Sue coppedge had been nominated to lead the state departments efforts to prevent Human Trafficking. She discussed the issue at her Senate Confirmation hearing. Senator bob corker chairs the Foreign Relations committee. The hearing is 45 minutes. Senate of Foreign Relations committee will come to order. Today, before us we have Susan Coppedge to head the tip off for state. Im thrilled that shes here. I just came from a meeting this morning. I was over at a church here on the hill. There were people here from all over the country to push the legislation that we unanimously passed out of the Foreign Relations committee under your leadership as chairman of the modern Slavery Initiative act. It was pretty overwhelming. I know i try to stay out of pulpits. This was the only place from which i could speak today that had a microphone, but it was pretty overwhelming to see the numbers of people up here who care so deeply about this issue from all over the country. And the issue of trafficking of persons in slavery is something thats not a democrat issue. Its not a republican issue. Its not an independent issue. Its just a moral issue. It doesnt take major decision memos that sit on president s desks. It takes all of us diligently fighting to deal with this most abhorrent thing and that is trafficking persons and the whole issue of slavery in general. Im so thrilled with todays hearing. Im so appreciative and proud of our committee for what weve begun to do, and i think we have some momentum around this issue. But Susan Coppedges nomination couldnt come at a better time. I dont think theres anybody that was a part of the briefing last week that doesnt believe theres at least some degree of integrity that we need to challenge relative to the 2014 tip report. 2015 tip report. Im sorry. I just somethings a mess there. I want to thank senator cardin and senator menendez and senator perdue and others who were there. Im sorry. I dont think weve had an advocate at the state. I dont know we havent had an advocate. We havent had anybody in the position since 2014, so to have somebody of this caliber who is absolutely first rate, who has lived a life around this issue and has been so committed, is makes this a great day for our country. I hope after her testimony today well move quickly to have her confirmed. Im thrilled that shes here. And i think with her and her breeding some integrity and some advocacy thats been missing in this program will do a lot not just to restore, if you will, our preeminence in the world around this issue. Im sorry. I think we have lost a degree of that. That has nothing to do with our nominee. I actually believe were on the verge of doing something relative to slavery that is going to show real u. S. Leadership. For that reason, im very pleased that susan has agreed to be nominated and to go through the process of this hearing and hopefully to assume this role, which is so important to people around the world that live in poverty and basically, lets face it. They have no access to the criminal Justice System because they just dont have the ability unlike People Like Us that are u. S. Senators and people in the audience that have status in the world. So many people in poverty just dont, and therefore are trafficked, are abused, and lives lives of complete misery. And our nation can do something about it. With susans leadership in the tip office, to me, is one of the essential Building Blocks to make that happen. Im sorry my comments were so long. Ill turn it over to our esteemed Ranking Member and thank him for his lifelong commitment to human rights. Mr. Chairman, i concur with everything you said. Ms. Coppedge, thank you very much for your willingness to step forward at this very important time. This is extremely important position. It will talk a great deal of your energy and time. We thank you for your willingness to serve our country. I also want to thank your family because this is not easy on family. We know that, and we thank them for their willingness to share you with our country in carrying out one of our most important functions. Senator corkers absolutely right. Modernday slavery, this is something that has to end. The number of people who are caught up in victims of trafficking is staggering. Its in tens of millions. The profit to illegal entities by trafficking is in the hundreds of billions of dollars, so were talking about a huge area of profit for criminal activities and an incredible human rights violation of our time. It is modernday slavery, and we need to continue to be in the forefront. I first got engaged in this under the Helsinki Commission where we made this a u. S. Priority in the osce. We were successful in establishing a trafficking kbhee within the ose. Chris smith has been one of the great leaders on the issue of u. S. Legislation on trafficking. It was about 15 years ago that we passed the trafficking of persons statute here. I have visited Victim Assistance Centers around the world and seen firsthand those who have been victimized by traffickers. Ive seen the consequences to families. Ive seen the labor abuses that have taken place through trafficking, and it has to be our top priority. So the position that we are looking at today, the person who will head our tip office, has a Critical Mission to play because the u. S. Is the leadership globally on this issue, and the world watches what we do and how we respond. And our key person would be the person who will have this confirmed position that we are talking about today, and its critically important that that person be effective in dealing with the undersecretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights in discussions that take place with that undersecretary and the undersecretary for Political Affairs and our regional secretaries as they review progress being made in every country in the world so when the decision is made by the secretary of state on the tip report, it is the person who holds the confirmed position were talking about today who has been effective in getting the objectivity of revealing countries rankings on the tip report. So i very much look forward, ms. Coppedge, to your testimony, but also to a quick confirmation. You have senator isakson on your side. You couldnt have a person we are more impressed with his opinions than senator isakson. We hope we can move this quickly and get a confirmed position in head of the office. Thank you, senator cardin. Well now turn to our witness. As senator cardin mentioned, johnny isakson, our great friend and esteemed colleague, is going to introduce her, which makes it an almost unanimous assent on the floor. You know the drill. If you, in fact, have another meeting to go to, theres no reason for you to stay during her testimony, but we thank you very much for being the kind of person you are. We are glad someone from your state, which embodies all those values that you do here, is willing to ascend do this job. We look forward to your intersecti introduction and so much for your service. Thank you. I appreciate the privilege of doing this is a twofer for me. About a year ago, i had the privilege of introducing sally yates to the judiciary committee. Today, im going to introduce Susan Coppedge. Im honored and privileged to be able to do so. There are lots of things i could say about this lady, but the best thing i can say is shes been there and done that. The cortez mesa case, which resulted in the conviction of ten pimps and profiteers, not only did she obtain long sentences, but she got restitution for those who were trafficked. Then the u. S. Versus pipken case where she put away two of the most notorious criminals coming out of mexico into the United States of america. In terms of drugs, organized crime, Human Trafficking, and illicit activity. She has been the lead prosecutor and has prosecuted a number of highprofile cases all of which resulted not only in conviction but recognition for outstanding u. S. Service. Shes a very articulate, educated individual, but i have to tell you an irony. The day secretary kerry interviewed her for this job was the day duke won the National Championship in basketball. She was that was an omen for today. It is a privilege to introduce one of georgias outstanding attorneys and one who understands the sensitivity of the chairman and the rankin member on manipulation of the numbers in the tip and is committed to seeing we have vetted information. Thank you. Thank you so much. As usual, an outstanding job. Our witness is Susan Coppedge. We look forward to your testimony. Thank you for being here. [ inaudible ]. Hearing today to monitor and combat trafficking persons. Senator isakson, thank you so much for that introduction. Im honored and humbled by the confidence that president obama and secretary kerry have placed in me to serve our nation in continuing the global fight against Human Trafficking. I want to thank my husband, who is here today. Without his support and love for me and our children, i could not do this job. My father is here. My sister, my cousin, my brotherinlaw, many of my friends from the u. S. Attorneys office in atlanta are here, colleagues and friends and fellow classmates from duke and from stanford are also here. Over my career, i have worked on cases that have assisted more than 90 individuals in leaving their victimization, and in many cases, those individuals participated in the process of bringing their exploiters to justice. I have worked with and trained federal, state, and local Law Enforcement. I have partnered with ngos, nongovernmental organizations, faith groups, and concerned citizens in georgia who provide services to victims. Finally, i have educated jurors and judges that modern slavery often does not involve locks on the doors or victims who are willing to come forward. Human trafficking involves more subtle forms of exploitation and coercion. Everyone who cares about this fight is to ensure the dignity of all individuals. It is one of the greatest human rights causes of our time. We must assume our responsibility to stop this heinous crime and to address the conditions such as violent conflict, poverty, and discrimination that contribute to making individuals vulnerable. With the leadership of president obama, secretary kerry, and undersecretary sul, as well as the members of this committee, who i know are dedicated to this fight, i know we can raise the priority of Human Trafficking. If confirmed, i commit to using this position passionately to advocate for the rights of individuals to be free from forced labor or sex trafficking. For victims to have access to comprehensive services, for survivors to be empowered to have a voice in policy, and for an end to the trafficking of human beings. If confirmed, i will seek to engage every segment of the u. S. Government to integrate antitrafficking policies into our nations Foreign Policy goals. If confirmed, i pledge to do my utmost to uphold the integrity of the annual trafficking and persons report and its tier rankings, including by ensuring that facts from the field are accurately represented in the report. The report is respected around the world and is used in countless counts to increase prosecutions, enhance protections, and increase prevention of the crime. If confirmed, i pledge to work closely with the many nongovernmental organizations and stake holders doing critical work in this arena and partner with those in the Business Community who seek strong policies ensuring human labor practices. I would like to close with the story of a survivor i had the chance to know while i prosecuted her trafficker. She was 16 when juan cortez romanced her in mexico, promising her a better life here in the United States. Instead, cortez mesa smuggled carolina across the border and gave her the most shocking news of her life. He expected her to sleep with 20 to 30 men a night in his high volume low cost prostitution fir business. Then he told her it was the only way she could make money. Then when his deception and coercion were insufficient, he beat her to force her to continue. I had the privilege of being with carolina as she bravely spoke to the federal judge who heard her case, sharing her pain in describing how she cried every night. Only the walls could hear my cries is what carolina told him. That day at trial, atlanta heard carolina and today sharing this story with you, the United States hears carolina. The indelible memory of her and survivors like her fuels my commitment to antitrafficking work. There are many people in this room and listening today who are as passionate as i am. Each of us mplays a part in thi connected fight in helps survivors worldwide and in supporting governments, nongovernmental organizations, and citizens to end modern slavery. I so look forward to working with the members of this committee and others in our shared fight. Thank you again for your consideration, and i look forward to answering any questions that you have. Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. And again, for your commitment to this issue. I think youre aware we had a meeting last week off the senate floor. We talked a little bit about some of our concerns with the current tip office. I realize theres no one there in your position and there hasnt been anyone there since november of 2014, but the tip report tier rankings are reviewed and differences adjudicated at the undersecretary level as we understand it and ultimately by the secretary of state. Whats your understanding of the tip Office Director in that process . My understanding is that the tip Office Director, the position that im being considered for, is the person who first marshals with the office staff all the facts from the field, who spends the year engaging our missions, the state departments bureaus, and facts to that office. Then the ambassador, the director of the office, advocates for the role that the tip office believes and the rankings that tip office believes those facts dictate. What are some of the kind of things that you think sometimes come into play to keep those tip rankings from being what they should be . Well, i havent been part of the process yet, so im kind of watching from the sidelines. I dont want to be a monday morning quarterback and critique the team on sunday, but i will do my best to ensure the integrity of the report and let people know that report needs to be based on facts to uphold its integrity. Its our understanding over time theres been a good deal of attrition in the office possibly due to lack of focus and lack of leadership. Youll change that hugely when you assume that role. Can you tell us what your commitment is internally in the office in assuming this position . As part of the nomination met with the individuals who work in that office. Im very impressed by their d dedication to the fight against Human Trafficking. They work hard and they care deeply about the issue. I hope to be a good leader to them, and i look forward to working with the individuals who are there. One of the things we all do i had dinner with senator perdue last week. We were talking about the fact just the experience of being in other countries over a period of time ends up creating a body of knowledge that is second to none. Its amazing, i think, what all of us have learned by going to other parts of the world, understanding cultures, seeing whats happening there. Its my understanding that the tip office has had a limited travel budget and because of constraints many of their officers arent out doing those things. Obviously, that effects things in a big way. I wonder what your take on that is and what your commitment to people getting out and seeing on the ground firsthand whats happening. Im committed to going to countries and doing that. I do believe that meeting people face to face and building those relationships, working not just be governments, but with citizens and nongovernmental organizations in the country who frequently supply information to the tip office, meeting with those individuals, is very important. I think im well situated having been on the front lines in prosecuting these cases myself to talk to people about the hurdles and the obstacles. I look forward to doing that in the field. What is your understanding of how the action plans for each country is developed . Senator, my understanding is with the recommendations that are in the tip report that everyone can read, those recommendations form the basis for the action plans for the countries. The u. S. Is certainly encouraging other countries to meet those goals and those suggestions in the tip report to increase their rankings. Will you commit to working closely with us on the committee and making us aware if at any time you feel other forces are keeping your voice from being heard and the primary reason that youre assuming this job is being mitigated because of other forces . Will you work with us in that regard and ensure that is not the case . Senator corker, i look forward to working with this committee because there are so many members who are passionate and committed to the fight against trafficking. I look forward to open communications with this committee. I just want to say again to have someone who like most of us here know individuals, have met individuals, have defended individuals, have caused justice to come about for individuals, assuming this role certainly is something thats good for our country and great for those who, again, dont have today access to justice. And i hope youll take the same commitment i think you will relative to what you did in the case you described earlier. I hope youll maintain that and carry that with you to the state department as you assume this position. I want to thank you for your willingness. I want to thank your family for their willingness. With that, ill turn to Ranking Member cardin. Did senator isakson know he might be losing some georgians with this . We know how to deal with that. I welcome you. I just really want to underscore the point that chairman corker made just to, as understand the process on the rankings, the work that you do in your Office Working with the missions around the country and working with ngos, the factual circumstances in every country, the initial work is down and accumulated by your office. That works its way to determinations as to whether theres any disagreement as to the ranking for the coming year on the tip report. My understanding is that normally about 80 plus of the countries theres no disagreement and those rankings are just routinely accepted by the secretary and are included in the annual tip report, but there are a number of where there are some disagreements. The disagreements usually occur between your office and the regional secretaries working through the various missions. That then is elevated to the undersecretaries, and the undersecretary for civilian security is advocating on behalf of your position and the regional secretaries will usually advocate on behalf of the mission. Your role is to take a look at the human rights issue of trafficking. The regional secretaries may have other areas of concern and relationships with countries they must take into consideration. Trafficking is just one of the agenda issues. So the point i just really wanted to underscore as that process moving forward, its critically important that the director have input into the undersecretary for civilian security, democracy, and human rights so that the principal objective used in determining the rankings are the progress made in trafficking, and thats where we need a strong advocate and an effective advocate. In order to achieve that, you need to build support for the trafficking agenda, and i couldnt help but think as you were talking about carolina that thats exactly what you need to do. You need to put a face on this. When i talk about tens of millions, people say, what else is new. When you talk about an individual who has gone through the tragedy of being trafficked, that motivates people to understand why this is important, so i guess i would urge you to look at creative ways where you can build stronger support so that your recommendations will have stronger weight with the undersecretaries as they make their recommendation to the deputy secretary and the secretary of state. And you need to find, i hope, creative ways working with the Ngo Community to be able to personalize this. It affects all of our communities and we can do something about it and it starts with the u. S. Objective evaluation of every countries efforts and what they can do to improve their efforts. My point is that i know youre committed to this, but i want you to understand youre going to reach some barriers in getting the results that you want because we have complicated relations with countries around the world, and theyre not just human rights issues. Theyre other issues. We have a meeting with the chinese head of state coming up on friday. I would hope human rights would be top on the agenda, but somehow i have a feeling that cybersecurity and Maritime Security and all those other issues are going to be talked about at greater length than some of the human rights issues i would like to see elevated in that discussion. Its your responsibility in this position to be able to elevate the trafficking issues as these debates take place well before the decisions on the rankings. Just to get your reaction as to how you will try to carry that out . That was a great pep talk for me going into the job on things i need to consider and work diligently at. I know relationships are not built just at the time the tip report comes out, and i want to build those relationships throughout the year at the state department. And i want to integrate Human Trafficking along with those other issues that you mentioned because there are multiple parts to u. S. Diplomacy and u. S. Trafficking needs to be an integral part and one of those parts that are considered. You have a lot of friends on this issue. You have friends in the United States senate and the Ngo Community. Just utilize the strength we have. Im pleased that this issue has gained strength through advocacy groups here and around the world. You need to be the leader to focus us on where we can be the most effective in helping you. If we know where problems exist in the political structure to make progress, we can help you in doing that. If you feel thats not your role, we may miss an opportunity. Your independent objective information to us becomes critically important. Thank you, senator. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator cardin. Were going through a period of time where this issue, im sorry, not a focus. We havent done what we said we would do and people are dead and people are leaving. In malaysia, i dont know exactly whats happened, but i dont think the tip office was heard at all. I dont think the issue of trafficking of persons has even been on the radar screen in modern times. Im sorry. Its a blight on our country, and youre entering at a time when all of us want to see that change. I think thats what he just said, but with that, senator isakson. Let me follow up on that, mr. Chairman and rankin member. I was reading some of her history in terms of cases. The cortez mesa case, one thing i didnt say in the introduction that i should have, but in her 15 years in the Northern District of virginia, she has spent a lot of time advocating on behalf of the victims of Human Trafficking. The rotary club where david mcleery has heard her speech, they adopted Human Trafficking as their number one issue. They have raised money, has traveled across the country, to try to raise the awareness of that. Were politicians. We make a lot of speeches. We can talk about these things. Sometimes theyre heard. Sometimes theyre not. If you can tell those stories of the 21 cases you prosecuted in the Northern District of virginia, it would do a world of good to help us raise that visibility as well. Secondly in reading background material, you have taught, as i understand, in new zealand. Have you worked with their judiciaries or their legislatures . Tell us about that. Ive worked with training Law Enforcement locally in georgia, federally in the United States, and internationally in new zealand and thailand. Law enforcement is overwhelmed with people coming forward to report crimes where Human Trafficking victims dont always come forward. The victims are often afraid of Law Enforcement or ashamed of whats been happening to them, so they fearful of coming forward and working with Law Enforcement. So when i was in those countries, i was talking to Law Enforcement about how you move through some of the obstacles in prosecuting those cases. I was also stressing a victimcentered approach in investigations and prosecutions. We never had a case where a victim wasnt willing to cooperate in the atlanta u. S. Attorneys office, but if a victim didnt want to pursue a case, its the victims rights that should prevail in that instance. Sanctuary cities have gotten a lot of publicity over the incident that took place in san francisco. Am i correct that there are sanctuary countries that exist for Human Trafficking today on the face of the earth . Im not aware of that. I know there are some countries that dont comply with the minimum standards. Thats the kind of information we want make to make sure we have so we dont mask somebody who might be harboring Human Trafficking elements. Yes, senator. Were proud of you. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Ms. Coppedge, conintegratigratun your nomination. When senator isakson vouches for you, it has enormous weight with this senator. I dont think he just did that because you come from georgia. We had a very good conversation. I want to follow up on a couple of the things we talked about. While i know you werent there, i hope you have an understanding of why many members of this committee have a concern about the 2015 tip report has it realities to malaysia and cuba and other countries where the narrative of why a country was upgraded from a tier 3 worst standard to a tier 2 just doesnt fit the upgrade. So without commenting on whether its right or wrong, you have an understanding as to why members have a concern about the 2015 tip report. Is that fair to say . Yes, senator. Ive been following all your hearings on this matter. Hopefully, its not on the reruns at night on cspan. Knowing that, knowing what the concerns are as it relates to that the upgrade, how do you plan to appropriately, but nonetheless push back . Im looking for someone who is going to be a staunch advocate for the work that the people at the tip office do. I think its difficult when your work gets crushed from up above to still have the passion and the commitment. It has to be diminished somewhat, and so this office needs a leader who will not only lead in the work and make sure that the information is as full and as transparent and as powerful to reflect the realities of a given country, but it also needs a leader at the table inside of the department whereas it has been said there are competing interests. I would be more respectful of the competing interests being said we need, for example, malaysia in the transpacific partnership. We think thats important to asia. I might disagree with that, but at least we respect that. We need this country because we have a security objective. I can understand those. I cannot understand Carte Blanche that there were upgrades because they did the right thing. I find that hard to believe. With that as the basis, i want to get a sense of what you will do internally in the state department in this process when your people have come to conclusions and now its time to advocate, how strong of an advocate will you be understanding that you will have superiors that may have a different view . I just want to get a sense of that from you. Thank you, senator me mnende. I will be a champion for the individuals in the tip office and the work they do. Part of my job is to take the facts, present them to a jury of 12 people, and convince them that that those facts are a violation of the law. Thats very similar to the work that the tip office does. They gather facts from the field, they present those to the state department and the individuals who make the decision, and convince them with the tier rankings should be. I feel my job is to speak truth to power. I will speak that truth. One thing is presenting facts to a jury. The other thing is did you ever in your 15 years of experience at the u. S. Attorneys office face a set of circumstances and i dont need the specifics of face a set of circumstances in which something was taking place that you felt you had to speak out . It could have been something that should have been prosecuted or something that was going to be prosecuted that you felt there was a judgment that should be prosecuted or anything like that that you had to face in those 15 years that was not the easy flow of saying, okay, but that you actually faced a moment in which you felt you had to tell your superiors i think this is the wrong judgment . I have told my superiors that. Im a squeaky wheel. I argue for my position very forcefully. Lucki luckily, we have excellent leadership that recognizes that no one case is worth tarnishing the reputation of justice in our community, so the office has been very supportive when i have spoken up and felt strongly about issues. Let me ask you will you work i heard your answer to senator corker, but i want to understand if this committee and members ask for information, will you be indisposed to give that information to the committee as we are making decisions . I committed to open dialogue throughout the year and not just before the chip report is released. Am i to take away from your answers underneath that southern genteelness that you have, theres an iron will to do what is right here . There is an iron will to do what is right because of the individuals i have met in Human Trafficking cases. You senators are their voices and i will remind you of that just as you have reminded me of my responsibilities. With that understanding, i look forward to supporting your nomination. Thank you, senator menendez. Under that new jersey tough accent, theres a guy that cares about people in this type of situation. Mr. Chairman, im glad youre an interpreter for the committee. You know, in her case, i need to be one. Let me just say we did have a meeting at the end of the weekend, a closed meeting. We did that for the benefit of the state department so we would not have media there and other things. I have since that time asked for three specific pieces of information from them just for you to know because i know people will be asked you that in the hallway to really understand what has happened. Instead of sweeping three very specific things that came up during tony blankens testimony. I do hope they will provide that now. We are asking for them to reply immediately. This shouldnt take any time to get to us. And if not, i would like to talk to the committee about next steps to force that to happen. I just wanted to make yall aware. I know most of us are very unsatu unsatisfied with the testimony that occurred last week. With that, senator perdue . Welcome, ms. Coppedge. For the record, i want to remind those of us here that this issue could have been swept under. We could have taken that tip report, put it on a shelf, and let it sit there. I want to commend the Ranking Member, senator cardin, and our chairman, senator corker, for not letting that happen. I think that you have four of our most distinguished senators of the time sitting before you today, these four gentlemen are very dedicated to this issue personally. Theyre here because of this nomination and how important it is. I applaud all of them for that. Im honored that, mr. Chairman, that our nominee today from georgia. Ive watched her in the last decade attack this with a vigor. I think your question, mr. Menend menendez, should have been directed to her husband about the iron will. I applaud the work youve been doing. Youre coming on a new level now in a new stage. I want to clear a couple things for the record that we talked about last week. In my career in business, ive been very sensitive to this idea of taking advantage of the weak in our societies around the world. Every cultures a little different. This is a major impediment to me for international trade. And one of the things that make us one world and a Peaceful World is the fact we dont take advantage and we dont stand for people who take advantage of the weak among us and yet children have been definite victims of global issues and power struggles around the world. Today in this 15 report i do want to talk to you about children soldiers. Child labor has been a topic for the last 50 years as globalization has taken root. There are eight countries in this tip report like sudan and yemen that are listed as countries that have forces that openly have children soldiers. I know you have a sensitive spot in your heart about this. This is a little bit different level than what youve been dealing with and not all of these countries are on this years reports worst level. My question is as we look forward, will the fact that tier 3, countries that have children soldiers, is that a major issue with regard to countries being placed on tier 3 . Senator, child soldiering is a horrible issue that everyone is against in this room, and im glad that you brought it up. The tip report does list every year countries that engage children as soldiers or children as workers in their armies or armed forces and thats required by the child soldier prevention acted. It is listed in the tip report, and it is certainly one of the factors that is evaluated in the report when looking at the tier rankings. Are you hopeful we can eliminate that . Im hopeful we can do lots of things, senator. That is on the list. Yes, sir. Along with that, youve heard discussed here today and one of our concerns of this tip report is the efficacy of the report. But we now learn that in this report in 2015 there are several countries that just dont comply. Several years germany has not provided information. We have no reason to suspect theyre not a continuing tier 1 operator. India has not provided information. Theyre still solidly a tier 2 player in the report. How will you in your role help to maintain the efficacy of this report not only to make sure it is not politicized, but do mato sure the countries provide information to help you make your determination . That is the source of prosecutions and support being provided to victims. If no information is forthcoming, the tip report and the office has to assume theyre not making efforts in that area. I also understand that we get information from Civil Society in a country and ngos as well, but certainly governments are encouraged and requested to provide information. You know, theres a reported tension between jtip and missions overseas. Whi its ability to project how will you resolve this . This goes across all the responsibilities at state it looks like. How will you weigh in to make sure that doesnt negatively effect our ability to e. These count evaluation these countries . I want to get the trafficking message clearly out to the regions and the missions and just build those relationships up so that we are on equal footing with other offices there. Obviously, there are competeiin priorities as senator cardin recognized, but the office needs to have a loud voice at the table and someone that individuals are willing to work with. I look forward to fully supporting this nominee and her impact on this report going forward. Thank you very much. I dont think there are other questions. I think people have had time to meet with you personally and very much appreciate your willingness to do this. The record will remain open for questions through the close of business wednesday. If you would answer those promptly, it helps in you ascending to this position. I know youll do that. Thank you and your familys willingness to do this. With that, the meeting is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you. On the next washington journal, we continue our coverage of the popes visit to the United States. Our guest is jim knonicholson. Hell talk about u. S. Vatican relations and look ahead to the popes visit to the white house and the speech before congress. Washington journal is live every morning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern and you can join the conversation with your calls and comments on facebook and twitter. The popes visit to the u. S. , cspan has live coverage from washington, d. C. , the first stop on the popes tour. Wednesday morning on cspan, cspan radio and cspan. Org, the welcoming ceremony for the pope. Live coverage begins at 8 45 eastern. And later that afternoon at 4 oclock, the mass and can that nigh zags at the shrine, thursday morning at 8 30, cspans coverage begins at capitol hill as he becomes the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of congress. And friday morning at 10 00, live coverage from new york as he speak to the national assembly. And later at 11 30, the pontiff will hold a multireligious service at the world trade center. Follow cspans coverage of the popes historic trip to the u. S. Live, or online at cspan. Org. Aetna proposed a deal to acquire rival humana, another Insurer Anthem has offered to take over cigna for 48 million. The heads of anthem and aetna testified about these today that would make them the number two and three Health Insurance companies arguing that industry consolidation would benefit the consumers. The hearing on antitrust is two hours. Welcome to this hearing of the subcommittee on antitrust competition, p