So this is the mayor and this is a county commissioner. [inaudible] thank you. Thank you all for coming. You dont think its on . You are probably right. Is this matter likes all right. Thank you. Welcome to my townhall meeting. I do want to thank the mayor for letting us use the city hall. Weve done several town halls here. Were going to be very interactive for the next hour or so. I have a few announcements. All these cameras you see around the room are from cspan television. They are not televising it live but they are going to tape it and show it sometime saturday. So you might be a cspan celebrity this weekend. We have some rules about our townhall. Thithis is a conversation betwen you the constituents and me the congressman. This is not a debate between the gentleman on the front row and the lady over there with the American Flag tshirt. If somebody says something you like, you can apply and probably some of you have signed your going to hold up saying you agree or disagree or wha
Welcome. Im delighted to convene this hearing. This is a very important topic and one i know the Ranking Member finds significant. Im happy to partner with her in exploring this subject. I also know the gentleman from North Carolina mr. Jones is attending the hearing with us today, therefore i ask unanimous consent that mr. Jones and any other Committee Members not assigned to this committee be able to participate in this hearing with understanding all members will be regulared for questions prior to those not it is tongue subcommittee. Without objection so order. This morning we continue the committees oversight dialogue with the department that began last week with the foundational testimony that general campbell laid out before the full committee. General campbell testified about the evolving security situation in afghanistan and the policy, strategy and posture required from our nation in toward develop, sustain and support the people and unity government of afghanistan well into t
In mexico through our consulates and the role they play. Now the United States, i think, mr. Starr has widely tried to involve itself in reform of the criminal Justice System in mexico itself. In order to truly get at drug trafficking, gun trafficking, organized crime which, of course, is always at the top of our agenda. And id like to ask you in that regard about the socalled midira initiative. Which is charged with disrupting criminal organizations, strengthening institutions in mexico, improving stability in the surrounding communities. Does that sound like what the madeira finiifinisinitiative is . Weve been work iing with mexico extensively since 2008. Weve invest ed about 1. 4 billion in trying to secure the situation in mexico by working with the Mexican Government and we have seen areas where we have made progress. Our Law Enforcement officials, military officials can work with mexican counterparts to give them advice, to lend assistance when they need it to provide training wh
Are on the front line and work and see what the arrest are and gets away, i would say, we would be lucky if we got away with 40 . Chairman mr. Starr, of the frontline people we are relying on, and the embassy and the local guards, do you know what we are paying those local guards on a monthly basis . Starr i could not quote you an exact dollar figure. I could go over this with the contract we are putting in place. I will tell you it is a Competitive Salary in terms of any other local guards in the country and in fact, it is in competitive with the police as well. It is based on mexican salaries. Heres the concern. We go to the second slide. Teen in a was built under Standard Embassy Design. Is it too ugly for mexico . Not to my knowledge, sir. But in fact it really wasnt a Standard Embassy Design. It didnt really do the exact standard embassy. So were spending about 668,000 but its as close to Standard Embassy Design as we have. But then we have these modified design excellence. Monter
As the Deputy Assistant secretary of state responsible for our mexico portfolio, i want to assure you as my colleagues have that the safety and security of our colleagues in mexico are a top priority. I started my career in mexico city and would be proud to serve in mexico again. I would like to share with you the state department performs in mexicos border region. I will highlight the measures to enhance security in mexico through strong bilateral cooperation while ensuring safety along the u. S. Mexico board. The state department closely mpanies all threats to our diplomats and you and u. S. Facilities. Hey do their job in a flicting landscape. The Consular Services provided to americans in mexico and working in a challenging environment. At every step we work to ensure the security and safety of all american citizens but particularly our diplomatic colleagues in mexico. We remain vigilant and analyze new potential threats. Our embassy and our personnel meet with mexicos counterparts