Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20150515

The Defense Committee but we see overlaps. My amendment would make changes to d. O. D. Computing systems using software bought and modified for the purpose will not result in the disruption of their service. I want to recognize an unsung hero of the computing age who invented the first compiler for a Computer Programming language and was a visionary who worked to make it possible. Rear admiral grace Murray Hopper is not well known outside of the technology field, but i admire her work. This will provide the chief privacy officer with the tools it needs. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for 0 seconds. Ms. Jackson lee thank you. Chief privacy officers with the tools it needs to make changes to the d. O. D. Computer networks. In this world of hacking and the importance of securing our infrastructure of cybersecurity, i believe that this amendment will contribute to the improvement of the d. O. D. And protect against cyberattack. With that, i thank them for including my amendment and i yield become. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to my colleague, mr. Hurd, of texas. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hurd i rise in support of my amendment, number 5. As chame of the o. G. R. Subcommittee of Information Technology over the past five months, one thing has become painfully clear to me. The i. T. Infrastructure of the federal government is behind the times and those who maintain our already outdated systems have a difficult job due to red tape and bureaucratic hurdles. Compounding this issue is theres a shortage of Skilled Labor in i. T. Security in the public and private sectors. My amendment would modify existing lew to allow all critical to Network Defense who have received the appropriate training to take the necessary exams backing their skills with certification. A large number of these individuals receive the valuable training needed to protect our networks and defend cyberdomains but the skills are not always backed by certification. This not only means little accountability in the system but those who choose to leave the federal government have a hard time explaining qualifications to future employers. This applies an internationally recognized certification to individuals in critical roles. It will not seek additional funding to implement this policy change. It will enhance u. S. National security. I thank the chairman for his support and the work on this bill. The chair the gentlemans time has expire. The gentleman from rhode island. Mr. Langevin we have no speaker at this time, i continue to reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry mr. Chairman, we dont have any speakers either. The chair does the gentleman wish to reserve . Mr. Thornberry we reserve. The chair the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin if there are no additional speakers on our side, i yield back the balance of our time. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry i yield myself 30 seconds to note there are 15 amendments in this en bloc package, eight sponsored by republican and seven by democrats this truly is bipartisan participation in this in formulating this package. I hope that all the sponsors of these 15 amendments will support this bill on final passage. I urge adoption of the en bloc and yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment. On the 5e789s en bloc offered by the gentleman from texas. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The en bloc amendments are agreed to. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Thornberry pursuant to h. Res. 260, i offer another en bloc package, number five. The chair the clerk will designate the amendments en bloc. The clerk en bloc number five consisting of amendments 72 77 84, 86, 87 88, 89, 92, 93, 95 97, 98, and 100. Printed in house report 114112, offered by mr. Thornberry of texas. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 260, the gentleman from texas, mr. Thornberry and the gentleman from rhode island, mr. Langevin each will control 10 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry thank you, mr. Chairman. Im pleased to yield one minute to a colleague on the Armed Services Committee Also vice chair of the subcommittee on readiness, the gentlelady from new york. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. While i rise in support of this en bloc position, i am opposed to the selling of apaches. We worked to have a review no less than 60 days. Mr. Palazzos provision would scratch this and limit our review time. More importantly this amendment would have devastating impacts on the armys combat aviationbury gade and on states like new york, kansas, hawaii, arizona and others. Ms. Stefanik let me be clear. Any apache delie will have great effects on the readiness. The National Guard is set to receive fully modernized black hawks, however, derail delaying or stopping apache transfers would inhibit lift and rescue operations, which are critical to a states emergency response. While i will not vote against this package, i will continue to fight for an ontime transfer of the apay chees from the apa choo e apaches from the National Guard to the army. The chair the gentleman from rhode island. Mr. Langevin let me first say i want to thank chairman of the committee for his bipartisan cooperation. At this time we have no speakers at this point. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry thank you, mr. Chairman. Im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Rothfus. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roth fust i thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Rothfus i thank my friend for yielding. Since its establishment, the National Guard has responded to national crises. After september 11 2001, they were once again called on to stand to post, deployed for months on end, leaving loved ones behind. Unfortunately, the armys aviation structure is said to have a set to have a devastating impact not only on the National Guard in pennsylvania but all of the National Guard, leaving them less operational. Last year, congress wisely created the committee on the future of the army to create a deliberate approach. We need to allow the commission to do its work and ensure that the congress has sufficient time to consider the commissions report and recommendations before the army takes any further harmful and irreversible actions. The amendment i have offered with representatives palazzo and walls will ensure congress has that opportunity. I urge your support. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin i continue to reserve. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from north carolina, mrs. Ellmers. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Ellmers sprk thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you mrs. Ellmers thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you for continuing to work with me on issues facing fort bragg including the deactivation of the 440th air force wing. My amendment is simple. Im demanding accountability for what i believe to be a misguided and shortsighted decision. The airborne and special Operations Unit are unique because there are paratroopers within the Global Response force who were on call 247, packed and ready to deploy anywhere in the world within hours. It is safe to say that the level of readyness required for these forces is unparalleled. In the midst of a global in the midst of global uncertainty, the idea of deactivation such as the vital element is simply baffling to me. I see this as a dangerous action to our paratroopers and i demand accountability for this illadvised decision. As the representative of fort bragg, i will not stand by idly when i see a decision that negatively affects the brave men and women serving our country. Mr. Speaker, i yield become the remainder of my time. The chair the gentleladys time has expired this gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin thank you mr. Chairman. At this time, we continue trow serve. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from new york mr. Kepko. The chair the gentleman is recognized. I rise in support of amendment number 86 to bring awareness to an issue that affects the future of our air force, and it can be boiled down to one specific fact. We need more remotely piloted aircraft pilots. The military has increasingly emphasized the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems to support operations around the world. We should continue providing the assets necessary to protect and enable our Service Members to do their job. Air force leadership has recently made several remarks stating the need for 300 annually trained r. P. A. Pilots. However we can only muster a fraction of that number at this time. I stand before this body today to ask support for report to congress and request clarification on how the department of defense, specifically the air force plans on solving this problem. I ask my colleagues to not restrict the operational needs of our air force and ask for strong support of this amendment. I thank the gentleman from texas for his time and urge adoption of my amendment. The chair the gentlemans time has expire. Does the gentleman from rhode island wish to reserve in mr. Langevin continue to reserve. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased at this point to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Thompson. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson i rise to offer an amendment on behalf of our nations Service Members this amendment is verbatim to a bill that congressman tim ryan and i introduced earlier this year, the medical evack medical valuation for services. It will help the military identify Behavioral Health issues by instituting a Mental Health assessment for all nbing recruits. A recent study found a need to address mental Health Issues in a timely manner finding that one in four soldiers enter the forces with a mental issue. This cannot be used to determine promotion, it will simply ensure we have a better baseline of a Service Member in the course of their career. They put their lives on the line every day in the service of our nation. Its our responsibility to offer to do everything in our power to guarantee they return home safely this amendment has strong bipartisan support and is part of a large number of military mental advocacy groups which understand our troops deserve as much support as we can provide them. 108 of our military took their lives from october to december, 2014, by suicide. Lets stop this tragedy. I strongly urge my colleagues to support, certainly this amendment and the underlying bill. Thank you. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. Does the gentleman wish to reserve . The gentleman reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry at this point im pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from florida, mr. Mica, for purposes of a colloquy. The chair the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Mica i thank the distinguished gentleman from texas for yielding. And also for entering into this colloquy. I rise in concern to a potential air force determination. Under section 2667 of title 10, referencing an enhanced use Lease Agreement offered by the Canaveral Port Authority for use of the department of defense lands directly adjacent to ka 1 2 reals harbor canaverals harbor port. The Canaveral Port Authority is in fact an independent Governmental Agency established by the Florida Legislature back in 1939. Therefore, the Canaveral Port Authority is a Public Organization under section 2667 of title 10, it could be determined by the secretary of the air force that the Public Interest would be served as a result of the enhanced use Lease Agreement thats being offered. And that competitive procedures that is not compatible with the Public Benefits served by this, in fact, this Public Interest. Thusly its in the Public Interest to deal with a public entity. The competitive procedures for selection of leases under this section should allow the air force to negotiate solely with the Canaveral Port Authority. Will the gentleman yield . Michael smith yes. I fully agree that section 2667 of title 10 provides the secretary of the air force the flexibility to enter into a lease with a public entity. Mr. Thornberry i further understand that such a lease would be at full market value. So along with the gentleman, i look forward to hearing from the secretary of the air force as to her determination in this particular case. Michael smith i thank the gentleman and yield back the balance of my time Michael Smith i thank the gentleman and mr. Mica i thank the gentleman and i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Langevin were still going to reserve. The chair the gentleman from rhode island still wishes to reserve. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry thank you, mr. Chairman. We have no further speakers at this point. The chair the gentleman reserves . The gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin mr. Chairman we have no speakers on our side. So i will yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry mr. Chairman, i would yield myself the remaining time just to mention that in this en bloc package there are amendments from nine republicans and eight democrats. We have heard discussed over the last two en bloc packages a number of important issues such as cybersecurity, about equipping and training our National Guard again, members from both sides have contributed to this product but make their contributions count this bills going to have to pass. I hope that all the members who offered these 17 amendments of this en bloc and the other packages will support final passage not only of this en bloc passage but the final of the entire bill. With that i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment en bloc avenue amendments en bloc eafered offered by the gentleman from texas. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The en bloc amendments are agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 83 printed in house report 114112. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Burgess i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 83 printed in house report 114112 offered by mr. Burgess of texas. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 260, the gentleman from texas, mr. Burgess, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Burgess i thank you for the recognition. My amendment today reflects the frustration that many in congress have felt for some time over the department of defenses lack of Real Progress on being able to produce a full accounting of where the money that that is been given to them over the years, where that money has been spent. In 1990 Congress Passed the chief Financial Officers act requiring every department and every agency in the federal government to produce verifiable Financial Statements which could be fully audited. Each major agency has been able to complete this task except one, the department of defense. Congress has allowed the department of defense to continue to not comply with this law for now going on 25 years. Its time for that to end. While the department of defense might claim it has taken steps toward completing an audit, purportedly to be accomplished by 2017, congress has little verifiable proof that this will actually occur. The amendment that i offer today with barbara lee from california asks the department of defense to rank in order from most ready to be audited to least ready to be audited every entity within the department which is required to provide Financial Statements for the overall effort of the departmentwide audit. Congress needs to know which offices within the department of defense are making significant strides toward this goal and which offices are not. The amendment requires no additional analysis, no additional explanation simply a list. If congress is serious about exercising its oversight role through the power of the purse, then this is the least we should expect from the department to provide to congress, a pulse check to show members where the audit truly stands. Ms. Lee, ms. Schakowsky and i are not the only ones who have been concerned about the pentagons lack of progress in this arena. In 2013 the Government Accountability office, congress was eyes and ear Congress Eyes and ears on the ground for keeping the government accountable, said it could not complete an you had its of the entire federal government because the department of defense could not produce verifiable documents. The g. A. O. Stated at the time, quoting here, the main obstacles to a g. A. O. Opinion on the consolidated Financial Statements were serious Financial Management problems at the department of defense that made its Financial Statements unauditable closed quote. A g. A. O. Source was reported to have stated that the pentagon routinely postponed meetings at the last minute with the g. A. O. Pertaining to the audit. This is unacceptable. The body should not accept it. Besides being necessary for the proper separation of powers, the Congress Continues to assert how taxpayer money is spent, this amendment represents good governance. It is for this reason that our amendment today is endorsed by the americans for tax reform, americans or taxpayers for common sense and the National Taxpayers union. Congress must stand up for taxpayers and tell the pentagon that it must justify how it spends its dollar that its given. Congress has been complacent for too long on this issue with todays vote perhaps la issue. With todays vote, perhaps that will end. I look forward to working together on this issue as the deadline approaches and i will reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition . Ms. Lee i rise to claim time in opposition, although i am not opposed to the amendment. The chair without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Lee thank you mr. Chairman. First let me thank mr. Burgess for your very diligent and hard work on this amendment. Its a pleasure to work with you to bring transparency and accountability to pentagon spending. So taxpayers know where their hardearned dollars are going. I also want to thank congresswoman schakowsky for her support and work on this very important amendment. Im pleased to be working with congressman burgess and schakowsky to build upon the work that were doing with our bipartisan amendment excuse me audit the pentagon act, h. R. 942. Ive offered an audit the pentagon amendment since 2011. And this work continues now with representative burgess and schakowsky. This is a commonsense amendment to ensure audit readiness at the pentagon. Something that congress mandated, i think it was 25 years ago. Yet twoplus decades later pentagon officials continue to Tell Congress that audit readiness is still years away. This is simply unacceptable. So our amendment is simple. It would require a report ranking all military departments and defense agencies in order of how advanced they are in achieving audit readiness. Taxpayers deserve to know how and where their hardearned dollars are being spent. Pentagon spending accounts for more than half of federal Discretionary Spending and totals more than half a trillion dollars. The fact that any part of the government cannot pass an audit is unacceptable. Let alone a department that spends more than 600 billion annually. Thats frankly outrageous. I bet you the department of housing and urban development cant get away with this. Im a small former Small Business owner 11 years. And i can tell you one thing. I know the importance of having ones books in order. Whether its in the private sector or the public sector. Its critical to success. In fact, we all demand that all individuals, families, organizations, companies be able to pass an audit. Why in the world should the pentagon be any different . Taxpayers deserve better than black box budgeting and two decades of, well get on with this rhetoric. They keep postponing and saying, well get to it later. Thats unacceptable when it comes to ending waste, fraud and abuse. I remember several years ago there were reports from the New York Times and subsequently these reports were substantiated that taxpayer dollars cash, money, in suitcases, being passed out in afghanistan. What in the world are we doing . I mean we have no clue where that money went, how much it was, it was cash money. We need to take this action, and i thank mr. Burgess and ms. Schakowsky for this. If you ask me, i think we need to take bolder actions to address the pentagons failure to achieve auditready status, excuse me, and somehow at some point penalize them if they dont do that. Because we all would be penalized if in fact our books were not in order. So this amendment i just have to say is a major step in the right direction. The American People deserve to know how the pentagon is spending their hardearned tax dollars. We must end waste, fraud and abuse at the pentagon. We need to achieve audit readiness. And once again, none of us could get away with this, none of us, no federal agency can get away with this. So we must begin this process for accountability and transparency. Its important that the public knows exactly how their moneys being spent. Theres no way the pentagon should get away with this. So i urge a yes vote on this amendment because unauditable is unacceptable. Thank you, mr. Burgess, and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Burgess mr. Chairman, at this time id like to yield 30 seconds to the chairman of the full committee, mr. Thornberry. The chair the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. Mr. Thornberry thank you, mr. Chairman. I support this amendment. I rise just to make two points. Number one, unfortunately theres a lot of federal agencies that cant pass an audit. And i hope that all the other committees of the congress are as diligent as our committee is about making sure they get their agencies to where they can. Our committee in particular, led by c. P. A. , mr. Conaway of texas, we have pushed this issue, held many oversight hearings, and will continue to push this issue. I think the gentlemans amendment helps that effort. But i want to be really clear that this is a high priority of the committee and it needs to be a high priority for the other departments, besides the department of defense as well. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Burgess mr. Chairman, at this point i am prepared to yield back but i do want to thank the chairman of the full committee for hearing our amendment this evening. I also want to thank him on what i know is a significant amount of work and challenge to get this bill to the floor. I look forward to its speedy passage tomorrow and yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Thornberry mr. Chairman, i move that the committee do now rise. The chair the question is on the motion that the committee rise. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The motion is adopted. Accordingly, the committee rises. The speaker pro tempore mr. Chairman. The chair the committee of the whole house on the state of the union, having had under consideration h. R. 1735, directs me to report that it has come to no resolution thereon. The speaker pro tempore the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the Union Reports that the committee has had under consideration h. R. 1735 and has come to no resolution thereon. The chair lays before the house the following personal requests. The clerk leave of absence requested for mr. Danny davis of illinois for today. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the request is granted. Pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess for a period of less than 15 minutes. Relationship our relationship is a twoway street. At camp david we decided to expand our partnership in several and concrete ways. First, im reaffirming our ironclad commitment security of our partners. As we declared in a joint statement, the u. S. Is prepared to work jointly with these states to deter and confront an external threat to any States Territory that is inconsistent with the un charter. The threat of any such aggression, the u. S. Stands ready to determine what will the appropriate, using the means of our collective disposal, including the use of military force for the defense of our gcc partners. The house coming back in, working on defense authorization. These anal enough that i get these bills and read them system of thats what i did. And amazingly, the first paragraph, of course this bill came to us from the senate as the Iran Nuclear Agreement review act, and many of us had concerns about it, but i didnt realize that the actual title of the Iran Nuclear Review act was, and this is the opening paragraph of the bill, resolved that the bill from the house of representatives h. R. 1191, entitled, quote an act to ameant the Internal Revenue code of 1986, ensure that Emergency Services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act, unquote. Do pass with the following. So that is what it is. Its an i. R. S. Bill to adjust the Affordable Care act, and its hard for me to use those words Affordable Care act, because its anything but affordable. Its cost peopler that insurance, their doctors, their health, their health insurance. Its laughable to call it affordable. But nonetheless thrblings is a bill to attempt to amend the Affordable Care act and mr. Speaker, you might wonder, wait a minute, i thought you said this was the Iran Nuclear Agreement review act. Well exactly. So its an i. R. S. Bill to fix this exception for Emergency Services volunteers that they not be considered under the Affordable Care act, and then we go to the senate bill. Ah is like the Affordable Care act because they take a house bill thats intended for one purpose, delete, beginning with line one, page one, delete everything in it and then make it the Iran Nuclear Review act. Talk about democracy in action. Really impressive system of they strip out everything to do with making the obamacare bill better and instead replace it with the Iran Nuclear Review act. And there were a few dozen of us that had Major Concerns about it. First of all wed already heard that this bill was going to turn the constitution upside down. The constitutional requirements for a treaty whats a treaty . Its an agroment between one country and another. The president has authority to negotiate those agreements, and then under the constitution, if we still care about the constitution then that treaty has to go before the senate and get 2 3 of the votes of the senators, otherwise that treaty Means Nothing and its not binding. And it doesnt matter what the president or the executive branch or the secretary of state call that agreement that treaty, its a treaty between one country and another for purposes of the constitution, it should go before the senate for ratification. But congress has gotten so used to this president just ignoring it so used to the Justice Department saying, we dont care what youre requesting, were not going to give you any of those documents or any of the information. Weve gotten so used to that we said, ok all right well pass a bill that will force the administration to let Congress Know whats going on even though were going to flip the constitution upside down and go from requiring, as the constitution does, a vote of 67 senators in order to ratify a treaty or agreement with a foreign country and were going to go with requiring 67 senators to vote it down. Completely reversing the constitutional requirement. But well make it better because well add a requirement that the house has to have 2 3 vote, get 290 vote, vote it down but at least this way, Congress Gets to be a player, fwets to know whats going on. So how is it, what is it that is in this bill that will teach the executive branch a lesson about why you dont mess with congress. Its in here and its actually page 8. And its entitled number five on page 8, limitation on actions during congressional reconsideration of a joipt resolution of disapproval. Ok, so here we are, the president suppose think under this bill will send the agreement that he wants congress see, kind of like the trade act that they classified and we havent gotten all of it but were going to vote on it anyway. Makes no sense. But for those of us that are anal enough to want to read these things before we pass them this has got to have enough teeth to teach the president a lesson if he dares to betray us and not give us what we need in order to make a proper determination. So the structure is, both the house and senate under this bill, this Affordable Care act bill, now Iran Nuclear Review act, we get the chance to strike that down if we can come up with 2 3 votes in both house and senate. But what happens, what is the real teeth in this bill that will teach the president and the entire state department a lesson if they mess with us and we vote in the house and the senate 2 3, to disapprove it . Here it is. If a joint resolution of disapproval passes both the house both houses of congress and the president vetoes such joint resolution wow, people forgot, even though were going to give ourselves the opportunity to vote with 2 3 to strike it down, if he vetoes that, heres the real punishing aspect for the president who many of us believe has been violating the law by loosening sanctions that were put in place by congress. Not supposed to be able to change the law unilaterally when congress and another president has passed and signed law into being. But the sanctions are there, duly passed, signed into law. Well this says, here it is, this will teach him a lesson. If the disapproval passes both houses of congress and the president vetoes such joint resolution, here it is, the president may not waive, suspend, reduce, provide relief from, or otherwise limit the application of statutory sanctions with respect to iran under any provision of law or refrain from implying any such sanctions pursuant to an agreement described in subsection a, here it is for a period of 10 days. So. If the president has been violating the law, as some of us believe, by lifting sanctions that he doesnt have authority to lift, and we come along and the house and senate disapproval the treaty with iran, and he vetoes that treaty, heres the lesson. He cant illegally lift sanctions against iran for 10 whole days. 10 calendar days. Says 10 calendar days. Man, thats going to teach him a lesson. This is a powerful bill that will teach the president , you dont mess with congress. You loosen sanctions that the law put in place, why, well pass another bill that says you cant do it for 10 whole days. And thats what we did here. Now, now, on page 9 weve got the effect of congressional action with respect to Nuclear Agreements with iran. Its a sense of congress. And b says its a sense of congress that these negotiations are critically important matter of are a critically important matter of National Security of the United States and its allies. And then c is, this section does not require a vote by congress for the agreement to commence. Thats helpful. But anyway, these negotiations are critically important matter of are a critically important matter of National Security for the United States and its allies. Well thats interesting. I dont really agree with that. Because the way i see this agreement mr. Speaker, is its been drug out for months and apparently for years. I know friends at Judicial Watch have tried to get what are supposed to be public documents, thats the travel logs for valley jerrett, so we can find out when she first started flying over to iran, to start negotiations and open up the dialogue with iran. It would be nice to know. But most of us on both sides of the aisle staunchly agree that israel is a very dear friend and ally. And what this negotiation has meant is and israel understands this if president obama and john kerry and wendy sherman, the lady that gave north korea nukes if they are negotiating with iran and telling the world, oh, we got a deal, were nearly at a deal, we almost got one worked out, even with iran saying, we got no deal, we hadnt agreed to any of that, thats not true, doesnt matter what irans saying, if the United States leaders are saying, were getting close to a deal, we almost got a deal, if israel does the right thing by israel and attacks Irans Nuclear capability and takes it out as best they can, without our best bunker buster, without our best planes to deliver it probably need two or three sorties to take it out but if they actually do the selfdefense process of hitting iran, then this administration would be able to unite the world against israel, call them war mongers, call them all kinds of things because, oh gee, we almost had a deal with iran. Yeah, theyve been dragging us out for two years or so. But we nearly had a deal. Oh dont pay any attention to iran saying we didnt have a deal, we were so close to having a deal, therefore israel theyre a bunch of war mongers, theyre for the whole world and the u. N. Should punish them therefore the whole world and the u. N. Should punish them. Thats what israel, i believe understands that this deal means. Regardless of whether a deals ever reached. And i wouldnt put it past this administration to keep agreeing to keep dragging it out, dragging it out for the rest of this president s administration. Certainly in irans interests, because theyre continuing to enrich uranium. Nothing has slowed them down. And as we know now, theyre not even letting anybody at the iaea examine all of their facilities. Forget the openness that this Administration Says theyre going to get. But i think what the bottom line of this bill that we passed today, that the Senate Passed also, is that were going to ignore the president s and the executive branchs illegal actions in lifting sanctions theyre not entitled to lift. If hell be kind enough to allow congress to think about the sanctions some more and if hell give us information on how things are going in iran, i mean theres a requirement here for 30 days within which theyve got to give us notice unless they think thats not enough time and then they can give us 60 days notice. They have to give us a semiannual report, you know every six months well find out whats going on. The thing that concerns me of course, one of many things, is ive been asking for the documents that the Justice Department gave to people convicted of supporting terrorism in the Holy Land Foundation trial, the conviction occurred november, 2008. As part of the discovery in that prosecution, they gave massive amounts of documents from the f. B. I. , from the Justice Department, they had obtained about radical islam here in the United States, they gave it to the convicted terrorists. We now know theyre convicted of supporting terrorism, they got all those documents. And when eric holder tells me in a hearing basically, you know, there might be some classification issues, you gave them to terrorists, for heavens sakes. Dont you think you can afford to give them to members of congress, so we can see what the evidence was that you had . For heavens sake. But they havent given us the information on that. Theyve obfuscated about the fast and furious evidence. They have covered up evidence in the administration about the i. R. S. Conspiracy to prevent conservative groups from raising money like the liberal groups were, so that republicans would have a better chance in the 2012 election. And now this bill says, we havent been able to trust them on any of these other things, but were going to trust them on this. Were going to trust iran to let us have full review of everything theyre doing, even though they never have done that before, and were going to trust this administration for the first time in 6 1 2 years to start giving us full information about whats going on. Thats, you know some might think thats a little foolhearty, i would be one of those. If the president s if the president , in his own determination, decides hes able to make a certification required, then hell do that. Nice. Real nice. Page 18, another sense of congress, United States sanctions on iran for terrorism, human rights abuses, ballistic missiles, will remain in place under an agreement. Of course that is unless the president wants to ignore this like hes been ignoring the sanctions already. But you cant forget that language on page 8. By got golly, if by golly, if he vetos a bill disapproving , he cant lift sanctions, hes got to quit doing that illegal stuff for 10 full days. It does say at the bottom of page 18, the president should determine the agreement in no way compromises the commitment of the United States to israels security. Well, it says he should do that but it doesnt say he shall or he must. But good news is, page 19 expedited consideration of legislation. So in the event, as it says here, the president does not submit a certification with all the information thats required like hes ignored on lots of other things weve requested or at least the executive branch has, then were going to introduce legislation says right here within 60 calendar days of him not following the law. And its going to go quickly to the house floor and the senate floor. Thats on page 21. Were going to get it to the floor quickly. And page 22, qualifying legislation shall be considered as read. So were going to get here quick, were going to weigh points of order against whatever legislation it might be. And it may be that if we really get our spine stiffened, that wed pass legislation that extends that 10day period where he cant lift sanctions like hes been doing, maybe well extend that to 20 days. Really show him that he cant mess with congress. And yes, for the liberals that might someday read the transcript of this mr. Speaker, i am being sarcastic. Liberals have trouble understanding sarcasm sometimes. But this is a very, very deadly serious issue. Iran has shown they cant be trusted about anything. The ayatollah cannot be trusted. For heavens sake jimmy carter decided the other ayatollah the first Ayatollah Khomeini was a man of peace. Welcomed him to take over for the first time in a century or so not quite a century but letting a radical islamist take over a countrys military and as a result americans have died in the last 35 years 36 years. And im afraid more will. It is ridiculous to play footsy with iran. They only know one thing and thats power. And i read the statements by one of the Iranian Military leaders saying they welcome war with america. And it clicked. I remember somebody in the Saddam Hussein regime saying the same thing and that if we tried to do anything it would be the mother of all wars. Well, it was amazing because we moved faster and further than any militarys ever moved in the history of the world. Mistakes were made, absolutely. But the American Military could put iran in its place very quickly and should before they get Nuclear Weapons and hundreds of thousands or millions of people die. One other thing i want to mention mr. Speaker, before time runs out, we took up this week the u. S. A. Freedom act. Actually there are some very good things in here. But, again, i just felt i had to read the bill. Sorry if that bothers some of my friends. But, for example, one of the things that was heralded as a great accomplishment, we found out from snowden that the fisa courts had just not really issued Constitutional Orders or warrants no specificity, just an order saying, for example, verizon, give the government every record on every caller that you have in your records, give it all to the government i would submit thats unconstitutional when we found out the fisa court did it, then it was outrageous to me. Thats not probable cause thats not specificity. All kinds of problems there. So this issue, this bill was going to try to address that and one of the things that was heralded is, its a good idea, to create a group of lawyers who will represent those people who have records that are being sought, even though those people dont know that their records are being sought. And this the judge, in time. 4, section 401 that the judge judges shall designate not fewer than five individuals to serve, to be eligible to serve as friends of the court to represent those interests. The trouble is it says down here at the bottom of page 35, the court shall appoint these lawyers and individuals serve as amicus curai to assist in any application if in the opinion of the court it presents the governments presenting a novel or significant interpretation of the law. That means theyre not going to be there to protect the civil rights of people whose records are being obtained as they were under the fisa orders previously unconstitutionally. Because the court can just decide nope, this is not a novel interpretation, so were not going to take it up. And then even if it is a novel or significant interpretation, it says, unless the court issues a written finding that such appropriation is not appropriate. And if you just look over at page 40, it tells you the government can discuss without the other side being present, can talk to the court, so they can tell the court, we dont want them here in this issue. Thats just one of so many major, major loopholes. The National Security letters we found out in summer of 2007 there were perhaps 3000 cases i. G. Determined this, where f. B. I. Agents just sent out National Security letters demanding records. There was no case, there was no probable cause, and it was a crime if the people from whom the records were sought revealed that to friends. Well we thought that would be tightened up a little bit. Well, it still says in here that the only people that can its basically a war ant that can authorize that warrant that can authorize that is the f. B. I. Director himself or herself, or he can designate his deputy. Nobiloer than that, other than any special agent in charge, anywhere in the country. Which which was the problem we ran into in 2007 with all the abuses. So theres still a lot of reason not to feel comfortable that peoples rights are going to be protected in the fisa courts. Im not comfortable at the fisa courts anymore. But mr. Speaker, i appreciate the time to point this out. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Does the gentleman have a motion . Mr. Gohmert i move that at this time we do now hereby adjourn. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the motion to adjourn. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed no. The ayes have it. The motion is adopted. Accordingly the house stands adjourned after the meeting, he talked to reporters about the summit and offered condolences to family of the amtrak crash in philadelphia. President obama good evening. Before i get to what we discussed here today with our partners, i want to express my deepest condolences of the families of those clues died of those who died in the amtrak crash. For a lot of people on that trend, it was a routine journey a commute, a business trip. For the employees who were hurt, it was their office, and that makes this all the more tragic. Until we know for certain what caused the tragedy, i want to reiterate what i have said, that we are a growing country with a growing economy. We need to invest in the infrastructure that keeps us that way and not just when something bad happens, but all the time. That is what great nations do. I offer my prayers for those who grieve, a speedy recovery for the many who were injured as they work to recover, and we will cooperate at every level of government to make sure that we get answers in terms of what happened. Now, to the work that wrought us to camp david, for the past 70 years, the u. S. Has maintained a core National Security interest in the security and stability of the middle east and gulf region. Since i took office, we have intensified our Security Cooperation with our Gulf Cooperation Council partners. Saudi arabia kuwait, qatar. I do time of extraordinary challenges across the middle east, including conflict with human suffering, we cooperate extensively, countering terrorist groups like al qaeda and now isil, opposing the regime against the syrian people, and opposing airans destabilizing action across the middle east. I invited our partners here today to Work Together to resolve conflicts across the region. I want to thank asia the leaders who attended. We agreed that the security relationship we have over minute cornerstone of regional stability and our relationship is a twoway street. We all have responsibilities and at camp david, we decided to expand our partnership in several ways. First, i am reaffirming our commitment to the security of our gulf partners. The u. S. Had is prepared to work jointly with gcc Member States to deter and confront an external threat to any thing and consistent with the event of such aggression, the u. S. Stands ready to work with our partners to determine what actions may be appropriate using the means of our collective disposal including the use of military force for the defense of our partners. Let me underscore the u. S. Keeps our commitments. To back up our words with deeds, we will increase our already extensive Security Cooperation. We will expand our military exercises to meet the full range of threats come in particular, terrorism. This means more training and cooperation between our special operations forces, sharing more information and stronger Border Security and increased enforcement to prevent terrorist financing. We will step up our efforts to calm her counter violent extremism and will expand our opportunity on maritime security. Third, we will help our goal partners improve their own capacity to defend themselves. The u. S. Will expedite the transfer of critical defense capabilities to our gcc partners. The Work Together to develop an integrated defense capability against missiles, including an Early Warning system, and we will work for the development of Rapid Response give abilities. Fourth, we pledge to Work Together to try to resolve Armed Conflicts in the region and we have articulated Core Principles to guide our efforts. Respect for state sovereignty recognition these conflicts can only be resolved lyrically politically, and acknowledgment of the importance of inclusive governments and the need to protect human rights. With respect to syria, we commit to continuing to strengthen the modern opposition to oppose all violent extremist groups and to intensify our efforts to achieve a negotiated political transition toward inclusive government that serves all syrians. We will continue to support the Iraqi Government and reforms to ensure the rights of all iraqis are respected. We welcomed the humanitarian truce in yemen. It can reach civilians and we call on all parties to return to political talks facilitated by the u. N. We will step up our efforts to form a National Unity government in libya and counter the growing terrorist present the presence there. Fitfth, i updated our goal partners on the negotiations toward a comprehensive deal to prevent iran from obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. We agree a comprehensive verifiable solution that addresses the concerns about the Nuclear Program is in the security interest of the International Community, including our gcc partners. Whether we reach a nuclear deal or not with iran, we will still face threats across the region including destabilizing activities and threats from terrorist groups. We w will Work Together. I will be very clear the purpose of Security Cooperation is not to perpetuate any longterm confrontation with ira n. None of our nations have an interest in an openended conflict with a run iran. They play a responsible role in the region. As ive said before, and in the region and resolving the devastating conflicts will require a broader dialogue. One that includes iran and its gcc neighbors. A key purpose of our partners is to ensure they can deal with iran politically diplomatically , from a position of confidence and strength. Finally, while the summit was focused on Security Cooperation, events in the middle east are a reminder that true and lasting security includes governance that serves all citizens and respects universal human rights. In the middle east the u. S. Will speak out on behalf of of Inclusive Governance come representation governance come representation, strong human rights and we will work to expand the opportunities that allow people to fulfill their potential. I want to thank all of our gcc partners for making the summit a success. I believe the commitment i have described can mark the beginning of a new era of cooperation between our countries, a closer, Stronger Partnership that advances our mutual security. I will take some questions and i will start with julie because i promised her i would call on her. Reporter you mentioned in your Statement Broad support for stopping iran from getting a Nuclear Weapon. The do get any specific commitments from the gulf leaders for the framework he reached a few months ago and a commitment to not publicly oppose a deal if youre able to reach that. How can you really assure them that iran would not continue that activity if they had an influx of money when they are already accused of doing so now with a weaker economy . President obama we didnt have a document that we presented to them to sign on the bottom line will you approve of this Nuclear Framework deal because the deal is not completed and in the same way i wouldnt ask the senate or the American People to sign off on something before they have seen the details of it and given i will not sign off on any deal ive until icing the details, i would not expect them to either. What i did hear from our partners was there agreement that if we can get a comprehensive, verifiable deal that cuts off the pathways to a Nuclear Weapon, that would be in their interest and the interest of the region. The question then will be is iran repaired to do what is required for the International Community that they are not developing a Nuclear Weapon and that we have set up the kind of regimes that allow such confidence to be maintained, not just next year but out into the future. What we did was we had secretary kerry secretary ernie moneys to walk through why it was we were confident that if the framework we arrived at were to be solidified that in fact, we could verify they didnt have a Nuclear Weapon and that was important to them and i think gave them additional confidence. There was a concern, a concern i share, that even if we deal effectively with the nuclear issue, that we will still have a problem with some of irans destabilizing activities and some of them did express concern that with Additional Resources through the reduction in sanctions, that was it possible that iran would siphon these resources into more destabilizing activities. Secretary lu was there to explain that me there would be no relief until in nuclear deal. Secondly, we gave them our best analysis of the enormous needs iran has internally at the commitment that iran has made to its people in terms of improving Economic Growth and as i pointed out, most of the destabilizing activity iran engages in, is lowtech, lowcost activity. So, part of my emphasis to them was that if we are focusing more effectively on the things we need to do, to ensure defensive, improve intelligence, improve the capacity for maritime monitoring of what is taking place in the gulf, if we are working in concert to address the terrorist activity and countering terrorist messages coming not just from state sponsors like iran, but more broadly from organizations like isil, then we will be able to fortify ourselves and deal with many of the challenges more effectively from a position of strength and confidence. It is not to deny concerns there about what happens when sanctions are reduced but it was to emphasize that what matters more is the things we can do now to ensure that some of the destabilizing activity is no longer taking place and of course, when you look at a place like yemen, the issue there is that the state itself was crumbling and that if we can do a better job in places like syria, yemen libya, and building up punching political structures, it is less likely that anybody, including iran can exploit the divisions that exist there. Michael. Reporter on syria, one of the reasons we are here is that we are upset more than two years ago, there was no military response, not retaliation on the part of the u. S. Now there is a threat that assad has once again used chemical weapons. What did you tell these leaders who were disappointed last time and will you use a military force if it is confirmed he did use chemical weapons . And this one is about the environment and the drilling recently approved in the arctic. This nation is now a net exporter for the first time in years in fossil fuels, partly something due to fracking. The Oil Company Shell has had a net record of drilling in that region. Many environmentalists ask if it is worth the risk. Thank you. Iranpresident obama the reason i am here is not because of what happened in syria couple years ago. We have extraordinary challenges throughout the region, not just in syria but in lemon yemen and libya. Our interest is making sure we dont have a Nuclear Weapon in iran. With respect to syria, my commitment was to make sure that syria was not using chemical weapons and mobilizing the International Community to ensure that would not happen. In fact, we positioned ourselves to be willing to take military action. The reason we did not was because assad gave up his chemical weapons. That is not speculation, that has been confirmed by the organization charged with a limiting chemical weapons and i dont think there are a lot of folks in the region disappointed that assad is no longer in possession of one of the biggest stockpiles of chemical weapons of any country on earth. Those have been eliminated. It is true we have seen reports about the use of chlorine in bombs that have the effect of chemical weapons. Chlorine itself historically has not been listed as a chemical weapon but when it is used in this fashion, can be considered a prohibited use of that particular chemical and we are working with the International Community to investigate that and if we have the kinds of confirmation we need, we will once again, work with the International Community and the organization charged with monitoring compliance by the Syrian Government and we will reach out to patrons like russia to put a stop to it. With respect to the situation in the arctic, it is fair to say that i know a Little Something about the risks of offshore drilling given what happened in the gulf early in my presidency. Nobody is more mindful of the risks and dangers involved. That is why, despite the fact show shell put in an application for exploration and his region several years ago, we delayed it for a lengthy time until they could provide us with the kinds of assurances that we have not seen before, taking account of the extraordinary challenges if there was a leak that far north and in that kind of environment. Which would be more difficult to deal with than in the gulf. Based on those very High Standards, shell had to go back to the drawing board and the experts at this point have concluded that they have met those standards. But keep in mind that my approach when it comes to fracking drilling, u. S. Energy production of oil or natural gas , has remained consistent throughout. I believe we will have to transition off of also fuels as a planet in order to prevent climate change. I am working internationally to reduce uour Carbon Emissions and to replace, overtime, fossil fuels with clean energy. We start at home with the work we have done double the use of clean energy. I think that it is important to recognize that will be a transition process. In the meantime, we will continue using fossil fuels and when it can be done safely and appropriately, u. S. Production of oil and natural gas is important. I would rather us, with safeguards and standards we have, the producing oil and gas rather than importing it, which is bad for our people and potentially purchased from places that have much lower Environmental Standards than we do. Reporter thank you. I would like to ask you about raid. Trade. The Senate Moved Forward on a bill today to approve your trade legislation and move forward with a proposal to punish countries like china for what they do in terms of manipulating their currency. Did you potentially see your self accepting senator schumers language on currency manipulation . Good you talk about your relationship with senator warren . Do you regret the fact things have become so personal . And you mentioned i wondered if you would give your reaction to what the pope is moving forward with in terms of recognizing the palestinian states. Do you think that is a good idea , do think it is a mistake, or do you think it would help the situation you mentioned earlier . President obama i want to congratulate the senate on moving forward with dividing providing authority to strike a smart, Progressive Growth promoting trade deal with some of the countries in the pacific region. But also to give me the tools to enforce those agreements. I want to thank all of the senators who voted to provide that authority. Or at least to begin the debate on moving that process forward. Those who did not vote for it, i want to keep on trying to make the case and provide them the information they need to feel confident that despite the fact there have been very genuine problems with some trade deals in the past, the approach we are taking here, i think, is the right one not just for big u. S. Businesses, but also for small u. S. Businesses and mediumsized u. S. Businesses and most importantly, american workers. I would not be promoting any agreement that i didnt think at the end of the day was going to be creating jobs and giving us more of an opportunity to create letters of success, higher incomes and wages for the American People. That is my primary focus and it has been since i came into office. The issue with respect to myself and elizabeth has never been personal. I think it is fun for the press to see if we can poke around at it when you see two close allies have a disagreement on policy issue. Some of my best friends are in the senate and the house. Some of my earliest supporters who disagree with me on this. I understand because like me, they came up through the ranks watching plants close jobs being shipped overseas. Like me, they have concerns about whether labor agreements or environmental agreements with other countries are properly enforced. Like me, they have concerns about whether in fact trade ends up being fair and not just free. And like me, they have a deep concern about some of the Global Trends we have seen and trends in our own countries in terms of increased inequality and what appears to be the effects of automation and globalization in allowing people at the top to do really well but creating stagnation in terms of incomes and wages for middleclass families and people working to get their way into the middle class. So, these are folks whose values are completely aligned with mine. I noticed there was a progressive statement of principles about what it means to be a progressive by some of these friends of mine and i noted that it was basically my agenda except for trade. That was the one area where there was a significant difference. This just comes down to a policy difference and an analysis in terms of what we think is best for our people, our constituents. It is my firm belief that despite the problems of previous trade deals, that we are better off writing High Standard rules with strong, enforceable provisions on things like child labor or deforestation or environmental degradation or wildlife trafficking or intellectual property. We are better off writing those rules for what will be the largest, fastestgrowing market in the world. If we dont, china will and other countries will and our businesses will be disadvantaged and our workers will ultimately suffer. In terms of some of the fears of outsourcing of jobs, it is my believe that based on the analysis that at this point, if there was a company in the United States looking for lowcost labor they have no problem outsourcing it under the current regime. What we do have the opportunity to do as a trackback companies is attract that companies to come to the u. S. Nike has been manufacturing shoes with lowcost labor and many of these areas in the asiapacific region and that hurt the american Footwear Industry in terms of jobs. That happened over the course of the last 30 years. For nike to announce their potentially bringing 10,000 jobs here because we had gone up the value chain and are manufacturing in different ways, that is an opportunity but we have to take full advantage of those opportunities. My argument is what we really need to be focusing on to meet the same objectives, the shared objectives is the kind of other issues we all agree on strong minimum wage, strong job training programs. Stronger laws to protect collectivebargaining and the capability of workers do have a voice, strong enforcement of rules around things like overtime. Making sure we have paid sick leave. Making sure we have an honest conversation about our budget and that we are not slashing investment in the future simply to make sure we are preserving loopholes for corporations that do not provide any economic benefit. Those are the things that will help us address the very problems that they are concerned about. Blocking a trade deal will not. Particularly since they are the first ones to acknowledge that the existing trade rules are a bad deal for u. S. Workers. If they are not working for us now, it does not help american workers. It does not make sense. I am all for enforcement and the provisions that were signed. I have expressed concerns about how the currency language that is in the bill was drafted. But i have talked to senator schumer, Sherrod Brown and others about how we can work on language that does not end up having a blowback effect on our ability to maintain our own monetary policy. I do not even remember what your other question was. [laughter] oh. Rather than speak for others, i will reiterate what i said previously. I continue to believe that a twostate solution is absolutely vital for not only peace between israelis and palestinians, but for the longterm security of israel as a democratic and jewish state. I know that a government has been formed and contains some folks who do not necessarily believe in that premise, but that continues to be my premise. Since we are here at camp david i think it is important to remind ourselves the degree to which a very hard peace deal that required incredible vision and courage and tough choices resulted in what has now been a lasting peace between countries that used to be sworn enemies. And israel is better off for it. I think the same would be true if we get a peace deal between israel and the palestinians. The prospect seems distant now but i think it is always important for us to keep in mind what is right and what is possible. Last question. Reporter thank you. You mentioned at the outset our need for a worldclass infrastructure. We are coming up on a deadline for the Highway Trust Fund. With gas prices where they are isnt this a good time to consider a hike in the federal gas, which may serve some of the carbon goals that you talked about . Since you mentioned the overtime rules, it has been about 14 months since you asked the department and they went over to omb. How soon will we see those . President obama with respect to transportation you are absolutely right. Now is the time for us to get something done. I am practical. In order for us to get a transportation bill done, we have to get cooperation from a republicancontrolled congress. I am in discussions with the majority and minority leaders of both chambers as well as the Relevant Committee chairpersons. We want to hear their ideas and find out what is possible. I think that will be something that we need to explore, but this is not an area where either side should be looking for political points. This did not use to be a partisan issue. Building roads, building bridges, building airports, sewer lines dams, forts. This is how we grow. This is how america became an economic superpower. It was investing in our people investing in infrastructure, doing it better and faster and bigger than anybody else. We should be doing the same thing now. The 16th president , a proud native of my home state named mr. Lincoln, during the civil war, how he joined the country together through our railways and canals. We should not be thinking smaller today. We need to be thinking bigger in this global economy. My hope is that we have a chance to have a series a serious discussion and look at all potential revenue sources. What is true is that the Highway Trust Fund has consistently gotten smaller and smaller and inadequate for the needs. What is also true is patchwork approaches of three months or six months at a time do not make any sense. We need some sort of longterm solution. Nobody foresaw that we could actually get a dock fixed up and saw the longterm problem in terms of how we were managing medicare payments for doctors. Who knows . Maybe we might see some intelligent bipartisan outbreaks over the next few months. Because i think everybody recognizes this is important. Thank you very much, everybody. President obama will pay tribute to Law Enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty over the last year. In 1962, president kennedy proclaimed the 15th as National Peace officers memorial day which coincides with National Police week. We will have live coverage from the u. S. Capitol at 11 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan 2. On cspan 3, ehouse Veterans Affairs meeting on staffing. Coverage begins live at 9 45 a. M. Eastern. Here are a few of the book festivals we will be covering this spring on tv. This weekend, we will be visiting maryland for coverage of the gaithersburg book festival with tom davis and martin frost as well as david axelrod. Then we will go to bookexpo america. In june, we are live for the printers row lit fest with Pulitzer Prize winning author lawrence wright. According to a government report 2 Senior Secret Service agents were likely impaired by alcohol when they drove a government vehicle through a secure area of the white house earlier this year. The Inspector General for the Homeland Security department testified before the House Oversight committee. Congressman Jason Chaffetz chairs the committee. Rep. Chaffetz committee on oversight and government reform will come to order without objection of the chair as authorized to declare a recess at anytime. We are meeting to talk about the United States secret service and the accountability for the march 14 2015 incident. On march 14, 2 Senior Secret Service special agents one has the title of deputy special agent in charge, a president ial protective detail, mr. Conley. The other had the title of assistant to the special agent in charge, mr. George ogilvie. The allegation was that they drove through a criminal investigation of a potential bomb at the white house be following the incident, there were allegations that the agents were intoxicated after being at a bar found downtown. Nor were the agents reprimanded in any way. Part of the concern was what happened and what did they do about it. How did they report it up the chain of command. Instead, everyone involved was told to go home and pretend nothing happens. Ranking member cummings and i met with director clancy. He could not answer our questions. Clancy said he could not answer the questions. Instead, he deferred to the department of Homeland Security office of the Inspector General, who was investigating the matter. That investigation is now complete. We are pleased to have mr. Rob here with us today to talk about the conclusions of that investigation. It is time for accountability. The Inspector General determined it was more likely than not that the agents judgment was impaired ill call. Since a sobriety test was not given, the Inspector General came to the conclusion based on these facts both spent five hours in a bar running up a bar tab that included 14 drinks after two hours of an open bar. And the objective behavior of the experience secret Service Agents who should have known better. The impaired judgment resulted in them driving into a crime scene inches from what rest of the secret service was treating as a potential explosive device and which, under different circumstances, let me read that again. The agentsimpaired judgment resulted in them driving into a crime scene inches from what the rest of the secret service was treating as a potential explosive device and which, under different circumstances could have endangered their own lives and those of the officers responding. If it had been a real bomb these agents would have been lucky to be alive. They were endangering the lives of too many people by doing what they had done. The incident began making its way up the chain of command where it eventually reached mr. Connolly himself. Though retired to report required to report what happened , he chose not to. He was required to meet with his boss. On march 6, he talked about a suspicious package incident but made no mention of being involved with the instant himself. Mr. Ogilvie had a duty to selfreport and chose not to. As the Inspector General found their failure to report reflects either poor judgment or an affirmative desire to hide their activities. Relying on the honor system for reporting this type of egregious misconduct does not work when agents do not act honorably. Senior Uniformed Division leaders also violated their duty to report by failing to inform mr. Connollys boss, the head of the president ial protective division. Perhaps the situation would have been dealt with earlier if the agents were given breathalyzer tests that night. An officer on the scene told the Inspector General they decided not to administer a breathalyzer because they were worried to do so would be acareerkiller. The watch commander was probably right. His decision was likely influenced by secret services reputation for punishing or ignoring those who would report violations, such as drunk driving. That is why the problem that led to this incident extends well beyond march 4, 2015. It is a deepseated problem within the secret service. We have thousands of good men and women who serve this country honorably and patriotically. We appreciate them, but they are not above the law. The secret service has to abide by the law as well. We have heard over and over again the source of morel problems within the secret service is that senior personnel are treated differently from the rank and file and that the uniform division is treated differently from the agents. We have little doubt that because of this treatment, connolly and ogilvie believed they could act in a way where they would be able to get away with it. The culture of special treatment forcing your agents must stop. It is an embarrassing and highly concerning pattern of misconduct and security incidents that need to end. The secret Service Mission is to important. I want to commend mr. Roth and his team for their good work on this report. They acted quickly and put a lot of work into it and it has produced a very worthwhile result. That is why we are here today. We look forward to hearing from director clancy on this incident and hearing whether the agency plans to take disciplinary action against individuals involved. I have a concern that just retiring and stepping aside does not solve the problem. That they do not truly have the consequences that would be associated with such egregious behavior. The job of the secret service is too important not to reprimand those who exercise shockingly poor judgment that put the president and his family at risk. One of the other things we are going to explore is how, within the department of Homeland Security, there are different penalties within the department itself. There is a standard for the department of Homeland Security. There seems to be a different standard within the secret service and other agencies themselves. This is the very reason we formed the department of Homeland Security, to make sure that they got best practices and management together so they could have this uniform across but it is not. One of the things the Inspector General found is that even the most senior people did not understand what the alcohol policy was. Sort of an important thing to understand. Certainly an important thing to understand. We appreciate the good work of mr. Roth and look forward to a good, vibrant discussion today about his findings. With that, i will now recognize the Ranking Member, mr. Cummings. Rep. Cummings thank you very much, history chairman. Thank you, general roth, and your team, for your hard work. You have worked with us and met with us and we took your guidance and we really appreciate all that you have done. You started immediately after receiving these allegations on march 12 and finish them in eight weeks. That says a lot. In that time, they conducted an impressive number of interviews and obtained a wide variety of documents and materials. The Inspector General confirms key allegations, such as the claim that to agents, two ag ents, mr. Connelly and mr. Ogilvie, had been driving drinking before driving a government vehicle to the white house. It also includes that there is no evidence that the video of the incident was intentionally deleted. This was a model of how an investigation should be conducted. And a demonstration why congress and this community relies so heavily on unfortunately, this report makes clear that there is still much work to be done to improve the culture at the secret service. At a previous hearing, september 30 of last year, i expressed grave concern that the secret service punishes those who raise concerns. Employees are afraid to report incidents up the chain of command. At the time, we were discussing an incident where multiple shots were fired at the white house. One officer on the scene believed bullets had hit the white house, but she feared the consequences of disputing her superiors. As a result, it was not discovered until four days later that the white house had been struck. The Inspector General indicates that the cultural problem is indeed widespread. The report highlights the secret service is reputation for punishing or ignoring those who further investigate or report such violations. According to the report, some officers relayed that the watch commander at the scene raised concerns. According to one officer, the watch commander told his colleagues that the agents who drove into the american into the barricade were hammer. Hammered. Instead of ordering a sobriety test he called it a career killer. Nose riding test was done. Both agents drove their vehicles home after a night of drinking. The Inspector General says the watch commanderss actions must be considered in the disparity i am also concerned because just two days ago, we conducted a key interview that further corroborates this view. Alfonso dison, the deputy chief of the uniform division, manages more than 600 officers. He admitted to our Committee Staff that he had to telephone calls with mr. Connelly connolly the night of the incident. One as he was at the scene and another as he was driving home later that night. In those calls, he informed mr. Conolly was going to make it a problem. He also told mr. Connelly connolly that the watch commander might cause trouble for him. He was going to spread the rumors. He was going to get the guys riled up. That is what i believe and that is what i relayed. This is simply unacceptable based on the report. The watch commander should have done more that night, not less. It is appalling that Senior Secret Service officials would disparage Junior Officers from doing the right thing. The agents and officers of the secret service will never have the full trust of their colleagues while the fear of retaliation continues. Finally, let me conclude by thanking director clancy for his cooperation and quick action and the Inspector General report concludes, director clancy acted appropriately upon receiving information about the misconduct. The Inspector General also informed our committee that he received outstanding cooperation from director clancy and the secret service during the entire investigation. Although we hope to the director clancy would be available today, this is police week and he is attending several events to honor officers for acts of valor and the families of those who have fallen in the line of duty. He called personally the chairman and yours truly to express his concern and regrets that he could not be with us at his hearing. At this hearing. I know the chairman understood that and i understood it. I want to thank him for all he has done. He has offered to reschedule for another day. I look forward to hearing from him. With that, i yield back. Rep. Chaffetz it is true that i really do believe that director clancy has been more than responsive to requests from congress and his availability is very much appreciated. We may disagree on some points, but his accessibility has been one of the best that we have seen. I also want to highlight at this moment, the secret service is evidently engaged in apprehending someone who was trying to fly a drone i am basing this solely on media reports, but every day, these men and women are dealing with exceptionally difficult situations. Something could go wrong at any given time. They do far more than we your or see. We appreciate that. It is not enough to say we appreciate it. They need to know we love and care for them and we pray for them. They have a no fail mission. That is why when something goes so terribly wrong, we have got to learn from it and make sure that we fix the problem. Some of this egregious behavior is unacceptable. I would also note that just literally happening here today, the secretary award for valor was given to one of the secret Service Agents, william from scranton, pennsylvania. He kept duty at the station in washington, d. C. While out to work, the u. S. Secret Service Technician came upon a Motor Vehicle accident in the baltimore washington parkway and was the first to respond. After notifying 911, he went to the scene to offer assistance. When he noticed flames originating from underneath the hood of the vehicle, he removed the occupant, who was determined to have a broken pelvis and was unable to walk. People like that, who do this great work, we cannot thank them enough. But we expect a lot. We expect that people will make mistakes, but not of such egregious consequences that it puts the mission in danger, puts others in danger. And it certainly can never put the president in danger. He is our president. I do not care, republican or democrat, how you feel about the president. He is our president and he has to stay safe. That is why it is so pivotal that we continue to investigate that. I will hold the record open for five legislative days for any members who would like to submit a written statement. I would like to recognize the witnesses here today, who represent a large group of people who did a lot of work to come to this meeting today. It is with pleasure that we welcome Inspector General john roth. He has been Inspector General of the department of Homeland Security. He previously served as director of the office of criminal investigation at the fda. Before that, he had a long and distinguished career with the department of justice. Pursuant to committee rules, all witnesses are to be sworn before they testify. If you would please rise and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . That the record reflect that the witness answered in the affirmative. Esther roth, we will now recognize you. Do not even bother starting the clock. We will hear your report and after you are done, we will ask questions. Mr. Roth thank you, chairman j katz chaffetz, Ranking Member cummings and all the others. Our objective was to conduct a factual inquiry and assess the reasonableness of the actions of those involved. We conducted the investigation from march 12 until april 30. This inquiry was centered around the activities of mark connolly. His duties include all aspects of white house security. George ovi is the George Ogilvie is the assistant to the officer in charge. He has previously worked in the president ial protection division. The report that we wrote is a summary of the investigation. It is attached to my written testimony. The materials of our investigation that we produced are reports of interviews, the physical evidence, and the documents we found, have been turned over to the secret service in accordance with our regular procedures. The Inspector Generals office does not make recommendations as to whether or what personnel action should be taken, but leave that to the secret service. Our duties are purely investigative. Report makes conclusions based on the evidence that we found. For example, it is more likely than not that their judgment was impaired by alcohol. The two agents displayed poor judgment and a lack of Situational Awareness driving into the scene. During their interviews, each denied drinking to excess. We must assess those denials in light of uniform position officers observations, the fact that they spent the previous five areas hours in the bar, and that they drove into a crime scene inches from where the rest of the secret service was treating a potential explosive device, which, under different circumstances, could have endangered their own lives and those uniform Division Officers. Both agents work required to report their conduct up the chain of command but failed to do so. Each told us that they did not believe that what they had done amounted to a reportable incident. Their failure to report reflects either poor judgment on their part for an affirmative desire to hide their conduct. With regard to the actions of the Uniformed Division, we found that they reacted to the suspicious package generally in accordance with operational procedures. However, the establishment of a perimeter should have been better executed. While there is often confusion inherent in a fastmoving and fluid situation, a number of vehicles and pedestrians came within close proximity to the object after the uniform division had established the safety perimeter. The uniform Division Officers made reasonable attempts while they were securing the scene to canvass the area for the suspect. An early partial description of the vehicle foiled the ability to apprehend the suspect. The secret service investigative agents reacted quickly to identify the suspect and determine the nature of the threat. It was the watch commanders decision to allow connolly and ogilvie to pass without further inquiry into their sobriety. He made this assessment based on his observations. While it would have been preferable if he ordered a field sobriety test or made other inquiries to establish both agents fitness to drive, it his actions must be considered in light of the vast disparity in rank between the watch commander and connolly. The secret Service Reputation for punishing or ignoring those who would further investigate reports and report such violations. The watch commander reported the facts to his superior officer. The watch commander and his subordinates should have been able to rely on their superior officers to appropriately report the situation. Both uniform