted, would permit privately insured Credit Unions to apply for membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank system. It would not, however, mandate that these privately insured Credit Unions become members of a Federal Home Loan Bank. Currently out of roughly some 6,000 Credit Unions across the country, there are 132 privately insured Credit Unions operating in nine states. States such as alabama and california, idaho and illinois and indiana, maryland, nevada, my home state of ohio, and texas. In particular this bill would improve access to home Mortgage Loans for members of the three privately insured Credit Unions that are based in my third Congressional District of ohio. H. R. 3584 is an extremely important piece of legislation for these privately insured Credit Unions because it would help the members and businesses greater access to credit in a tight credit market. Additionally, this legislation would also benefit the exclusive insurers of privately insured Credit Unions from across the country, which is based in central ohio, just north of my Congressional District. Which provides employment for many ohioans. Madam speaker, in order to ensure the best drafted bill, congressman meeks and myself offered amendments that were accepted during the Committee Markup. My amendment does two things. First, it removes any language referencing the National Credit Union Administration from the text of the legislation. Clarifying that this legislation would not grant any supervisory jurisdiction to the ncua over privately insured Credit Unions. Secondly, it created a Government Accountability office study and report to congress on the adequacy of insurance reserves held by the private insurers of these Credit Unions and also on the compliance of these Credit Unions with federal regulations requiring consumers to receive disclosures explaining that such Credit Unions are privately, not federally, insured. These changes were supported by the ncua and unanimously by the entire Financial Services committee. Indeed, h. R. 3584, the act, as amended, comes to the floor today because of the efforts of many members of the Financial Services committee who worked to advance the legislation through regular order of the committee. I would urge support of h. R. 3584 because this Bipartisan Legislation is good policy. Its good for small Credit Unions and it is an easy and effective way to demonstrate bipartisanship nationwide support for local communities and businesses. Madam speaker, i believe this legislation is a perfect example of the type of regular order committeedriven actions that we should use as a template for bipartisan cooperation in the house and which, if enacted, would bring real benefits to the national Housing Markets. I urge all of the members to vote yes on h. R. 3584, as amended, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentlewoman from california reserves the balance of her time. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I have no other speakers. I yield to the gentlelady. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I have no further speakers so if she would like to close id follow. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i commend both mr. Stivers and mrs. Beatty for the wonderful job they did in providing the kind of leadership that brought both sides of the aisle together. I simply ask for support and i have no further speakers. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you. I want to thank both the sponsors as well and the Committee Chair and ms. Waters for her work on this bill and i echo her sentiments and would like to urge support and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 3584, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 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. Mr. Gohmert madam 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, yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from West Virginia seek recognition . Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2672, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2672, a bill to amend the doddfrank wall street reform and Consumer Protection act to provide for an application process for interested parties to apply for a county to be designated as a rural area, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, mrs. Capito, and the gentlewoman from california, ms. Waters, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and submit heir remarks and extraneous materials for the record on h. R. 2672, as amended, currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Capito madam speaker, the legislation before us this afternoon makes an important kvekve ent to the qualified mortgage kvekve qualified mortgage rule. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau qualified mortgage rule. It would be afforded some flexibility to underwrite mortgages that otherwise would not be deemed a qualified mortgage. These products, sometimes known as balloon loans, are a critical source of rural credit in agriculture communities. Although the bureau recognizes the importance of this in Rural Communities, the definition they use for Rural Community will result in fewer mortgage options for consumers in Rural Communities. The bureau relied on the u. S. Department of ags urban influence codes to define a Rural Community. Under this definition, half of the counties in the state of West Virginia are considered urban. Well, i think those of us who have driven through West Virginia would find that hard to believe. According to the bureau, clay county, West Virginia, which has a population density of 30 people per square mile is urban. Similarly, neighboring calhoun county, which has a population density of 27 people per square mile, is also deemed urban by the bureau. These examples demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of Rural America. Mr. Barrs legislation sets up a process which a community can petition the bureau to be reclassified as urban. This commonsense approach strikes an appropriate balance that will allow consumers in rural areas to continue to have access to mortgage credit. I commend mr. Barr for of kentucky for authoring this legislation and defendantly navigating it through the house and deftl navigating it through the house Financial Services committee. I ask my colleagues to support this critical piece of legislation. It will impact Rural America where i and many do too and right now i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters madam speaker, members, i rise in support of h. R. 2672, the cfpb rural designation petition and correction act. I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. Hinojosa, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Lynch, for working with the gentleman from kentucky, mr. Barr, to introduce this Bipartisan Legislation. The consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recognized the challenges Rural Communities with limited access to Banking Services face and are approximately appropriately reconsidering how to designate rural counties. However, some large counties can have both large urban centers and rolling farmland within their borders, preventing them from being considered rural. This measure would direct the consumer Financial Protection Bureau to establish an application process so that a lender who lives or does business in a county that does not meet the rural definition can still apply to serve as a rural lender under the cfpbs qualified mortgage rule. While the loan payments featured of many of the risky and predatory loans that eneneded in financial disaster for american families, will are some specific places and times when they may make sense, especially in Rural Communities. Im pleased that this legislation is narrowly tailered to ensure the kind of institutions that would be allowed to make these loans are truly Community Banks, small institutions that play an active role in their communities. With personal knowledge of their customers and their needs. As we have learned from flood surance reform, applying mapbased standards across the diversity of the u. S. Is incredibly challenging. This legislation would ensure that in areas that may not fit the standard but where common sense shows them to be rural, the local community will have input into the process. I also want to acknowledge the cfpb for acting very quickly in the face of the feedback it received on the rural definition it initially proposed, making certain that credit continued to flow to borrowers by offering a twoyear waiver for all small creditors during the process of reproposing its rural definition. So i thank you, madam speaker, and i urge my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I now would like to yield as much time as he may consume to the author and sponsor of this legislation, congressman barr from kentucky. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Barr thank you, madam speaker. I want to thank the chairman of the Financial Institution subcommittee for her leadership on this important legislation. I want to thank, also, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have joined us in a bipartisan way to advance the sensible legislative correction. Madam speaker, obviously government bureaucrats dont always know best, and they certainly dont know our local communities better than we do. That is why i introduced h. R. 2672, the helping expand lending practices in Rural Communities act, or help Rural Communities act, which would help remedy a bizarre situation created by a flawed onesizefitsall government regulation that is making life harder for millions of americans, kwlug my constituents in central and eastern kentucky. My legislation, the help Rural Communities act, is about making the federal government more responsive to the people who know their communities better than regulators in washington, d. C. Its a simple pragmatic and bipartisan solution that says if federal bureaucrats are going to impose different rules based on the localized characteristics of an area, then they actually need to listen to the input of the people in the communities who know those characteristics of those communities. A few weeks ago, i was visiting with constituents in a county, rural county in my district, bath county, in a country general store. And when i was sitting there talking to my constituents, a horsedrawn buggy passed by. Now, this is far from an uncommon occurrence. This was just another reminder that bath county, kentucky, in my district is very much a rural area. Amazingly, however, the consumer Financial Protection Bureau in washington does not recognize bath county as rural. Instead, the bureaucrats at the cfpb improperly designated that county as nonrural. Now, there are plenty of similar examples throughout the country of the cfpb oddly and incorrectly designating undeniably rural areas as nonrural which is why h. R. 2672, the help Rural Communities act, enjoys broad bipartisan support and passed out of the Financial Services committee by a vote of 551. You may be wondering why this rural versus nonrural distinction matters. Well, heres why. The cfpb imposes more stringent lending rules and restrictions on local Financial Institutions based in nonRural Communities than it does in Financial Institutions in Rural Communities. So when the bureau gets these rural designations wrong all throughout the country, the consequence is that it hurts the availability of credit, including for balloon loans to rural customers of Community Banks and community Credit Unions. But dont just take it from me. Charles vice, who is the top banking regulator in the commonwealth of kentucky, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, and the chairman of the conference of state bank supervisors, has emphasized the important of preserving balloon loans in Rural Communities. In his testimony before our committee, the Financial Services committee in the house in june, commissioner vice stated that, quote, when used responsibly balloon loans are a useful source of credit for borrowers in all areas. Properly underwritten balloon loans are tailored to the needs and circumstances of the borrower, including situations where the borrower or property is otherwise ineligible for standard mortgage products, unquote. So the need for this legislation has been made clear from the regulators themselves, but it has also been made clear to me from a Community Banker from bath county, a Community Banker thats been part of his local institution for multiple generations. His father was the president of the community bank. His grandfather was the president of the community bank. And before that his great grandfather. And this young man, thomas richards, testified before our committee in december and he said that, quote, unnecessary restrictions on balloon loans will lead to some qualified borrowers not receiving the credit that they deserve. And that from a Small Community standpoint, these restrictions would be devastating to the livelihood of that area. It was really interesting to hear mr. Richards testify because he said his small Little Community bank in bath county, kentucky, had survived the great economic changes over the centuries. It survived the great depression. Flakes of d the stag the late 16970s, 1980s and even the financial cry set in 2008. He said the greatest single threat for his Small Community bank was the avalanche of red tape coming out of washington, d. C. In 2013 and 2014. If left unfixed, these rules would block customers from getting responsible balloon loans. These are loans that they commonly use to provide credit to localized creditor who is may not fit correctly in washingtondictated lending straitjackets. These loans are vital to all kinds of individuals in Rural America, from Business Owners on main street who simply seek to preserve their business to farmers preparing for the next planning season. A balloon loan can finally help the young family purchase a loan or help an individual prepare their fix their car so they can get to work each day and they are common throughout Rural America because they offer customers flexibility and help Community Banks and community Credit Unions mitigate Interest Rate risk. As you can see, these loans are tailored to the credit needs of the customer, which is why they are so popular throughout kentucky. The Community Banking business in kentucky has always been about relationship banking, about truly knowing your customer and having that element of trust so that the banker knows whether or not the customer can repay that loan. H. R. 2672 is necessary because it preserves the best traditions of Rural Community banking which are now being jeopardized by the consumer Financial Protection Bureaus incorrect rural designation throughout the country. Really quickly, what does the bill exactly do . It creates a petition process in which individuals within a state could pe decision the bureau to have it reconsider an improper designation of nonrural status for an area thats plainly rural. Instead of limiting applicants to only being able to challenge base opped county lines, h. R. 2672 would give the applicant the flexibility to define the specified and bounded area they want to see switched from nonrural to rural. In other words, we dont want to lock people into using counties when they dont have to. This is important because county sizes can vary significantly throughout the country, particularly in western states. I want to thank my colleague and friend on the other side of the aisle, congressman hinojosa, for his contribution to this feature of the legislation. The legislation specified the number of commonsense factors that cfpb must consider when evaluating an application. In addition to the local input of the applicant, these factors include population density, a written opinion by the bank, criteria used by the census, o. M. B. And others for properly classifying geographical areas as either rural or urban. Upon receiving the application, he cfpb is to provide a 90day Comment Period and grant or deny within another 90 days. They shall publish in the reblingster an explanation of the factors it relied on in making its ultimate determination. Im pleased that this is a bipartisan bill. I want to thank especially congressman hinojosa for his input in helping to improve this legislation. I also want to thank all the other cosponsors of this bill, which is endorsed by a broad coalition, including the kentucky bankers association, the conference of state bank supervisors, the kentucky credit union, the Credit Union National association the National Association of federal Credit Unions, the american bankers association, the independent Community Bankers of america, the National Association of realtors, and the chairman of the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, again the pop banking regulator in kentucky, commissioner charles vice. This is a commonsense, simple bill. I appreciate the opportunity present it here today. I inch my colleagues to support this simple reform piece reform piece of legislation and i urge the support and immediate passage of this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the gentlelady from West Virginia reserves. The gentlelady from kale is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I yield to the gentleman from texas and cosponsor of h. R. 2672, many hinojosa, as much time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hinojosa madam speaker, i rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pport h. R. 2672, the helping expanding lending practices in Rural Communities act as amended. I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, congressman barr of kentucky, for your leadership on this bill. As the chairman of the congressional Rural Housing caucus, i have dealt with the varying definitions of rural for many years. Given that the definitions prom all gated by the usda are problematic on many counts, i was very concerned when i learned that the cfpb originally used them as a guide for their rule. He original rule by the f. P. B. Would exclude Hidalgo County in my 15th Congressional District in deep south texas. Hidalgo county includes some urban areas but much of it is also rural. Colonias to the most in the nation. Colonias often lack basic infrastructure such as indoor plumbing and electricity. They are rural by definition. We need to ensure that Community Banks and Credit Unions are not preventing from prevented from investing in such Rural Communities. He cfpbs new mortgage rules discourage risky lending practices that spark the financial crisis. However, Community Banks and redit unions did not cause the crisis and have legitimate reasons for flexibility when it comes to serving Rural America. Rural Community Bankers know their customers by name. Often they are the only option for credit within hundreds of miles. They understand the unique financial needs of their community and how best to serve the farmest this serve the ranchers and Small Businesses that rely on them. I appreciate the cfpb has heard our concerns and has responded by offering a short extension. I believe the petition process enacted by this legislation will only strengthen the cfpbs final rule. Important opportunity, given that rural is not easily defined and looks different by region. It makes good sense for the cfpb to follow the usdas lead and for communities to be able to petition their rural status. I thank congressman barr for his outstanding work on this bill and for including the changes that i proposed. Defining rural on a county level basis is too arbitrary, fwiven he large size of counties in texas and other given the large size of counties in texas and other western states. I do not believe the bill undermines the cfpbs commitment to Consumer Protection and i ask my colleagues to support h. R. 2672, and with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito i have no further speakers, im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I would simply like to ask all of my colleagues to support this important legislation and i would like to commend mr. Hinojosa and mr. Barr and id like to commend mrs. Capito and all that have worked so well together to make sure that we Pay Attention to the problems of Rural Communities and this bill certainly does that i yield back of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito i echo the comments of the Ranking Member and want to thank her for her help on this bill and i want to thank mr. Barr and mr. Hinojosa for their hard work. As i said earlier in my hoping statement, Rural America does have a different way of trying to access credit and to make sure that Home Ownership becomes the reality that many of us hope for our families. Id like to congratulate the sponsors and i urge passage of the bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2672 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being present 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 title amended. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from West Virginia seek recognition . Mrs. Capito i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4386. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4386, a bill to allow the secretary of the treasury to rely on state examinations for certain Financial Institutions and for other purposes. Mrs. Capito i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will suspend. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, mrs. Capito, and the gentlewoman from california, each will control 0 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I apologize for jumping the gun a little bit there. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five lennell slative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the currently r. 4386, under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Capito thank you. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Capito i would like to thank congressman ellison and congressman paulsen for drafting until bill. Many people rely on Money Service businesses to remit money to families. One problem is the lack of communication between the state and local entities. H. R. 43 6 seeks to reduce the compliance burden for these businesses by allowing for greater information sharing between state and federal agencies. It legislation will make easier for consumers seeking money transfers to access these services. I commend the authors of this legislation for identifying the duplication between the state and federal compliance and putting forth a proposal to streamline the Regulatory Framework for these businesses. Consumers will have greater access to the Financial Services they need and want while at the same time making it easier for these businesses and the Financial Institutions they partner with to make sure that they are in compliance with the law. I urge adoption of this Bipartisan Legislation and i would like to reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4386, the money remitances improvement act offered by the distinguished gentleman from minnesota, mr. Ellison, a member of the house Financial Services committee and a cochair of the congressional progressive caucus. Representative ellison has worked diligently to get this important bill to the floor for some time and i thank him for that. I am also grateful to Financial Services Committee Chairman jeb hen ar hensarling for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor today. H. R. 4386 is a commonsense measure that will strengthen Bank Secrecy Act examinations of the nonbank Financial Institutions that lack a federal regulator by permitting the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to rely on examinations already conducted by state supervisory agencies where they meet federal standards. This straightforward change will make better use of state and federal resources and will ensure that the wide rank of nonbank Financial Institutions currently subject to examination by the Internal Revenue service nsn will be by f subject to more oversight. In addition to furthering our oversight, further compliance provided for in this bill will make it easier for lawful and well regulated nonbank institutions such as Money Service businesses to provide remitances and other essential Financial Services. Access to remitances is particularly important in states like minnesota, ohio, washington, an california which e home to communities from kenya, ethiopia, and to sudan, somalia and elsewhere. For family members living in fragile states, remitances sent from the United States often provide an essential lifeline during difficult periods of drought, famine, conflict and economic disruption. In an environment where banks and Credit Unions are understandably eager to reduce risk of all kinds, this is exactly the type of legislation we need. By strengthen og oversight of nonbank money transmitters and other nonbank actor, bill will help encrease the confidence banks and Credit Unions relie on in determining whether to provide the account services that nonbank institutions need to stay in business. It will also do so without diluting the important riskbased Due Diligence requirements banks and Credit Unions are subject to under the Bank Secrecy Act. Appropriately, current law requires that banks and Credit Unions take steps to ensure that their nonbank customers meet core Bank Secrecy Act compliance obligations, including recordkeeping and reporting requirements, ongoing monitoring for suspicious activity and training for employees to ensure they are familiar with their obligations under the law. And while banks, Credit Unions and their executives must be expected to meet obligations under the law, we must also do more to provide them with the tools necessary to access compliance risk, distinguish between good and bad actors, to strengthen our National Security, promote a more sound financial system, save taxpayers money and provide fairness and relief to immigrant communities across this nation and their families around the globe, i urge all members of the house to vote in fare of this bill and i in favor of this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Ms. Kaptur id like to mrs. Capito id like to reserve. I have no further speakers. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waurs id like to yield to the sponsor of this legislation as much time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Mr. Ellison id like to thank chairman hensarling and Ranking Member waters. Id like to thank my own staff who did a fine job but also congressman paulsen, a friend of mine for many years, congressman duffy who is away tending to family affairs. Newborn baby. Congressman hinojosa and many others. The fact is this is a commonsense good piece of legislation. Its the kind of thing that will be great if we worked on more. Both federal and state regulators have a responsibility to provide oversight over nonbank Financial Institutions like Money Services, businesses, yourry merchants and mortgage brokers. However, they have not been able to rely on the information that comes from the state exams for nair oversight purposes. This bill changes that. In so doing, it reduces duplicative exams and increases efficiency. I urget support of this bill because i urge support of this bill because it reduces duplicative exams and makes the system more efficient. One reason i introduced the bill is because i want to see more Money Services businesses have access to Bank Accounts. Financial institution also feel more assured in providing Bank Accounts because more nonbank Financial Institution also now e formally examined. Oxfam to dahav shell know their ability to send money back to somalia and elsewhere is literally a matter of life and death. For many remittances is a lifeline providing food, shelters, education and economic development. This bill is an example of how robust oversight can reduce risk, resulting in greater beneficial activity. This bill receives a great deal of support. Again, id like to thank my cosponsors for the bill. Id also like to thank the senate leads on the bill, senators kirk and klobuchar. Finally, again, chairman hensarling and Ranking Member waters for prioritizing the ed to improve Regulatory Oversight which will also meet humanitarian needs. I urge my colleagues to support the money remittance improvement act, h. R. 4386, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlelady reserves. The gentlelady from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I have no further speakers if the gentlelady from california the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I have no further requests for time. Id like to thank all of those who have worked on this legislation. This is a fine example of how you take a rather difficult and complicated problem and work through ways by which you can ensure security and that lawful actions are continued and in order to make sure that the banking laws are being recognized and being honored and still do something for those people who are dependent on these remittances. So ill yield back the balance of my time and ask all of my colleagues for their support on this bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentlelady from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. And id like to thank the sponsors of the bill. Done a great job working together as two state colleagues and i urge support of this bill as well and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 4386. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 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 speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Issa madam speaker, by the direction of the committee of oversight and government reform, i urge a supplemental report. The clerk report to accompany supplement resolution recommending that the house of representatives find lois lerner, Internal Revenue service, in contempt of congress, for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the committee of oversight and government reform. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from West Virginia seek recognition . Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3329. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3329, a bill to enhance the ability of Community Financial institutions to foster Economic Growth and serve their communities, boost Small Businesses, increase individual savings and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, mrs. Capito, and the gentleman from colorado, mr. Perlmutter, ach will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia. I think mr. Murphy is up first. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from West Virginia, mrs. Capito, and the gentleman from florida, mr. Murphy, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from West Virginia. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and submit remarks extraneous materials for the record on h. R. 3329, currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Capito madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you. Id like to thank mr. Luetkemeyer and mr. Murphy of florida for drafting this legislation before us this afternoon and for working together on the Financial Services committee. H. R. 3329 provides targeted regulatory relief for small bank Holding Companies. Under the current Regulatory Framework, the Federal Reserves rules sometimes make for small banks to make acquisitions. This is because the acquiring institution often uses the Debt Financing to make often uses Debt Financing to make the acquisition. Recognizing that many small institutions rely on Debt Financing for an institution, the Federal Reserve requires policy statements to ensure the debt is managed properly and subsidiary banks are well capitalized. The legislation before us today makes it easier to have Holding Companies, make acquisitions by issuing debt at the Holding Company level by raising the threshold from 500 million in consolidated assets to 1 billion in consolidated assets. I commend the authors of this bill for their hard work on this Bipartisan Legislation which passed the committee by voice vote last november. This is about creating jobs, getting credit across the country, for consumers and for small Business Owners. So i urge adoption of the bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Murphy madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Murphy thank you, madam speaker. First, i want to thank the gentlelady from california for her leadership on this and countless issues that come before our committee. Thank the to gentlelady from West Virginia, the chair of Financial Institutions, for her constant willingness to come to the center and work for the greater good of our country. I also want to thank the gentleman from missouri, mr. Luetkemeyer, for his outstanding leadership, working for true regulatory relief to create jobs while protecting consumers. This is not the first bill that weve worked on together, and i hope its not the last. Across the Treasure Coast and palm beaches, the constituents that im privileged to represent know that Small Businesses are the backbone of our economy. They understand that capital is the lifeblood that enables those businesses to grow, spurring innovation and creating jobs. Community banks are on the front lines providing that capital, but they are being strangled by wellintentioned but excessive regulation. Let me be clear. I am not against reining in the excesses of wall street banks. After the recession cost the American People 17 trillion of equity, they should be held to the highest standard. But it doesnt take the c. P. A. To know the difference between a trillion interconnected globalized wall street bank and the 550 Community Banks on the town square under 1 billion in assets that do not yet get the regulatory relief provided by the fed policy statement. Were here today to change that. This bill would provide muchneeded regulatory relief to Community Banks. Everyone says they are for Community Banks. Today is the day to prove it. Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert a letter of support from the independent Community Bankers of america into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Murphy thank you, madam speaker. With that i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the luetkemeyermurphy bill, and with no further speakers, i yield the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlewoman from West Virginia is recognized. Mrs. Capito thank you, madam speaker. Id like to ask unanimous consent that mr. Luetkemeyer be permitted to control the remaining balance of our time. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Capito and i yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Luetkemeyer thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Luetkemeyer i want to thank both chairman hensarling and Ranking Member waters for their support of my bill as well as the hard work of chairman congresswoman capito for her support today as well as congressman murphy for his sponsorship as well. At a time where regulators are requiring more and more from Small Communitybased institutions i appreciate the opportunity to Work Across Party Lines to offer some commonsense relief. Small bank and thrift Holding Companies face unique challenges with regards to capital formations when is at a time where theyre demanding higher capital in response to basel three. Understanding these challenges, the Federal Reserve has recognized the small bank Holding Companies have limited access to financing and as a result face difficulties in acquisition of small banks by small Holding Companies which often requires the use of debt. The Federal Reserve bank Holding Company policy statement first issued in 1980 allows for relief from certain requirements making necessary for a small bank Holding Company to raise the necessary capital and issue debt. The policy statement also simplifies acquisitions and formation of new bank and thrift Holding Companies. These are important tools in ensuring that our smallest institutions can continue to lend in their communities, hire new staff and survive what remains a very difficult time for Community Banks. H. R. 3329 simply increases the threshold in the feds policy statement from 500 million to 1 billion assets. The 500 million threshold has not been touched since 2006. In the past seven years, our nations smallest bank and thrift Holding Companies have faced significant recession, consolidation and an Alarming Number of bank failures. While this bill does offer regulatory relief to our nations smallest institutions, it also includes safeguards that allow the fed to monitor for safety and soundness. The fed retains the right to have capital standards on the Holding Company if it will otect the safety and soundness of its customer. And it limits the bank Holding Companys to benefit from this relief. H. R. 3329 keeps these safeguards in place. This noncontroversial bill will help more than 500 of our nations smallest banks and thrift Holding Companies. H. R. 3329 has bipartisan support and the support of independent Community Bankers of america and the american bankers association. H. R. 3329 will go a long way in ensuring that these institutions are able to grow stronger and continue to serve their communities. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman yields back . Mr. Luetkemeyer i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida has yielded back. Mr. Luetkemeyer i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house pules and pass the bill h. R. 3329. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 35 4 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of he bill. H. R. 346. The speaker pro tempore the the clerk will report the title of the bill. 3468, ther. 348 Credit Union Share Fund Insurance parity act. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california, mr. Royce and the gentleman from colorado, mr. Perlmutter, each will control 20 minutes this the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Royce im going to ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to submit any extraneous materials for the record that they might do so that that h. R. 3468 as amended for the record on h. R. 3468 as amended currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Royce i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Royce i rise in strong support of the Credit Union Share Fund Insurance parity act. This is a bill that passed out of the Financial Services committee on a voice vote. Its bipartisan, commonsense legislation. Its supported by the Credit Union National association, the National Association of federal credit union the california and Nevada Credit Union leagues, as well as the american bar association. What this bill does is to ensure that theres parity in the treatment of trust accounts covered by the National Credit union Share Insurance Fund and by the federal deposit insurance corporation, the fdic. The Financial Services committee has heard the testimony of Credit Unions from West Virginia to texas that, and im going going to quote here, theres no Public Policy reason for insurance purposes to distinguish credit union interests on Lawyer Trust Accounts from those insured by the fdi crmbs. It is essential for the ncuas Share Insurance Fund to be treated identically in order to maintain parity between the two federal Insurance Programs. Unquote. Specifically, the bill amends the federal Credit Union Act to through share ss Insurance Coverage be provided when a Credit Union Member holds funds on behalf of a nonmember n an iolta or other account. Currently the National Credit Union Administration treats funds held by Credit Union Members on behalf of those who are not federally insured credit crune members as not covered by the National Credit union Share Insurance Fund. This has created a disparity in coverage, pess herbal will especially when looking at the debit and master accounts. Part of the purpose from Credit Unions has been to reach out to the Community Around them, especially to reach out to the underserved, maintaining a strong commitment to the iolat community and removeling this removing this barrier sustains that. I urge my colleagues to support this billened, a bill that corrects a disparity between the between are counted Credit Unions and other banks. I look forward to the statement of the other ed who has been an important champion of this important bill. I thank you again, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Perlmutter i thank my friend mr. Royce from kale for his remarks and as they say, or as i say, two eds are better than one. Well start with that. This bill is designed to create parity between certain accounts held at Credit Unions and those held at fdic insured banks. And as a preliminary matter i ask unanimous consent to introduce into the record six letters, the first is a letter dated september 17, 1996, signed by richard shulman, the assistant general counsel of the National Credit Union Administration. Second is a letter dated october 8, 2008, and that is from sheila a. Albon, associate general counsel, a letter dated may 6, 2014, from the american bar association, signed by the president of the bar association, letter dated may 5, 2014, signed by brad taylor of the National Association of federal Credit Unions a letter dated may 5, signed by bill cheney, president of the Credit Union National association and finally a letter signed by scott earl from Mountain West credit union association. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Perlmutter thank you. Specifically it extends coverage to trust accounts, ill call those trust accounts or similar escrow accounts. Those held at Credit Unions that are otherwise fully insured at fdic insured banks up to 250,000. As a practicing lawyer for 20 years, i know that Lawyer Trust Accounts in colorado would be a colorado lawyer trust account. They are things we establish for our clients so interest can be earned for various charities that might exist system of for instance, legal aid which provides assistance to veterans or people involved in Domestic Violence situations. Under our bill if a credit union for ever wide receiver ever to fail and needed to be resolved, the client funds held in an escrow account would be insured and thus protected regardless if the beneficiary is a member of the credit union or not. In my instance, if i had a trust account which had a number of different clients, some clients might be members of the credit union, others are not, only those under current law that are members of the credit union are covered by share insurance. Those that are not members of the credit union are not covered. Were trying to stop this different differentiation between banks and Credit Unions. Rules y the ncuas introduced in 1986 do not allow federal deposit insurance equal to the coverage provided by the fdic for accounts held by Credit Union Members that contain funds owned by one or more nonmembers. Iolta accounts often contain funds from many clients, some of whom may not be members of the particular credit union where the attorney or escrow agent has opened the account. With an iolta account or other accounts held in trust under current law, the membership status of the client ben fish year, and not of the agent or attorney is determinative as to whether an iolta account can be properly maintained. In order for a law firm or Escrow Company to maintain ain iolta at a credit union, either all of the compliants whose funds would be deposited must be members of the credit union or the credit union must be designated low income which would allow it to accept nonmember funds. Many require the funds to be fully insured, meaning a lawyer cannot may no be may not be able to use a credit union for these accounts if they cannot be fully covered. It is important to note that this legislation should not be seen as an authorization to take nonmember deposits beyond current limits nor should it be seen as an authorization for the ncua to take those thresholdsful what we have for us today is a compromise. Defines age narrowly which which accounts will be extended fund coverage. This includes iolta and coltap accounts and other escrow expects held in trust. I thank my friend from california for bringing this legislation. Its time that there be parity and that all kinets be covered by the Share Insurance Fundism urge quick passage of h. R. 3468 the Credit Union Share fund, insurance parity act and i yield back my i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields ere the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california. Mr. Royce i yield back. Mr. Perlmutter i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 3468 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, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the jlt from ohio seek recognition . I move that the house suspend he rules and pass h. R. 4292, the Foreign Cultural Exchange jurisdictional immunity clarification act. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4292, a bill to amend chapter 97 of title 28 of United States code to collar phi the foreign sovereign immunity set forth in section 160583 in such title. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Cohen, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous remarks on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Chabot thank you. I would like to thank chairman goodlatte, mr. Conyers and mr. Cohen for cosponsoring this legislation. This is simple, straightforward legislation. It clarifies the relationship between the immunity from seizure act and the foreign sovereign immunities act to encourage the foreign lending of art to the United States. Currently, art work loaned by Foreign Governments is commonly immune to federal court decisions. And cannot be confiscated. If the president finds that their display is in the national interest. However, Foreign Governments do not have immunity when commercial activity is involved this bill seeks to clarify that artwork imported into the u. S. For temporary display is not commercial activity and should thus be immune from seizure. Specifically, my legislation would revise the United States code and make clear that the import of artwork is not legally considered commercial activity if three elements are met. First, the United States or an Educational Institute therein and a Foreign Government must agree to the exchange of artwork, second, the president must determine that such work is of cultural significance and the temporary exhibition of such work is in the national interest, and third, the president s determination must be published in the federal register. In enacting the immunity from seizier act, congress recognized that Cultural Exchange would produce substantial benefits to the United States both artistically and diplomatically. Foreign lending should be allowed to continue to aid cultural understanding and increase public exposure to archaeological artifacts. This bill reaffirms our countrys commitment to the foreign lending of artwork to American Museums. However, for artwork and cultural objects owned by Foreign Governments, the intent of the immunity from seizure act is being frustrated currently by the foreign sovereign immunities act. A provision of the foreign sovereign immunities act opens Foreign Governments up to the jurisdiction of u. S. Courts for Court Actions if Foreign Government owned afertwork is temporarily imported into the United States artwork is temporarily imported into the u. S. Similarly to its Senate Companion this proids pro vidse a nazi era exception, it does not apply in cases in which property was taken in violation of international law, and those are things which are in question and the claims are based on claims that it was taken in connection with the acts of thierman government from 1933 to may 8, 19 45. According to the may 8, 1945. According to the association of museum directors, current law has led to Foreign Governments declining to exchange artworks and cultural objects with the United States for temporary exhibitions. The exhibits. The Russian Federation imposed a ban on state owned art loans to American Museums on the grounds that such artworks could be subject to legal action. Several u. S. Museums which had loan agreements with the Russian National institutions were forced to cancel longplanned russian art exhibits. In order to keep the exchange of Foreign Government owned art flowing, Congress Needs to clarify the relationship between these two acts that i preevetly previously described this legislation does just that. Ensuring that museum like the Cincinnati Museum center and the Cincinnati Art Museum, both in my district, and other similar museums across the country, may continue to present first class exhibits and educate the public on Cultural Heritage and artwork from all around the globe. Through enactment of this legislation, we can secure foreign lending to American Museums and ensure that foreign art lenders are not entangled in unnecessary litigation. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the plans of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you, madam speaker. Nice to see a tennessean in the chair, james knox pope may have been the last one that was more permanent as speaker of the house. To my friend mr. Chabot, its an honor to rise and cosponsor this bill along with you and mr. Goodlatte and mr. Conyers. I do rise in support of this ill, the fcejic act. This clarifies the exception to the former laws. That it is immune from law. The president has granted immunity from seizure pursuant to the act and its published in the federal register. Additionally, 4292 ensures that the exappropriation remains available for all naziera claims. This spropet in light of the particularly concerted effort of the nazis to seize artwork and other Cultural Properties from citizens at that time, victims of the holocaust and others. Quite a few some movies recently about some of the people in the Armed Services that helped rescue that artwork. It must be commended. It brought about the horrific things in that era, the nazis did, they did so many horrific things. They wanted to destroy all culture. So any artwork that may be part of those claims would still be available. Finally and narrowly tailored amendment does see we will have more opportunity to see art from europe and around the world and that the exchange of culture is important to have exchanges so the people around the world understand the other cultures and may be make the planet a little more safe. So i support the bill and understand that it still makes available redress for those which committed acts of exappropriation during the nazi era. I thank mr. Chabot who is my friend and done a great job and we hope to keep the river flowing and the delta queen alive, the judiciary Committee Chairman, bob goodlatte, and mr. Conyers. I would like to offer for the record a letter on the conversation conference of material claims against nazi germany who states they would not oppose passage of this bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Cohen thank you, madam speaker. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Chabot thank you, madam speaker. I would at this time like to yield to the distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee, mr. Goodlatte from virginia. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Chabot such time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Goodlatte thank you, madam speaker. Id like to begin by thanking mr. Chabot for introducing this legislation and mr. Conyers and mr. Cohen for their support as well. The Foreign Cultural Exchange immunity clarification act strengthens the ability of u. S. Museums and educational institutions to borrow Foreign Governmentowned artwork and cultural artifacting for temporary exhibition or display. The United States has long recognized the importance of encouraging the Cultural Exchange of ideas through exhibitions of artwork and other artifacts loaned from other countries. These exchanges expose americans to other cultures and fosters understanding of people of different nationalities, languages, religions and races. Unfortunately, the future success of Cultural Exchanges is severely threatened by a disconnect between the immunity from seizure act and the foreign sovereignty sovereign immunity acts. Loans of argument work and artifacts will only work only if they have confidence that they will be brought back. For 40 years, the immunity from seizure act provided Foreign Government lenders with this confidence. However, rulings in recent in several recent federal cases have undermined the protection provided by the immunity from seizure act. In these decisions, the federal courts have held that the immunity from seizure racket does not preempt the foreign sovereign immunities act. The effect has been to open Foreign Governments up to the jurisdiction of u. S. Courts simply because think loaned artwork or cultural objects to an American Museum or educational institution. This has significantly impeded the ability of u. S. Institutions to borrow Foreign Governmentowned items. It has also resulted in Cultural Exchanges being curtailed as Foreign Government lenders have become hesitant to permit their Cultural Property to travel to the United States. This bill addresses this situation. It provides that the state Department Grants immunity to a loan of artwork or cultural objects from under the immunity from seizure act, then the loan cannot subject a Foreign Government to the jurisdiction of u. S. Courts under the foreign sovereign immunities act. This is very narrow legislation. It only applies to one of the many grounds for jurisdiction under the foreign sovereign immunities act. Moreover, it requires the state department to grant the artwork immunity under the immunity from seizure act before its provisions apply. And in order to preserve the claims of victims of the nazi government and its allies during world war ii, the bill has an exception for claims brought by these victims. If we want to encourage Foreign Governments to continue to lend artwork and other artifacts to American Museums and educational institutions, we must enact this legislation. Without the protections this bill provides, Foreign Governments will avoid the risk of lending their cultural items to american institutions, and the American Public will lose the opportunity to view and appreciate these cultural objects from abroad. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back to the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you. I just want to comment that mr. Goodlattes committee has now produced this bill and the next bill, the aluminum misscohen bill and we came together to work against sex trafficking last week. So the Judiciary Committee under the leadership of mr. Goodlatte is starting to do a lot of good Bipartisan Legislation. I commend him for that. Hope we see more of that. With that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Chabot i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot madam speaker, ill be very brief. Id like to first of all thank the Cincinnati Museum center and the Cincinnati Art Museum for bringing this matter to my attention. I want to particularly thank the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Cohen, for his leadership on this bill as well as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, mr. Goodlatte, and also the Ranking Member, mr. Conyers, for their leadership. And without any additional speakers, ill 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. 4292. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed mr. Cohen id like to ask for a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays . Mr. Cohen yes. Thats exactly what i was doing, yes. 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 clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition . Mr. Chabot madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules and 2919. R. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2919, a bill to amend titles 5 and 28, United States code, to require annual reports to congress on, and the maintenance of databases on, awards of fees and other expenses to prevailing parties in certain administrative proceedings and court cases to states is a ed party and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot, and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Cohen, will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot thank you, madam speaker. And i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. And include extraneous materials on h. R. 219, currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot id like to begin sint nking representative knee lummis and, again, mr. Cohen of tennessee for introducing this important Government Transparency legislation. Every year pursuant to the equal access to justice act, the federal government, through settlement or court order, pays millions of dollars in legal fees and costs to party to lawsuits and Administration Administrative adjudications that involve the federal government. However, despite the large amount of taxpayer dollars paid out each year through the act, the federal government no longer comprehensively keeps track of the amount of fees and other expenses awarded. Why these fees and expenses were awarded and to whom these costs were awarded. This is because in 1995 congress repealed the department of justices reporting requirements and defunded the administrative conference of the United States, the Agency Charged with reporting this basic information to congress, to us. The administrative conference was reestablished in 2010, but the requirements to report the fee and cost payments have not been reenacted. Accordingly, there has been no official governmentwide accounting of this information since fiscal year 1994, almost 20 years ago. This lack of transparency is troubling, given that the equal access to justice act is considered by many to be the most important federal fee shifting statute. Fundamentally, the act recognizes that there is enormous disparity of resources between the federal government and individuals and sbigs Small Businesses who seek to challenge federal actions. Congress enacted the equal access to justice act to provide individuals, Small Businesses and small nonprofit groups with Financial Assistance to bring suit against the federal government or defend themselves from lawsuits brought by the federal government. As the Supreme Court has noted, the act was adopted with the, quote, specific purpose of eliminating for the average person the financial disincentive to challenge unreasonable governmental actions, unquote. But how can we know if the act is working well toward this end if we have no data on awards . Without the data this bill requires the administrative conference to compile and report. We have nothing more than anecdotal evidence as to whether the act is working. The legislation we are considering today will end this lack of transparency and restore the reporting requirements that were repealed back in 1995. I want to once again thank representatives lummis and cohen for introducing this bill. Its good legislation, and i urge my colleagues to support its passage. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen thank you, madam speaker. I rise in strong support of h. R. 2919, the open book on equal access to justice act, also known as the long worth 1004 act. This Bipartisan Legislation makes a modest but important improvement to the equal access o justice act, also known as eaja. Court parties to have costs and fees. It enables ordinary citizens, such as veterans, advocates for clean air and clean water to fight unfair or illegal government actions without fear of the mr. Costello s involved. D over the years that access succeeded. Weve had no reliable data on how much the government has awarded during these proceedings. The public has a right to know how taxpayer funds are used and congress ought to be able to assess this. To address this failing, h. R. 2919 will require the conference, a highly respective nonparty agency on the fees and costs reported in these cases. It would include the number and nature of the claims involved. It would require a publicly accessible searchable database for this information as well as the case name, the agency involved. Im very pleased to sponsor this bill along with the gentlewoman from wyoming, mrs. Lummis, who has done a great job in bringing this to the floor. Hopefully pass it here and hopefully it will become law and weve worked in a bipartisan basis to address this issue. H. R. 2919 represents a compromise with respect to a broader bill related to aeja which mrs. Lummis previously introduced. Its an excellent example of what happens when theres bipartisan cooperation. This legislation will have Greater Transparency with respect to our government and provide available information to valuable information to our government and our citizens. I urge my colleagues to support it, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from ohio is recognized. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. I yield three minutes to the gentlelady, mrs. Lummis. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Lummis i rise in support of this act. I want to thank the Ranking Member, mr. Cohen, for cosponsoring this legislation. He Ranking Member is the one i inherited longworth 204 from, our staffs have worked together and i have enjoyed that relationship since coming to congress. I thank the gentleman for his friendship. He was instrumental in securing bipartisan support for passage of h. R. 2919 through the Judiciary Committee. House resolution 2919 reinstates the tracking and reporting of attorneys fees paid out by the federal government under the equal access to justice act, also known as eaja. It was first enacted in 1980 with the goal of protecting Small Businesses and other entities. It was meant to address the david and goliath situation that xists when a citizen has to go to court against the vast resources of the federal government. Eaja was amended in 1985 and then again in 1992, include claims before the court of appeals for veterans. Eaja has been subject to numerous reviews and revisions over the years to keep it up to date. Eajas requirement for agencies to track and report on attorneys fees helped inform congress in its past efforts to improve the law this transparency was also a safeguard for the federal taxpayers who financed the law. Prior to 1995, eaja payments trickled out at a rate of about 3 million annually but since tracking and reporting requirements for eliminated in 1995, eaja has operated in the dark. As a government Government Accountability as a Government Accountability Office Groups de clear, most like eaja dont track payments and wont unless Congress Gives them incentive to do so. As the gentleman from ohio mentioned, mr. Chabot, we only have anecdotal evidence as to how much we are spending on attorneys fees. We need transparency to better monitor this law moving forward. H. R. 2919 both reinstates transparency and improves it by requiring the information be posted online in a searchable database. The we owe this to the Small Businesses, veterans, Social Security claimants and others who rely on eaja for their once in a lifetime court bat wls the federal government and we owe it to the Hardworking Taxpayers who are financing this law. Thank you, madam speaker. Mr. Royce i will yield the gentlelady 30 seconds mrs. Lummis i deeply appreciate it, i u. S. Urge my colleague it is support h. R. 2919 and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired feded. The gentleman from ohio reserves. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen i yield my time to the lady from wyoming. The speaker pro tempore does the gentlelady seek further time . Mrs. Lummis in great appreciation and deference to the gentleman on the Judiciary Committee and especially to my cosponsor, mr. Cohen, i gratefully acknowledge his cosponsor hipp, he supported this bill, the hard work of the house Judiciary Committee and yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Copen mr. Cohen go on, dont stop. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cohen i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized. I would like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from montana, mr. Daines. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Daines i want to thank the gentlelady from wyoming, Cynthia Lummis and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Cohen, for this bipartisan support of this most important bill. I rise in strong support of h. R. 2919, the open book on equal access to justice act which increases transparency and works to ensure that the equal access to justice act, eaja, does what it was intended to do, protect citizens and Small Businesses against the limitless resources of the federal government when they have to go to court. This lew was law was twroin give individuals like our veterans, seniors and other a way to dispute unfair treatment by the government. However the original intent of eaja has been lost in a sea of habitual litigation, especially when it involves our management of Natural Resources and public lands and projects that bring muchneeded jobs to our local communities. Much of this litigation is rewarded with millions of hard earned taxpayer dollars. That isnt acceptable. In montana, weve seen firsthand the consequence of some of this litigation. Montanas montanans relie on healthy forests for their livelihoods. Loggers, ranchers, miners, outfitters and guides and others rely on healthy Land Management to feed their families. In recent decades, unrelents appeals and lawsuits have imposed a huge Administrative Burden on our federal agencies, eliminating our access our mills access to timber and resulting in the mismanagement of forests, leaving homes and businesses at risk for wildfire and crippling job growth in the Timber Industry. In montana, we used to have 30 saw mill, today, we have just nine. Collaborative projects where the montana Timber Industry and conservation leaders have spent countless hours negotiating are sometimes stopped in court. True conservation is on the ground stewardship done by hardworking individuals directly on the land, it is not done in the courtroom. At the very least, the American People ought to know how much of their hard earned tax dollars are going toward these litigants and the information that led to their claims against the federal agency. The open book on equal access to justice act will provide that muchneeded transparency which hopefully can limit these lawsuits and help save hundreds of american jobs. I urge support for h. R. 2919. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Chabot thank you, madam speaker. Id like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. Collins. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I am proud to rise in support of the open book on equal access to justice act and i would like to thank the gentlewoman from wyoming for her work on that and also my friend on the jew dish from tennessee, there are lots of times we to disagree about things, this is one time we can agree, thats good for the committee and for your leadership as well, mr. Shah tpwhofmente equal access to justice act supports one of our nations founding principles, equal access under the law, by making the jawsties system eaccess equal for all americans. T requires that equal access for Justice Association have proper accounting. The original equal access to justice act rightfully included tracking and reporting requirements concerning payments made under authority of this law. Taxpayers shouldnt be on the hook for untold amounts of attorneys fees. My constituents simply dont believe that their hard earned money should go to groups that push their agenda through litigation instead of the regular legislative process. Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the federal government is truly working on behalf of americans who fund it. The open bobbing on equal access to justice act will help ensure that the original law is working as congress intended. With Greater Transparency through reporting, the American People will have greater confidence that their tax dollars are being well spent. I would like to thank again the sponsors and cosponsors as well for offering this. Im proud to be an original cosponsor on this and with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chabot thank you, madam speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the howls suspend the rules and pass the will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2919. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion is reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 6 30 p. M. Today. Army chief of staff said pay and compensation must remain competitive and also should be balanced as well. Heres more about that. The allvolunteer army has performed phenomenaly during the conflicts. It is important we discuss the appropriate level of compensation not only to recognize the sacrifice of our soldiers and their families but to ensure we sustain the supreme area allvolunteer force. Pay and Compensation Benefits must remain competitive in order to retain and recruit. However, pay and compensation must be balanced along with end strength, readiness and modernation of our force. We take a comprehensive look at our budget. I fully endorse these department of defense proposals that do not cut our soldiers pay but slows the rate of growth that are unsustainable. Additionally, it is essential we gain more efficiencies in our come is sears and tricare. The proposal recognize the sacrifice of our soldiers and families while allowing us to balance readiness modernization and compensation. These are difficult but necessary decisions. Taking care of soldiers is not just about providing them competitive pay and Compensation Benefits, its about having the right capacity in order to sustain reasonable personnel tempo, invest in the most modern equipment and maintain the highest levels of training readiness. If the army does not get the 12 billion in compensation savings, we will have to look at a further reduction in end strength. While our overall Readiness Posture and slow even our current modernization programs. It is my opinion if congress does not approve our compensation recommendations, then you must end sequestration now and increase our top line. We must keep in mind it is not a matter of when but to deploy. We have done it in every decade since world war ii and incumbent upon us to make our soldiers are trained, equipped and organized. If we do not, our soldiers will bear the heavy burden of our miscalculations on the battlefield. That was part of a hearing held earlier today by the senate armed Services Committee and you n see that entire event at 9 00 p. M. On cspan. Org. Going to get up our own prison, our own trap. We dont know that we are contributing to it. When you get addicted to drugs, the whole world gets built around your need for drugs. When you get suicidal, every signal in the world, you are going to die. Its a beautiful day, your parents, people love you, but everything gets closed in. All i can think about, i got to go. So i think we ourselves get caught up in those traps that society contributes to, but on the other hand we take it on personally and we cant see what is out there, beautiful angels and meantors and people who do care for you. Book Club Selection is, it calls you back by former gang member and community activeist. Start reading and join the conversation with other readers in our book club chat room. Ind us on booktv. Org a reminder that the house returns for votes in about 15 minutes at 6 30 p. M. Eastern time. A discussion on the housing reform bill making its way through the senate. From todays washington journal. Host former staff director for the Senate Banking committee and served from that position from 20102013 and former deputy staff director of the u. S. Select committee on housing and usual and affairs. Two are known to viewers. Both of you, gentlemen, welcome. Currently, a senate bill taking a look at the future of these two entities. What is being considered and why is it being considered . Great question. Guest they have been around created by congress, charters created by the federal government to help with Housing Finance and during the crisis it became clear they needed taxpayer help, as did a lot of large Financial Institutions and does the current structure still work or do we need to alter that structure and how does the federal government stay involved in whats known largely as our secondary Mortgage Market, what happens to mortgages after somebody takes out that loan and after the bank originates it. Host this deal with taking these mortgages and packaging them to sell to wall street, right . Guest after you purchase your house, your mortgage is effectively transferred and pooled with other mortgages and transferred into a security which is then sold on wall street and eventually purchased by investors, anywhere from pension funds, to banks to Financial Institutions. Host who takes the most risk, i guess we could use the example, who took the most risk as far as losses on those mortgages . Guest if they were guaranteed by freddie and fannie, thats what we saw during the crisis, those institutions like banks and Financial Institutions that held mortgages suffered severe losses. Host under the Senate Proposal then as the way its currently being structured, who would take the most risk then . Guest the chairman of the Banking Committee and the ranking republican are working on a bipartisan bill that the committee is going to consider and the idea is to bring more private capital into the system and so the government goes further behind and still can be a government guarantee provided but it would be done with more private capital upfront. The idea is to bring more capital into the system and reduce it overall. Host make the process more privatized erblely . What do you think about that approach . Guest it is a big change and the big question is how do you transition such a large market, we are talking trillions of dollars in terms of the Mortgage Market, how do you transition from the Current System to the new system. And that is the difficulty and the complexity they are dealing with in this legislation. They started out with 442page draft that tries to get at those transition issues. How do you wind down and use their current infrastructure. Creating this new system that allows for more private capital. Host what do you think about the approach being taken . Guest its a massive legislative undertaking and the process is showing its a complicated effort and lots of moving pieces. Any time you are dealing with entities or guaranteeing the Mortgage Market, it impacts anyone who is trying to buy a house, Financial Institutions that underwrite those mortgages and investors who purchase the securities, making sure this process works for everyone involved and making sure that everyone is able to get reasonable access to affordable Housing Finance as well as making sure taxpayers are protected. There are a lot of interests needed to be considered in crafting a bill here. Host you get to hear from the various entities who have a stake in this. The lobbying is going to be intense on this as well . Guest the lobbying is always kind of something that congress is looking at when it comes to Housing Finance. Bankingirst came to the committee, and i thought Banking Committee, we are going to be working on banking issues. Most of the work they do is on housing issues. Because they are so pervasive in the financial system, everyone is familiar with and staff is very familiar with these issues. There is a good background by the people who are in the process of crafting this bill. But one thing about being familiar with the issues and another when you try and take all of these different pieces and put them together. Host thats the trick to make them workable. Whats the chief concern in taking the Current System and making it into a new system . Guest several keys. They undertook an extensive series of hearings last fall and winter, more than a dozen hearings, over 100 sfaff meetings with stakeholders and ratethat the 30year fixed mortgage is going to be widely available. And making sure our Mortgage Market stays nationalized. 30, 40 years ago it was regional. And if you couldnt get credit, that would affect housing. Not the case today and we want to make sure we maintain make sure Community Banks or Credit Unions have the same access to the secondary Mortgage Market and dont have to keep them on their books the same way that a Financial Institution might have that opportunity. Trying to preserve all of those characters of our characteristics of our Current System is what they are trying do. Guest taxpayers need to be protected in whatever happens. That is an additional factor. I agree with what dwight talked about and taxpayers, that was a concern in the leadup of the crisis. Through the crisis it has been a concern about how much taxpayer exposure and make sure that taxpayers are never put in a position where they would end up having to bail out and pay out for downturn in the economy that we saw. That is another complicating factor. Guest that results in really two key points that the committee is trying to resolve as they vote on the bill, which they have not done so. And that is how much private capital do you require to protect the taxpayers. You want to make sure that the entities involved both whatever the entity that is providing that capital that they are adequately capitalized to protect taxpayers and making sure that that capital is not so expensive that it affects the affordability or availability of credit, which if we made mortgages more expensive, because of all that capital required, then that could have a negative impact on the Mortgage Market and we want to make sure we avoid that. Protecting the taxpayers and keeping the system as liquid and credible as we know it and expect it. Host Current Senate effort to change the way freddie and fannie work, help us work our way and understanding it. You have questions for them, call them and ask them. If you want to tweet us or end us an email you can do so. Is this a bipartisan kind of philosophy when it comes to the approach they are taking, is there support for it . Guest there can be sharp divides and we can talk about those in a second, but there are remarkable variations in peoples view points on Housing Finance. Everybody hopes to own a home or hopes to own a home has a particular viewpoint. In the leadup to the crisis, republicans were very concerned about the taxpayer exposure for freddie and fannie and the democrats were concerned about affordability issues. Thats where one of the divides comes down. But much more complicated than that when you take the next level down. You get into issues about how should mortgages should be financed how the securitization process should work, what the Playing Field is like, make sure the rules governing the process are vibrant and innovative in a competitive market and to make sure that you have a system that it works. You can talk about a lot of these ideas in theory, another thing to come up with a system and make sure that it works and thats why you see so much activity on the bill because they are doing that deep dive into the legislation and talking with lots of take holders to make sure that you get a workable bill. Host they are trying to get more support on the committee itself. There seems to be some support but want more before they pass it out. Guest thats right. At the moment, chairman johnson and Ranking Member crapo have built on existing legislation introduced last year by senator corker from tennessee and senator warner from virginia. Andrew would agree that the chairman and Ranking Member really took that bill and filled in some of the missing pieces, dealt with these transition issues in much more detail and really tried to improve upon an existing bipartisan product that had five cosponsors on the republican side and five on the democratic side. 10 members of the committee out of 22 and now with the chairman and Ranking Member having built upon that success and developed an even more detailed bill and more thorough approach. Now you have at least 10 of the 12 members supporting it and the question is can you get more than 12 and thats what the conversation is all about. Host senator reed wants to see more support. Guest you want a strong committee. If you dont have that strong typically bipartisan majority it makes it difficult to pass, survive a filibuster and so you need 60 votes. Thats one of the most interesting things working at the committee because of the existence of the filibuster it forces both sides to Work Together and when dwight and i were there, we spent time to figure out ways to Work Together. So that when you get a bill that out of committee, its something everyone can support. Germly the history is, if a piece of legislation passes out of the Banking Committee with unanimous support, the chances of it going to the senate floor are very, very high. If its a more controversial issue or a split vote, it tends to make it harder, not impossible, but it makes another hurdle you have to overcome. Guest one of the differences on this particular bill if it turns 12 to be a 1210 vote, that would be exactly split between six democratic supporters and six republican supporters. I think the difference with a split 1210 vote on a bipartisan vote like that, means the conversation will likely continue even after the Committee Takes the vote. And there is always time between Committee Action and potential floor action. So that conversation among the members of the committee and members off the committee who are interested in this will continue and could develop and ead to a bigger host if this isnt complicated enough. Guest another issue to be considered even if you have a path to get it through the senate floor, you have to think about the house. The house has taken a different approach. So at some point those two views will have to be reconciled. Host lets take some calls. Folks who served on capitol hill are here to talk to you. Success and from washington, independent line. Caller it is really disgusting, i dont know if i want to call myself an american. What they did caused me to have a heart attack and now im waiting for the sheriff to show up. I mean it doesnt even get better. It perpetuates, the same people who stole my property as i look at are the ones i cant get rental space of anything