Transcripts For CSPAN US House Of Representatives Special Orders 20160108

Support of 27 original cosponsors, affirms the commitment of congress to put high quality child care within the reach of every hardworking family, regardless of how much they earn. Mr. Speaker, access to high quality child care is essential to the wellbeing of children and families. And really, when we think about our future, our economic future, the quality of life in our communities, this is such an important issue. And ill share with you a real story. Deondre is a 9yearold boy in oregon. He understands this issue well. He shared this experience with his provider, his Child Care Provider, ms. Renee, who takes care of him and his brother, while his mother goes to school and works. De andrea said, my mom goes to deandre said, my mom goes to work and she goes to scoo. Sometimes shes done by 6 30. Other days shes not done by midnight. Ms. Renee, he said, picks both of us up from school, helps us with dinner, helps us with homework and puts us to bed. His story is just one example, but it illustrates the Critical Role that Child Care Providers play in childrens lives. And it emphasizes the value of high quality child care for working parents. Its pretty clear, though, that our policies have not kept pace with our changing Family Structure and with our evolving work force. In more than 60 of married couples with children in the United States, both parents are working. In more than 40 of households, mothers are the sole or primary bread winner for their family. And 34 of children are living with an unmarried parent. Access to affordable, quality child care is critical to the stability of families and communities across the country. Child care costs also affect childrens wellbeing and the local economy. In washington, d. C. , for example, families pay more than 20,000 each year on average for a childs care. And in many states, including my home state of oregon, the cost of child care exceeds instate tuition at public universities. Now, we hear a lot about rising tuition costs and how that creates barriers to accessing postsecondary ed indication education. And this too is a critical issue. I know many of my colleagues are eager to curb the cost of college and enable more students to get a hydrocation. Yet in many places, the cost of caring for our infants often outpaces the cost of earning a university diploma. Mr. Speaker, we need to be addressing the soaring cost of child care with the same urgency with which we seek to rein in college costs. Just as shutting students out of college has tremendous economic consequences, the fact that families must spend a growing share of their income on child care also comes with consequences. Now, this is going to require some longterm thinking and we have to look really into our future about what this investment means for our families. But sadly, but not surprisingly, low income families tend to be hardest hit by the rising cost of child care. Some families with limited means spend about 40 of their Household Income on child care. And some estimates suggest that the inability of employees to find reliable child care costs companies billions of dollars in lost output. Now, we see some companies now having onsite child care, and thats great. But they are few and far between. The high cost of child care is truly an issue of equity. When families are forced to make sacrifices to care for Young Children, these sacrifices disproportionately fall upon women and people of color. A recent Pew Research Study found that over the last 15 years the cost of child care has likely contributed to an increasing number of mothers who have to put their careers on hold. Now, of course theres nothing wrong with parents choosing to stay home with their children. Absolutely not. When thats their choice. But for many parents and low in low income households, leaving a job to care for children is not a choice, these parents cannot afford to work and pay for child care. What do they do . Before child care costs become unaffordable became unaffordable, more mothers were joining the work force and pursuing careers and contributing to the Financial Stability of families. Additionally, the child care field primarily employs women, many of whom are underpaid. Probably most of whom are underpaid. In fact, a new Economic Policy Institute Study found that child care workers are approximately twice as likely as other workers to live below their poverty line. Now, when i went to College Years ago, i had a friend who ran the Child Care Center at the university. And he made a comment to me once that really stuck with me. He said, people pay more per hour to park their car in the parking garage than they do to have us look after their child. Now, that is unacceptable. Its important to pay child care workers well. So we can recruit and retain great people to take care of our children who are the next generation. Very few workers receive Health Care Coverage or Pension Plans or any kind of Retirement Security and for many child care workers with children themselves, the cost of child care is, for their own children, is truly out of reach. For many of our countrys minority households, affordable child care is not only expensive, its hard to find. The gap in wealth between white and black households is the largest its been in several decades. And to exacerbate these challenges, low wage jobs frequently have nontraditional schedules, which makes accessing high quality child care especially difficult. Mr. Speaker, many families are caught in this financial trap. Working parents are struggling, theyre doing their best, theyre trying to make ends meet. And in the face of rising costs and stagnant wages. But theyre forced to choose between leaving the work force to care for their children, which can push their families farther toward poverty, or handing over their paychecks to cover the cost of child care, which has a similar result on their household finances. In reality, theres no easy solution for these distressed families. Distressed and stressed, i might add. More than 60 of Young Children attend child care so their working parents can earn a live and at the same time child care costs more than 10,000 a year in many places here in d. C. Places, here in d. C. Even more, and too often rises faster than Household Income. But the problems caused by unaffordable child care extend beyond family finances. High quality Early Childhood education produces many benefits for children that continue well into the future. And this is that longterm investment that im talking about. Children who access these programs see longterm benefits, including success in school, improved employment outcomes, and good health. When families cant access those high quality child care programs, their children may lose access to some of the benefits of Early Learning. Like developing literacy and teamwork skills. Congress does have a role to play in addressing these problems and this is one of the most important investments we can make in our future. We must advance these existing programs that are effective at supporting working families and preparing children for success down the road. Head start is an example of one such program. It serves roughly a million low income people, more than 12,000 in my home state of oregon, for each of these children and families, head start provides quality Early Childhood education and increases access to health insurance, Housing Assistance and job training. If youve never visited one of your head start facilities in your district, i encourage you to do so. They are really working hard to engage the families, to really get that Early Learning. The benefits of head start for families and children are well documented. Last year more than 200,000 families in head start received job training and Adult Education services, and studies show that children in head start are better prepared for kindergarten, they make gains in learning and social, emotional development. Preschool development grants, including a new program that passed just recently, as part of the every Student Succeeds act, will help states to improve access to Early Childhood education programs, but ultimately, mr. Speaker, Congress Needs to do its part to promote universal prekindergarten programs. On a related note, my state of oregon is instituting fullday kindergarten next year, and congress should consider how it can support similar efforts in other states. Also, federal child nutrition programs, including the child and Adult Care Food Program, increase childrens access to nutritious meals. We expect children to learn and do well and thrive, but if theyre hungry, they cant do that, mr. Speaker. The child and Adult Care Food Program can help deflect some of the child care costs that are passed on to parents while also encouraging healthy heating habits and supporting childrens development. Now, i have introduced the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement act, this is a bipartisan bill that makes commonsense, positive changes to the child and Adult Care Food Program. This bill will encourage more Child Care Providers to participate in the program, which in turn means more American Children will receive nutritious meals and more Child Care Providers will receive support to provide those meals. Again, getting a good healthy store the for those kids in our communities start for those kids in our communities. The act also authorizes Child Care Providers to offer additional healthy meals or snacks. Many working families rely on full daycare, but the child and Adult Care Food Program only supports two meals a day. A child who is in care all day, sometimes until 8 00 or even later, needs to get a nutritious meal in the evening. Thats good for kids, its good for families, and its good for our future. Prekindergarten and child nutrition programs are examples of where the federal government and our role here in congress are playing an important and effective role in supporting working families and investing in Better Outcomes for those families in the future. But, mr. Speaker, we certainly could be doing more. Congress should promote fair work schedules, paid time off for parents and care givers, which my state just did at the state level, and higher wages for working families, including people who work in the child care field. And i want to add, mr. Speaker, my colleague from california mentioned this, many moms now go back to work within two weeks of giving birth. For those women here who are listening who have given birth, you know how challenging that is for families. Two weeks after giving birth they go back to work, 25 of women in this country. Paid leave, where the only were the only industrialized country in the world that does not offer paid leave for women who have children. We need to change that and get a better start for our kids, for our moms and respect those working families. As we continue to pursue earths to make child care affordable efforts to make child care affordable for all families, i encourage my colleagues to cosponsor House Resolution 386. Lets show our support for our countrys child care work force, its children, its hardworking families, and the future of our families and our country. And i thank you very much, mr. Speaker, and thank you again for yielding. Mrs. Watson coleman thank you very much to the gentlelady from oregon for the work and for the resolution and for the advocacy. And now, mr. Speaker, id like to yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania, congressman fattah. Fatayat al khalifah let me thank mr. Fattah let me thank the gentlelady who organized this special order. Theres no greater cause that could be the focus of our attention in this august body than future generations of americans. Too much time is focused on the next election. I want to thank the gentlelady from new jersey for focusing the house today on the next generation. And we know with a certainty hat Early Childhood, quality daycare, early education, these are the fundamental Building Blocks. Now, we as a nation are competing with countries like china and india, with big populated nations, we need to make sure that every single american child has the ability to rise up to their potential so that our nation can remain number one in the world. And so, im pleased that in the appropriations process, i serve on the labor, health, education subcommittee, and we do our work in the last couple of weeks, we have passed the appropriations bill. And this year weve made some progress. I want to talk first about the good news. Billion propriate 2. 7 for the Child Care Development block grant. And we increased it over last year, f. Y. 2015, by 326 million. Now, thats the good news. The problem, of course, is that we still are far away from providing for every family that will be eligible, opportunities at affordable child care. Let me give you a let me give you a for instance closer to home. I represent the birth place of our democracy, philadelphia is ifpk one of the greatest cities in the world. But we spent about 300 million this year on head start and child care activities. Almost all of it federal money. 190 million coming out of the child care block grant i referenced earlier. But were only providing for 33 of the families in philadelphia who would be eligible for child care through this effort. So we need to do more. And hopefully the city and the state will be partners in this effort, but our nation has to see this as president nixon once said, as a national imperative. That is, we have a National Interest in every one of these children living up to their potential. Now two years ago, in one of a series done by why kwlmbings and news works, they focused on child care. They told the story on one occasion about a young lady who was getting her degree from la salle university, taking graduate courses, she was working very, very hard, but she was rising at a very early hour to trop off her young daughter at a family members home because she couldnt afford appropriate child care and affordable child care. Heres someone doing what we want them to do, getting a college education, getting a graduate degree, we need to be doing more to provide those early rungs on the ladder of opportunity for those who are in the early stages of farmly family formulation and in some cases who are raising children as single parents. So theres much more we can do. In philadelphia we have a system that even though not perfect, is working very well and i know through ccis out on green street in northwest philadelphia, theres an opportunity where families and parents can get access to quality child care, federally funded, as a contractor with the urban league. But again, we need to do more, thats why i came here to the floor this evening. I know that the nation is preparing for the president s town meeting on guns tonight, thats another issue related to families and family safety, but also, and we totally support the president s efforts in that regard, and i want to work with the administration as a member of the appropriations committee, to help fund those gun safety activities. But we also in terms of child care, this is about families also. And making sure that the youngest among us have every opportunity to learn and to grow. In fact, we know through work weve done on Brain Science now that as the congresswoman from new jersey said, this is the period of time in which the brain is like a sponge. It can learn almost anything. And we should be doing so much more in our Early Childhood efforts, in our child care efforts, to develop the Language Skills and the reading skills for these young people as a basic Building Block for their long for their lifelong education. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me timism thank her much more importantly for her extraordinary leadership on the most important issue in our nation, and that is the preparation of future generations of american leaders. Hank you and i yield back. Mrs. Watson coleman thank you. I want to thank the gentleman for his wise words and the wisdom that comes with experience. Now id like to yield to the gentlelady from texas, representative Sheila Jackson lee. Ms. Jackson lee id like to thank the gentlelady from new jersey for her leadership, continued leadership, as she brings those of us of the congressional progressive caucus to the floor to speak on issues of concern for the American People. Let me also thank the gentlelady from oregon for her leadership and im delighted to be a cosponsor, original cosponsor of her very important legislation that is championed by the congressional progressive caucus, that is really demanding, calling for high quality guaranteed affordable and accessible child care for every American Family around a strong child care work force thats paid a living wage at least 15 an hour and has a voice on their job. I have a long i have alongside of me just a picture of children that may be any child here in america, happy and smiling. Mr. Speaker thats why were standing on the floor of the house today. Because as americans and as members of the United States congress, it is our responsibility to be able to provide for the happiness and smiling of our children. So i tell a story as i begin my remarks on the importance of this special order and the importance of child care. Just a few years ago, in my area in houston, parents got a call that no parent wants to receive. These are parents of little children. And they got a call to come rushing to their Day Care Center. They were rushing because their Day Care Center was on fire. And the tragedy is, the young woman who had this business, whose family gave her this business so that she could have something to do, an income, had stepped away and went to a store and left little children under the age of 5 alone by themselves while a boiling pot of some form of food was on the stove. What happened was, obviously that pot caught fire and babies, babies lost their lyes. Babies who could not move or help each other. She came rushing back, with great remorse and emotion, but those babies were gone. And that is the story of child care, mr. Speaker. It is so very important that every child has the potential for greatness and that is why child care is so important. In todays economy the need for child care is a reality for the vast majority of families. Most working parents cant afford it. Child care, even while child care teachers are not being paid enough. Child care teachers are struggling themselves and cant provide for their own children. Low wages and a lack of benefits lead to high turnover. In the instance of Child Care Centers across america, many of them are unregulated. Additionally, parents are struggling. On average, child care for two children can cost rent or mortgage in every state. No one who works hard should have the downside as they care for others children to be able to not be able to care for theirs. In 2011, 49 of children ages 0 to 4 with employed mothers were primarily cared for by a relative. Heir father, granchte, other sibling or mother because they couldnt afford other sources. 26 , based care was grandparents 60 . 6 of single parent households were employed. 67 of women in the work force had a child under the age of 6. 30 of women work at night and have a child under the age of 5 and 29 of children in need of child care have multiple arrangements with child care that that can include relatives or skilled Child Care Services. 16 of children in need of Child Care Services live in poverty. The high cost of child care, the cost of fulltime infant care across the United States in 2012 ranged from 4, ranged from 6,500. Thats more than a parttime workers maybes, more than some fulltime workers make. The cost of fulltime care for a 4yearold ranged from 4,000 to 9,000. And the cost of after School Child Care ranges from 2,000 to 10,000. It is important to make this statement that guaranteed child care is a necessity. It is a right. Why . Because i remember the declaration of independence, though not the constitution, that talks about the pursuit of happiness. What more pursuit of happiness to ensure that children pictured here on this poster board have the right and opportunity to quality child care . And not have that very devastating call, the call a parent, who is doing everything they can to provide for their family, to rush away from their job because their baby died in a raging fire because an unregulated Child Care Provider left to go shopping while a stove, while a pot was burning on the stove. Recently the Texas Department of family and protective services began a dont be in the Dark Campaign to educate parents about the dangers of placing children in unregulated child care in texas. The importance of regulated child care becomes unavoidably clear when one considers that 13 children died in unregulated care lastier. In 2006, 18 children tied in unregulated care in the state of texas. In order to prepare to stop deaths like this, we need universal care. We node quality care. We need teachers and workers who love what theyre doing as they do but are paid a livable wage, 15, so they too can provide for their families. Unfortunately, safe and affordable child care is not available, as much as it should be, in the constituent of texas. Many working parents relie on state subsidized care to meet their needs but the statewide waiting list was 17,000 in january and moved to 46,000 in october. So it is important to note, for example, in austin, it costs about 43 a day to provide for a full day care for a toddler. The state will only pay a small amount. So this is a very important special order. It is to reinforce the fact that our obligations obligation is to Safety Secure or children and to include our children in the constitutional right, if you will, of providing for them the sense of a quality of life that is worthy of them as the future of our nation. I join with my colleagues in speaking about and supporting this resolution but also i join with them to support the full funding of head start for many times we will see that those who are part of head start were in fact a very important to were very important to their growth and their progress. I also want to include these agencies in my community, neighborhood centers, and say if we had universal access to child care, many faith institutions and others could be part of regulated, certified, clean child care that could be made more reasonable for those working parents who work very odd hours and work into the night and Early Morning and need the kind of around the clock kiled hair child care that is so necessary. I want to thank congresswoman Watson Coleman for her leadership and again, i leave this podium by saying, every child in america is precious. Even as we hear those discussing issues of choice and issues that sometimes women have to make, we know that we love our children and why dont we as the children are here, as they are toddlers and infants and growing up, make sure that no child goes longing for love, for food, for resources and no child goes longing for quality child care. I yield back. Ms. Wattson coleman i thank the gentlelady from texas for her leadership and her commitment to every child in this country. Now id like to yield to my colleague from virginia who is ever vigilant and diligent as it relates to preparing and educating our better generations to come. Mr. Scott thank you, mrs. Watson coleman. Theres a growing bipartisan understanding that in order for our nations children, especially those in low income communities to fulfill their potential and succeed in college and career that we must expand access to affordable, high quality, Early Learning opportunities. Decades of research, decades of Research Shows that shows that properly nurturing children in early years of life supports enhanced brain development, cognitive functioning and emotional and physical health. Research has also shown that one investment that leads to better educational outcomes, stronger job earnings, is quality Early Learning programs. These programs prevent and debts of low ment income student and create longterm benefits to our nation, such as lower crime rates, lower teen pregnancy rates and Higher High School Graduation rates. Yesterday i atnded attended a screening of the documentary raise og of raising of america which explains the challenges working families have in raising children and helping them succeed. Even though theres nearly universal understanding of the importance of high quality learning opportunities, many families are not able to access these opportunities. As the documentary clearly explains, working families are more productive than ever but our nation lacks the federal policies these families need to better balance work and family responsibilities. For example, unpredictable, unstable schedules place an undue burden on working families, impacting their ability to maintain child care. As we are among the richest nations in the world, the United States is the only such nation that does not provide paid leave to families to invest time in Early Development of their children. The United States doesnt even provide universal access to quality, affordable child care. This is simply unacceptable. The democrats on the House Committee on education and the work force have been working with our colleagues in the Democratic Caucus on a working families agenda. This agenda supports families by giving them the tools they need to better balance work and family. This calls for commonsense policies such as paid sick leave, paid family leave and access to universal high quality child care, to help balance work and family responsibilities. In addition, it supports increased wages but kay by calling for an increased minimum wage and legislation to discriminationed in the work work force. But access to high quality child care is an integral part to the working families agenda. In the recently passed spending bill which increased funding for the child care block grant business 326 million. This increase is a strong positive step in the right direction. But we must build on this effortment. And thats because effort. And thats because some states dont arent even accepting eligible participants to sign up on their wait list. Were not talking about whether the child is eligible or not. Or whether they receive it. But whether a child can even be placed on a wait list to hope for funding. If we want parents to work, if we want children to be able to determine their futures, if we want strong and stable families, we must provide these families with access to high quality child care and other Early Learning opportunities. These efforts are a National Priority and all children deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. Again, i want to thank you for your leadership and bringing this issue to a special order. And yield back the balance of my time. Mrs. Watson coleman thank you very much, congressman. Thank you for taking your time and sharing with us. Were all familiar with the phrase, putting your money where your mouth. Is mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago we voted for a bill to Fund Government programs and extend tax cuts. While that bill was an important step forward, compromise, it was far from perfect. It put our environmental at risk our environment at risk and made countless tax breaks for multinational corporations and special Interest Payments permanent interest permanent. And although it did extend programs like the child tax credit, it didnt do nearly enough to protect working families or ensure a Bright Future for our nation. Were in a new year and weve got a chance for a fresh start. So lets make affordable child care part of that new start. Mr. Speaker, i want to switch gears now and discuss an equally important topic, that those in control of this house have tried to ignore. A topic that the president took action on this week. Gun violence is one of the greatest challenges this nation faces. Over the past 10 years, weve lost more than 100,000 people to guns. Millions more have been victims of assaults, robberies and other crimes where a gun was involved. And many of the individuals in possession of these weapons shouldnt have had them in the first place. Three years since newtown, just over a month since san bernardino, and colorado springs, and with the dark memories of shootings of every scale in every city hovering over us constantly, it is time for change. Gun violence in the United States runs the gambit of motivations from Mental Illness to religious extremism to political extremism to disastrous accidents. But they all involve a firearm. Many of these incidents are suicides. But theyre all linked by the simple fact that they involve a firearm. Because in the United States of america, a group of ideologues have hidden behind misguided readings of the constitution, make guns available to everyone imaginable. Even folks on the terror watch list. The reality is that gun violence is an epidemic and the n. R. A. , along with those who blindly follow it, are deeply out of touch. When another Tragedy Strikes my colleagues on the other side of the aisle repliabley call for moments of silence. Right here on the floor. And while i support remembering victims, i cannot support silence where action is needed. Silence, mr. Speaker, is what keeps weapons on our streets. Silence is the reason weve lost friends, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. Silence is why we are the only developed nation in the world with this problem. The president has put forward a set of executive actions that make sense at the most basic level. From strengthening background checks and bolstering enforcement to improving mem Health Services and research on gun safety, and simple, commonsense measures, president obama announced this week will save countless lives. Its now up to us here in congress to take the baton. Mr. Speaker, its commonsense that someone who is not allowed to fly because theyre a suspected terrorist shouldnt be able to get a gun. It is commonsense to ensure a standard uniform background check before someone can purchase a weapon. It is commonsense that you should have to present identification to buy bullets. And it is time for our colleagues to stand up for common sense. And as the president said, we need to do it with a fierce urgency of now. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time to the gentlelady from texas, ms. Jackson lee. Ms. Jackson lee i thank the gentlelady from new jersey. And i thank you for guiding us over the past couple of minutes, dealing with an important issue of the speaker pro tempore will the gentlelady suspend. Under the speakers announced cy of january 6, 2015, mrs. Watson coleman i yielded the balance of my time to the gentlelady from texas. The speaker pro tempore under the speakers announced policy of january 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. Jackson lee, is recognized as the designee for the minority leader. Mrs. Watson coleman thank you, mr. Speaker. Ms. Jackson lee thank you very much, mr. Speaker. Again, i thank the gentlelady from new jersey. Let me quickly move us forward. Because in just a few minutes, the president of the United States will join with a number of americans on a very important town hall meeting, dealing with the question of this very important issue of gun violence. And today i rise as a Ranking Member of the criminal Justice Committee on judiciary, but i rise also as my colleague, as a member of the congressional progressive caucus, that has been at the leadership, and i thank both chairman grijalva and chairman ellison for their leadership and the opportunity for this time. Much was made of the fact that the president in his last term, or his last year, sought to take on this very complicate issued. Much was made of the fact that the president chose gun violence as something that he took a personal and emotional interest in. Let me be very clear. There is never a time that is too short a time to confront the horrors of gun violence in this country. Let me give you simply an example of what we face, not with adults who have confronted each other with a gun, but toddlers who are getting shot on a weekly basis. For example, a 2yearold in South Carolina found a gun in the back seat of the car, he was riding in, and excellently shot his grandfather, grandmother, who was sitting in the passenger seat. I found at least 43 instances this year of somebody being shot by a toddler 3 or younger. 31 of these 43 cases, a toddler found a gun and shot himself or herself. These stories are emotional and they are real. One instance, a 3yearold managed to wound both of his parents with a single gunshot at an albuquerque motel. Shootings by toddlers have happened in 24 states so far this year. Or the story that comes to mind, dealing with a little , y, a loving little boy, that in kentucky, who accidentally shot his 2yearold sister to death. Why . Because someone gave him a gun made by a manufacturer who made guns for children. Now, mr. Speaker, im not here to make moral judgments. That is something that i would not do, give a child a gun thats 5 years old. But what i am here to speak to is how we can come together. Those who advocate and use guns, those who believe in open carry, those who believe in concealed weapons, those who believe in rifle shooting and dear hund deer hunting, all of that is part of the american way. Theres no wanks that. What i am say angst with. That what i am saying and what the president is saying, with the tearful, emotional plea that he made just a few days ago, is that we in america can do better. The constitution says we can do better. The declaration of independence says we can do better. The First Amendment clearly provides us the access and the rights of free speech and movement and the Second Amendment is clear. That we do have a right to bear arms. Many of us historically believe that that was, of course, an amendment put in place to protect the beginning Founding Fathers and mothers, if you will, in these early colonies and to make sure that they were not overrun by the british. But it is still a standing amendment. And it takes a procedure for it to be undermined. Which is the argument that i make for those who continually raise the fact that the president and those of us who believe in gun safety or gun regulation, which is not control, are in fact trying to diminish the Second Amendment. We are not. But what we are trying to do is to do as the president has suggested. Keep guns out of the hands of the wrong hands through background checks. For example, unfortunately the tragedy in South Carolina, charleston, South Carolina, where a crazed individual wanted to provoke a race war, worshiped with nine parishioners at mother emanuel church, sat and prayed with the pastor, a distinguished senator, and those other loving saints, then sprayed bullets and killed nine of them. That individual had items in his background that should have warned him warranted him not getting a gun. What happened under law . The store keeper, the gun shop owner, after three days, when that particular affirmation or approval had not come, he gave the gun anyway. Foolish, it is so very foolish. There should be an extensive requirement that theres a background check when you are buying a gun on the internet or other places where exchanging guns. And so the president recognizes these kinds of loopholes, wishes to avoid those kind of loopholes, and so the a. T. F. Is making clear that it doesnt matter where you conduct business from a store, at a gun show, or over the internet, you need, if youre in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks. It baffles me why some people said that wont make any difference. Yes, it will. Because a lot of times in gun shows, people who are here to do wrong are in fact going to be taking any easy way to get guns. Let me cite you an example. I always hear that those cities who have rigged gun laws, it doesnt matter rigid gun laws, it doesnt matter. Thats the argument i get from my friends in the n. R. A. And i call them my friends because i hope one day well sit down at the table of engagement and collaboration. Because thats for the a american way. But let me give you the statistics that makes sense. New york has strong gun laws. And Governor Cuomo implemented some stronger gun laws after certain tragedies occurred in his statement but heres a statistic that argues and refutes and extinguishes the argument of the n. R. A. 70 of the guns recovered by police in new york state in 2013 originated out of the state. And so the gun laws in new york are working. But because of their neighbors, theyre suffering. And thats why we need to have a regulated system that doesnt take peoples guns away, but provides a safety and security that the American People determine. I didnt say, mr. Speaker, that several guns, that 70 of the guns found in the hands of lawabiding citizens were from out of state. I said 70 of the guns that the new york city nypd, that has a great deal of respect across this nation, one of the top accredited Law Enforcement agencies, 70 of those that they found were black market guns coming into that state from elsewhere. Thats a tragedy. And i will tell you for sure that some of those guns were used to maim and kill and to fight in gun battles in the streets, because we allow the kind of selling of guns without background checks and people going off and getting in gun sales in the back of cars. We know that that has happened. A. T. F. Is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust corporation or other legal entity. Whatever we might say, i dont believe that it is relevant for us to have the ak47s just walking up and down the street. Even if you want to say, i believe in open carry. Overhauling the background checks system to make it more effective and efficient, its worth noting how many background checks are done to make this 24 hours and seven days a week, maybe that would have prevented, i think, the tragedy in South Carolina. Make our communities safe from guns, call on u. S. Attorneys to explain to people about gun safety. I introduced, when i was on the houston city council, the first gun safety ordinance in a city, that gun safety ordinance is in place today, which was to hold parents responsible for children getting guns and shooting someone. Why . Because those guns should have been secured. There is nothing unconstitutional about regulating and saving the lives of children. Introducing 250 new a. T. F. Agents, im proud of my colleague, robin kelly, and myself introduced legislation that would provide for 200 Additional Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearm agents to enforce gun law the same thing republicans have been talking about. H. R. 4316. I invite my colleagues to join in that legislation to make a difference in the lives of so many. Let me say that in addition, we ant to make sure that we are highlighting the importance of relieve receiving complete criminal history records and criminal disposition. We want our states to be collaborative. Send to us the accurate records of those who committed crime in your district. Well do the heavy lifting, 24 hours, seven days a week, better technology. Make our communities safer. Teach about gun safety. Increase Mental Health treatment and reporting. 500 million. The president needs our collaboration. Im glad weve also introduced with congresswoman bass the authority to authorize funding to increase access to Mental Health care treatment to reduce gun violence. In the aftermath of the president s speech i heard all of this talk about we should be getting involved in gun violence, we should be talking about gun violence. I heard one president ial candidate saying we should be looking for the criminally ill. Well, what do you think this is . The president is asking for help from a. T. F. And now hes asking for grants and the resources to deal with the criminally ill, or those suffering from Mental Health issues and to stop them from gun violence. The very circumstance that occurred with respect to the horrificness of sandy hook. And as i hold up this poster board, the individual who ultimately took his life, and the life of his mother, can we imagine these babies that lost their life . In fact, we understand that some of those Law Enforcement officers could barely stand up as they went in and looked at the carnage. Certainly that individual was known to have suffered from some form of Mental Illness. There should have been intervention there. And the president is asking for resources to help us with those suffering from Mental Health issues. He wants the Social Security administration to begin the rule making process to include information in the background about beneficiaries who are in fact suffering from Mental Health needs. This is not an invasion of privacy. This is information. This is not knocking on the door of those who are suffering from Mental Health concerns. But it is helping us be more effective if that individual seeks to purchase a gun. We want to shape the future of gun safety technology. The president directed our departments, im on Homeland Security, defense, justice and Homeland Security to conduct research. Guns can be more safe so if a child gets a gun in their hand, theres more of a detail than putting pulling the trigger. The little boy who shot his sister, there was one bullet left in the gun. The parents didnt know it. It was left in a corner. He picked it up, it was his toy gun, he was 5. Keeping guns out of the wrong hands in background checks is what the president offered. Then of course working with making our communities safer with gun violence. Nics 230 additional examiners and others to assist with processing mandatory background checks. I think i mentioned the Mental Health resources that i think are so very important. I would also suggest that we ensure federally that people keep their guns safe. That is very crucial, that we insist that guns are safe. Let me also indicate that mr. Clyburn has a very important initiative, he is a representative of the tragedy in South Carolina to get rid of this three day and make sure that everyone has a background check no matter what is occurring. Let me finish, mr. Speaker, as i conclude with indicating to this country gun related homicides, the rate of gun related homicides in the u. S. Is far higher than that of other large and affluent countries. Are they any less strong than we are . We have the highest number of homicides done by guns. Italy, taiwan, canada, spain, germany, australia, the united king tom, france, south korea and japan. Even with the terrorist activities, they are way below americans. 353 mass see here, shootings in america, in 2015. All of those are by guns. If youre doo dangerous if youre too dangerous to fly, youre too dangerous to buy guns in america. We had legislation that mr. King sponsored, i believe, and others that just simply said if youre on the no fly list you cant have a gun. I want to find Common Ground but most of all, i want to save lives. And here today, i am saying to my colleagues that we are not saving lives if we are not sitting at the table of involvement. Let me also suggest a unanimous consent to introduce this into the record, a whole list of legislative initiatives, if i might. Thank you. Of gun storage and safety devices, accidental firearms transfer reporting which is similar to what happened in South Carolina where this gentleman got a gun and he was it was effectively, he would not have been approved, establishing a select committee on gun violence. Gun Violence Research by other members. Recognizing gun violence as a Public Health emergency. Coming back finally to allowing the centers for Disease Control to finally do research on the impact of gun violence. If we dont stand together, then the long litany of children that have died by gun violence, mr. Speaker, will continue. And the only thing that will stop this is for us to recognize that we have gun deaths, gun deaths by justified homicide and criminal homicide, mass shooting, mental pelt, health, guns and suicide. The only thing that will happen, guns and nestic violence, it will continue. Does anyone want this kind of massacre to continue at the hands of someone using a gun, if some aspect of what the president has presented, if we join together, background checks, Mental Health resources, a. T. F. , f. B. I. , 200 more if we join together, i can assure you america can find her comfortable place in the sun with a wonderful constitutional democracy, where all of us new york matter what our philosophy, what our political party, can come around the issue of saving lives. With that, mr. Speaker, i thank you and i yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The gentlewoman yields back. Under the speakers announced policy of january 6, 2015, the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska, mr. Fortenberry, or 30 minutes. Mr. Fortenberry thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i was listening to a talk show one day when a 13yearold girl called in and she was confused. At that tender age to put it mildly, she talked about how she had been walked all over by her peers and subjected to the exploitation of an older man. She had no sufficient self, sense of self possession to know that she had been used. She had no community support, no adult around her to protect her. The radio commentator was aghast. But sadly, mr. Speaker, this was a troubling, another troubling example of a culture of exploitation that is raging all around us today. However, mr. Speaker, there is a bit of light on the horizon. In a few weeks, tens of thousands of young people from around the country will assemble around this capital to deliver around this capitol to deliver a simple message. These young people are saying this. They will no longer tolerate the indifference. They will no longer tolerate a culture of exploitation. They will no longer tolerate the darkness of the abortion industry. These are members of the generation that have witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences when wrong ideas take hold in a society. When the smartest people in the land, the Supreme Court justices, are misguided and do not value all life. When Certain Industries profit from pain. These young people are saying, Women Deserve better than abortion. They are saying that children should be welcomed new york matter how hard the circumstances, they are saying that no one should be abandoned, there should be no choice between a child and that childs mother. Mr. Speaker, its understandable that many people are reluctant to enter into arguments about abortion. Its difficult. Its painful. So many people have experienced this, individually or with family members. Ut we have to be honest. Mr. Speaker if you look behind me at the dais here, you can see , e words peace, liberty justice. We inscribed these words all around our capitol, all around our nations monuments, but in truth, we cannot find peace in a society that does not protect its most innocent life. We cannot find liberty when we are indifferent to one another and simp he turn away when a woman faces difficulty. We cannot claim justice for all when we throw away the innocent unborn life. Mr. Speaker, i want to delve for a moment into the deeper reasons for these divisions over abortion. The deeper reasons why we have such a caustic debate. For those of us who are pro life, it can be hard, frankly, to understand why everyone doesnt see our perspective. But i believe that much of the ugliness surrounding the abortion debate hinges on the competing values of personal autonomy versus relational responsibility. Once again, personal autonomy versus relational responsibility. Of course, working hard for yourself, making something of yourself, refusing to let difficult circumstances overcome you, these are all hallmarks of a well ordered life. Essential to progress. To an individuals progress as a person. But mr. Speaker, rugged individualism can lead to rugged isolationism, crushing the vitality of the human heart, leading to loneliness, hopelessness and ultimately despair. Could it be, mr. Speaker, that the confusion surrounding abortion is the loss of an understanding of the dignity of each person as they are set in the environment of a community. On this deeply painful topic of abortion, the primary community in question is first and foremost the unique bond between a mother and her child. Followed by the bond of the extended family and extended community. All politics, all life, mr. Speaker, is ultimately founded on relationships. Happiness depends upon social life, on interdependency. A Healthy Society depends upon stable and healthy relationships for promoting sustainable values and our greater ideals. But because of cultural confusion, we establish a false choice. Is it a womans right to choose . Or is it a childs right to life . This should not be a consideration. In the Broader Community that is committed to bonds of solidarity. Sadly, i believe weve lost sight of the degree to which the logic of autonomy, radical awe ton my, severed from the foundational principles that order human relations, namely in charity have create the circumstances in which we now find ourselves. Individuals who are alone so of n become disassociated mutuality and community. Decades upon decades of this cultural conditioning leaves with us an aggregate understanding that our strength s only found in ourselves. No wonder a young woman, scared, alone, abandoned feels such pressure to abort. Mr. Speaker, during last years historic papal visit to the nited states, pope francis highlighted the need for what i call social conservation. At its root, social conservation is the answer to the widespread longing in all of our hearts, that longing for a culture of meaning, of purposefulness. Pope francis promoted universal human values, the importance of society, the primacy of the family, the dignity of work, the responsibility of people to properly steward the natural environment, and the sanctity of lall life, especially the poor, the elderly, those who are arginalized, and the unborn. This approach of pope doesnt fit our class addition timbing shon. This isnt a republican or democrat issue but a protection of persons and how we build a truly Healthy Society. Precious members of their families. We must defend them. Not in is lation but a part of the social fabric. Now some abortion advocates say isy are part of the prolife a fiction called the war on women. That is a very painful accusation. In the end, i wish we could rise above this because i believe everyone should agree that the mmoice versus relational responsibility is a false choice prochild, fe to be prolife, profamily. We should all be loving enough, caring enough and we have resources enough to protect both the mother and her child. Now, mr. Speaker, i would like to look to refrain this entire debate, to look for some life, maybe theyll continue to be differences over the question, but maybe there is some Common Ground. A spectrum of policy proposals could build wider coalitions in the debate and instead of cultural war. Initiatives could include appear ault on the scurming of coercion which includes many young women to have an abortion at the hands of an uncaring boy friend. Captain we find it in ourselves to attack this gin justice. I would like to believe we can. What about incentives for businesses to provide new parent hood assistance kline you hadding maternity and pa terpt leave. Some of my colleagues mentioned some of these proposals. No woman should be forced to choose between a paycheck and her child. Other ideas could be adoption, nhanced adoption facilities, countermeasures, and initiatives for responsible for father hood. Thats not my idea, but president obamas idea. I commended them for that because he raised that in the state of the union about two years ago. Finally, i think we should channel money in the abortion facilities which are receiving taxpayer dollars toward nurturing Pregnancy Health centers and there are many beautiful examples of this. By pursuing these policy proposals, maybe we should shift, this is not a choice, i can only find strength in myself. m alone and abappeddond notch need others and a relational responsibility we have to one another. Lets elevate that idea of inter dependency within community ecause we are in a shattered responsibility and time of growing threat. The very basis of the strength of this great nation. Now more than ever, compassion should be our first principle. Abortion is violent. Abortion is not health care. Abortion is a false choice that no one should ever be forced to make. Hen its elevated in ideal, of motherhood, protected, nurture it. Respected, provide for celebrate it. The genius of the feminine and the beauty of all life. Mr. Speaker, in a few short weeks, this young people who will by the thousands, tens of thousands crowd around this capitol, they are telling us one simple truth. Love them both. Just love them both. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Under the speakers announced policy of january 6, 2015, the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, for 0 minutes. Russ wruss thank you, mr. Speaker. It was new years eve in blanchford oklahoma, an 18 years old mother alone with her son heard a ralk cuss at the door, two men were trying to break it down. Grabbing her baby and barricading the door, she called 911. In the frantic and desperate situation it became clear that Law Enforcement would not arrive in time to prevent the assault. She informed the dispatcher that she had a shotgun and asked if it was all right to shoot the intruders. Wisely, the dispatcher told sarah, i cant tell you to do that, but you do what you have to do to protect that are baby. Sarah already knew what she might have to do and hope against hope that Law Enforcement while responding quickly, would arrive in time. When the armed intruders broke down the door. Justin martin climbed over the couch and was greeted with a shotgrun blast to the commess. Sarah saved her life a her babies. 88yearold was home alone when an intruder kicked in her door. He regot a. 25 caliber and fired it at the home invader. Following the incident, her neighbors expressed support for her actions telling one, you have to do something, you have to protect yourself. Inherent loy understand that you have the right to defend crour life, your property and your liberty. The right to keep and bear arms is as fundamental to any other right that we than joy. This right is godgiven as much as the freedom of religion and freedom tore assemble and express and protect our privacy. As such, seriousminded individuals must have serious deliberation on any attempt to alter these fundamental american rights that are embodied in the bill of rights inalienable not granted by government. Most americans clearly understand where we must preserve the right to defend ourselves, our families and our property. For those who would refuse their right to defend themselves, they have the freedom to do so. They do not have the freedom to make that decision for others. In terms of human behavior, our survival instincts are inherent. The creator of the universe did not make human beings with fangs, claws or odors for their selfdefense. He gave them their intelligence. And by extension, their hands to fashion implements to protect their lives. While the president is certainly defend to choose not to hem self. The president has compared his gun control ajeopardy ave with the womens suffrage rights chiding republicans for their lack of advancement of the human race. If we look historically, it was republicans who eliminated lavery and embraced republican susan b. Anthony to get Voting Rights for all women where his party had stood in the wake. The president cannot rewrite the constitution. He needs to be schooled on constitutional history, from madison, hamilton, jefferson and adams, all the way to the Supreme Court decisions, this right has been afffirmed in defense of its arctic can you lation in the bill of rights. While the president complains of congressional inaction, it can no more take action to deny this right than it can deny a free press or Property Rights to individuals. Congress will not act to destroy the bill of rights and we will stand in the way of any executive who will not uphold the constitution of the United States. Still, the administration Presses Forward with passion and conviction, convincing americans that the threat is so grievous and the jury is so great. We are told that Mass Shootings are on the rise and gun deaths are out of control and the worst among developed nations. Before america signs up to he do this, lets have a sober mind. The president and his party would report outrage if conservatives suggested that the First Amendment must be scrapped because of such abuses such as liable, hate speech and warranted necessary commonsense reforms to our freedoms embodied in the bill of rights. Americans recognize we must face the unplsness of abuse to secure its status. Not the same, some may say. We are talking about outrageous loss of life and injury and it must stop they must claim. When did it becomes a substitute . Americans verm sacrificed to secure it and the simple truth is, the facts supporting this liberal gun control call have been widely and unfairly distorted. According to the center for sease control, 1 nousm 199 lost their lives to firearms in 2014. But on examination. But only 15,000 of that number were homicides. That is only 8 of the total. The vast majority over 68 were accident related and that has sfedly declined in recent years. Suicides accounted for most of the remainder at 21 . But the truth about gun homicide s that you are to likely to deal from cancer as you are to die from a firearm. And twice as likely to die as a sult of a firearm and 2na from accidental poisoning. And many beyond the scope of civilized thinking, we cannot substitute emotion for examination. Contrary to those most vocal on this issue, we are not the most violent civilized country on the planet. In fact, according to data compiled from the United Nations office on drugs and crime, the United States ranks in the bottom half of homicides worldwide among civilized or uncivilized nation. Still, the president often touts europe as a commonsense model for security. A remarkable seven European Countries have higher overall per capita homicide rates than the United States. Where is that news flash . Disarming lawabiding citizens as a solution to curtail those that break the law does not necessarily make people safer, but it certainly makes them more defenseless. On our own shores, we can find example of this line of thinking by examining the most violent cities in america. They are most likely to be ones with the strictest gun laws. If gun control advocates ignore this body of evidence, as they are wont to do, they will explore ways to eliminate this essential right in america through other means. We often see them turn to the false assertion that the Second Amendment was never intended for individuals. Remarkable, considering that James Madison insisted on enumerating inalienable individual right into the body of the constitution before he accepted the compromise to secure them through an amending process known as the bill of rights. Like all of our framers and founders, he understood common or natural law and its roots in the english bill of rights of 1689. And it guaranteed individual right to bear arms. All of our constitutional framers would have relied heavily on sir william blackstones thought on law and liberty this brilliant jurist secured complete influence among every colonial attorney and all of our Founding Fathers with his commentaries on the law published in 1765. He was explicit in his asseron that to secure individual life, liberty, and property, it was necessary, quote, to the right of having and using arms for selfpreservation and defense, end quote. It comes as no surprise, then, in the language of common and natural law so clearly understood in the context of the time, that the Second Amendment would be so highly placed in the order of individual rights at number two. Gun control advocates argue the amendment was only for militias, not individual people. Despite that argument being struck town for 225 years in Supreme Court rulings to inclue the most recent cases of heller and mcdonald in 2008 and 2010, it is instructed to instruct toiv see what the framers said themselves about the meaning of people and militias. Richard henry lee wrote in federalist number 18, the Brilliant Group of papers known as the federalist papers that argued for our constitution, said, quote, a militia properly formed are in fact the people themselves. To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them. End quote. When one examines the first and third through 10th original amendments, it is difficult to interpret any other meaning than that they apply to individuals. The Second Amendment is no exception. The Supreme Court has always agreed. The famous 14th amendment during reconstruction after black american rrs freed from slayry, you know, that famous amendment that is the most referred to, it guarantees equal protection under the law for all american citizens. It started out, and most americans are not aware of this, as a second and Fourth Amendment issue. The Southern Democratic Party lawmakers were nullifying individual liberty with their state black code laws which deprived black americans of their right to liberty, property, and to keep and bear arms as they attempted to defend their homes. Republicans fought back against these lawmakers and then led the fight to pass legislation addressing the issue in 1868. Democratic president Andrew Johnson vetoed the bill. Congress overroad it and then secured their rights forever in the 14th amendment to the constitution. In fact, the Supreme Court has determined with clarity that the constitutional individual right of americans to bear arms is guaranteed on federal enclaves such as washington, d. C. With the heller vs. District of columbia decision. In mcdonald vs. Chicago, the Supreme Court in 2010 held that the individual right extends to keeping and bearing arms through all states and territorial jurisdictions. Ok, fine, you say. But theres no reason why people need military style firearms. Those need to be banned. The framers of the constitution and the Supreme Court, strangely, to those who have this way of thinking, would disagree. In 1939, United States vs. Miller, Justice Holmes speaking for the court in the case where one mr. Miller assert head had a constitutional right to bear a sawed off shotgun without paying a special exemption tax of 200, the Supreme Court held that no such right existed on the grounds that sawed off shotguns of the very short length mr. Miller possessed were, quote, not suitable as a military type firearm if needed for common defense a paraphrase, not a quote. 1997, prince vs. The United States, Justice Clarence thomas, our most recent treatment of the Second Amendment prior to the late Supreme Court decisions. He stated that they reversed the district of columbias invalidation of the National Firearms act enacted in 1934. In miller, and this is his quote, we determined the Second Amendment did not garen guarantee the right to have a sawed off shotgun because it was not shown to be of ordinary military equipment that could, quote, contribute to the common defense. Ban military rifle, you say . Throughout our history, theyve been guaranteed as an essential portion of the defense of our liberty and our homes and our lives. What about the terror watch list . Nobody on the terror watch list ought to be able to own a firearm. The terror watch list is only on suspicion. No court, no rule of law, no jury of your peers, it is on suspicion for surveillance and can be done bureaucratcally and administratively. In fact, weve had several members of congress such as my colleague from alaska, don young, who was falsely and inadvertently put on the terror watch list. Under this line of thinking, his Second Amendment rights would be removed. We cant have these terrorists coming here and then being able to buy a firearm. They cant. People do not understand 18th u. S. Code. They dont understand the law. If you are a nonresident legal alien, you cannot possess, purchase, or receive a firearm. Its the law. There are only very small rare exceptions for that. Such as if you are approved for a specialized hunting trip or maybe you were Armed Security for a head of state for example. What about that gun show loophole, businesses shouldnt be able to sell firearms without a background check. News flash. You cannot sell a firearm under a business license without a background check. 23 you do so, whether you are on your property or off your property at a gun show, you are committing a felony and with strict sentencing laws often that are minimum sentences of 10 years or more. What about Internet Sales . You can go online and you can justed or aerorifle and theyll ship it to your home. Again, false. People do not understand the law. The United States Postal Service and our commercial carriers, they do not allow shipping of rearms except under licensed dealers. The only exception to that would be if you had a an original Manufacturers Warranty and ship it directly back to the manufacturer you should their license and they will receive it nd send it only directly back. As the only member of congress who owns a firearms manufacturing business, i know about what i speak. If someone in another state were to try to order a firearm off our website, it would never get shipped to their home or i would go to prison. Instead, we tell that person, you need to get the local firearms licensee in your area to send a Certified Copy of your license to us and theyre in a form where we can recognize what is a real license, when we receive that well ship it to him, they will do the check and you will fill out forms so you can receive your firearm. Thats the way the law works. So all of this outrage from my colleagues on the liberal left of trying to fix things, the law already exists. Its like saying, you know, we need to do something about murder. We need to make some laws to stop murder. Maybe theyll quit doing that. Oh, we already have those laws and people still commit crime. And therein is where we need to focus. Target the abusers, not the lawabiding american citizen. And d not target the republic of the most incredible constitutional form of law the world has ever known. Serious people decline to trivialize any right expressly addressed in the bill of rights. A government that abrogates any of the bill of rights with or without majority approval forever acts illegitimately and loses the moral right to govern the republic. This is the uncompromising understanding reflected in the warning that americas gun owners will not go gently into these utopian woods. While liberals and gun control advocates will take such a statement as evidence of their belief in the backwater, violent, untrustworthy nature of the armed american citizen, we gun owners hope that liberals hold equally strong conviction about their printing presses. Their internet blogs. And their television cameras. The republic depends upon the fervent devotion to all of our fundamental rights. Thats the oath we take and no president s tears will ever shake us from the defense of that constitution. Mr. Speaker, i yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Does the gentleman have a motion . Mr. Speaker, i make a motion to adjourn. The speaker pro tempore the question isen 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 until 9 00 a. M. Oversight hearing on federal agencies to produce documents requested by the committee. Carly fiorina campaigning in new hampshire. Clinton, martin omalley, Bernie Sanders speaking at a dinner in las vegas. Next, a House Oversight Committee Hearing about documents requested but not received. Witnesses represent the department of state, justice, and Homeland Security, and the office of Personnel Management and the white house budget office. Jason chaffetz chairs the threehour hearing. Committee will come to order. Is authorized to declare a recess at any time. Oversightnal investigative work does not need to be an adversarial activity. We require cooperation. It takes effort, communication, and good faith. Mr. Cummings and a have worked together quite well. Taken each others views and ideas into consideration. Our corroborative approach to oversight has yielded results. The committee has come a long way. Adopted a 195 page report on the secret service, and have written 200 letters asking for documents and testimony. When we send a letter, it is not a thank you note. It is a little tougher than that. We have written more than 200 joint letters speaks a lot to the approach we are trying to take. We need cooperation from the agencies themselves. It might be helpful to clarify our expect haitians when we talk about cooperation. Are open and transparent and selfcritical in the United States of america. That is why the congress formed this committee under a different name. It has grown, expanded, contracted, and gone through a variety of different names along the way. The function of oversight has been here since the foundation of our nation. A long time ago, people felt it wise to look at every expenditure made by the federal government. Aen the Committee Sends request, we expect an honest effort in response. We expect to munication, to be kept informed. That you will work with us in good faith, which means that when you make a commitment, do what you say you will do. Shareicans and democrats the goal of a more Efficient Government that serves the people. We have to ensure that every dollar is spent responsibly. We do that by conducting oversight of the executive branch and examine Government Programs and policies that affect every american. Invent the concept of this oversight of the executive branch. ,t comes from the constitution and comes from the need to be responsive as we represent the people of the United States of america. Group we will hear from a from five different agencies, all with the troublesome track records when cooperating with request for information. To the ideahetic that they get bombarded from so many different committees. , agencies so task massive and so big, spending billions upon billions of dollars. Department of Homeland Security has been invited to discuss a request related to the secret service and tsa. Tsa has ignored basic fundamental requests such as appearing at hearings. We invited the administrator to testify at a hearing scheduled a month later. The administrator backed out and cited a scheduling problem. We invited the Justice Department to address a position on withholding the memos that guided investigative personnel when dealing with gps tracking devices. We also hope to get an update on a request for the latest lois lerner files. State department is here to address specifically the difficulty of obtaining documents in our investigation entering its third year. Always approaches the production of documents and a halfhearted manner. That is very problematic. Today, there is a story about providing in Accurate Information as it relates to Hillary Clinton and her emails. We will ask you some questions about that. The office of management and budget is here to address a toponse to a subpoena i sent the office of information and regulatory affairs. It is an office created by congress, and its job is to review proposed regulation. To create the impairments that it is cooperating, omb offered a number of pages of documents it has produced. A flashing signal that maybe there is a problem. When they want to talk about the number of documents they have produced, im not interested in that. Im interested in the percentage of documents you have produced. Have a trick to say we provided this or that, tell me what percentage of the documents we get. If we want 100 of the truth, we need 100 of the documents. Until we get them, it makes us think that you are hiding something. The office of Personnel Management has been invited to discuss the effort to produce materials with response to the data breached investigation. Opm has burdened the investigators by applying inexplicable reductions. Publicly available information has been repeatedly redacted by opm. In some cases, answers have been found more readily by visiting the upsid website. It leaves us with the conclusion that perhaps they have a lot to hide. Embarrassing,s that is not a reason to keep it from the congress. A successful working relationship between the Congressional Committee and the executive Branch Agencies require effort, communication, and good faith on both sides. We need transparency and need to work together. We have a lot of good staff, a lot of good people. Disparage anye to one persons reputation, but we are here to get answers, and we to make sure we get those documents. We need your help in doing so. With that, i recognize the Ranking Member, mr. Cummings. I strongly support the authority of this committee to obtain the necessary documents as part of our investigation. These documents are a critical tool to investigate waste, fraud, or abuse, eliminate. Uplication we rely on other sources of testimony, witness interviews, briefings, and meetings. Ocuments are unique they give us the ability to understand what happens over time without having to rely on memories or selfserving recollection of those being investigated. I support the committees of authority because i have been in the chairman seat. I know firsthand how oversight slowingpiteful by documents or withholding information to which congress is entitled. I remember very well the fights we had with the Bush Administration over their refusal to provide documents we needed. Remember how those actions impaired our ability to do our work. Unfortunately, i have also seen how investigations can be used as a form of political attack, rather than search for the fact and the truth. I have seen how massive, repeated, and over wrought document requests have been used as a partisan weapon. Forceeen how they can diverts to personnel and waste millions of dollars in the process. It is important to recognize the difference between these two purposes. We need to recognize not only the significant demands that have been placed on the agencies, but what they have provided to date. For example, the state department has just experienced one of, if not the most, most amending years in terms of congressional inquiries. The state department is currently reporting to nine different committees, including the benghazi select committee. It has been inundated with requests unlike any Previous Year on record. Oversight committee a loan launched nine investigations relating to the state department. In response, the department provided more than 21 gigabytes of information. Our as part of investigation of Embassy Construction, more than 160,000 pages of documents were produced. Committee wants additional documents. I have signed on to some of those document requests myself. It is inaccurate to suggest that the state department has intentionally withheld the documents we need. With that said, the state for anent is notorious extreme report Record Management system. This problem dates back several administrations. Frustratedncredibly in the past with the state departments inability to run the most basic document searches and produce documents in a timely manner. In my opinion, the solution to this problem is not to shame the heads of the legislative Affairs Offices. Many officials worked in congress previously. They fully understand our needs and our rights to the information. Some of our most Effective Advocates within the agency. We really want to address this problem, we can take to key steps. Arst, congress can conduct detailed review of Agency Management practices, including document preservation, collection, and redaction. Longterm efforts to upgrade and improve their systems so they take less agency time to implement and provide congress what it needs more quickly. Im talking about efficiency and effectiveness. This work will pay dividends to congress, the press, and the american public. The second thing congress can do is to take a closer look at itself. Put a mirror up to our faces. End thein th politicallymotivated headlines. End duplicate requests. Wecan ask for only what really need, rather than everything under the sun. We can work with agencies to legitimatethe interests in protecting certain classes of information, well giving accommodations for what we need to do our job. That is the balance that we should seek. That is the balance we should work towards. Closing, mr. Chairman, i hope we can explore some of these issues here today, and i look for to the testimony of our witnesses. I yield back. Recordaffetz i hold the open for five legislative days for any written statements. I recognize our panel of witnesses. Thestant secretary of bureau of legislative affairs at the United States department of state. Assistant attorney general for legislative affairs at the department of justice. The honorable assistant secretary of the office of legislative affairs of Homeland Security. Associate director for legislative affairs at the office of management and budget. Director of office of the Congressional Affairs for the office of Personnel Management. Thank you for being here. All witnesses are sworn before they testify. If you will please stand and raise your right hand. Thank you. Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give will be the whole truth, nothing but the truth . Thank you. Let the record reflect that all witnesses answered in the affirmative. You know the drill here. We are trying to keep it to five minutes. We will give you a little latitude. Insert yourously entire written record statement into the record. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member cummings, and members of the committee, i appreciate this opportunity to testify. The state department is committed to working with congress. Secretary kerry spent 30 years and congress and believes strongly in the importance of congressional oversight. Since he arrived at the state department, hughes instructions to the department have been his instructions to the department have been to be responsive. I share his commitment. Career as antire capitol hill staffer. I have Great Respect for the role in oversight. The request for documents at length. It is important to underscore that our willingness to work with congress is not limited to documents. The state Department Legislative Affairs Office provided 2500 briefings to the hill on foreignpolicy issues. We worked with consular affairs. From loss reports to missing constituents overseas. We arranged over 500 congressional member and staff delegation trips abroad and have appeared at 168 congressional hearings and responded to 1700 congressional letters. With crises around the world and congress focused on foreignpolicy, we are working hard to meet all responsibilities and recognize that cooperating with investigations is one of them. The state department have struggled to keep pace with the increasing demands of requests, which have expanded the number and complexity. We are responding to dozens of investigations by nine different committees, involving hundreds of requests for hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. This is twice as many as last year. While some of the investigations are our focus, others are broad and complex. Be clear, we know it is our responsibility to answer these questions, and we are working to improve the way respond, making it more useful for congress and the pace of our response. Historically in responding to congressional requests, we follow a process similar to other requests, relying on the same infrastructure and technology. Increase him a we found both were competing for the same resources. To compensate, we pulled together ad hoc teams from functional and regional bureaus to respond. We pulled people from the work of diplomacy to respond to congress. This system is not sustainable. To institutionalize the way we process documents to speed up the pace of delivery. We knew we had upgrade our technology. This year we have been transforming the way we respond. I worked with my colleagues at state to create a congressional document Production Branch in which involves personnel and new software to facilitate reviews and production. We are grateful that congress to establish this new entity to provide additional personnel and technology. Weve been able to process more quickly requests from this committee, select committee on been cozzi on benghazi, and other committees. Enabling us to respond to more committees simultaneously than ever before. Because the Production Branch is only a few months old, its impact is not apparent yet. This committee should see the results as we work on your request. Additionally, we have made tangible improvements to the way we produce documents to congress. We heard from staff, including yours, who had concerns that we were providing documents in a way that was not userfriendly. We used to provide documents on paper, without coding, that enabled you to find and organize them. We would hand of her boxes of documents. , who meeting with staff told us how hard it was to use documents in this format, we change the way we give you documents and now provide them electronically with easily searchable base numbers. We can now provide documents organized by date or custodian. The ability to review is vastly expanded. The move towards electronic document processing has improved our ability to provide documents quickly and enjoy them and easier to review. I would like to summarize where we are and where we hope to go. We are working on nine investigations for your committee. We have provided over 160,000 pages to the committee for Embassy Construction and have participated in for hearings and many meetings and briefings. I do note that i did here with the chairman said, and i understand. Have been collecting documents for the five requests outlined in your december 18 letter, and are committed to producing thousands of pages, along with providing briefings on the matters described in the letter. In closing, while we have implemented significant improvements, we are striving to do better. The obstacles to responding is not one. It is a question of balancing resources in response to multiple, largescale request from a number of different committees. Innovativeng to find ways to respond better and faster. I look for to working with you and your staff to ensure the state department and Congress Work together to provide transparency that should be the hallmark of our government. Rep. Chaffetz thank you. You are now recognized for five minutes. Good morning. Chaffetz if you could is that better . Rep. Chaffetz thank you. The opportunity to respond to the committees information requests, including those related to policy and geolocation and other Surveillance Technology in the wake of the Supreme Court 2012 decision. Assure the committee that we value the Important Role of congressional oversight, and as the attorney general has stated repeatedly, the department is committed to accommodating information needs consistent with Law Enforcement come National Security, and prosecutorial responsibilities. The department appreciates oversight is a critical underpinning of the legislative process. Consistent with the bite we play some congressional oversight, since the beginning of the 114 congress, the department has testified and 60 congressional hearings and provided extensive information and more than 1800 letters responding to increase from committees and members. In every instance, we strive to provide as much information as possible without compromising our Law Enforcement and National Security efforts, or our prosecutorial responsibilities. In addition to these sensitivities, the Department Also has an obligation to protect Certain Executive Branch institutional interests, including confidentiality of client communication, attorney work product, and internal deliberation. We are committed to working in good faith to accommodate the committees legitimate oversight interest and hope the committee will likewise continue to engage in good faith with the department in a manner that recognizes the important Law Enforcement and confidentiality interests presented in some cases. Trust thelar, we committee recognizes the importance of ensuring the departments investigative and prosecutorial decisions are made without regard to Political Considerations or a perception of political influence or pressure. And theitical influence mere Public Perception of such influence can undermine significantly our Law Enforcement efforts and in publicl matters shake confidence in the justice process. We recognize it is difficult when interest come into potential conflict. That is why the constitution envisioned that the branches would engage in a process of accommodation. This longstanding and wellaccepted approach has been up lloyd by administrations for decades and supported by Top Department officials, democrats and republicans alike. Consistent with this approach, the department has made efforts to respond to the committees information requests regarding on geolocation and other Surveillance Technology. As the committee is aware, these represent significant confidentiality interests. They include sensitive Law Enforcementrelated confidential work product prepared in anticipation of litigation, specifically internal deliberations of department prosecutors about the legal come investigative, and Strategic Issues we face in our Law Enforcement efforts in light of the jones decision. Our disclosure of this product would show analyses that are essential to Law Enforcement matters and prosecution. In addition, exposure could jeopardize ongoing and future investigations of prosecutions by prematurely revealing the governments strategy. Such disclosure would afford criminal targets an opportunity to preempt those tools, eve ate Law Enforcement detection, and attain knowledge of how our agents operate. Evade Law Enforcement detection, and attain knowledge of how our agents operate. Undertakenent has efforts to working good faith to accommodate the committees interests. We were pleased to brief Committee Staff less september on the processes we use for obtaining geolocation information. We hope our breathing was helpful to the committee, and as we have offered previously, we would be happy to offer additional briefings and answer any remaining questions to accommodate request. In conclusion, i emphasized that the department recognizes the importance of congressional oversight. Time, as it implicates lawenforcement efforts and investigative techniques, sensitive attorney , internalct decorations, presenting unique confidentiality concerns. Despite these concerns, we remain optimistic, and by working to gather cooperatively, satisfy interests and safeguard the independence, integrity, and effectiveness of the departments of the departments vital Law Enforcement efforts and prosecutorial responsibility. The department stands ready to continue this effort and accommodate information needs and hope you will work with us towards that goal. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I will be happy to answer any questions. Rep. Chaffetz thank you. Mr. Johnson, we look forward to hearing your testimony. Committee roles require that you submit testimony 24 hours prior. You give your opening statement, you can explain why you failed to provide this committee with your testimony. You are now recognized for five minutes. You, mr. Chairman. Ranking member cummings and distinguished members of the committee, i appreciate the opportunity to discuss efforts, time, resources, and money that dedicates to providing information. Secretary johnson pledged transparency and candor and is committed to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely fashion. , the his arrival departments responsiveness to oversight requests has greatly improved. Year, thest department examined its responses to congressional inquiries and found that it cut its Response Time in half. Chairmanore appreciate we areix statement determined to continue to improve on our record. Dhs, i servedg to as an officer in the u. S. Officer for almost 30 years. As a senior colonel, i was assigned to the office of the assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs. We were still involved in combat operations in iraq and afghanistan. These two operations, as well as the detainee mission, generated a significant amount of congressional oversight. I was involved in that oversight process, which i thought was considerable at the time. Dhs,er, upon my arrival at i was surprised to learn of the depth, breadth, and quantity of congressional oversight this department faces. In 2004, the 9 11 commission strongly recommended that congress form a congressional oversight structure of dhs. Witness told the commission, the number of congressional bodies that exercise oversight over dhs is perhaps the single largest obstacle impeding the departments successful development. With jurisdiction over both oversight and government reform, your committee is uniquely positioned to help foster efforts to implement this crucial 9 11 commission recommendation. In the 12 years since the commission issue that recommendation, the oversight structure of the department has more complex and extensive. The department answers to 92 Congressional Committees and subcommittees, 27 caucuses, commissions, and groups. As the 9 11 Commission Chairman peoplehink of having 100 youre reporting to. It makes no sense. You cannot do your job under those circumstances. Despite these challenges, we are doing our job. During calendar year 2015, dhs responded to 700 oversight letters and more requests. Of those, 70 letters came from members of this committee. We have responded to oversight inquiries on a broad array of topics ranging from secret Service Protective Mission to dhs assistance of victims of cyber breaches. Than15, dhs devoted more 100,000 hours to responding to congressional oversight. To addressring is the departments response to oversight requests and demands regarding the United States secret service. During calendar year 2015, dhs and the secret Service Received 12 letters, over 100 requests for information, testimony, or documents in one subpoena from this committee. We have completed addressing over 90 of those requests. Secret service has provided 13 briefings to Committee Staff, eight employees of the secret service participated in daylong transcribed interviews conducted by the Committee Staff. As secret Service Leadership has specified a to Committee Hearings, and at the chairmans request, we facilitated a visit to secret Service Headquarters from embers of the in total, the department has produced over 10,000 pages of documents, in addition to thousands of classified documents. These efforts have submitted hard work to respond to the inquiries of the secret service from the independent panel, various investigations by the inspector general, and the oversight requirements of 10 other Congressional Committees. Secretary johnson has made responsiveness a priority. As his assistant secretary of legislative affairs, i am determined to continue to improve on our past record. Mr. Chairman and ranking